Speed Up Your WordPress Site - Performance & Core Web VitalsCiaran Connolly
Slow websites lose visitors and rank lower in Google. I optimise WordPress sites for speed, fixing Core Web Vitals issues that affect both user experience and search rankings. Since 2011, I've optimised over 1,000 websites—including our own sites that now attract millions of visitors. I'll make your site faster with a clear before-and-after report proving the improvements.
What's included
Complete Performance Audit Report
Comprehensive analysis of your current website speed and performance issues. We test your site using Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, Lighthouse, and WebPageTest across desktop and mobile. The report covers current Core Web Vitals scores (LCP, INP, CLS), time to first byte, fully loaded time, total page weight, number of requests, and render-blocking resources. We identify every bottleneck slowing your site and prioritise fixes by impact. You'll understand exactly what's wrong and what needs fixing first.
Image Optimisation
Images typically account for 50-80% of page weight on most websites. We compress all images without visible quality loss, convert to modern WebP format with fallbacks for older browsers, implement lazy loading so off-screen images don't slow initial page load, configure responsive images serving appropriate sizes for each device, and remove unnecessary metadata. For WordPress sites, we set up automated optimisation for future uploads so new images are optimised automatically.
Browser Caching Configuration
Proper caching means returning visitors load your site almost instantly. We configure browser caching headers so static resources are stored locally, set appropriate expiry times for different file types, implement cache busting for updated resources, and test that caching works correctly across browsers. Returning visitors will experience dramatically faster load times.
Page Caching Setup
For WordPress sites, page caching serves pre-built HTML instead of generating pages dynamically on each visit. We install and configure appropriate caching plugins (WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, or LiteSpeed Cache depending on your hosting), set up page caching rules, configure cache preloading, exclude dynamic pages that shouldn't be cached, and test thoroughly to ensure forms, logins, and ecommerce functions work correctly.
Object and Database Caching
Database queries often slow WordPress sites significantly. We implement object caching to store database query results, configure Redis or Memcached if your hosting supports it, optimise database caching settings, and clean up unnecessary database overhead. Reduces server response time and improves time to first byte.
Core Web Vitals - LCP Optimisation
Largest Contentful Paint measures how quickly the main content loads. We identify your LCP element (usually hero image or main heading), optimise that specific element for fastest loading, implement preloading for LCP resources, optimise server response time, and eliminate anything delaying main content visibility. Target: LCP under 2.5 seconds.
FAQs
Most sites see 40-70% improvement in load times and significant PageSpeed score increases. Results depend on your starting point—a site scoring 30 on PageSpeed typically reaches 80-95 after optimisation. I provide before-and-after measurements so you see exactly what improved. If your site already scores well, I'll tell you honestly whether optimisation is worth the investment.
No. Performance optimisation happens behind the scenes—your visitors see the same design and functionality, just faster. I test thoroughly after every change to ensure nothing breaks. For WordPress sites, your admin experience stays the same too. You'll only notice the difference in speed.
Typically 3-7 days depending on site complexity and how many issues need fixing. Simple sites with standard problems can be completed in a few days. Larger sites or those with significant issues may take longer. I'll give you a realistic timeframe after reviewing your site.
WordPress is my speciality—it's what I know best and where I deliver the strongest results. I can optimise other platforms, but I'm upfront that WordPress is where my deepest expertise lies. If you're on Wix, Squarespace, or Shopify, I can still help but with some platform limitations.
Starting at$100 /hr
Tags
Ahrefs
Google Analytics
Hotjar
PostCSS
SEMrush
Frontend Engineer
SEO Specialist
WordPress Developer
Service provided by
Ciaran Connolly Northern Ireland, UK
Speed Up Your WordPress Site - Performance & Core Web VitalsCiaran Connolly
Starting at$100 /hr
Tags
Ahrefs
Google Analytics
Hotjar
PostCSS
SEMrush
Frontend Engineer
SEO Specialist
WordPress Developer
Slow websites lose visitors and rank lower in Google. I optimise WordPress sites for speed, fixing Core Web Vitals issues that affect both user experience and search rankings. Since 2011, I've optimised over 1,000 websites—including our own sites that now attract millions of visitors. I'll make your site faster with a clear before-and-after report proving the improvements.
What's included
Complete Performance Audit Report
Comprehensive analysis of your current website speed and performance issues. We test your site using Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, Lighthouse, and WebPageTest across desktop and mobile. The report covers current Core Web Vitals scores (LCP, INP, CLS), time to first byte, fully loaded time, total page weight, number of requests, and render-blocking resources. We identify every bottleneck slowing your site and prioritise fixes by impact. You'll understand exactly what's wrong and what needs fixing first.
Image Optimisation
Images typically account for 50-80% of page weight on most websites. We compress all images without visible quality loss, convert to modern WebP format with fallbacks for older browsers, implement lazy loading so off-screen images don't slow initial page load, configure responsive images serving appropriate sizes for each device, and remove unnecessary metadata. For WordPress sites, we set up automated optimisation for future uploads so new images are optimised automatically.
Browser Caching Configuration
Proper caching means returning visitors load your site almost instantly. We configure browser caching headers so static resources are stored locally, set appropriate expiry times for different file types, implement cache busting for updated resources, and test that caching works correctly across browsers. Returning visitors will experience dramatically faster load times.
Page Caching Setup
For WordPress sites, page caching serves pre-built HTML instead of generating pages dynamically on each visit. We install and configure appropriate caching plugins (WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, or LiteSpeed Cache depending on your hosting), set up page caching rules, configure cache preloading, exclude dynamic pages that shouldn't be cached, and test thoroughly to ensure forms, logins, and ecommerce functions work correctly.
Object and Database Caching
Database queries often slow WordPress sites significantly. We implement object caching to store database query results, configure Redis or Memcached if your hosting supports it, optimise database caching settings, and clean up unnecessary database overhead. Reduces server response time and improves time to first byte.
Core Web Vitals - LCP Optimisation
Largest Contentful Paint measures how quickly the main content loads. We identify your LCP element (usually hero image or main heading), optimise that specific element for fastest loading, implement preloading for LCP resources, optimise server response time, and eliminate anything delaying main content visibility. Target: LCP under 2.5 seconds.
FAQs
Most sites see 40-70% improvement in load times and significant PageSpeed score increases. Results depend on your starting point—a site scoring 30 on PageSpeed typically reaches 80-95 after optimisation. I provide before-and-after measurements so you see exactly what improved. If your site already scores well, I'll tell you honestly whether optimisation is worth the investment.
No. Performance optimisation happens behind the scenes—your visitors see the same design and functionality, just faster. I test thoroughly after every change to ensure nothing breaks. For WordPress sites, your admin experience stays the same too. You'll only notice the difference in speed.
Typically 3-7 days depending on site complexity and how many issues need fixing. Simple sites with standard problems can be completed in a few days. Larger sites or those with significant issues may take longer. I'll give you a realistic timeframe after reviewing your site.
WordPress is my speciality—it's what I know best and where I deliver the strongest results. I can optimise other platforms, but I'm upfront that WordPress is where my deepest expertise lies. If you're on Wix, Squarespace, or Shopify, I can still help but with some platform limitations.
$100 /hr