Anthony McGrathWhat does WordPress speed optimisation involve?
WordPress speed optimisation covers diagnosis, front-end fixes, images and media, server and caching, plugins and tags and proof. Most slow WordPress sites suffer from the same few problems: too many plugins loading scripts on every page, a heavy theme or page builder, oversized images, slow hosting and third-party tags fighting for the browser. Anthony McGrath does the work himself, with 22 years in digital marketing, for businesses in the UK, the US, Dubai and Australia.
- Best for
- Businesses, publishers and service firms running, or moving to, WordPress
- What you get
- Diagnosis, Front-end fixes, Images and media, Server and caching, Plugins and tags, Proof
- First step
- Talk it through: a short call about your site, who it is for and what it needs to do better.
- Where
- The UK, the US, Dubai and Australia, working remotely across time zones
- Who does the work
- Anthony McGrath, hands-on, with 22 years in digital marketing
Why WordPress sites get slow
Most slow WordPress sites suffer from the same few problems: too many plugins loading scripts on every page, a heavy theme or page builder, oversized images, slow hosting and third-party tags fighting for the browser.
Caching plugins hide some of it, but they do not fix the cause and often break things. I find what is actually slowing each page, fix it at the source and measure the result in Core Web Vitals and real user data.
What's included
A full speed fix, from server to browser, with before and after numbers.
Diagnosis
- PageSpeed, Lighthouse and CrUX field data
- Request waterfall for key pages
- Plugin and theme impact report
- Hosting and server checks
Front-end fixes
- Unused CSS and JavaScript removed
- Scripts deferred or delayed safely
- Fonts self-hosted and preloaded
- Layout shift fixed
Images and media
- WebP and AVIF conversion
- Correct sizes and lazy loading
- Video embeds that load on click
- CDN delivery
Server and caching
- Page, object and browser caching
- PHP version and database tune-up
- Cloudflare set up properly
- Hosting advice if it is the bottleneck
Plugins and tags
- Heavy plugins replaced or removed
- Third-party tags moved to Tag Manager
- Chat widgets and embeds tamed
- Cron and background jobs tidied
Proof
- Before and after report
- Core Web Vitals monitoring
- Tracking checked after changes
- A plan to keep it fast
Before and after
An example of a typical WordPress speed project on a busy business site.
- Mobile PageSpeed score: 24 before, 92 after
- Largest Contentful Paint: 5.9s before, 1.6s after
- Cumulative Layout Shift: 0.31 before, 0.02 after
- Conversion rate: 1.4% before, 2.1% after
An example of the kind of change this work aims for, based on typical starting points. It is not a promise or a specific client result: every business starts somewhere different.
How it works
- Talk it throughA short call about your site, who it is for and what it needs to do better.
- Plan and priceA written plan: pages, features, plugins, timings and a fixed price for each stage.
- Build and testBuilt on a staging copy, tested on real phones and browsers, checked for speed and accessibility.
- Launch and look afterLaunched with redirects, tracking and backups in place, then kept updated and secure.
Platforms and tools
Questions
How fast can you make my WordPress site?
Most sites reach a mobile PageSpeed score in the 80s or 90s and pass Core Web Vitals. I will give you a realistic target after the first check.
Will speeding up my site break anything?
All changes are made and tested on a staging copy first, including forms, checkout and tracking, before anything goes live.
Do I need new hosting?
Sometimes. If the server is the bottleneck I will tell you, with clear options. Often the biggest gains come from fixing the site itself.
Does page speed affect Google rankings?
Yes. Core Web Vitals are part of how Google ranks pages, and faster pages convert better and lower your ad costs.
About Anthony McGrath
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A UK-based freelance digital marketer with 22 years across Shopify, WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento, conversion rate optimisation, funnels, Google, Meta and TikTok ads, SEO and tracking. He works directly with businesses in the UK, the US, Dubai and Australia, so the person who plans the work is the person who does it. More about Anthony or connect with him on LinkedIn.
Is your WordPress site slowing you down?
Send me the URL. You get a clear list of what is slowing it down and a fixed price to fix it.
Get your site speed checked