This thesis will define a method in hich Web performance can be measured and summarize the results obtained from the application of this procedure to Extensible Markup Language or XML (can be described as a metalanguage that permits users to define their own markup language) performance analysis. It will also examine some common metrics used to measure the performance of the World Wide Web (WWW). The procedure to measure performance includes the creations of similar HTML and XML applications that will be used as the base applications for testing. These applications will be a representation of the general content seen on the WWW today. Tests were done with the server being located in Winnipeg, and the client located in Winnipeg or Calgary. Winnipeg and Calgary are two Canadian cities that are geographically separated by approximately 1300 kilometers. The tests in Calgary show the results when there is a greater network separation, while the Winnipeg tests are used to represent the opposite. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)