A low performance score means Google's testing tools measured your page taking too long to load and become usable, especially on a mid-range phone over a mobile connection. The score is a blend of several timing measurements — how fast the first content appears, how long until the main content is drawn, and how stable the layout is while loading. A poor result usually points to large images, heavy scripts, or slow server responses.
Why it matters
Most visitors browse on phones, and a slow page loses them before it finishes loading — many people leave after a few seconds of waiting. Performance is also a ranking signal, so a poor score can push your page lower in search results and reduce the traffic you get in the first place.
How to fix it
Slow pages usually come from a handful of common causes: oversized images, too much JavaScript and CSS, no caching, and a slow server. Work through these in order.
Compress and resize images
Images are the most common cause. Save photos at the size they actually display, and use a modern format. Add width and height so the browser can reserve space and avoid layout shifts.
<img src="photo.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="..." loading="lazy">
WordPress
Install a caching and optimisation plugin (for example WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache, or W3 Total Cache) and an image optimiser (such as Smush or ShortPixel). Enable page caching, minification of CSS/JS, and lazy loading in the plugin settings.
Nginx
Enable compression and long cache lifetimes for static files:
gzip on;
gzip_types text/css application/javascript image/svg+xml;
location ~* \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|webp|css|js|woff2)$ {
expires 1y;
add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
}
Apache
Enable compression and caching in .htaccess:
<IfModule mod_deflate.c>
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html text/css application/javascript
</IfModule>
<IfModule mod_expires.c>
ExpiresActive On
ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access plus 1 year"
ExpiresByType text/css "access plus 1 year"
ExpiresByType application/javascript "access plus 1 year"
</IfModule>
Cloudflare
Turn on Auto Minify (JS, CSS, HTML) and Brotli compression under Speed → Optimization. Enable a caching level of Standard or higher, and consider the Polish feature to compress images automatically.
How to check it worked
Run the page through PageSpeed Insights again after your changes and confirm the score has improved, checking both the Mobile and Desktop tabs.