diff --git a/qutebrowser/app.py b/qutebrowser/app.py
index b28703eff..a2eb79666 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/app.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/app.py
@@ -32,8 +32,8 @@ import functools
 import traceback
 
 from PyQt5.QtWidgets import QApplication, QDialog
-from PyQt5.QtCore import (pyqtSlot, QTimer, QEventLoop, Qt, QStandardPaths,
-                          qInstallMessageHandler, QObject, QUrl)
+from PyQt5.QtCore import (pyqtSlot, qInstallMessageHandler, QTimer, Qt, QUrl,
+                          QStandardPaths, QObject)
 
 import qutebrowser
 from qutebrowser.commands import userscripts, runners, cmdutils
@@ -236,10 +236,6 @@ class Application(QApplication):
 
         URLs to open have no prefix, commands to execute begin with a colon.
         """
-        # QNetworkAccessManager::createRequest will hang for over a second, so
-        # we make sure the GUI is refreshed here, so the start seems faster.
-        self.processEvents(QEventLoop.ExcludeUserInputEvents |
-                           QEventLoop.ExcludeSocketNotifiers)
         tabbed_browser = objreg.get('tabbed-browser')
         for cmd in self._args.command:
             if cmd.startswith(':'):
diff --git a/qutebrowser/widgets/webview.py b/qutebrowser/widgets/webview.py
index 71cbfab37..791483f9a 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/widgets/webview.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/widgets/webview.py
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 
 import itertools
 
-from PyQt5.QtCore import pyqtSignal, pyqtSlot, Qt, QTimer, QUrl
+from PyQt5.QtCore import pyqtSignal, pyqtSlot, Qt, QTimer, QUrl, QEventLoop
 from PyQt5.QtWidgets import QApplication
 from PyQt5.QtWebKit import QWebSettings
 from PyQt5.QtWebKitWidgets import QWebView, QWebPage
@@ -100,6 +100,11 @@ class WebView(QWebView):
         self.registry = objreg.ObjectRegistry()
         self.tab_id = next(tab_id_gen)
         objreg.register('webview', self, registry=self.registry)
+        # QNetworkAccessManager init will hang for over a second, so
+        # we make sure the GUI is refreshed here, so the start seems faster.
+        app = objreg.get('app')
+        app.processEvents(QEventLoop.ExcludeUserInputEvents |
+                          QEventLoop.ExcludeSocketNotifiers)
         page = webpage.BrowserPage(self)
         self.setPage(page)
         hintmanager = hints.HintManager(self)