_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.

WordPress 5.0Median 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.

WordPress. The Most Respected Content Management System in the World.

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Did you know WordPress powers 39.5% of all websites (up from powering 35% of sites in 2020)?

CMSMarket Share (2021)
WordPress65%
Shopify6.5%
Wix3.4%
SquareSpace3.0%
Joomla2.5%
Drupal1.9%
2021 stats according to W3 Techs

Lytle Enterprises contacted our team in October 2021 with accessibility, SEO and usability concerns for their aging website. Our goals included:

  1. To refresh and modernize the website based on the organization’s existing brand identity;
  2. To improve ease of use – including content management, information architecture, readability, and site maintenance;
  3. To improve conformance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) level AA – including keyboard-navigable navigation, skip-to-content links, semantic HTML, site search; and high color contrast [> 4.5:1 and > 3.5:1 for large text];
  4. To improve site performance and security;
  5. To improve search engine visibility and optimization.

The final benchmark results were impressive …

Performance MetricOld website (November 2021)New Website (April 2022)
Google Lighthouse: Accessibility96/100100/100
Google Lighthouse: Best Practices67/100100/100
Google Lighthouse: Mobile Speed59/10086/100
Google Lighthouse: Desktop Speed71/10098/100
Google Lighthouse: Search Engine Optimization71/10093/100
WebPageTest Speed Index5.8452.116
Total Homepage File Size377 Kb
(201 Kb Images + 172 Kb Scripts + 13 Kb CSS + 40 Kb Fonts + 19 Kb HTML)		383 Kb
(231 Kb Images + 4 Kb Scripts + 41 Kb CSS + 107 Kb Fonts + 8 Kb HTML)
Total Web Server Requests25
(3 Images +13 Scripts + 5 CSS + 2 Font + 5 HTML)		20
(6 Images + 2 Scripts + 8 CSS + 3 Fonts + 1 HTML)
Total Homepage Load Time~5.8 seconds~2.1 seconds
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.

Web Design + Development Team

Visual Design: Erik Fadiman
WordPress Theme Development: Scott Marlow

Accelerated Rebranding for Nonprofit Consulting Firm

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A visual design refresh for Alford Group, a minority & woman owned firm that provides fundraising and strategy consulting to nonprofits.

Scope of work for the website refresh included:
a new logo, new typography, updated color palette with a bright orange accent; as well as other layout and style updates to coordinate with the updated brand identity (created by Advocate Creative).

Before (top) compared to After (bottom)

Despite a homepage content slider, Google Lighthouse performance benchmarks remain impressive:

Accessibility: 96/100
Best Practices: 92/100
Mobile Optimization: 78/100
Desktop Optimization: 99/100
SEO: 83/100

Total Page Size: 948 Kb (In 2021, the average page size was ~ 2.4 Mb; median = ~2.1 Mb)

Empowering Nonprofit Clients. Strengthening Nonprofit Communities.

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The latest custom-branded, mobile responsive WordPress redesign for Refugee Women’s Alliance. ReWA provides refugees and immigrants in the Puget Sound area with services to help them become independent.

Primary project objectives included:

  1. To improve ease of use: content management, information architecture, and site maintenance
  2. To improve page load performance

One of our first tasks was optimizing 10.5 Mb of full size images to load faster. Other performance optimization tasks included:
replacing homepage content sliders/carousels with more effective user interface elements – such as sitewide calls-to-action to drive conversions; reducing Javascript features; consolidating and removing Theme features; replacing theme-integrated features, such as  custom event Post Types, with more appropriate Plugins to improve modular integration, long-term stability and maintenance.

screenshot of website redesign for nonprofit serving refugees and immigrants

Web Design + Development Team

Visual Design Consulting: Erik Fadiman
WordPress Theme Development: Scott Marlow

ThemeForest vs. WordPress: Theme Comparison

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Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation contacted me in fall 2021 about a website rebuild.

The organization was satisfied with their overall brand identity, as well as the look and feel of their existing site. However, the board of directors wanted to address concerns of very poor mobile page load speeds, often in excess of 12 seconds.

Scope of Work

My goal was to clone the site content and mimic the existing visual look and feel – while optimizing accessibility, performance, and search engine optimization.

  • accessibility testing
  • front-end web development
  • performance optimization
  • security hardening
  • search engine optimization
  • WordPress training and consulting

It was easy to identify the root cause of the performance issues: a template ThemeForest Theme, with too many Plugins. Overall page size was 3.6 Mb, well above the industry average of 2.4 Mb. However, the main contributor to page load latency is usually ‘web server file requests.’ Together, the Theme and Plugins generated 89 server requests – including 36 Javascript files. In addition to a rotating content carousel, the Visual Composer Plugin was generating significant code bloat. These poor development practices impacted usability, site engagement and conversions.

Below are screenshots during development. Do you notice significant changes in the look & feel?

Before (left) & After (right) optimization screenshots

Performance Analysis

By switching to a WordPress.org-approved Theme, _Underscores, and consolidating and removing Plugins – web server requests were reduced 64%, from 89 to 32; overall page size also decreased 71%, from 3.6 Mb to 1 Mb. Replacing the Visual Composer Plugin with WordPress’ native Gutenberg Block Editor significantly improved performance. These efforts improved page load speed to reasonable sub 3 seconds on mobile devices.

MetricThemeForest (Anima) ThemeWordPress _Underscores Theme
Google Lighthouse: Accessibility88/10096/100
Google Lighthouse: Best Practices80/10092/100
Google Lighthouse: Mobile Speed31/10085/100
Google Lighthouse: Desktop Speed64/10099/100
Google Lighthouse: Search Engine Optimization70/10086/100
WebPageTest Speed Index7.5233.267
Homepage File Size3.6 Mb (1.9 Mb Images + 1.3 Mb Scripts + 199 Kb CSS + 305 Kb Fonts + 70 Kb HTML)1.05 Mb (720 Kb Images + 125 Kb Scripts + 68 Kb CSS + 120 Kb Fonts + 28 Kb HTML)
Web Server Requests89 (21 Images + 36 Scripts +15 CSS + 7 Font + 9 Other + 5 HTML)32 (9 Images + 11 Scripts + 7 CSS +3 Fonts + 2 Other + 1 HTML)
Estimated Homepage Load Time on mobile~7.5 seconds~3.3 seconds
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.

The final result is a simpler, faster, yet on-brand, website that is easier to maintain.

Site Credits

WordPress Theme Development by Scott Marlow

What Would Western Wildlife Outreach Do?

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Western Wildlife Outreach (WWO) works with partners to provide science-based information to community groups about the ecology, biology, and behavior of grizzly bears, black bears, cougars, and gray wolves. By engaging communities in wildlife and habitat stewardship activities, WWO programs foster an appreciation for large carnivores’ niche in maintaining ecosystem health — providing critical context to environmental recovery efforts happening throughout the Pacific Northwest.

nonprofit wildlife organization website screenshot
screenshot of WWO’s new WordPress site

By fall 2021, WWO’s old website was becoming endangered. Page load speed was sluggish, above 5 seconds. Volunteers and new staff could not easily add and update content. Compounded by a clunky user interface that was difficult to navigate, visitors were not engaging with the science-based content.

WWWWOD?

WWO found my nonprofit website marketing services thru 501 Commons. Soon, we embarked to completely rebuild their existing WordPress site, using the native Block Editor to provide a rich, intuitive editing interface, which showcases their rich wildlife photography.

Project objectives included:

  1. To refresh and modernize the website based on WWO’s existing brand identity;
  2. To improve ease of use – content management, information architecture, readability, and site maintenance;
  3. To improve the mobile responsiveness of the site layout for displays from phones to tablets to desktops – including a collapsible navigation menu on mobile;
  4. To improve compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) level AA – including keyboard-navigable navigation, skip-to-content links, semantic HTML, and high color contrast [> 4.5:1 and > 3.5:1 for large text];
  5. To improve site security and performance.

Overall homepage size decreased 36% from 1.8 to 1.14 Mb, with another 36% decrease in web server requests – resulting in sub 2-3 second page load speeds.

Performance Analysis

Performance MetricOld website (November 2021)New Website (February 2022)
Google Lighthouse: Accessibility90/10098/100
Google Lighthouse: Best Practices80/10092/100
Google Lighthouse: Mobile Speed74/10094/100
Google Lighthouse: Desktop Speed97/10097/100
Google Lighthouse: Search Engine Optimization83/10098/100
WebPageTest Speed Index1.5952.029
Total Homepage File Size1.8 Mb
( 1.3 Mb Images + 110 Kb Scripts + 36 Kb CSS + 12 Kb HTML)		1.14 Mb
(788 Kb Images + 241 Kb Scripts + 69 Kb CSS + 44 Kb Fonts + 22 Kb HTML)
Total Web Server Requests67
(32 Images + 24 Scripts + 9 CSS + 1 HTML)		43
(11 Images + 17 Scripts + 11 CSS + 2 Fonts + 2 HTML)
Total Homepage Load Time~2.4 seconds~2 seconds
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.

Web Design + Development Team

Visual Design: Erik Fadiman
WordPress Theme Development: Scott Marlow