How Joanna Vargas Achieved 50% Faster Page Load Times Through Shopify Accessibility Remediation

Joanna Vargas provides results-driven spa treatments and premium skincare products across New York and Los Angeles. Founded by celebrity esthetician Joanna Vargas, who built her reputation treating A-list clients before red carpet events, the brand has become synonymous with luxury skincare that delivers visible results. As the brand expanded its direct-to-consumer ecommerce presence, ensuring digital accessibility became critical—not just for compliance, but for providing every customer with the premium experience Joanna Vargas is known for.

Managing the brand's Shopify presence is Bullseye Sellers, a full-service ecommerce agency that specializes in direct-to-consumer growth. The agency manages and optimizes Shopify websites for growing brands, handling everything from site performance and conversion strategy to traffic generation through Meta and Google. Founded by Thorsten Lotto, Bullseye Sellers has built its reputation on delivering measurable results while building high-converting email campaigns that turn visitors into loyal customers.

The Challenge: When Accessibility Overlays Make Things Worse

For Thorsten Lotto, Senior Strategist and Lead Developer of Bullseye Sellers, the Joanna Vargas accessibility situation represented a common but frustrating pattern in ecommerce.

Like many Shopify stores facing their first ADA claim, Joanna Vargas turned to what seemed like a quick solution: an accessibility overlay widget. The reality proved far more problematic.

“What we didn’t understand at the time was that it was only an overlay—not a fully integrated accessibility solution. And that’s where the problems began. The overlay itself wasn’t accessible; even clicking or configuring the widget created barriers. So from day one, ADA compliance failed, and we still received a secondary claim while using the app,” Thorsten explains.

Beyond the legal exposure, Bullseye Sellers was struggling with site performance issues across Joanna Vargas's Shopify store. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) scores were consistently in the red, cumulative layout shift was disrupting the user experience, and fixing these issues seemed to require extensive backend development work the agency simply didn't have bandwidth for.

"We were experiencing significant site speed issues," Thorsten notes. "Our LCP scores were consistently poor, staying in the red, and we faced ongoing cumulative layout shift problems and other related performance challenges."

With a second accessibility claim, persistent performance problems, and limited development resources, Bullseye Sellers needed a partner who could solve both the compliance and technical performance challenges simultaneously.

Why TestParty: Development Work Included, Not Extra

When evaluating accessibility solutions for Joanna Vargas, Thorsten's criteria were clear: no more band-aids or quick fixes. The solution needed to address accessibility at the code level while fitting seamlessly into Bullseye Sellers' agency workflow.

TestParty's approach to Shopify accessibility immediately stood out because it handled the actual implementation work, not just audits or recommendations.

"From a development perspective, I was mainly there to double-check that everything aligned with the brand guidelines and the proposed changes," Thorsten explains. "The TestParty team handled the heavy lifting—conducting thorough WCAG audits, implementing fixes directly in the Shopify theme code, and managing all the technical backend work."

The onboarding process reinforced that this partnership would be different from previous experiences.

"The onboarding was absolutely fantastic, extremely thorough," Thorsten says. "They were clearly mindful of everyone’s timelines. Since we’re an agency managing multiple brands, not just Joanna Vargas, they consistently accommodated our schedule and coordinated around meetings."

"Instead of just getting a PDF of issues to fix, Bullseye Sellers collaborated with TestParty through a streamlined GitHub workflow," Thorsten explains. "The first commits for the changes were sent to us on an unpublished theme. We reviewed everything, made final tweaks, discussed the updates with Jason, got approval, and then rolled it out."

The Results: Accessibility Fixes That Transformed Site Performance

While Bullseye Sellers expected TestParty to resolve the accessibility compliance issues, they didn't anticipate the dramatic improvements in site performance metrics that followed.

50% Reduction in Largest Contentful Paint

The most striking improvement came in page load speed. Before TestParty's accessibility remediation, Joanna Vargas's Shopify store was loading with an LCP of approximately 4,600 milliseconds—well into the "poor" performance range. After implementation, that metric dropped to 2,233 milliseconds, placing the site squarely in the "good" performance category.

"We saw a drastic improvement in LCP," Thorsten notes. "The best score we’d achieved before was moderate, still a warning—but after publishing the audited site, we went into the green and have stayed there ever since."

Complete Elimination of Cumulative Layout Shift

Visual stability issues that had plagued the user experience were completely resolved. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) measures how much visible content unexpectedly moves around as a page loads—a common frustration for shoppers that can lead to accidental clicks and abandoned sessions.

After TestParty's work, those issues vanished entirely.

75th Percentile Core Web Vitals Performance

Perhaps most impressively, Joanna Vargas moved from the bottom quartile of site performance to the 75th percentile—meaning the site now loads faster than 75% of websites tracked by Google's performance metrics.

"Since updating to the TestParty version, performance has improved month over month," Thorsten explains. "Our scores continue to climb, and we’re seeing steady gains every single month."

Zero Agency Developer Hours Required

For Bullseye Sellers, one of the most valuable outcomes was the complete elimination of internal development work on accessibility.

"In terms of impact on the team, it didn’t pull anyone away from their core responsibilities or require hours of backend work," Thorsten says. "Everything was handled by the TestParty team and delivered to us ready for final review and client approval."

This freed the agency to focus on their core competencies: Driving sales through Meta and Google media buying, optimizing conversions, and building high-performing email campaigns that turn visitors into loyal customers—delivering a complete, omnichannel direct-to-consumer strategy.

The Unexpected Connection: Accessibility and Performance

While accessibility compliance was the primary goal, the dramatic site speed improvements weren't purely coincidental. TestParty's approach to Shopify theme accessibility often uncovers and resolves code inefficiencies that impact both accessibility and performance.

The accessibility audit process revealed problematic CSS, redundant scripts, and inefficient theme architecture that was both creating barriers for assistive technology users and slowing down the site for everyone. By rebuilding those components to meet WCAG standards, TestParty simultaneously optimized the underlying code structure.

Partnership Experience: Communication and Consistency

Beyond the technical outcomes, Thorsten emphasizes the quality of the partnership itself—particularly important for agencies managing multiple client relationships.

"Communication was seamless and effortless," Thorsten notes. "They were always available to answer questions, making it an outstanding third-party partnership from an agency perspective."

The consistency between sales discussions and actual delivery was remarkable. "The onboarding was completely seamless. We reviewed initial steps, everything stayed on schedule, and since then, any issues are addressed immediately whenever we touch base," Thorsten explains.

When asked to describe TestParty in three words, Thorsten said: "Thorough. Efficient. Masterful." He adds, "You’re extremely knowledgeable and clearly ahead on all the trends."

Advice for Agencies Managing Shopify Accessibility

Based on his experience transforming Joanna Vargas's site, Thorsten offers clear guidance for other agencies navigating accessibility challenges:

"The only accessibility partner we would work with, or recommend to any of our clients is TestParty," he states. "They’re completely no-fuss: what’s discussed in the first meeting is exactly what gets implemented, and the project rolls out smoothly. Timelines are always met."

He continues: "My advice to any client seeking an accessibility partner would be to start with TestParty. You can be confident in your decision - this is truly the only partner you’ll need."

Looking Forward: Accessibility as a Competitive Advantage

Six months into the partnership, accessibility has become a standard part of how Bullseye Sellers approaches client relationships. With Joanna Vargas performing at record levels—including a 15% increase over the previous year's Black Friday weekend—the agency has seen firsthand how removing accessibility barriers benefits all customers, not just those using assistive technology.

The improved page speed metrics translate directly to better user experience, higher conversion rates, and stronger SEO performance. The elimination of cumulative layout shift reduces frustration and accidental clicks. And the peace of mind around ADA compliance allows both the agency and client to focus on growth rather than legal risk.

For Shopify stores working with agencies, or agencies themselves looking to add value for clients, the Joanna Vargas case study demonstrates that accessibility remediation doesn't have to drain resources or slow down other initiatives. With the right partner, it can actually accelerate performance improvements while ensuring every customer can access and enjoy the shopping experience.

Ready to achieve Shopify accessibility compliance without the developer burden? Schedule a demo with TestParty to see how we can help your Shopify store achieve WCAG compliance while improving site performance.