How to Improve Your Google PageSpeed Score in 2026

A step-by-step guide to improving your Google PageSpeed Insights score. Covers the most impactful fixes for images, JavaScript, caching, and server response time.

What is Google PageSpeed Insights?

Google PageSpeed Insights (PSI) analyses a URL and reports on its performance using Lighthouse lab data and — where available — real user data from the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX).

The score runs from 0 to 100:

90–100 — Good

50–89 — Needs improvement

0–49 — Poor

The score is a weighted average of several underlying metrics. It is a useful proxy for real-world performance but should not be treated as the goal in itself — the underlying metrics and real user experience are what matter.

Step 1: Fix your images first

Images are the single most common cause of low PageSpeed scores. A typical website can often gain 10–30 points just from image optimization.

What to do:

Convert images to WebP or AVIF. These formats are 25–50% smaller than JPEG at the same quality.

Resize images to the display size. Do not upload a 4000px image for a 600px thumbnail.

Compress images before uploading. Target under 100kb for most images, under 200kb for hero images.

Use loading="lazy" on all images below the fold. Do not use it on above-the-fold images.

Add fetchpriority="high" to your hero or LCP image.

Step 2: Eliminate render-blocking resources

Render-blocking resources are CSS and JavaScript files that the browser must download and process before it can display any content. Every render-blocking file delays your First Contentful Paint and LCP.

What to do:

Defer non-critical JavaScript: