Case Study · WordPress website (anonymized) · 2026
Core Web Vitals Restored: Without an Unnecessary Website Relaunch
By specifically restoring the performance infrastructure, a WordPress website's Core Web Vitals improved significantly — avoiding an unnecessary relaunch.
Load times in the red — and a relaunch was on the table
The affected WordPress website suffered a significant drop in load performance. Analysis of real Chrome user data showed a Largest Contentful Paint of 5.724 seconds at the 75th percentile — well outside Google's recommended range.
Significantly slow load time
The Largest Contentful Paint was far above the threshold Google recommends for a good user experience.
Real user data, not a single test
The poor numbers came from the Chrome UX Report — from real visits over an extended period, not a single lab test.
A full relaunch was on the table
The client was already considering rebuilding the website entirely — with the corresponding cost and the risk of having to redo existing content and functionality.
Unclear root cause
It wasn't yet known whether a targeted technical fix would even be enough.
Diagnosing the cause before deciding on a relaunch
Before starting a full relaunch, we analyzed the technical root cause of the performance problems. It turned out the entire website didn't need replacing — the existing optimization and delivery setup had simply stopped working correctly.
Technical root-cause analysis
Instead of jumping straight into a relaunch, we first investigated the actual technical cause of the performance problems.
Restore the performance infrastructure
The existing optimization and delivery setup was repaired, and optimized delivery of the site was re-established.
Verify functionality
After the fix, the site was checked for correct functionality instead of relying on a single good score alone.
Monitor over an extended period
Progress was tracked using Google's real Core Web Vitals field data over an extended period, not measured just once.
A targeted technical review can show whether an expensive relaunch can be avoided.
From the red into Google's good range — without a relaunch
The Largest Contentful Paint improved at the 75th percentile from 5.724 seconds to 1.116 seconds — an improvement of roughly 80.5%. The website moved from Google's poor Core Web Vitals range into the good range, while visual stability remained excellent throughout.
Unnecessary relaunch avoided
The existing website could keep running — a full rebuild wasn't necessary.
A noticeably faster website
The client got a website that's noticeably faster for real visitors, not just a better lab score.
Visual stability preserved
The CLS score stayed constant at 0.00 — content doesn't noticeably shift while loading.
Relaunch costs avoided
The effort, cost, and risk of redoing existing content and functionality from scratch didn't materialize.
Poor Core Web Vitals? Not every case needs a relaunch.
We start by analyzing the technical cause — and show whether an expensive rebuild can be avoided.
