Fast site vs.
WordPress.
Does website speed actually matter for a Boise small business? Yes. Here's what the difference looks like in practice — and why it affects your Google rankings and how many leads you actually get.
What most Boise businesses are running
A WordPress site on shared hosting (GoDaddy, Bluehost, SiteGround) with a page builder theme (Divi, Elementor) and a handful of plugins.
- ✗ Load time: 3–7 seconds on mobile
- ✗ Google PageSpeed: 30–60 / 100
- ✗ Core Web Vitals: Usually fails
- ✗ Ongoing maintenance: Required (security patches, plugin updates, database backups)
- ✗ Hosting cost: $20–80/mo depending on plan
- ✗ Gets hacked: Frequently (WP is the most targeted CMS on the planet)
What we build instead
A custom Astro site — built as static HTML at deploy time — deployed on Cloudflare's global edge network. No server to maintain, no database to secure, no plugins to update.
- ✓ Load time: Under 0.5 seconds on mobile
- ✓ Google PageSpeed: 95–100 / 100
- ✓ Core Web Vitals: Passes consistently
- ✓ Ongoing maintenance: None required (no plugins, no PHP, no database)
- ✓ Hosting cost: $20/mo flat on Cloudflare
- ✓ Security: Static files + Cloudflare DDoS — nothing to hack
Common questions
Is a fast website really that important for a Boise small business?
Yes. Google ranks faster sites higher in search results — that's a direct ranking factor. And 53% of mobile visitors leave a page that takes more than 3 seconds to load. For a local Boise or Treasure Valley business, slow = lost calls and lost leads.
Can't WordPress be made fast?
Yes, but it requires significant ongoing configuration — caching plugins, image optimization, CDN setup, database optimization, and regular maintenance. Most small business WordPress installs don't have this done correctly. Astro is fast by default with zero configuration needed.
What if I need a blog or need to update my content myself?
For businesses that genuinely need a blog or frequent self-managed content changes, WordPress is often the better fit — and we build it. But for most small business service websites (contractors, restaurants, salons, trades), the content rarely changes after launch. Astro is the better choice.
Why does Cloudflare matter if the site is already fast?
Even an instant page feels slow if the nearest server is in New York when your customer is in Meridian. Cloudflare has 200+ edge locations globally — including servers close to Idaho. Your site loads from the nearest node to your visitor, every time.
Ready to stop losing customers to a slow website?
Standard sites from $800. We serve all of the Treasure Valley Idaho area.
Get a Quote →