The author is considering the use of Preact as a smaller alternative to React for their applications, particularly to improve bundle sizes and performance. They have started by setting up Preact in their existing create-react-app project using npm and webpack, and have found that it significantly reduces the bundle size compared to React alone or with additional libraries like Netlify UI. The author has also experimented with different metrics, including the Perceptual Speed Index (PSI), which showed a significant improvement in performance when switching to Preact. However, they acknowledge some trade-offs, such as missing features and potential inconsistencies due to being an offshoot of the main React project. Overall, the author recommends considering Preact for building small, fast web applications.