Service / 09
Slow.
Fragile.
Sorted.
Senior freelance support for fixing slow, fragile WordPress sites. Performance, security, plugin cleanup, and the maintenance work that stops small issues turning into expensive ones.
Service / 09 / Capabilities
What's covered.
Speed fixes
Slow WordPress sites are usually death by a thousand cuts. I work through themes, plugins, images, scripts, caching, and hosting bottlenecks.
Plugin and theme cleanup
Bloated plugins, abandoned themes, duplicate functionality. I'll strip out what is causing risk and replace it with something maintainable.
Security hardening
Updates, access controls, backups, basic hardening, and recovery planning. Enough to reduce the usual WordPress drama.
Headless or rebuild paths
If WordPress should stay as a CMS but not as the frontend, I can help move it toward a headless setup or a cleaner rebuild.
10+ years senior delivery
Why me
Senior delivery you don't have to project-manage.
Most WordPress problems are not one big failure. They are lots of small decisions stacked on top of each other. I work through them systematically, get the site back into a safer state, and leave handover notes so your team is not dependent on me afterwards.
- Site is slow and no one is sure why
- Plugin updates keep breaking production
- Security issues or suspicious behaviour need attention
- Codebase is too fragile to hand off confidently
- Migration path needed without tearing everything up
Engagement / Snapshot
A typical wordpress optimization engagement.
Lead time
<7
Days to start, contract permitting
Length
4-12
Weeks for fixed-scope work
Reply
<24
Hours, every working day
Day rate
POA
Quoted per engagement
FAQ / WordPress Optimization
Frequently asked
Q · 01
Do you only work on WordPress sites you built?
No. Most of this work is on inherited sites where the theme, plugin stack, or hosting setup needs untangling first.
Q · 02
Can you help without a full rebuild?
Yes. Most WordPress jobs are fix-and-stabilise projects, not total rebuilds. I only recommend rebuilding when the numbers justify it.
Q · 03
Do you handle hosting and migrations too?
Yes. If the site needs a hosting move, a safer deployment flow, or a staged migration, I can handle that as part of the work.
How I work
Remote-first. Async by default.
Inspired by Remote and the way Basecamp ran a distributed team without burning anyone out. Meetings are expensive, writing is cheap, and momentum belongs to whoever can make a decision without a calendar invite.
01 / Specs
Specs before code
A short written spec covering problem, scope, and acceptance before anything gets built. Cuts rework, makes review easier, and means we never argue about what was agreed.
02 / Workstreams
Workstreams over standups
Active work lives in tickets and PRs with running notes. Async updates instead of daily standups, so deep work is the default and meetings only happen when they earn it.
03 / Loom > Zoom
Loom over meetings
Most reviews and walkthroughs go out as a 5-minute Loom you can watch at 2× when convenient. We jump on Meet / Zoom / Teams when the topic actually needs a conversation.
Channels / Tools
Slack
Async, threaded, no expectation of instant reply
Loom
PR walkthroughs, demos, design reviews
Google Meet / Zoom / Teams
Booked when conversation > writing
Linear / Jira / GitHub
Source of truth for the work
Notion / Docs
Specs, decision records, retros
Related / Other services
More ways I work.
The pitch
I write the code, talk to your team, and ship what we agreed. No agencies. No PMs. No surprises.
James Donnelly
Freelance developer · Manchester