About

We are seeking a skilled web performance optimisation specialist to enhance the page speed of our website. The primary focus will be on the homepage, with improvements extending site-wide through reusable optimisations. We are planning to expand the website in the coming months due to new products, so hopefully this will be the start of an ongoing professional relationship. Platform: WordPress + WooCommerce + Elementor Objective To significantly improve the page speed performance, stability, and overall Core Web Vitals of the website. The primary focus is the homepage, but improvements should extend site-wide through reusable optimisations (header, footer, theme files, global CSS/JS). Background UK-based company and e-commerce brand. The current website is built using WordPress, with WooCommerce for the store and Elementor for page layout and design. While the site is visually consistent and functional, it currently exhibits measurable performance bottlenecks — including high layout shift, excessive render-blocking resources, and redundant CSS/JS. The goal is not aesthetic redesign, but structural optimisation and clean technical performance. While Pagespeed is a good measure, we do not wish to sacrifice usability for a perfect score. We want a fast loading and well usable site. Scope of Work 1. Performance Audit Perform a full Core Web Vitals audit using Lighthouse, PageSpeed Insights, and Chrome DevTools. Identify the top issues contributing to: Slow Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) High Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) Delayed Time to Interactive (TTI) Excessive DOM and render-blocking resources Deliver an annotated report detailing: Current scores (mobile and desktop) Root causes Recommended fixes, ordered by performance gain vs. complexity 2. CSS Optimisation Locate and remove unused CSS safely (from theme, Elementor, and plugin sources). Minify, combine, and/or async-load CSS files where appropriate. Inline critical above-the-fold CSS to improve First Contentful Paint (FCP). 3. JavaScript Optimisation Audit and remove unused or redundant JavaScript, particularly from: Elementor frontend scripts WooCommerce fragments and tracking scripts Jetpack and third-party plugin assets Defer or async non-critical scripts while ensuring functional parity. Optimise inline JS execution and dependency loading order. 4. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) Reduction Analyse all elements contributing to layout shift, especially: Hero/product images (set aspect ratios and pre-load key assets) Elementor containers with dynamic heights Font loading (implement font-display: swap and metric-consistent fallbacks) Confirm CLS less than 0.03 on mobile and desktop. 5. Header and Footer Rebuild (Performance-Oriented) Rewrite or restructure the header and footer sections to: Minimize DOM depth and dependency on Elementor for simple static elements. Use clean code, static CSS, and inline SVG icons where possible to minimise load time. Ensure deferred menu scripts and lightweight navigation behaviour. Preserve all existing design and functional integrity (e.g., WooCommerce cart, site navigation). 6. Testing and Validation Verify performance improvements through: Google PageSpeed Insights (target 90+ on mobile) GTmetrix (target Grade A) Chrome DevTools Core Web Vitals overlay Confirm no functional or design regressions. Provide before/after performance comparison report. Technical Stack CMS: WordPress Theme: Biagotti Main plugins: WooCommerce, Jetpack Boost, FunnelKit Hosting: WordPress.com Deliverables Optimised, stable, and CLS-free (or close to 0) homepage Reduced total CSS/JS payload size by at least 40% Inline and asynchronous delivery of critical resources Documented summary of all modifications (CSS, JS, and template changes) Before-and-after performance audit with test data Deliverable Format Staging site, git or ZIP archive of modified files Documentation describing: Files edited and why Before/after load metrics Optional suggestions for future optimisation Ideal Candidate Profile Expertise in WordPress Deep understanding of Elementor, WooCommerce, and render pipelines Demonstrable portfolio of WordPress performance improvements (provide URLs + metrics) Estimated Duration 2 to 3 weeks (including testing and validation phase)