DEV Community: Raja Muhammad Ali

A Practical Core Web Vitals Checklist for WordPress in 2026

Raja Muhammad Ali — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 12:08:50 +0000

WordPress carries a reputation for being slow. After building and optimizing a lot of WordPress sites, I can tell you the platform is rarely the real problem. The problem is almost always the configuration on top of it: too many plugins, unoptimized images, render-blocking assets, and a page builder shipping more CSS and JavaScript than the page will ever use.

Google's Core Web Vitals put hard numbers on this. If you want a WordPress site that loads fast, ranks better, and does not annoy your visitors, these are the metrics that matter and the fixes that actually move them. This is the same checklist I run through on real client builds, so it is field-tested rather than theoretical.

The three metrics you are being graded on

Core Web Vitals are three user-experience measurements Google uses as a ranking signal:

LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): how long the biggest visible element takes to render. Target: under 2.5 seconds.
INP (Interaction to Next Paint): how quickly the page responds when a user taps or clicks. This replaced FID in 2024 and it is stricter. Target: under 200 milliseconds.
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): how much the layout jumps around while loading. Target: under 0.1.

Everything below maps back to one or more of these three.

Fix your LCP first (biggest wins live here)

LCP is usually your hero image or hero heading, and it is where most WordPress sites lose the race in the first second.

1. Serve next-gen images and size them correctly. Convert JPEG and PNG assets to WebP. Never upload a 3000px image and let CSS scale it down to 600px. The browser still downloads the full file. Resize before upload, then let WordPress generate responsive sizes.

2. Preload the LCP image. If your hero image is the largest element, tell the browser to fetch it early:

<link rel="preload" as="image" href="/wp-content/uploads/hero.webp" fetchpriority="high">

3. Stop lazy-loading the hero. Lazy loading is great for below-the-fold images and terrible for the LCP element, because it delays the exact thing Google is timing. Exclude above-the-fold images from lazy loading.

4. Cache aggressively and put a CDN in front. A page cache turns dynamic PHP into static HTML, and a CDN serves that HTML from a location near the visitor. On my own stack I run a caching plugin paired with Cloudflare, and the LCP difference between "no cache" and "cache plus CDN" is not subtle. This is one of the highest-leverage changes you can make on a WordPress site.

Tame your INP (the metric most sites ignore)

INP punishes heavy JavaScript. WordPress sites accumulate scripts fast: analytics, chat widgets, sliders, form libraries, and whatever three plugins each decided to enqueue.

1. Audit what is actually loading. Open your browser DevTools, go to the Coverage tab, and record a page load. You will usually find large percentages of CSS and JavaScript that never execute on that page.

2. Delay non-critical JavaScript until interaction. Chat widgets, tracking pixels, and video embeds do not need to run before the user does anything. Most performance plugins can defer or delay these until the first scroll or tap, which frees up the main thread when it matters most.

3. Dequeue what you do not use. If a plugin loads a script or stylesheet site-wide but you only use it on one page, unload it everywhere else:

add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', function () {
    if ( ! is_page( 'contact' ) ) {
        wp_dequeue_style( 'contact-form-styles' );
        wp_dequeue_script( 'contact-form-script' );
    }
}, 100 );

4. Be honest about your page builder. Builders are productive, but they can be heavy. Turn off features you are not using, and prefer the lighter core widgets over add-on packs that inject extra libraries.

Kill layout shift (CLS)

CLS is the cheapest metric to fix and the most annoying to leave broken.

1. Set explicit width and height on images and iframes. This reserves the space before the asset loads, so nothing jumps.

2. Reserve space for ads and embeds. Any element that loads late should have a defined container height.

3. Fix your fonts. Web fonts cause a flash and a shift when they swap in. Self-host your fonts instead of pulling them from a third-party origin, preload the key weight, and use font-display: swap with a sensible fallback so text stays put:

@font-face {
  font-family: 'Inter';
  src: url('/fonts/inter.woff2') format('woff2');
  font-display: swap;
}

Database and plugin hygiene

Speed is not only front-end. A bloated database slows every request.

Delete plugins you deactivated but never removed. Deactivated is not gone.
Clean out post revisions, spam comments, and expired transients on a schedule.
Be ruthless about plugin count. Every plugin is code you did not write running on every request. Ten well-chosen plugins beat forty convenient ones.

Measure the right way

Two tools, two different jobs:

PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse give you lab data: a controlled test that tells you what to fix.
The Core Web Vitals report in Search Console gives you field data: what real visitors actually experienced. This is the one Google ranks on.

Chase the field data. A perfect Lighthouse score means little if real users on mid-range phones are still waiting three seconds for your hero image.

The order that works

If you only have an afternoon, do this in sequence:

Optimize and convert images, exclude the hero from lazy loading.
Install a caching plugin and connect a CDN.
Delay non-critical JavaScript.
Self-host and preload fonts.
Add explicit dimensions to media.
Clean the database and cut dead plugins.

That order front-loads the biggest gains, so you see the LCP and INP numbers drop before you have finished the small stuff.

I build custom WordPress websites for a living, and this checklist is roughly the speed optimization pass I run before any site goes live. WordPress can absolutely hit strong Core Web Vitals scores. It just will not do it by accident.

If you have a WordPress performance trick that consistently works for you, drop it in the comments. I am always collecting new ones.

How I Built an International Freelance Career From Pakistan — Lessons Learned

Raja Muhammad Ali — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 17:14:13 +0000

When I started freelancing in Pakistan, everyone around me said the same thing:
"International clients won't trust someone from Pakistan."

"You can't compete with developers from the US or UK."

"Stick to local clients — it's safer."

4 years later, I've worked with businesses across the UK, USA, UAE, and Australia. I've helped 30+ clients grow their online presence — and I run my own digital marketing consultancy at rajamuhammadali.com.

This is how I did it — and what I wish someone had told me when I started.

Where I Started

I didn't come from a privileged background or have any special connections.

I studied Computer Science at Virtual University of Pakistan. Like most CS students, I learned programming — but I quickly realized I was more interested in how websites actually helped businesses grow than in the code behind them.

That curiosity led me to WordPress. And WordPress led me to everything else.

My first "client" was a family member who needed a simple website. I charged nothing. The second client paid me ₨5,000 — roughly $18 at the time.

Not exactly a promising start.

The First Real Challenge — Trust

The biggest barrier for Pakistani freelancers isn't skill. It's trust.
International clients — especially from the UK and USA — have been burned before. They've hired cheap developers who disappeared, missed deadlines, or delivered terrible work. So when they see a profile from Pakistan, many immediately assume the worst.

I had to find a way to overcome that — without lying about where I was from.

Here's what actually worked:
1. I invested in my portfolio before I had clients
I built 3 real websites for free — for small local businesses who needed help. Not fake portfolio pieces. Real, live websites with real business owners I could use as references.

When international clients asked for examples, I had something concrete to show.

2. I got certified
I completed the Ahrefs SEO certification and Google Ads certification. Not because certifications make you an expert — they don't. But because they signal to clients that you take your work seriously enough to invest in learning.

It removed one more reason for a client to say no.

3. I built a professional website early
Too many Pakistani freelancers rely entirely on Upwork or Fiverr. I built rajamuhammadali.com early — even when it wasn't perfect. Having your own website instantly separates you from 90% of the competition.

A client can Google you and find something professional — not just a marketplace profile.

How I Got My First International Client

My first UK client didn't come from Upwork or Fiverr.

It came from a cold email.

I spent two weeks researching small businesses in the UK that had outdated or slow WordPress websites. I sent personalized emails — not templates — pointing out specific issues I noticed on their site and explaining how I could fix them.

Out of 50 emails, 3 responded. 1 became a paying client.
That one client led to a referral. That referral led to another. And slowly, the trust started building.

The lesson: Don't wait for clients to find you. Go find them. And when you do — be specific, be helpful, and be professional.

The Shift From Developer to Digital Marketer

About 2 years in, I noticed something.

Clients would hire me to build their website — and then struggle to get any traffic or leads from it. The website looked great. But it wasn't doing anything for their business.

I started learning SEO to solve this problem for my clients. Then Google Ads. Then Meta Ads. Then Social Media Marketing.

I realized that a great website without digital marketing is like a beautiful shop in the middle of a desert — nobody can find it.

So I repositioned myself. Instead of being a "WordPress Developer," I became a "Digital Marketing Expert who also builds WordPress websites."
That shift changed everything.

My average project value went up. My clients stayed longer. And I started attracting a completely different — and better — type of client.

What Working With International Clients Actually Looks Like

A lot of Pakistani freelancers have a romanticized idea of working with UK or US clients.

The reality is more nuanced.

The good:

The pay is significantly better
Clients are generally more professional and organized
Long-term relationships are more common
They respect expertise and pay for quality

The challenging:

Time zone differences are real — I often work late nights for UK clients
Communication standards are higher — vague updates are not acceptable
They will test you before they trust you — expect to prove yourself
Cultural differences in communication style take time to navigate

The most important thing I learned: international clients don't care where you're from — they care whether you deliver results.

Once you prove you can deliver — consistently, professionally, and transparently — your location becomes irrelevant.

The Tools That Made the Difference

Here's what I actually use to run my freelance business:

For SEO work:

Google Search Console — free and essential
Ahrefs — for keyword research and backlink analysis
Rank Math — for on-page SEO on WordPress sites
Screaming Frog — for technical SEO audits

For client management:

Calendly — for booking calls without the back-and-forth
WhatsApp + Email — yes, simple but effective
Google Drive — for sharing reports and deliverables

For my own marketing:

My WordPress website — rajamuhammadali.com
LinkedIn — for B2B outreach and content
Google Business Profile — for local visibility
Dev.to — starting now 😄

For paid ads work:

Google Ads Manager
Meta Business Suite
Google Analytics 4

None of these are secret tools. The difference isn't the tools — it's how consistently you use them.

Honest Lessons For Pakistani Freelancers Starting Out

After 4 years, here's what I actually believe:

1. Your location is a disadvantage — but not an insurmountable one
Yes, some clients will reject you because of where you're from. That's their loss. Focus on the ones who judge you by your work.

2. Cheap pricing is a trap
When I started, I undercharged because I was afraid clients wouldn't pay Pakistani rates. The problem is cheap pricing attracts cheap clients — and cheap clients are the most difficult to work with.

Charge what you're worth. The right clients will pay it.

3. Niche down earlier than you think you should
I wasted time trying to be everything to everyone — web developer, SEO, ads, social media, graphic design. The moment I focused on Digital Marketing for small businesses in the UK and USA, everything got easier.

4. Build your own platform — don't rent someone else's
Upwork and Fiverr can disappear tomorrow. Your own website, your own email list, your own LinkedIn — these belong to you. Build them from day one.

5. Communication will make or break you
Technical skills get you in the door. Communication keeps you there. Respond quickly. Be proactive. Send updates before clients ask for them. This alone will put you ahead of 80% of freelancers.

6. Consistency beats talent
I am not the most technically skilled developer or marketer in Pakistan. But I show up every day, I keep learning, and I deliver what I promise. That consistency has been worth more than any technical skill.

Where I Am Now

Today I run my digital marketing consultancy from Karachi, Pakistan — serving clients across the UK, USA, UAE, Australia, and Canada.

I offer SEO, Google Ads, Meta Ads, Social Media Marketing, and WordPress development — all under one roof at rajamuhammadali.com.

Is it perfect? No. I'm still learning every day.

But 4 years ago, everyone told me international clients would never trust someone from Pakistan.

They were wrong.

Final Thought

If you're a Pakistani developer or marketer reading this — don't let your location define your ceiling.

The internet doesn't care where you live. It cares what you can do.

Build your skills. Build your portfolio. Build your own platform. And then go find the clients who deserve your expertise.

The opportunity is there. Go take it.