_Underscores

Underscores, or _s, if you prefer, is a starter WordPress Theme. It has been the foundation of Automattic’s Twenty-xx Themes, which is why it’s called Underscores. It’s also called the 1000-hour head start theme because it includes years of refinements by dozens of WordPress theme experts.
Better. Faster. Stronger. And open source.

Learn more about _S in A 1000-Hour Head Start: Introducing The _s Theme.

Median Performance Metrics

Page Size:	484 Kb
WebPageTest Mobile Speed Index:	1.762
Google Lighthouse Mobile Speed:	75
Google Lighthouse Desktop Speed	90

WebPage Test Speed Index: median = ~3.591; top 10% = <1.388
In 2021, the average page size = ~2.4 Mb and median page size = ~2.1 Mb.
Database-driven websites, like WordPress, are more performance optimized when server requests are < 40 – 60.

Discover. Develop. Differentiate.

A new mobile responsive WordPress CMS for NIIOH, to replace their non-mobile friendly Drupal site.

NIIOH provides convenings, tools and resources for thousands of educators, health professionals and other organizations to eradicate dental disease.

New site features include an e-newsletter signup, site search, custom 404 error page, and a modern visual refresh.

Scope of Work

Search Engine Optimization
Security Hardening
Visual Layout & Design
WordPress Theme Development

Performance Metric	Old Drupal Website	New WordPress Site
Google Lighthouse: Accessibility	45/100	89/100
Google Lighthouse: Best Practices	67/100	96/100
Google Lighthouse: Mobile Speed	90/100	70/100
Google Lighthouse: Desktop Speed	100/100	96/100
Google Lighthouse: Search Engine Optimization	54/100	85/100
WebPageTest Speed Index	4.283	4.786
Total Homepage File Size	252 Kb (153 Kb Images + 54 Kb Scripts + 26 Kb CSS + 15 Kb Other + 4 Kb HTML)	1.136 Mb (679 Kb Images + 101 Kb Scripts + 189 Kb CSS + 175 Kb Fonts + 19 Kb HTML)
Total Web Server Requests	52 (11 images + 2 scripts + 37 CSS files + 1 Other + 1 HTML)	52 (31 Images + 9 Scripts + 9 CSS + 2 Fonts + 1 HTML)
Estimated Homepage Mobile Load Time	~4.3 seconds	~4.8 seconds

WebPage Test Speed Index: median = ~3.591; top 10% = <1.388
In 2023, the average page size = ~2.4 Mb and median page size = ~2.1 Mb.
Database-driven websites, like WordPress, are more performance optimized when server requests are < 40 – 60.

Site Credits

Visual Design: David Owen Hastings
WordPress Design + Development: Scott Marlow

Posted on November 19, 2024November 19, 2024

WordPress Website Rebuild for Dermatology Clinic

A rebuilt website for Advanced Dermatology and Laser Institute of Seattle.

Dr. Greene’s dermatology clinic contracted with me to regain full administrative access to their WordPress site, which a marcom agency would not provide. After content was successfully migrated, I cloned the site into a new open source Theme, _S. Usability was improved by increasing font sizes and color contrast.

Scope of Work

Accessibility
Performance Optimization
Search Engine Optimization
Security Hardening
Visual Layout & Design
WordPress Theme Development

Performance

To optimize performance, overall page size, at 802 Kb, is 67% below the median industry homepage size of ~2.4 Mb, and server requests have been reduced 42%, from 69 to 40. Accessibility benchmarks are also excellent, with a 38% improvement in Google Lighthouse’s automated accessibility metrics.

Before & After Performance Comparison

Performance Metric	Old Website	New Website
Google Lighthouse: Accessibility	60/100	96/100
Google Lighthouse: Best Practices	95/100	100/100
Google Lighthouse: Mobile Speed	72/100	73/100
Google Lighthouse: Desktop Speed	91/100	91/100
Google Lighthouse: Search Engine Optimization	82/100	91/100
WebPageTest Speed Index	1.805	2.251
Total Homepage File Size	1.047 Mb (230 Kb Images + 421 Kb Scripts + 117 Kb CSS + 271 Kb Fonts + 32 Kb HTML)	802 Kb (416 Kb Images + 193 Kb Scripts + 87 Kb CSS + 106 Kb Fonts + 106 Kb HTML)
Total Web Server Requests	69 (15 Images + 16 Scripts + 28 CSS + 7 Fonts + 1 Other + 2 HTML)	40 (14 Images + 13 Scripts + 8 CSS + 3 Fonts + 1 Other + 1 HTML)
Estimated Mobile Homepage Load Time	~11.4 seconds	~3.4 seconds

WebPageTest Speed Index: median = ~3.591; top 10% = <1.388
In 2022, the average page size = ~2.4 Mb and median page size = ~2.1 Mb.
Database-driven websites, like WordPress, are more performance optimized when server requests are < 40 – 60.

Thank you so much. We are extremely happy.
Peggy Mesnik

Site Credits

WordPress Design + Development: Scott Marlow

Posted on December 9, 2023January 11, 2024

Scholarships to Support Spokane Student Education

A new WordPress-powered website for Spokane Area Retired Educator’s Association (SAREA), a member organization of Washington State School Retirees Association.

This Spokane nonprofit association lost access to their domain registrar and host, after a key stakeholder passed away. After a new domain name was secured, site content was manually migrated into a WordPress CMS for more intuitive content editing. The new site incorporates an online application for scholarships and mini-grants awarded each fall.

Scope of Work

Content Migration
Performance Optimization
Search Engine Optimization
Security Hardening
Visual Layout & Design
WordPress Theme Development
WordPress Training & Consulting

Performance

Page load speed is excellent with overall page size, 273 Kb, 88% below the median homepage size. Accessibility benchmarks are also superb.

Performance Metric	New WordPress Website
Google Lighthouse: Accessibility	100/100
Google Lighthouse: Best Practices	100/100
Google Lighthouse: Mobile Speed	70/100
Google Lighthouse: Desktop Speed	91/100
Google Lighthouse: Search Engine Optimization	93/100
WebPageTest Speed Index	1.795
Total Homepage File Size	273 Kb (218 Kb Images + 9 Kb Scripts + 45Kb CSS + 8Kb HTML)
Total Web Server Requests	18 (5 Images + 4 Scripts + 8 CSS + 1 HTML)
Estimated Mobile Homepage Load Time	~1.8 seconds

Site Credits

WordPress Design + Development: Scott Marlow

Posted on September 18, 2023November 21, 2023

Building WordPress Websites, Online Forms, and Marcom Confidence

A website redesign and rebuild for Habitat for Humanity of Kitsap County. This new custom-branded WordPress website replaces a 2017 volunteer-built static HTML site, which was not mobile-friendly, despite a significant amount of site visits from mobile devices.

The WordPress CMS with a Block Editor-integrated Theme enables the new marcom staff to intuitively edit content, as well as create rich, modern layouts. Google Lighthouse benchmarks across the board were significantly improved.

Scope of Work

Accessibility Consulting
Branding & Visual Design
Content Migration
Performance Optimization
Search Engine Optimization
Security Hardening
WordPress Theme Development
WordPress Training & Consulting

Performance

Page load speed improved considerably by reducing overall page size 96% from 15.4 Mb to 618 Kb, 1/4^th the median homepage size.

Before & After Performance Comparison

Performance Metric	Old Website	New Website
Google Lighthouse: Accessibility	41/100	98/100
Google Lighthouse: Best Practices	83/100	100/100
Google Lighthouse: Mobile Speed	58/100	70/100
Google Lighthouse: Desktop Speed	53/100	98/100
Google Lighthouse: Search Engine Optimization	50/100	93/100
WebPageTest Speed Index	11.384	3.422
Total Homepage File Size	15.336 Mb (14.6 Mb Images + 933Kb Scripts)	618 Kb (148 Kb Images + 290 Kb Scripts + 133 Kb CSS + 49 Kb Fonts + 11 Kb HTML)
Total Web Server Requests	40 (16 Images + 9 Scripts + 2 CSS + 8Other + 5 HTML)	41 (7 Images + 15 Scripts + 15 CSS + 2 Fonts + 1 HTML)
Estimated Mobile Homepage Load Time	~11.4 seconds	~3.4 seconds

Site Credits

WordPress Theme Development: Scott Marlow

Posted on July 6, 2023January 5, 2024

The Web Developer for People of All Races

Another performance-optimized website rebuild from a ThemeForest template Theme to an open source WordPress Theme.

El Centro de la Raza provides 43 programs and services in 9 different service areas for children, youth, families and seniors around King County. The website features a new events calendar, language translation, and more dynamic program content in a more accessible Theme. The Gutenberg Block Editor provides more streamlined editing, with a plethora of layout and design options for content contributors.

Scope of Work

Accessibility Consulting
Branding & Visual Design
Content Migration
Performance Optimization
Search Engine Optimization
Security Hardening
WordPress Theme Development
WordPress Training & Consulting

Performance

Page load speed significantly improved since 2022. By reducing overall page size 88%, from 11.5 Mb to 1.4 Mb, and reducing web server requests 19% from 64 to 52, average mobile page loads have improved from ~11 to ~3 seconds.

Before & After Performance Comparison

Performance Metric	Old Website	New Website
Google Lighthouse: Accessibility	88/100	98/100
Google Lighthouse: Best Practices	92/100	92/100
Google Lighthouse: Mobile Speed	39/100	87/100
Google Lighthouse: Desktop Speed	54/100	99/100
Google Lighthouse: Search Engine Optimization	79/100	77/100
WebPageTest Speed Index	10.729	3.024
Total Homepage File Size	11.5 Mb (10.1 Mb Images + 853 Kb Scripts + 136 Kb CSS + 31 Kb Other + 42 Kb Fonts + 42 Kb HTML)	1.366 Mb (1 Mb Images + 239 Kb Scripts + 123 Kb CSS + 22 Kb HTML)
Total Web Server Requests	64 (18 Images + 18 Scripts + 14 CSS + 10 Other + 4 HTML)	52 (13 Images + 14 Scripts + 22 CSS + 1 Other + 2 HTML)
Estimated Mobile Homepage Load Time	~11 seconds	~3 seconds

Site Credits

Visual Design: Pixel Lighthouse
WordPress Theme Development: Scott Marlow

Posted on June 30, 2023August 21, 2023