The challenge
The installation had slow database queries, plugin bloat, broken page hierarchies and hardcoded content blocks repeated across hundreds of pages. Every change was slow and risky, and the site was getting slower.
The constraint that matters most on a site this size: the migration couldn't lose rankings. Permalinks and content had to survive the restructure.
How I approached it
- 01
Content modelling first
Repeated page patterns were turned into custom post types, custom taxonomies and ACF field groups, so editors manage structured fields instead of hand-editing blocks on hundreds of pages.
- 02
Lighter templates
Elementor templates were streamlined and heavy plugin dependencies were replaced with small custom PHP snippets where that was safer and faster.
- 03
Migration that preserves SEO
Database content was migrated with scripts rather than by hand, keeping permalink structures intact so existing search rankings weren't disrupted.
- 04
Database and cache tuning
Autoloaded options and transient caches were cleaned up, which reduced Time to First Byte.
What I built
- Restructured 800+ legacy pages into maintainable custom post types and ACF field groups.
- Developed custom PHP snippets to bypass heavy plugin dependencies and improve server response times.
- Migrated large amounts of database content while preserving SEO permalink structures.
- Optimized database autoload options and transient caches to reduce TTFB.
What this project demonstrates
- Planning a content migration at hundreds-of-pages scale
- Custom post types and ACF as a maintainable content model
- Performance work on a live WordPress database
