Roto-Rooter is North America’s largest provider of plumbing and drain services, with a high percentage of traffic coming from mobile users. When Google made mobile page speed a ranking factor in 2018, site performance became directly tied to SEO visibility and conversion rates. The website needed to be faster, more resilient, and optimized for mobile-first behavior.
The Problem
The site was underperforming in key performance metrics:
Slow mobile load times
High server request volume
Heavy asset usage (fonts, images, scripts)
Suboptimal Lighthouse and accessibility scores
Performance impacting SEO rankings and conversions
The challenge was to improve speed without compromising brand consistency or usability.
The Approach
UX & Performance Audit
Conducted a full-site audit aligned with Google Lighthouse and Web Page Test benchmarks, focusing on:
Load Time
Speed Index
Bytes In
Number of Server Requests
Developed a prioritized roadmap balancing performance gains with user experience.
Performance-Driven Design Decisions
Standardized and reduced font usage
Optimized and converted images to WebP
Reduced server calls and unnecessary requests
Implemented reusable design system components to limit duplication
Designed responsive patterns optimized for mobile-first traffic
Ensured performance improvements aligned with conversion and usability goals.
Systematizing the Experience
Established a scalable design system used organization-wide and by external vendors to maintain consistency while supporting performance standards.
Impact
54% reduction in page load time
Significant improvements in Lighthouse and accessibility scores
Improved mobile SEO performance
Enhanced customer experience and measurable conversion gains
Organization-wide adoption of a unified design system
This project demonstrates the ability to connect UX strategy with technical performance optimization — treating speed as a product feature that directly influences discoverability, usability, and revenue.