Sound familiar?
- Pages take several seconds to show anything at all
- PageSpeed Insights scores you in the red on mobile
- The WordPress admin area is painfully slow to save posts
- Images load slowly or jump into place as the page loads
- Your site slows down badly when an email campaign goes out
- Search Console reports "poor URLs" under Core Web Vitals
Key facts
- We measure first: Time to First Byte, page weight, request count and Core Web Vitals, before changing anything
- Common fixes: page caching, image compression and WebP/AVIF, removing unused plugins, deferring JavaScript
- Database clean-up for WordPress: autoloaded options, expired transients, post revisions
- Server-side checks: PHP version, OPcache, object caching and whether your hosting plan is simply too small
- Every change is tested on a staging copy or backed up first
- Ad-hoc speed work is £45 an hour + VAT, minimum 30 minutes then 15-minute blocks
Why your website is slow
A slow site is almost never down to one thing. In our experience it is usually a stack of small problems: a cheap shared hosting plan, a page builder loading every script on every page, uncompressed photos straight off a phone, and a dozen plugins that each add their own CSS and JavaScript.
The first number we look at is Time to First Byte (TTFB), the time your server takes to start sending the page. If that is over a second, no amount of image tweaking will make the site feel quick, because the problem is the server, PHP or the database. If TTFB is fine but the page still crawls, the issue is on the front end: page weight, render-blocking scripts, fonts and third-party tags.
How dijitul support speeds a site up
We work in a fixed order so the biggest wins come first:
- Measure. We run PageSpeed Insights, WebPageTest and the browser's own performance tools, and check real-user data in Search Console where you have it.
- Fix the server side. Current PHP version, OPcache enabled, page caching set up properly, and object caching (Redis or Memcached) where the host supports it.
- Cut page weight. Resize and compress images, serve WebP or AVIF, lazy-load images below the fold, and stop loading full-size originals in thumbnails.
- Trim scripts. Remove or replace heavy plugins, defer non-critical JavaScript, stop sliders and chat widgets loading on pages that do not use them.
- Clean the database. On WordPress that means clearing expired transients, old revisions, spam comments and bloated autoloaded options in wp_options.
- Re-test and report. You get the before and after numbers in plain English.
Hosting: when the server is the bottleneck
Sometimes the honest answer is that the site has outgrown its hosting. Signs include high TTFB even with caching on, "resource limit reached" errors, and slowdowns at busy times. We will show you the evidence and explain the options, from a better plan with your current host to a move elsewhere. We are just as happy to tune the server you already have, and if a move does make sense, see website migration support.
The usual suspects we find
Across WordPress, WooCommerce and other CMS sites, the same culprits come up again and again:
- A homepage slider loading five full-width images, only one of which anyone sees
- Google Fonts, Font Awesome and two icon packs all loaded on every page
- A contact form plugin loading its scripts site-wide when the form is on one page
- Embedded YouTube videos and Google Maps loading in full before anyone clicks them
- Several tracking tags duplicated across the theme, a plugin and Google Tag Manager
- Cron jobs, backups or broken-link checkers running during busy hours
Each one alone costs a little. Together they can add seconds to every page.
What we will not do
We do not chase a perfect 100 score for its own sake. A score is a lab test on a simulated phone; what matters is how fast the site feels to your customers and whether it passes Google's Core Web Vitals on real visits. We also avoid stacking three "optimisation" plugins on top of each other, which often makes things worse and breaks layouts. If a fix carries risk, such as combining scripts on a WooCommerce checkout, we test it on a staging copy first.
If your main concern is the Search Console report itself, see our page on Core Web Vitals fixes.
Cost and keeping it fast
Most speed jobs are one-off work at £45 an hour + VAT, with a 30-minute minimum and then 15-minute blocks. We will tell you up front roughly how long we expect it to take. Speed tends to drift as plugins are added and content grows, so many clients then move onto a monthly support plan: Essential at £25 a month + VAT covers updates, backups and monitoring, and Business at £50 a month + VAT adds an hour of fixes each month, which is enough to keep on top of performance. Get in touch with your web address and we will take a first look.
What it costs
Support plans from £25 a month + VAT, or £45 an hour + VAT for one-off fixes. Pick a plan if you want it looked after every month, or pay by the hour for a one-off job.
Essential
Keep it updated, backed up and watched.
- Website software updates (core, plugins, themes) applied and checked
- Daily backups
- Uptime monitoring
- Security monitoring
Business
Updates plus an hour of fixes every month.
- Everything in Essential
- 1 hour of fixes or changes every month
- Priority support
Complete
Website and your team's IT, covered.
- Everything in Business
- 3 hours of fixes or changes every month
- IT and Microsoft 365 helpdesk for your team
No plan? The first 30 minutes are the minimum charge, then we bill in 15-minute blocks.
Frequently asked questions
How much does website speed optimisation cost?
dijitul support charges £45 an hour + VAT for one-off speed work, with a 30-minute minimum then 15-minute blocks. We estimate the time before starting. If you want performance kept in check every month, the Business plan at £50 a month + VAT includes an hour of fixes each month.
Will you get my PageSpeed score to 100?
Not necessarily, and you rarely need to. The lab score is a simulation. We aim for a fast real-world experience and passing Core Web Vitals in Google's field data, which is what affects visitors and search. On many sites that lands in the 80s or 90s on mobile, but it depends on your theme and third-party scripts.
Is my hosting the reason my site is slow?
It can be. If Time to First Byte stays high even with page caching switched on, the server, PHP version or database is usually at fault rather than the page itself. We test this first so you do not pay for front-end tweaks that cannot help.
Do you need to rebuild my website to make it faster?
Usually not. Most of the gains come from caching, image handling, removing heavy plugins and server settings. A rebuild only makes sense if the theme or page builder itself is the main problem, and we will tell you plainly if that is the case and quote it separately.
Can you speed up a WooCommerce or Shopify shop?
Yes. WooCommerce speed work focuses on caching rules that exclude the basket and checkout, database clean-up and slow product queries. On Shopify we look at theme code, app scripts and image sizes, because the hosting side is managed by Shopify.
Will speed changes break my site?
We take a backup or work on a staging copy first and test key pages, forms and checkout after each change. If something does misbehave, we roll it back. Aggressive script combining and minifying is where most breakage happens, so we apply it selectively.
Related
Get it fixed
One-off fixes are £45 an hour + VAT. You'll know the likely cost before we start.