diff --git a/internal/server/server.go b/internal/server/server.go
index bc3187b..8138ba9 100644
--- a/internal/server/server.go
+++ b/internal/server/server.go
@@ -121,20 +121,12 @@ func New(cfg *config.Config, logger *slog.Logger) (*Server, error) {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("verifying storage connectivity: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	// Load templates
-	templates, err := NewTemplates()
-	if err != nil {
-		_ = store.Close()
-		_ = db.Close()
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("loading templates: %w", err)
-	}
-
 	return &Server{
 		cfg:       cfg,
 		db:        db,
 		storage:   store,
 		logger:    logger,
-		templates: templates,
+		templates: &Templates{},
 	}, nil
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/server/server_test.go b/internal/server/server_test.go
index 7e56f2c..02fa725 100644
--- a/internal/server/server_test.go
+++ b/internal/server/server_test.go
@@ -79,21 +79,13 @@ func newTestServer(t *testing.T) *testServer {
 	r.Mount("/go", http.StripPrefix("/go", goHandler.Routes()))
 	r.Mount("/pypi", http.StripPrefix("/pypi", pypiHandler.Routes()))
 
-	// Load templates
-	templates, err := NewTemplates()
-	if err != nil {
-		_ = db.Close()
-		_ = os.RemoveAll(tempDir)
-		t.Fatalf("failed to load templates: %v", err)
-	}
-
 	// Create a minimal server struct for the handlers
 	s := &Server{
 		cfg:       cfg,
 		db:        db,
 		storage:   store,
 		logger:    logger,
-		templates: templates,
+		templates: &Templates{},
 	}
 
 	r.Get("/health", s.handleHealth)
diff --git a/internal/server/templates.go b/internal/server/templates.go
index 2d261a3..217da41 100644
--- a/internal/server/templates.go
+++ b/internal/server/templates.go
@@ -5,61 +5,70 @@ import (
 	"html/template"
 	"net/http"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"sync"
 )
 
 //go:embed templates/**/*.html
 var templatesFS embed.FS
 
-// Templates holds parsed templates for each page.
+// Templates holds lazily-parsed templates for each page.
 type Templates struct {
+	once  sync.Once
 	pages map[string]*template.Template
+	err   error
 }
 
-// NewTemplates loads and parses all templates from the embedded filesystem.
-func NewTemplates() (*Templates, error) {
-	pages := make(map[string]*template.Template)
+// load parses all templates from the embedded filesystem on first call.
+func (t *Templates) load() error {
+	t.once.Do(func() {
+		pages := make(map[string]*template.Template)
 
-	// Define custom template functions
-	funcMap := template.FuncMap{
-		"add":                 func(a, b int) int { return a + b },
-		"sub":                 func(a, b int) int { return a - b },
-		"supportedEcosystems": supportedEcosystems,
-		"ecosystemBadgeClass": ecosystemBadgeClasses,
-		"ecosystemBadgeLabel": ecosystemBadgeLabel,
-	}
-
-	// Get all page files
-	pageFiles, err := templatesFS.ReadDir("templates/pages")
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
-	for _, pageFile := range pageFiles {
-		if pageFile.IsDir() {
-			continue
+		funcMap := template.FuncMap{
+			"add":                 func(a, b int) int { return a + b },
+			"sub":                 func(a, b int) int { return a - b },
+			"supportedEcosystems": supportedEcosystems,
+			"ecosystemBadgeClass": ecosystemBadgeClasses,
+			"ecosystemBadgeLabel": ecosystemBadgeLabel,
 		}
 
-		pageName := pageFile.Name()
-		pageName = pageName[:len(pageName)-len(filepath.Ext(pageName))]
-
-		// Parse all layout files + components + this page with custom functions
-		tmpl, err := template.New("").Funcs(funcMap).ParseFS(templatesFS,
-			"templates/layout/*.html",
-			"templates/components/*.html",
-			"templates/pages/"+pageFile.Name(),
-		)
+		pageFiles, err := templatesFS.ReadDir("templates/pages")
 		if err != nil {
-			return nil, err
+			t.err = err
+			return
 		}
 
-		pages[pageName] = tmpl
-	}
+		for _, pageFile := range pageFiles {
+			if pageFile.IsDir() {
+				continue
+			}
 
-	return &Templates{pages: pages}, nil
+			pageName := pageFile.Name()
+			pageName = pageName[:len(pageName)-len(filepath.Ext(pageName))]
+
+			tmpl, err := template.New("").Funcs(funcMap).ParseFS(templatesFS,
+				"templates/layout/*.html",
+				"templates/components/*.html",
+				"templates/pages/"+pageFile.Name(),
+			)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.err = err
+				return
+			}
+
+			pages[pageName] = tmpl
+		}
+
+		t.pages = pages
+	})
+	return t.err
 }
 
 // Render renders a page template with the given data.
 func (t *Templates) Render(w http.ResponseWriter, pageName string, data any) error {
+	if err := t.load(); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "text/html; charset=utf-8")
 
 	tmpl, ok := t.pages[pageName]
diff --git a/internal/server/templates_test.go b/internal/server/templates_test.go
index 9d26269..7fe5cf5 100644
--- a/internal/server/templates_test.go
+++ b/internal/server/templates_test.go
@@ -11,10 +11,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 func TestTemplatesRenderAllPages(t *testing.T) {
-	templates, err := NewTemplates()
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("failed to load templates: %v", err)
-	}
+	templates := &Templates{}
 
 	tests := []struct {
 		page string
@@ -156,14 +153,26 @@ func TestTemplatesRenderAllPages(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestTemplatesRenderUnknownPage(t *testing.T) {
-	templates, err := NewTemplates()
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("failed to load templates: %v", err)
+func TestTemplatesLazyLoading(t *testing.T) {
+	templates := &Templates{}
+
+	if templates.pages != nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected pages to be nil before first Render call")
 	}
 
 	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
-	err = templates.Render(w, "nonexistent_page", nil)
+	_ = templates.Render(w, "dashboard", DashboardData{})
+
+	if templates.pages == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected pages to be populated after first Render call")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestTemplatesRenderUnknownPage(t *testing.T) {
+	templates := &Templates{}
+
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	err := templates.Render(w, "nonexistent_page", nil)
 	if err == nil {
 		t.Error("expected error for unknown page")
 	}
@@ -424,3 +433,30 @@ func TestCategorizeLicense(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+func BenchmarkTemplatesParse(b *testing.B) {
+	for b.Loop() {
+		t := &Templates{}
+		if err := t.load(); err != nil {
+			b.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func BenchmarkServerCreate(b *testing.B) {
+	for b.Loop() {
+		_ = &Server{
+			templates: &Templates{},
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func BenchmarkFirstRender(b *testing.B) {
+	for b.Loop() {
+		t := &Templates{}
+		w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		if err := t.Render(w, "dashboard", DashboardData{}); err != nil {
+			b.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+}