Baseline audit and measurement
We capture CrUX field data, run Lighthouse and WebPageTest on representative URLs, profile the backend with Query Monitor and Server-Timing and write a ranked list of hypotheses by expected impact on LCP, INP and CLS.
WordPress Speed Optimisation for UK Businesses
Built for UK SMEs, charities, professional services firms and distributed teams around London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh and teams working nationwide. Measured improvements to templates, assets, hosting and third-party code—not a synthetic score trick. We account for plain UK English with accessible, task-focused content, cards, Direct Debit and regulated Open Banking or Pay by Bank providers where they fit the journey, and practical delivery in GMT/BST.
Our approach
Real numbers, real devices .
UK organisations do not need a generic overseas template. They need WordPress speed optimisation shaped around a competitive market where credibility, accessibility and a low-friction enquiry or checkout journey strongly affect conversion, internal ownership and the tools their customers already recognise. We compare lab and field data, then address server response, caching, rendering, JavaScript, images and third-party scripts in the order that affects users most.
Every engagement ships a before and after report with LCP, INP, CLS and TTFB numbers, the fixes that moved each metric and the code, config or infra change behind it. Nothing gets marked done on vibes.
- Core Web Vitals measured on real mobile hardware, not lab only
- Query Monitor and Server-Timing profiling at the PHP layer
- Before and after report with numbers you can show the team
How it works
From audit to green scores in four steps.
A practical delivery process for UK teams, with decisions documented in GMT/BST and local operational requirements agreed before build work begins.
Quick wins and frontend cleanup
Images converted to AVIF or WebP with correct sizes, fonts subset and preloaded, render-blocking CSS and JS resolved, third-party scripts deferred or proxied, hero resources preloaded and layout shift removed at the source.
Backend, query and cache work
Slow queries rewritten or cached, autoloaded options pruned, object cache wired to Redis, page cache layered with stale-while-revalidate and an edge CDN configured with correct cache keys and bypass rules.
Verification, report and guardrails
We re-run field and lab measurements, deliver a before and after report, wire a performance budget to CI and show your team how to keep scores green when new plugins or content land.
Built for the United Kingdom
How WordPress speed optimisation works in the United Kingdom
UK SMEs, charities, professional services firms and distributed teams operate in a competitive market where credibility, accessibility and a low-friction enquiry or checkout journey strongly affect conversion. We shape the WordPress speed optimisation around those buying habits, plain UK English with accessible, task-focused content, straightforward proposals, sensible estimates and pricing in pounds, and the systems already used by the team. The result is a practical service plan for teams building trust and sustainable growth across the UK.
Examples
Mobile landing pages
Reduce the work needed to display the main message and enquiry action on typical mobile connections. For teams around London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh and teams working nationwide, we define the local audience, ownership and follow-up route before implementation and account for cards, Direct Debit and regulated Open Banking or Pay by Bank providers where they fit the journey.
Commerce performance
Improve category, product, basket and checkout paths without breaking personalisation or analytics.
Content-heavy templates
Control image, font, query and component cost as editors publish more material.
Considerations
Privacy and responsible data
We minimise unnecessary collection and document forms, analytics, processors and retention choices with the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, with security and privacy-by-design guidance from the ICO in mind. Technical implementation supports your compliance work; it does not replace legal advice.
Local operations and integrations
The delivery plan can account for cards, Direct Debit and regulated Open Banking or Pay by Bank providers where they fit the journey, pricing in pounds sterling, plain UK English with accessible, task-focused content, and a UK region when contracts, latency or organisational policy make local hosting preferable. We only add local integrations that serve a real customer or operational need.
Delivery in your working day
Planning, reviews and support are organised around GMT/BST. We compare lab and field data, then address server response, caching, rendering, JavaScript, images and third-party scripts in the order that affects users most. Handover is written for the people who will publish, approve and support the site locally.
Local regulatory references are implementation context, not legal or regulatory advice. Your organisation remains responsible for confirming the obligations that apply to its sector and use of personal data.
What's included
Everything needed to pass Core Web Vitals .
- Written audit with ranked hypotheses and expected impact
- Core Web Vitals tuning on real mobile hardware, not lab only
- Image pipeline in AVIF or WebP with correct sizes and lazy rules
- Font subsetting, preloading and swap strategy fixed
- Render-blocking CSS and JS resolved with critical path handled
- Third-party script deferral, proxying or replacement
- Slow query profiling and rewrite at the PHP layer
- Object cache on Redis plus page cache with correct bypass rules
- Edge CDN configured with cache keys, purge and stale-while-revalidate
- Before and after report plus a performance budget wired to CI
How we compare
Why teams choose us for performance.
A caching plugin is not a strategy. A generalist freelancer will not profile your database. Here is how we stack up on work that actually moves Core Web Vitals.
WP Pro Devs
Freelancer
Traditional agency
Measures CrUX field data, not lab only
✓
—
—
Profiles PHP and slow queries
✓
—
✓
Redis object cache plus edge CDN
✓
—
—
Performance budget wired to CI
✓
—
—
Before and after report with numbers
✓
—
✓
Typical turnaround
1 to 4 weeks
Varies
2 to 3 months
Starting price
£400
£100
£4k+
Post launch support
30 to 90 days
None
Retainer only
WP Pro DevsRecommended
- Measures CrUX field data, not lab only✓
- Profiles PHP and slow queries✓
- Redis object cache plus edge CDN✓
- Performance budget wired to CI✓
- Before and after report with numbers✓
- Typical turnaround1 to 4 weeks
- Starting price£400
- Post launch support30 to 90 days
FreelancerCompare
- Measures CrUX field data, not lab only—
- Profiles PHP and slow queries—
- Redis object cache plus edge CDN—
- Performance budget wired to CI—
- Before and after report with numbers—
- Typical turnaroundVaries
- Starting price£100
- Post launch supportNone
Traditional agencyCompare
- Measures CrUX field data, not lab only—
- Profiles PHP and slow queries✓
- Redis object cache plus edge CDN—
- Performance budget wired to CI—
- Before and after report with numbers✓
- Typical turnaround2 to 3 months
- Starting price£4k+
- Post launch supportRetainer only
What clients say
Pricing
Fixed quotes, measurable outcomes .
Pricing reflects scope and site complexity, not hours burnt. Pick a tier close to your needs or ask for a custom estimate after the audit.
Starter £400 to £700
Focused audit and quick wins on a standard marketing site. Core Web Vitals lift with frontend and cache fixes.
- Audit with ranked hypotheses
- Image and font pipeline fixes
- Render-blocking CSS and JS resolved
- Page and object cache configured
- Before and after report
Studio £700 to £1.2k
Full remediation across frontend, backend and CDN. Report, performance budget and handover session included.
- Full Core Web Vitals remediation
- Slow query profiling and rewrite
- Third-party script deferral and proxy
- Edge CDN configured with cache keys
- Performance budget wired to CI
- Team handover and walkthrough
Scale £1.2k to £2k
Complex WooCommerce, membership or multisite work. Backend profiling, cart and search caching done right.
- WooCommerce or multisite scope
- Cart, search and admin-ajax tuning
- Redis object cache and stale-while-revalidate
- Edge rules per route and cookie
- CrUX field-data monitoring setup
- 30 day post-launch support
Enterprise £2k+
Ongoing performance retainer with field-data monitoring, CI budgets and quarterly regression sweeps.
- Everything in Scale
- Dedicated performance engineer
- SLA with priority response
- Monthly field-data and budget reviews
- Quarterly regression sweeps
- Custom reporting for stakeholders
Quality standards
Every engagement ships measurably faster .
We do not close a performance ticket on a lab score alone. Wins have to show up for real users on real devices over real networks.
LCP under 2.5s
Hero resource preloaded, image served in modern format at correct size, render path unblocked on mobile.
INP under 200ms
Long tasks broken up, third-party scripts deferred, main thread kept responsive under real interaction.
CLS under 0.1
Explicit dimensions on media, font swap strategy set and reserved space for late-loading widgets.
TTFB under 600ms
PHP profiled, slow queries rewritten, autoloaded options pruned and page cache serving the bulk of traffic.
Lighthouse 90+ mobile
Performance, accessibility, SEO and best practices all measured and documented before we close the job.
CrUX field wins
Improvement verified on 28 day field data, not just a single lab run you can cherry-pick.
Edge CDN configured
Cache keys, bypass cookies and purge rules set so logged-in and cart traffic never serves stale content.
Performance budget in CI
Pull requests fail if LCP, bundle size or long tasks regress beyond the threshold agreed with you.
Documented handover
Your team gets a runbook covering budgets, monitoring dashboards and how to diagnose the next regression.
For agencies
Your clients. Our performance team. Your brand.
We are the silent performance team behind design and marketing agencies. Your client sees your audit, your report and your brand on every artefact. Our name never appears in the plugin header, the Slack channel or the handover docs.
- 01
Fully branded delivery
Audit reports, dashboards and runbooks carry your brand, not ours.
- 02
Dedicated partner PM
One point of contact for every engagement. Shared Slack, weekly syncs, fast replies.
- 03
Transparent partner pricing
Retainer rates, bulk discounts and priority scheduling for agency partners.
- 04
Your process, not ours
We plug into your ClickUp, Linear, Jira or Notion. No tool switching, no friction for your team.
How it works
01
Step 1
Share the slow site
You send the staging access, current Lighthouse and any pain points the client has raised.
02
Step 2
Audit and partner quote
We run the baseline, write the ranked hypotheses and send you a partner rate quote. Never shown to your client.
03
Step 3
Add margin, quote your client
You mark up, brand the proposal and present it on your letterhead at your price.
04
Step 4
Client approves the scope
Your client signs off on your terms, with your brand, and pays you directly.
05
Step 5
We tune under NDA
Silent work on branded staging. No vendor credits, no email signatures, no footer links from us.
06
Step 6
Deliver as your own
You review the before and after, accept handover and ship the report to your client under your agency name.
Common questions
What clients ask us about speed.
Do you support UK teams during local business hours?
Yes. Planning, reviews and support can be organised around GMT/BST. We agree response expectations, meeting windows and escalation contacts before the project or care plan starts.
How do you account for UK GDPR?
We apply data minimisation, secure handling and privacy-by-design practices to forms, analytics, integrations and hosting decisions. We document the technical choices clearly, while your legal or data-protection adviser confirms the obligations that apply to your organisation.
Will you break the site or my theme?
No. Work happens on a staging clone with a snapshot of production. We document every change, test cross-browser and gate the release on the performance budget we agreed with you. If something regresses, we roll back and investigate before shipping again.
Do you work on WooCommerce and membership sites?
Yes. Commerce is where most of the interesting perf work lives. Cart fragments, dynamic product pages, search filters, admin-ajax and payment redirects all need the right cache bypass rules, not a flat page cache. We handle that without breaking checkout.
How long does a speed engagement take?
A focused audit and quick wins takes 1 to 2 weeks. A full remediation with backend, cache and edge work on a WooCommerce or large site takes 2 to 4 weeks. You get a firm timeline in the written scope before work begins.
Can you keep us fast after launch?
Yes. We wire a performance budget to CI so a pull request that regresses LCP or bundle size fails the build. Monthly retainers include field-data monitoring, budget reviews and quarterly regression sweeps so new plugins and content never quietly tank scores.
Start your audit
Tell us which site needs to be faster.
Share the URL, current pain points and any target metrics. A performance engineer will respond with a baseline snapshot and a written scope within one business day.
- Free baseline snapshot and written estimate within 24h
- Fixed quote before any work begins
- Performance engineer on your project from day one