Why Discovery is Crucial to Winning the Race

Every XWP project kicks off with a process called discovery, where we map our goals against a solution, explore current architecture, and account for any delivery risks. Here’s why this part of the process is so important if you want to outperform the competition. Success is a Marathon, Not a Sprint Let’s imagine you’re sitting […]

Richard Macko, discovery crucial to winning the race
The Four Pillars of Website Performance

It’s easy to think that “website performance” is just agency talk for how fast your website loads—but in reality, it’s about so much more. Here’s how we define performance success through four key pillars: Technology, User Experience, Retention & Conversion. Pillar One: Technology  The technology you use to build your site is the foundation for […]

XWP's 4 pillars of performance: Technology, UX, Conversions & Retention
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): User Speed Dating

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) is a Core Web Vitals metric that measures how long it takes for the largest element on a page to become visible in the browser. You can think of it like user speed dating: LCP is your chance to prove value quickly and keep the conversation flowing. In other words, first […]

A speed dating bell with icons for conversation, time, and love. This represents the fact that you have to make an impression quickly with LCP.
Core Web Vitals & SEO

Good performance has always been an advantage for SEO, but now it’s a requirement. Since the end of 2021, Google has been factoring page experience signals such as Core Web Vitals into their ranking criteria for websites, and those who don’t consider performance could see their SERP positions drop. Google has always been user-centric. From […]

First Input Delay (FID): Think of The Elevator Button

First Input Delay (FID) is a Core Web Vitals metric that measures the time between a user’s first interaction with a page and the browser’s response. You can liken it to calling an elevator: FID would be the time between pressing the call button and it lighting up, signaling that the request has been received. […]

The XWP Astroperson pressing the elevator button
3 Foundational Steps for Setting a Web Performance Budget

Setting a performance budget is the best way to ensure your website remains fast, accessible, and competitive—but knowing where to start can be tricky. Here are 3 foundational steps that will help you understand where you are, where you should be, and how to improve your web performance metrics. What is a Web Performance Budget? […]

What Are Google Core Web Vitals?

Page performance is a key aspect of maintaining a successful website. But what exactly does performance mean in this context, why is it important, and what benchmarks can you use to measure it? Luckily, we have Google to help us out. In one of their earlier Lighthouse updates, Google released Core Web Vitals, a system […]

Is that Plugin Secure?

A WordPress website is a lot like a house. WordPress, the CMS, provides the foundation, the theme is the walls, doors, windows, and utilities, while the plugins provide everything else: intricate crown molding, fancy furniture, and decorations. Just like with a house, you want to ensure you’re building your website with the highest-quality components possible. […]