Study Finds Nearly 9 in 10 Small Law Firm Websites Fail Google's Mobile Speed Test, Threatening Client Acquisition

AUSTIN, TX – A study released today by Constellate, a marketing research firm that works exclusively with law firms, found that nearly nine in ten small law firm websites fail to meet Google's benchmark for good mobile speed. The analysis of 80 firm websites across five fast-growing markets shows that most are losing potential clients before they ever make contact.

The study tested firms in McKinney, Texas; Castle Rock, Colorado; Naples, Florida; Carmel, Indiana; and Cary, North Carolina—communities where new residents frequently need legal services and rely on smartphones to find them. The median mobile PageSpeed score was 60 out of 100, which Google classifies as "needs improvement." Seventy-one of the 80 sites (89%) scored below 90, the threshold Google considers good. Among those, 52 sites (65%) fell into the 50–89 range, while 19 (24%) scored below 50, a rating Google labels "poor." Only 9 sites (11%) achieved a score of 90 or higher.

Load times were similarly troubling. The median site took 7.4 seconds to display its main content, as measured by Largest Contentful Paint. Google rates any load time over 4 seconds as poor, and 58 of the 80 sites (73%) exceeded that limit. Castle Rock, Colorado had the lowest median score at 56, while Carmel, Indiana led the group with a median of 74, including a quarter of its sites scoring 90 or above.

"Most people search for a law firm on their phone, no matter what kind of legal service they are looking for," said Bruce Kreutzer, Partner and VP of Growth at Constellate. "Seven seconds is a long time to wait. They call the next firm. Most small firms never see this happen, because nobody shows them the number."

The findings have significant implications for Texas, particularly in fast-growing communities like McKinney, where an influx of new residents creates demand for legal services. When a firm's website is slow, potential clients may abandon it and contact a competitor, resulting in lost revenue and diminished market presence. For small firms with 1 to 25 attorneys, these technical shortcomings can be especially damaging, as they often lack the resources to diagnose and fix performance issues without outside help.

Constellate aims to address this gap by providing data-driven marketing services. "We built Constellate on one idea: law firm marketing should run on real data, measured as it happens," said Chris Bardos, President of Constellate. "This is the first in a series. Search is changing fast, especially with AI answers, and the firms that know their numbers will adapt first."

The study tested home pages using Google PageSpeed Insights (Lighthouse) with mobile settings in September 2026. Two sites could not be scored and were excluded, leaving a final sample of 80. Firms were identified through Google search and are not named in the report. Scores were grouped according to Google's published bands: 90–100 is good, 50–89 needs improvement, and below 50 is poor. Load time refers to Largest Contentful Paint, Google's measure of when a page's main content appears, measured in a simulated mobile load and compared against Google's 4-second threshold.

As mobile search dominates and AI-driven answers become more common, the ability to load quickly and perform well technically will be critical for law firms seeking visibility. Firms that monitor and improve their mobile speed may gain a competitive edge, while those that ignore it risk falling further behind. Constellate offers more information at constellate.com.