Speed optimization · Travel booking site
From 42 to 97 on mobile in 2 days
A travel booking website was losing visitors before its search form even loaded. Two days of targeted speed work moved it from failing to excellent on both mobile and desktop.
- 42 → 97
- mobile PageSpeed performance score
- 46 → 96
- desktop PageSpeed performance score
- 5.0s → 1.5s
- mobile Largest Contentful Paint
- 350ms → 0
- mobile Total Blocking Time
The challenge
On a travel site, visitors land on a search form and expect it to work instantly. Before the work, the mobile page took 5 seconds to show its main content and kept shifting while it loaded. Mobile performance scored 42 and desktop 46.
What I did
Two days of targeted speed work on the existing site, without a redesign. Before and after tests were run in Google PageSpeed Insights on Feb 22 and Feb 24, 2025, covering every Core Web Vital on mobile and desktop.
Results: every Core Web Vital moved into the green
| Metric | Mobile before | Mobile after | Desktop before | Desktop after |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performance score | 42 | 97 | 46 | 96 |
| Largest Contentful Paint | 5.0s | 1.5s | 2.8s | 0.6s |
| First Contentful Paint | 3.6s | 1.4s | 0.9s | 0.4s |
| Total Blocking Time | 350ms | 0ms | 650ms | 0ms |
| Cumulative Layout Shift | 0.297 | 0.001 | 0.108 | 0.01 |
| Speed Index | 12.2s | 4.6s | 5.0s | 2.0s |
| Best Practices score | 82 | 100 | 81 | 100 |
| Accessibility score | 92 | 98 | 91 | 98 |
Why it worked
Main content 3x faster
The hero and search form now appear in 1.5 seconds on a phone instead of 5.
No more jumping layout
Layout shift dropped from 0.297 to 0.001, so buttons no longer move while visitors try to tap them.
Instant response to taps
Blocking time went to zero on both devices, so the booking form responds the moment it appears.
Fixed in 2 days
Before and after tests were run on Feb 22 and Feb 24, 2025, without redesigning the site.
Questions about this project
How long did the speed optimization take?
Two days. Before and after PageSpeed Insights tests were run on Feb 22 and Feb 24, 2025, and the site was not redesigned.
How much faster did the page load on mobile?
Mobile Largest Contentful Paint dropped from 5.0s to 1.5s, so the hero and search form appear about 3x faster. The mobile performance score went from 42 to 97.
Did the layout stop shifting?
Yes. Mobile Cumulative Layout Shift dropped from 0.297 to 0.001, so buttons no longer move while visitors try to tap them.
Client name and domain withheld. Figures from Google PageSpeed Insights lab tests; scores vary slightly between runs.
