Project context
The setting
A content-heavy WordPress site required diagnosis of slow mobile loading before optimization work could be scoped.
Challenge
The problem to solve
The initial Lighthouse record showed a 6.8-second LCP alongside render-blocking CSS and JavaScript, heavy front-end resources, and a complex request chain.
My role and scope
What I was responsible for
I audited representative mobile loading behaviour, traced the rendering path and LCP discovery, and prepared the prioritized technical roadmap.
Investigation and reasoning
- Reviewed render-blocking CSS and JavaScript
- Traced LCP discovery and critical request chains
- Checked front-end asset loading and mobile rendering delays
Approach and implementation
- Quantified the initial performance state
- Grouped findings by likely impact and dependency
- Prepared a focused implementation roadmap
Audit Findings
Audit Findings & Diagnostic Baselines
Baseline measurements and diagnostic savings potential identified during the initial investigation (not delivered after-state claims).
This was an audit engagement. It identified approximately three seconds of potential render-blocking savings, but the portfolio contains no post-implementation measurement and therefore claims no delivered speed gain.
- Initial LCP
- 6.8s
- Initial FCP
- 2.6s
- Estimated opportunity
- ~3s
Render-blocking estimate
Evidence note
Initial Lighthouse record: FCP 2.6s, LCP 6.8s, TBT 200ms, CLS 0, Speed Index 4.3s. No after-state is stored.
Constraints and lessons
What this work made clear
- Potential savings are diagnostic estimates, not guaranteed outcomes
- A roadmap should distinguish quick delivery changes from deeper template work