Website Page Speed Optimization – Laravel Site (JS/CSS Minification, Defer, Preload, WebP)

We’re looking to hire an experienced web performance expert to fix page speed issues on our business website built using Laravel. The site is currently experiencing poor performance scores across desktop and mobile as per PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, and Lighthouse audits (screenshots and reports will be shared after hire). We need an expert who can deeply optimize the frontend delivery, including JS/CSS handling and image/video formatting.

Platform:
• Laravel (custom PHP framework)
• Blade templating engine
• Bootstrap-based frontend

Required Tasks:
1. JS and CSS Optimization
• Minify all JavaScript and CSS assets
• Preload essential scripts/styles
• Defer or async non-critical JS
• Reduce render-blocking resources
• Combine/minimize the number of requests where practical
2. Image & Media Optimization
• Convert and serve all images (JPG, PNG) in WebP or AVIF format
• Ensure responsive image sizing (srcset where needed)
• Optimize loading of any GIFs or background videos using compressed formats
• Lazy-load all offscreen images and media
3. General Performance Enhancements
• Enable and configure HTTP caching where applicable
• Improve TTFB and reduce main thread blocking time
• Implement proper font loading strategies (e.g., font-display: swap)
• Compress assets via Gzip or Brotli (server-level, if needed)
• Audit unused code and remove where safe to do so
4. Testing & Validation
• Post-optimization testing using:
• Google PageSpeed Insights
• GTmetrix
• Chrome Lighthouse (mobile & desktop)
• Share a before/after performance report
• No layout or functionality should be broken during optimization

Deliverables:
• Fully optimized, production-ready frontend code
• Backup of all original files
• List of changes made (documentation)
• Suggestions for any server-level changes if needed

Budget & Timeline:
• Open to proposals with a timeline not exceeding 5 days from start