Overview

TDQ Media is seeking a skilled WordPress Developer to improve the performance of an existing WordPress site and prepare it to scale to a large volume of traffic. As a part of this project, you will be working with the Product Lead to review issues found in a Lighthouse report and prioritize fixes, optimizing the existing setup by removing or consolidating calls from plugin scripts, and providing recommendations to improve the site infrastructure. This project is a one-off contract with the potential to turn into long-term work down the road as the site grows.

Responsibilities:

  • Review the issues listed in a Lighthouse report about an existing WordPress site, providing estimates of the relative size (in development time) and impact (in score improvement) to the Product Lead for prioritization.
  • Review the performance of the existing plugin setup, providing recommendations about plugins we should add or remove to improve performance.
  • Determine which calls we should remove or consolidate to improve performance and provide a sizing estimate to the Product Lead.
  • Review the code of the quiz plugin used across the site for any potential optimizations, including estimates of size in development time and likely impact to performance. Make a recommendation as to whether we would be better to keep using the existing quiz plugin or replace it with another off-the-shelf or homegrown solution.
  • Review the theme files and suggest optimizations and improvements, including size in development time and likely performance impact.
  • Address the code changes from the bullets above as directed by the Product Lead and update the site with the improved code.
  • Set up a process to optimize the WordPress database on a regular basis.
  • Work with the Product Lead to conduct thorough testing and quality assurance to ensure high standards of functionality, performance, and user experience.

Requirements:

  • Proven work experience as a WordPress Developer, with a focus on site speed optimization, theme enhancement, and database optimization.
  • Expertise in site speed optimization techniques, including caching, minification, image optimization, lazy loading, and CDN integration.
  • Experience customizing WordPress themes and templates using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP.
  • Deep understanding of the WordPress database structure and experience optimizing database queries and performance.
  • Familiarity with front-end technologies such as HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript/jQuery, and responsive design principles.
  • Proficiency in debugging and troubleshooting issues related to WordPress, themes, plugins, and database optimization.
  • Strong attention to detail and a commitment to delivering high-quality work.
  • Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
  • A portfolio showcasing previous WordPress development work is highly desirable.
  • Relevant certifications or degrees in web development or a related field are a plus