Website Speed Improvement
Performance overhaul that improved Core Web Vitals and SEO rankings.
Client
A mid-sized regional e-commerce platform specializing in artisanal home goods with over 50,000 monthly unique visitors.
The Challenge
The client faced a significant decline in organic search visibility following a major Google algorithm update focused on page experience. Their legacy WordPress architecture was bloated with redundant plugins and unoptimized assets, leading to high bounce rates and cart abandonment on mobile devices.
Technical audits revealed critical failures in Core Web Vitals, specifically Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). This technical debt was directly throttling their ROAS by driving up CPCs due to poor landing page experience scores.
Our Approach
- Conducted a comprehensive audit of third-party scripts and retired non-essential plugins
- Implemented high-performance image compression using WebP formats and lazy-loading
- Refactored CSS and JavaScript to eliminate render-blocking resources
- Migrated the site to a dedicated cloud hosting environment with edge caching
- Optimized font delivery via self-hosting and pre-loading strategies
- Standardized container dimensions to resolve layout shift issues
- Database optimization to reduce server response times for dynamic queries
Execution
The project was executed over a 12-week sprint cycle using a staging-to-production deployment workflow. We utilized Google Lighthouse and PageSpeed Insights for continuous benchmarking, documenting progress via Jira for the client's internal stakeholders.
Weekly technical syncs ensured that performance optimizations did not compromise the site's aesthetic or conversion features. The final phase involved fine-tuning the Content Delivery Network (CDN) to ensure parity across regional markets.
Results
The performance overhaul successfully moved the site into the green zone for all Core Web Vitals, triggering a noticeable recovery in keyword rankings. By improving the user experience, the client saw a direct correlation in lower customer acquisition costs and a measurable lift in mobile conversion rates.
Duration: 90 days
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