A faster WordPress site, kept fast.
Caching, image work, database cleanup and fast hosting, tuned for your site and checked every week, as part of your plan.
Something wrong today?
Slow usually has three or four causes stacked on top of each other. Start with the one that matches and we take it from there.
Pages take seconds to show, especially on phones. We measure, then fix the real causes.
Get it fixed Broken by an updateA plugin or theme update took the layout or the whole site down. We roll it back first.
Get it fixed DownAn error page, a blank screen or nothing at all. We find out why and bring it back.
Get it fixed Checkout failingOrders stall or payments fail. We test the checkout end to end and fix what stops it.
Get it fixedHow we make it fast.
We measure
We check your speed on phones and desktops and find what’s slowing it down.
We tune the server
Fast hosting, page caching and the latest PHP, set up for your site.
We fix the site
Images, heavy plugins, database bloat and scripts that load too early.
We keep it fast
Speed is checked every week, so updates and new content don’t slow it back down.
The numbers Google watches, in plain words.
Google scores pages on three things it calls Core Web Vitals. Our targets are below. For reference, this page you are reading scores 91 for performance on Lighthouse desktop with an LCP of 1.4 seconds.
- LCP, Largest Contentful Paint. How long until the biggest thing on the page shows. Target: under 2.5 seconds, we aim for under 1.5.
- INP, Interaction to Next Paint. How quickly the page reacts when you tap or click. Target: under 200 milliseconds.
- CLS, Cumulative Layout Shift. How much the page jumps around while loading. Target: under 0.1, ideally near zero.
- TTFB, Time to First Byte. How fast the server answers at all. Target: under 0.5 seconds, which is a hosting job.
Speed work, step by step.
Most of it happens at the server, where a plugin cannot reach. The rest is careful work on the site itself, checked after every change.
Server-level caching
Finished pages are kept in memory at the server and handed straight to visitors. WordPress only runs when something changed. Logged-in users, carts and checkouts are left out of the cache so stores keep working.
Image conversion and sizing
Photos are converted to modern formats, resized to the size they are shown at, and loaded only when they scroll into view. This alone often halves the weight of a page.
PHP version and OPcache
We run a current PHP version with OPcache on, so your site’s code is compiled once and reused. Old PHP versions are slower and stop getting security fixes.
Database cleanup
Old post revisions, expired transients, spam comments and leftover tables from removed plugins are cleared every week. Slow queries are found and indexed.
Render-blocking plugins
We find scripts and styles that load on every page but are used on one, and load them only where they are needed. Heavy plugins get a lighter replacement suggested.
Fonts and CDN
Fonts are hosted on your own domain, trimmed to the characters you use and set to show text immediately. Images, scripts and styles are served from a network of edge locations close to your visitors.
You never have to ask “any update?”
Every request gets a live status in plain English from the moment it lands, right in your dashboard.
- Nine clear states, not just Open and Closed
- Every status change, timestamped
- Close finished work with one click, or send it back
- Your sites, backups, billing and uptime in the same place
Speed work that’s more than a plugin.
Page caching
Pages served from cache at the server, so visitors don’t wait for WordPress to build them.
Images
Oversized photos resized and compressed, so pages load fast on phones.
Database cleanup
Old revisions, expired data and bloated settings cleared every week.
Fast hosting
Modern servers with the latest PHP, sized to what your site needs.
Heavy plugins
We find the plugins dragging your site down and suggest lighter ones.
Weekly speed checks
Mobile and desktop scores measured every week and shown in your report.
What a speed plugin cannot fix.
Caching plugins are useful and we use the server-side kind. But most of what makes a WordPress site slow is out of a plugin’s reach.
Out of a plugin’s reach
Slow hosting. If the server takes 1.5 seconds to answer, no plugin makes that faster. TTFB is fixed by better hosting and server caching, nothing else.
Too many plugins. A plugin cannot remove other plugins. Forty plugins each adding a script and a style sheet is a weight problem only a person can solve.
An old PHP version. Moving from PHP 7.4 to a current version is one of the biggest speed gains available and it happens at the server.
A bloated database. Years of revisions and leftover tables slow every query. Cleanup plugins exist, but they need a person to decide what is safe to delete.
A heavy theme or page builder. If the builder loads a megabyte of code before your content, the fix is configuration and sometimes rebuilding a template, not a cache.
How we measure
We test with Lighthouse on a throttled phone connection and on desktop, plus real-visitor data from Google where it exists. Before any work starts you get the starting numbers. After the first pass you get the new ones. Then we check every week so new content and plugin updates do not drag it back down.
Our own site is the first thing we test everything on. Today upstrike.co scores 91 for performance on Lighthouse desktop with LCP at 1.4 seconds. The figures on this page for other sites are targets we work toward, not promises, because every site starts from a different place.
A speed score is not the goal. Pages that show quickly, react when tapped and do not jump around are the goal. The score follows.
A caching plugin vs a speed agency vs Upstrike.
A plugin is cheap and limited. An agency does a one-time job and leaves. We do the work and then keep it that way every week.
| What you get | A caching plugin | A speed agency | UPSTRIKE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | $0 to $60 a year | $500 to $3,000 one time | Part of every plan, from $99 a month |
| Server-level caching | Plugin-level only | If your host allows it | Yes, at the server |
| Hosting and PHP version | Cannot change | Recommends a move | Included and current |
| Image conversion | Some, on your server | One pass | Ongoing, every upload |
| Database cleanup | Basic | One pass | Every week |
| Removing heavy plugins | No | Recommendations | Done, with your OK |
| Checked again after changes | No | Not after handover | Every week, in your report |
| If something breaks | You turn it off | Within the project window | We fix it, free |
Who this is for, and who it isn’t for.
This is for you if
- Your site feels slow on a phone and you have already tried a caching plugin
- You run ads or rank in Google and bounce rate matters
- Your WooCommerce store is slow at checkout
- You want the speed to stay after it is fixed, not fade over six months
- You want to see before and after numbers, measured the same way
Probably not for you if
- You want a one-time speed job on hosting we do not control (the server is half of the work)
- Your site is a single static page that already loads in under a second
- You are looking for a guaranteed score (we give targets and measurements, not guarantees)
- Your site is not WordPress
Included in every plan.
Hosting, care, security and support in one monthly price. Higher plans add development time from our team.
WP Shield
Hosting and care for your site, handled every day. Development when you need it.
- Managed WordPress hosting
- Daily plugin, theme and core updates
- Nightly off-server backups
- 24/7 monitoring and emergency response
- Real-time firewall and malware protection
- Automatic malware cleanup
- Free whole-site troubleshooting
- Developer-level support
WP Boost
Most popularHosting and care, plus a developer who knows your site.
- Everything in WP Shield
- 1 hour of development each month
- Small updates without using your hour
- Proactive recommendations
- WooCommerce store care
WP Pro
Ongoing development with a dedicated point of contact.
- Everything in WP Boost
- 3 hours of development each month
- A dedicated point of contact
- Priority handling
WP Scale
Your complete web team: hosting, development and strategy.
- Everything in WP Pro
- 8 hours of development each month
- First-priority queue
- Strategy calls and consulting
No contracts, cancel any time, and your data is always yours. More sites are $79 a month each and share your plan's hours.
Which plan is right for you?
Sites that rarely change
Your site needs to stay safe, fast and online, but you rarely need changes.
Growing businesses
Your site brings in leads or sales and you sometimes need a developer for tweaks and fixes.
Busy sites and stores
You update every week, add features, or run a WooCommerce store.
Sites that drive growth
You want priority handling, strategy calls and real development time every month.
Questions, answered.
More on the full FAQ page, or email [email protected] and a real person will reply.
See plansIs speed optimization extra?
No. It’s part of every plan: fast hosting, page caching, database cleanup and weekly speed checks. Larger rebuilds use your development time.
Can’t I just install a caching plugin?
A plugin helps, but it can’t fix slow hosting, a bloated database, huge images or plugins doing too much. We work on all of it.
Will it break anything?
We check your key pages after every change, the same way we check updates, and roll back anything that looks different.
How much faster will my site get?
It depends on where you start. Most of the gain usually comes from hosting, caching and images. We measure before and after so you can see the difference.
Does it last?
Yes, because we keep checking. Speed is measured every week, so a new plugin or a heavy page gets caught early.
Can you speed up WooCommerce stores?
Yes. Stores need careful caching so carts and checkout keep working, and that’s part of WooCommerce store care on WP Boost and up.
What is a good Lighthouse score?
Google calls 90 and above good. On desktop most well-built sites can get there. On phones it is harder because of the throttled test connection, so we focus on the three Core Web Vitals passing in real-visitor data, which is what Google actually uses for ranking.
Do you guarantee a score?
No. We give you the starting numbers, targets, and the new numbers after the work. Every site starts from a different place and some themes and plugins have limits. What we do promise is that we keep working on it as part of your plan.
Will caching break my WooCommerce store or members area?
Not the way we set it up. Logged-in users, carts, checkout and account pages are excluded from the cache, so they are always live. Everything else is cached and served fast.
Can you speed up a site built with Elementor or Divi?
Yes. Page builders add weight, but most of it can be managed: loading builder scripts only where they are used, trimming fonts and icons, and converting images. We work in your builder rather than replacing it.
What is a CDN and do I need one?
A CDN keeps copies of your images, scripts and styles in many locations so visitors download them from a nearby one. It is included on every plan and switched on when we set up your site.
Do I need to change my theme to get fast?
Rarely. Most sites get most of the gain from hosting, caching, images and plugin cleanup without touching the theme. If the theme really is the problem we tell you, with numbers, and you decide.
Hand off your WordPress site today.
Pick a plan, check out in two minutes, and we take it from there.