WordPress JNews Speed & CLS Optimization -- 2

I run a fairly new WordPress site blog that uses the JNews theme and, despite a light plugin stack, Google PageSpeed Insights still flags painful loading delays and noticeable Cumulative Layout Shift. Loading speed is my first priority, with the homepage showing the worst numbers.

I need the site tuned so that the layout stays stable while it renders and the first meaningful paint happens far faster. Browser caching, image optimisation, critical-CSS inlining, script deferment, database clean-up—whatever combination of tactics you know will work with JNews—can be applied as long as the front-end look and core theme functions remain intact.

Acceptance criteria
• Homepage CLS consistently ≤ 0.1
• PageSpeed Insights mobile and desktop scores above 90
• No visual or functional regressions once optimisation is complete
• A brief summary of changes so I can maintain the setup going forward

Access to the WP admin panel and current PageSpeed reports will be provided as soon as we agree on the approach.