Case Study: Turning Failing PageSpeed Scores into Elite Performance

Performance matters, and not just for SEO, but for real users, real conversions, and long-term website stability. The PaperStreet development team recently took three law firm websites with failing or underperforming PageSpeed Insights scores and transformed them into high-performing sites with exceptional mobile and desktop results.

Across all three sites, we achieved PageSpeed Insights scores in the high 90s, a level typically seen only on extremely well-optimized, lightweight websites. These improvements were accomplished through manual, code-level optimizations, not performance plugins.

The Challenge

Each website started with serious performance issues:

• Heavy page weight
• Poor Core Web Vitals
• Failing or borderline PageSpeed Insights scores
• Layout shifts and render-blocking resources
• Excess JavaScript and CSS

Despite being professionally designed sites, real-world performance was suffering, particularly on mobile, where speed expectations are highest. The client came to us frustrated and looking for a solution to make his website run faster.

“Before” Performance Scores

We worked on three websites for this client and these were the initial performance scores before our development team made modifications.

The New Jersey Criminal Defense Law Firm Website

• Page weight: 3 MB
• PageSpeed Insights: 49 Mobile / 59 Desktop

The Pennsylvania Family Law Firm Website

• Page weight: 2.2 MB
• PageSpeed Insights: 60 Mobile / 52 Desktop

The New Jersey Family Law Firm Website

• Page weight: 5.8 MB
• PageSpeed Insights: 52 Mobile / 52 Desktop

With these numbers, all three websites were either failing outright or performing well below acceptable benchmarks.

Our Approach

Rather than relying on performance plugins, we addressed issues at the source and directly within the codebase. Plugin-based solutions often mask problems, introduce maintenance risks, and break during future updates. When you work with PaperStreet you work with real developers, based in the United States. A real human can produce cleaner, more stable, and more durable performance gains, and that’s exactly what we did.

All optimizations were implemented manually to ensure long-term reliability and measurable improvements to Core Web Vitals.

Key Optimizations Implemented

• Delayed non-essential marketing and tracking scripts
• Optimized and preloaded the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) image
• Reduced Layout Shift (CLS) caused by the loading-in of fonts and page styling
• Prioritized critical stylesheets for faster initial render
• Removed unnecessary CSS and JavaScript

Each change was selected to directly improve real user load experience, not just test scores.

The Results

The outcome was a dramatic transformation in speed optimization across all three websites.

“After” Performance Scores

The New Jersey Family Law Firm Website

• 98 Mobile / 98 Desktop (PageSpeed Insights report)

The New Jersey Criminal Defense Law Firm Website

• 98 Mobile / 100 Desktop

The Pennsylvania Family Law Firm Website

• 97 Mobile / 97 Desktop

Scores in the high 90s (especially on mobile) are considered elite performance and place these sites among the fastest-loading law firm websites online.

Website Running Slow? PaperStreet Can Fix That.

If you’re experiencing speed issues with your website on desktop or mobile, we encourage you to reach out. Our team can work with you to implement solutions that keep the website running smoothly, ensuring a positive experience for all your referring partners and potential new clients.