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Beginner to intermediate, Blue run Grow

Make your WordPress site fast, and prove it

A practical course on speed and Core Web Vitals for WordPress and Elementor sites. Fix slow hosting, heavy images, plugin bloat and layout shifts, step by step, then hand over a before/after report you can be proud of.

Recording now. Join the waitlist and you will hear first, with an early-bird price.

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8Modules
45Lessons
8.5 hoursVideo
2Hours of 1:1 included
Beginner to intermediateLevel
Full courseCapstone, exam and certificate

Sound familiar?

Your site takes too long to load on a phone, PageSpeed Insights is full of red, and Search Console says your pages need improvement. You have tried a caching plugin, maybe two, and something broke. Every guide gives you a list of 30 settings with no idea which ones matter for your site. You need a calm, safe process that tells you what to fix first and how to check you have not broken anything.

What you'll build

A genuinely faster version of your own WordPress site: right-sized modern images, a properly configured cache, efficient fonts, Elementor's performance features switched on, fewer plugins and a clean database, all backed by a before/after report showing exactly what changed.

By the end you'll be able to

  • Measure speed properly: explain the difference between lab and field data, read PageSpeed Insights and CrUX, and know the Core Web Vitals thresholds (LCP 2.5s, INP 200ms, CLS 0.1 at the 75th percentile).
  • Judge whether hosting is holding a site back, and choose sensible PHP, server and caching options.
  • Configure a caching plugin safely, including page caching, CSS and JavaScript optimisation, and test that nothing has broken.
  • Optimise images: modern formats (WebP and AVIF), correct sizing, lazy loading, and prioritising the LCP image.
  • Load fonts and icons efficiently and remove layout shifts they cause.
  • Use Elementor's own performance settings and build pages that stay light.
  • Audit plugins and third-party scripts, clean up the database and set up a CDN.
  • Produce a clear before/after speed report for yourself, a manager or a client.

Capstone project

Finish with something real

Build it on your own site, or a practice brief if you do not have one, and submit it for personal written feedback from Shaz. Pass the capstone and the final exam to earn your certificate.

Who it's for

  • Small business owner / self-employed. Her site "feels slow" on her phone and she has seen red scores in PageSpeed Insights. She wants to fix the biggest problems herself, understand whether her hosting is the issue and stop paying for plugins she does not need.
  • Marketer with an inherited site. Has an Elementor site with 40 plugins, three page builders' worth of leftovers and a failing Core Web Vitals report in Search Console. Needs a safe, step-by-step process and a before/after report she can show her manager.
  • Career changer / aspiring freelancer. Builds client sites in Elementor and wants them fast from day one, plus a paid "speed audit and fix" service he can sell. The before/after report template doubles as a client deliverable.
  • Hobbyist. On cheap shared hosting with a photo-heavy site. Will get most of his gains from images, caching and a free CDN.

Who it's not for

  • Developers who want deep server administration, custom Nginx configuration or headless WordPress.
  • Anyone expecting a magic plugin that makes every site score 100. Real speed comes from a series of sensible fixes.
  • People without admin access to a WordPress site they can change.
  • Sites on locked-down hosted platforms where plugins cannot be installed.

Curriculum

8 modules and 45 short lessons, about 8.5 hours of video. Every module ends with a quick quiz and an exercise on your own site.

01Measuring speed properly7 lessons, 81 mins

You can measure a WordPress site's speed with the right tools, understand what LCP, INP and CLS mean, and record a reliable baseline.

  1. Welcome: why speed matters and what to expect8 min
  2. Core Web Vitals explained: LCP, INP and CLS14 min
  3. Lab data vs field data11 min
  4. Reading PageSpeed Insights line by line15 min
  5. Search Console's Core Web Vitals report and the CrUX history11 min
  6. Chrome DevTools for beginners13 min
  7. Recording your baseline and backing up first9 min
02Hosting and the server4 lessons, 45 mins

You can tell whether hosting is the bottleneck, make the server-side improvements you control, and know what to look for if you move host.

  1. Time to First Byte and why hosting matters11 min
  2. Types of hosting explained12 min
  3. PHP version, memory and server caching12 min
  4. When to change host, and moving without downtime10 min
03Caching plugins done safely6 lessons, 74 mins

You can choose and configure a caching plugin, apply CSS and JavaScript optimisations one at a time, and test that nothing has broken.

  1. How page caching works10 min
  2. Choosing a cache plugin13 min
  3. Configuring page and browser caching14 min
  4. CSS optimisation: minify, combine and unused CSS13 min
  5. JavaScript: defer and delay14 min
  6. Testing and troubleshooting after changes10 min
04Images: formats, sizes and lazy loading6 lessons, 63 mins

You can make images small, correctly sized and loaded in the right order, which is usually the single biggest win on a WordPress site.

  1. Why images are usually the problem9 min
  2. Sizing and compressing before upload12 min
  3. WebP and AVIF in WordPress13 min
  4. Lazy loading done right11 min
  5. Prioritising the LCP image10 min
  6. Image dimensions and layout shift8 min
05Fonts, icons and third-party scripts5 lessons, 53 mins

You can load fonts and icons efficiently, stop them causing layout shifts, and control third-party scripts such as chat widgets, maps and tracking tags.

  1. How web fonts slow pages down10 min
  2. Hosting Google Fonts locally12 min
  3. Preloading fonts and avoiding font layout shift10 min
  4. Icon libraries8 min
  5. Third-party scripts: chat, maps, video and tags13 min
06Elementor performance settings6 lessons, 69 mins

You can switch on Elementor's built-in performance features safely and build pages that stay lightweight as the site grows.

  1. Why Elementor sites get slow (and why they do not have to)10 min
  2. The Performance and Features settings15 min
  3. CSS print method, global styles and Site Settings11 min
  4. Containers instead of sections and columns13 min
  5. Add-on packs, animations and widgets to watch11 min
  6. Elementor and your cache plugin together9 min
07Plugin audit, database clean-up and CDN6 lessons, 72 mins

You can find and remove plugin bloat, clean the database safely and put a CDN in front of the site.

  1. Running a plugin bloat audit14 min
  2. Measuring plugin impact12 min
  3. Database clean-up12 min
  4. WordPress housekeeping9 min
  5. What a CDN does and when you need one10 min
  6. Setting up Cloudflare (free plan)15 min
08Before/after report and keeping it fast5 lessons, 46 mins

You can prove the improvements you have made with a clear before/after report and keep the site fast as it changes.

  1. Re-testing properly10 min
  2. Writing the before/after report13 min
  3. Explaining speed to clients and managers9 min
  4. A speed maintenance routine8 min
  5. Course wrap-up and next steps6 min

Lesson lengths are estimates and may change slightly when the course is recorded. Every lesson is re-recorded or annotated when the tools change, free for everyone with an active course.

Everything included

  • About 8.5 hours of step-by-step video across 45 lessons
  • 2 hours of 1:1 live tutoring with Shaz (use within 12 months)
  • Baseline sheet, plugin audit sheet, Elementor performance checklist and before/after report template
  • A practical capstone project with personal written feedback
  • Final exam and Begin2Code certificate
  • 12 months' access, including updates
  • 30-day money-back guarantee

Before you start

Confident in the WordPress dashboard: installing plugins, editing pages, using Elementor or the block editor. Admin access to a live site you are allowed to change, plus access to your hosting control panel (or the ability to ask your host). WordPress SEO for Beginners is recommended but not required.

Your tutor: Shaz

I'm Shaz, a UK web designer with over 20 years of experience. Through my agency, E-web UK, I build and look after WordPress sites for businesses every week. I'll answer your questions, review your work, and your included one-to-one tutoring is with me directly.

More about Shaz

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Fast WordPress: Speed

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Guarantee

30days money back

Try the course for 30 days. If it is not right for you, email us within 30 days of purchase for a full refund, no awkward questions.

Refund policy

Questions about this course

Anything else? Send me a message or book a 30-minute taster lesson.

Do I need to pay for WP Rocket or other premium plugins?

No. Every technique is shown with free tools first, including LiteSpeed Cache, Cloudflare's free plan and free image optimisers. Paid plugins are covered so you can decide if they are worth it for you.

My site is built with Elementor. Will this help?

Yes. A whole module covers Elementor's own performance settings, containers, add-on packs and how Elementor works alongside your cache plugin.

Will I break my site?

The course starts by setting up a backup or staging site and teaches you to change one thing at a time and test after each change, so you can always roll back.

Will a faster site rank higher on Google?

Speed is one of many factors and works best alongside good content and SEO. A faster site does reliably improve the experience for visitors, which helps enquiries and sales. We do not promise rankings.

I am on cheap shared hosting. Is it worth doing this course?

Yes. Images, fonts, caching and plugin clean-up help on any host. Module 2 also shows you how to tell when your hosting really is the limit, and what to look for if you move.

How does the 1:1 tutoring work?

You get 2 hours of live online sessions with Shaz, bookable in 30 or 60-minute slots within 12 months of purchase. Many students use one session to look at their own site's results together.

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