Renders uploaded at export resolution
Full-resolution render files, often 8 to 20MB, land in the media library with no automated resizing pipeline in front of them.
FROM WORDPRESS · ARCHITECTURE FIRMS
What breaks when an architecture portfolio runs on WordPress
Renders exported at full resolution, often 8 to 20MB, land in the WordPress media library with no resizing pipeline in front of them, and a page builder like Elementor wraps each gallery image in extra containers on top of that. The result is a portfolio site failing Core Web Vitals on the exact content it exists to showcase.
WHAT ACTUALLY BREAKS
Five ways an architecture WordPress site fails, specifically
Render weight, page-builder markup and unstructured project data, not generic WordPress complaints.
The page builder compounds the weight
Elementor or Divi wraps every gallery image in extra defensive containers, adding DOM weight on top of the raw file size.
Project data has no consistent structure
Client, scale and completion year usually sit in unstructured custom fields, making sector or scale filtering impossible across the portfolio.
360 tours block first paint
A Matterport or video embed loaded eagerly delays the page becoming visible even for a visitor who never scrolls to it.
Document downloads sit unprotected
Specification and drawing PDFs attached through a forms plugin often live at a guessable, unprotected URL in the uploads directory.
WHAT CARRIES ACROSS
The project archive moves. The image pipeline does not
Content and delivery are separate problems, migrated separately.
Every project's renders, client detail and completion data carry across intact. What does not carry across is how that content was delivered: the uncompressed uploads, the page-builder markup and the unstructured custom fields are rebuilt rather than reproduced as they were.
WHAT IT COSTS
What an architecture firm WordPress migration costs
A range, not a fixed price, because portfolio size and gallery complexity move the number.
5,500–36,700 $1,500–10,000 €1,321–8,807
Depending on portfolio size and gallery complexity.
7 days
From brief to launch.
Structured project data
Rebuilt as real fields for the first time, rather than migrated as unstructured text.
HOW IT RUNS
Four steps, specific to a render-heavy portfolio
Weight and data structure audited first, since that is where the actual risk sits.
01 2 DAYS
Audit gallery weight and project data structure
We measure exactly how much of the page weight is render files versus builder markup, and how the current project data is actually stored.
02 2–4 DAYS
Inventory the portfolio and its ranking pages
Every project page is mapped against Search Console, since render-heavy pages often carry earned rankings worth preserving.
03 1–3 WEEKS
Build with progressive loading and structured project data
Renders load progressively, client, scale and year become real filterable fields, and 360 tours load only when requested.
04 SAME DAY + 2 WEEKS
Redirect map, cutover, verify parity
Every project URL redirected to its new address, with Search Console watched daily for the first two weeks after launch.
STRAIGHT ANSWERS
Questions about migrating an architecture site off WordPress
The ones that come up before anyone signs anything.
Renders are exported at full resolution, often 8 to 20MB before compression, and uploaded straight into the media library with no resizing pipeline. A page builder like Elementor or Divi then wraps each gallery image in extra containers on top of the raw file weight.
Client, scale and completion year are usually stored as unstructured text through a custom-fields plugin, with no consistent taxonomy across projects. That makes filtering by sector or scale impossible, which matters more for a firm competing on capability than most industries.
Yes, when embedded as an eager-loaded iframe, a Matterport or YouTube embed blocks the first paint of the page even if the visitor never scrolls down to view it.
Between
Send us your website address. We will tell you what is wrong with it.
Two days, no charge, no obligation, and you keep the report whether or not you hire us.