diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index cbda72e..3803f25 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -490,6 +490,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "actix-web",
  "anyhow",
  "cargo-generate",
+ "cc",
  "clap",
  "dialoguer",
  "fs_extra",
@@ -498,6 +499,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "semver",
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
+ "toml_edit",
  "wasm-opt",
  "webbrowser",
 ]
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 737a967..2f8a33a 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -48,8 +48,16 @@ actix-web = "4.9.0"
 # Opening the app in the browser
 webbrowser = "1.0.2"
 
+# Parsing the Cargo manifest
+toml_edit = "0.22.22"
+
 # Copying directories
 fs_extra = "1.3.0"
 
 # Optimizing Wasm binaries
 wasm-opt = { version = "0.116.1", optional = true }
+
+[build-dependencies]
+# We don't use `cc` directly, but our dependency `wasm-opt-sys` fails to compile on Windows when using a newer version.
+# This can be removed when https://github.com/rust-lang/cc-rs/issues/1324 is fixed. 
+cc = "=1.2.2"
diff --git a/src/build/args.rs b/src/build/args.rs
index a769862..cbd83f9 100644
--- a/src/build/args.rs
+++ b/src/build/args.rs
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ impl BuildArgs {
 
     /// The profile used to compile the app.
     pub(crate) fn profile(&self) -> &str {
-        self.cargo_args.compilation_args.profile()
+        self.cargo_args.compilation_args.profile(self.is_web())
     }
 
     /// The targeted platform.
diff --git a/src/build/mod.rs b/src/build/mod.rs
index 83e93ba..201bd4e 100644
--- a/src/build/mod.rs
+++ b/src/build/mod.rs
@@ -3,7 +3,10 @@ use args::BuildSubcommands;
 use crate::{
     external_cli::{cargo, rustup, wasm_bindgen, CommandHelpers},
     run::select_run_binary,
-    web::bundle::{create_web_bundle, PackedBundle, WebBundle},
+    web::{
+        bundle::{create_web_bundle, PackedBundle, WebBundle},
+        profiles::configure_default_web_profiles,
+    },
 };
 
 pub use self::args::BuildArgs;
@@ -11,17 +14,12 @@ pub use self::args::BuildArgs;
 mod args;
 
 pub fn build(args: &BuildArgs) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-    let cargo_args = args.cargo_args_builder();
+    let mut cargo_args = args.cargo_args_builder();
 
     if let Some(BuildSubcommands::Web(web_args)) = &args.subcommand {
         ensure_web_setup(args.skip_prompts)?;
 
         let metadata = cargo::metadata::metadata_with_args(["--no-deps"])?;
-
-        println!("Compiling to WebAssembly...");
-        cargo::build::command().args(cargo_args).ensure_status()?;
-
-        println!("Bundling JavaScript bindings...");
         let bin_target = select_run_binary(
             &metadata,
             args.cargo_args.package_args.package.as_deref(),
@@ -30,6 +28,13 @@ pub fn build(args: &BuildArgs) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
             args.target().as_deref(),
             args.profile(),
         )?;
+
+        cargo_args = cargo_args.append(configure_default_web_profiles(&metadata)?);
+
+        println!("Compiling to WebAssembly...");
+        cargo::build::command().args(cargo_args).ensure_status()?;
+
+        println!("Bundling JavaScript bindings...");
         wasm_bindgen::bundle(&bin_target)?;
 
         #[cfg(feature = "wasm-opt")]
diff --git a/src/external_cli/cargo/metadata.rs b/src/external_cli/cargo/metadata.rs
index 9b800e6..e53559a 100644
--- a/src/external_cli/cargo/metadata.rs
+++ b/src/external_cli/cargo/metadata.rs
@@ -45,15 +45,16 @@ pub struct Metadata {
     /// List of members of the workspace.
     ///
     /// Each entry is the Package ID for the package.
-    pub workspace_members: Option<Vec<String>>,
+    pub workspace_members: Vec<String>,
     /// List of default members of the workspace.
     ///
     /// Each entry is the Package ID for the package.
-    pub workspace_default_members: Option<Vec<String>>,
+    pub workspace_default_members: Vec<String>,
     /// The absolute path to the build directory where Cargo places its output.
     pub target_directory: PathBuf,
     /// The absolute path to the root of the workspace.
-    pub workspace_root: Option<PathBuf>,
+    /// This will be the root of the package if no workspace is used.
+    pub workspace_root: PathBuf,
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, Deserialize)]
diff --git a/src/external_cli/cargo/mod.rs b/src/external_cli/cargo/mod.rs
index a128864..1b0b2b6 100644
--- a/src/external_cli/cargo/mod.rs
+++ b/src/external_cli/cargo/mod.rs
@@ -70,11 +70,17 @@ impl CargoCompilationArgs {
     /// The profile used to compile the app.
     ///
     /// This is determined by the `--release` and `--profile` arguments.
-    pub(crate) fn profile(&self) -> &str {
-        if self.is_release {
-            "release"
-        } else if let Some(profile) = &self.profile {
+    pub(crate) fn profile(&self, is_web: bool) -> &str {
+        if let Some(profile) = &self.profile {
             profile
+        } else if is_web {
+            if self.is_release {
+                "web-release"
+            } else {
+                "web"
+            }
+        } else if self.is_release {
+            "release"
         } else {
             "debug"
         }
@@ -97,8 +103,7 @@ impl CargoCompilationArgs {
         };
 
         ArgBuilder::new()
-            .add_flag_if("--release", self.is_release)
-            .add_opt_value("--profile", &self.profile)
+            .add_with_value("--profile", self.profile(is_web))
             .add_opt_value("--jobs", &self.jobs.map(|jobs| jobs.to_string()))
             .add_flag_if("--keep-going", self.is_keep_going)
             .add_opt_value("--target", &target)
diff --git a/src/run/args.rs b/src/run/args.rs
index ac0d935..e2ea24d 100644
--- a/src/run/args.rs
+++ b/src/run/args.rs
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ impl RunArgs {
 
     /// The profile used to compile the app.
     pub(crate) fn profile(&self) -> &str {
-        self.cargo_args.compilation_args.profile()
+        self.cargo_args.compilation_args.profile(self.is_web())
     }
 
     /// The targeted platform.
diff --git a/src/run/mod.rs b/src/run/mod.rs
index cc10711..30bc5cd 100644
--- a/src/run/mod.rs
+++ b/src/run/mod.rs
@@ -9,7 +9,10 @@ use crate::{
         cargo::{self, metadata::Metadata},
         wasm_bindgen, CommandHelpers,
     },
-    web::bundle::{create_web_bundle, PackedBundle, WebBundle},
+    web::{
+        bundle::{create_web_bundle, PackedBundle, WebBundle},
+        profiles::configure_default_web_profiles,
+    },
 };
 
 pub use self::args::RunArgs;
@@ -18,18 +21,12 @@ mod args;
 mod serve;
 
 pub fn run(args: &RunArgs) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-    let cargo_args = args.cargo_args_builder();
+    let mut cargo_args = args.cargo_args_builder();
 
     if let Some(RunSubcommands::Web(web_args)) = &args.subcommand {
         ensure_web_setup(args.skip_prompts)?;
 
         let metadata = cargo::metadata::metadata_with_args(["--no-deps"])?;
-
-        // If targeting the web, run a web server with the WASM build
-        println!("Compiling to WebAssembly...");
-        cargo::build::command().args(cargo_args).ensure_status()?;
-
-        println!("Bundling JavaScript bindings...");
         let bin_target = select_run_binary(
             &metadata,
             args.cargo_args.package_args.package.as_deref(),
@@ -38,6 +35,14 @@ pub fn run(args: &RunArgs) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
             args.target().as_deref(),
             args.profile(),
         )?;
+
+        cargo_args = cargo_args.append(configure_default_web_profiles(&metadata)?);
+
+        // If targeting the web, run a web server with the WASM build
+        println!("Compiling to WebAssembly...");
+        cargo::build::command().args(cargo_args).ensure_status()?;
+
+        println!("Bundling JavaScript bindings...");
         wasm_bindgen::bundle(&bin_target)?;
 
         #[cfg(feature = "wasm-opt")]
diff --git a/src/web/mod.rs b/src/web/mod.rs
index d4e3500..a374dc4 100644
--- a/src/web/mod.rs
+++ b/src/web/mod.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 //! Utilities for building and running the app in the browser.
 
 pub(crate) mod bundle;
+pub(crate) mod profiles;
 #[cfg(feature = "wasm-opt")]
 pub(crate) mod wasm_opt;
diff --git a/src/web/profiles.rs b/src/web/profiles.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dc68be0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/web/profiles.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+use std::{collections::HashMap, fs};
+
+use anyhow::Context as _;
+use toml_edit::DocumentMut;
+
+use crate::external_cli::{arg_builder::ArgBuilder, cargo::metadata::Metadata};
+
+/// Create `--config` args to configure the default profiles to use when compiling for the web.
+pub(crate) fn configure_default_web_profiles(metadata: &Metadata) -> anyhow::Result<ArgBuilder> {
+    let manifest = fs::read_to_string(metadata.workspace_root.join("Cargo.toml"))
+        .context("failed to read workspace manifest")?
+        .parse::<DocumentMut>()
+        .context("failed to parse workspace manifest")?;
+
+    let mut args = ArgBuilder::new();
+
+    if !is_profile_defined_in_manifest(&manifest, "web") {
+        args = args.append(configure_web_profile());
+    }
+
+    if !is_profile_defined_in_manifest(&manifest, "web-release") {
+        args = args.append(configure_web_release_profile());
+    }
+
+    Ok(args)
+}
+
+fn is_profile_defined_in_manifest(manifest: &DocumentMut, profile: &str) -> bool {
+    manifest
+        .get("profile")
+        .is_some_and(|profiles| profiles.get(profile).is_some())
+}
+
+/// Configure the default profile for web debug builds.
+///
+/// It is optimized for fast iteration speeds.
+fn configure_web_profile() -> ArgBuilder {
+    configure_profile("web", "dev", HashMap::new())
+}
+
+/// Configure the default profile for web release builds.
+///
+/// It is optimized both for run time performance and loading times.
+fn configure_web_release_profile() -> ArgBuilder {
+    let config = HashMap::from_iter([
+        // Optimize for size, greatly reducing loading times
+        ("opt-level", "s"),
+        // Remove debug information, reducing file size further
+        ("strip", "debuginfo"),
+    ]);
+    configure_profile("web-release", "release", config)
+}
+
+/// Create `--config` args for `cargo` to configure a new compilation profile.
+///
+/// Equivalent to a `Cargo.toml` like this:
+///
+/// ```toml
+/// [profile.{profile}]
+/// inherits = "{inherits}"
+/// # config
+/// key = "value"
+/// ```
+fn configure_profile(profile: &str, inherits: &str, config: HashMap<&str, &str>) -> ArgBuilder {
+    let mut args = ArgBuilder::new().add_with_value(
+        "--config",
+        format!(r#"profile.{profile}.inherits="{inherits}""#),
+    );
+
+    for (key, value) in config {
+        args = args.add_with_value("--config", format!(r#"profile.{profile}.{key}="{value}""#));
+    }
+
+    args
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn should_detect_defined_profile() {
+        let manifest = r#"
+        [profile.web]
+        inherits = "dev"
+        "#
+        .parse()
+        .unwrap();
+
+        assert!(is_profile_defined_in_manifest(&manifest, "web"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn should_detect_missing_profile() {
+        let manifest = r#"
+        [profile.foo]
+        inherits = "dev"
+        "#
+        .parse()
+        .unwrap();
+
+        assert!(!is_profile_defined_in_manifest(&manifest, "web"));
+    }
+}