Client Overview

Our client, a popular web publisher based in South Africa, stands out for its robust content strategy, producing over 100 unique articles daily and having amassed an impressive library of more than 230,000 articles to date. As a cornerstone of digital storytelling in their region, The South African required not only an engaging user experience but also a scalable, high-performance infrastructure capable of supporting rapid growth in traffic and ad revenue.

Challenge

The client’s original platform, built on Next.js and Headless WordPress, presented several challenges:

1. Performance and Scalability Issues: The platform struggled to meet Core Web Vitals (CWV) standards, particularly for mobile users, impacting the user experience and SEO rankings.
2. Complex Architecture: The existing Next.js and Headless WordPress setup was overly complex, making maintenance cumbersome and optimization efforts resource-intensive.
3. Design Limitations: The design needed a refresh to better engage users and reflect the brand’s vibrancy and mission.
4. Ad Revenue Stagnation: Suboptimal page load times and poor CWV scores negatively affected ad impressions and revenue.

Solution

To address these challenges, our team embarked on a two-pronged approach:

1. Migrating the Platform to Standalone WordPress
2. Continuous Optimization Post-Migration

These 2 steps allowed us to deliver transformative results, including exceptional Core Web Vitals scores (95+ on mobile, 99-100 on desktop), industry-leading INP optimization and enhanced SEO performance. These improvements led to a 400% increase in ad revenue and a better user experience with lower bounce rates and longer session durations.

Let’s break down our action plan: 

1. Migration from Next.js + Headless WP to Standalone WordPress

The migration process was not merely a replication exercise. It was an opportunity to reimagine the platform, enhancing its design and functionality. Key steps included:

• Design Overhaul: Improved the look and feel of the website to create a more engaging user experience while retaining familiarity for existing users.
• Simplified Architecture: Transitioned to standalone WordPress, significantly reducing technical complexity and enhancing maintainability.
• Data Migration: Seamlessly transferred over 230,000 articles, ensuring zero downtime and data integrity.

2. Ongoing Front-End and Back-End Optimizations

Post-migration, we implemented a series of sophisticated optimizations aimed at maximizing performance, particularly on mobile devices:

Front-End Optimizations

• Critical JS & CSS Bundling and Splitting: Utilizing an advanced Webpack configuration, we bundled and split critical JavaScript and CSS files to ensure only essential resources were loaded upfront.
• Image Lazy Loading: Deployed lazy loading to reduce initial page weight, improving load times.
• Speculative Loading of Internal Pages: Preloaded internal pages based on user navigation patterns to enhance perceived speed.
• Preloading and Resource Hinting: Optimized loading order of resources to reduce render-blocking elements.
• Lazy Loading and Deferring Ads: Deferred ad scripts until user interaction to prioritize content visibility.
• Delaying Non-Critical Resources: Introduced a delay for non-essential front-end scripts, such as analytics, until after user interaction.

Back-End Optimizations

• Redis Cache Integration: Improved server response times and database query efficiency through Redis caching.
• Slow Query Analysis and Optimization: Regularly analyzed slow query logs and optimized database performance.
• Pagely’s PressThumb Service: Leveraged Pagely’s image optimization service to deliver optimized images tailored to user devices.
• Unused Asset Cleanup: Audited and removed unused assets based on web coverage reports, reducing overall payload size.
• Advanced Embed Lazy Loading: Implemented lazy loading for embedded content, including Twitter, YouTube, and comment sections.

Results

The results of these efforts were transformative, delivering exceptional improvements across key metrics and business outcomes:

Core Web Vitals (CWV):

• Mobile Devices: Scores improved to over 95/100, even under throttled network and computing conditions.
• Desktop Devices: Achieved near-perfect scores of 99/100 or 100/100.
• INP (Interaction to Next Paint): Optimized to industry-leading levels.

Traffic and SEO:

• Enhanced CWV metrics and faster load times led to improved SEO performance, significantly boosting organic traffic.

Ad Revenue:

• The combined impact of increased traffic and faster ad rendering resulted in a 400% increase in ad impressions and revenue within 5 months.

User Experience:

• The redesign and optimizations resulted in lower bounce rates and longer session durations, highlighting improved user engagement.

Conclusion

By migrating to standalone WordPress and implementing continuous optimization strategies, we enabled our client to achieve industry-leading performance and unlock massive growth in traffic and revenue. The success of this project underscores the value of a strategic approach to platform transformation, combining technical expertise with a deep understanding of user needs.

Key Takeaways

• Migrating to a simplified and optimized architecture, like standalone WordPress, can significantly enhance performance and scalability.
• Advanced front-end and back-end optimizations are essential for achieving top-tier CWV scores and delivering superior user experiences.
• Performance improvements have a direct and measurable impact on SEO, traffic, and ad revenue, creating a virtuous cycle of growth.

This case study demonstrates our commitment to delivering impactful, scalable, and user-focused solutions that drive business success.