Investors are throwing money at it, influencers are breathlessly promoting it, and the usual chorus of hot take artists are declaring WordPress dead on arrival in 2026.

They said the same thing about Webflow. And Wix. And Squarespace. And Ghost. And, every other platform that promised to make WordPress obsolete. WordPress is still running 43% of the internet.

Here’s what everyone promoting MDASH as the WordPress killer fundamentally misunderstands: WordPress isn’t successful because it’s the best tool. It’s successful because it’s the most universal CMS

MDASH might be slicker, faster, easier to use for specific use cases. That doesn’t matter. WordPress won by becoming infrastructure, and you don’t replace infrastructure by being slightly better.

The WordPress ecosystem is worth hundreds of billions of dollars. There are 60,000 plugins. Millions of developers know how to use it. Every hosting company supports it.

Every freelancer can work with it. Every client has heard of it. You can hire someone in any country at any price point who knows WordPress. Try doing that with MDASH in five years.

MDASH’s pitch is always the same pitch: WordPress is bloated, slow, complicated, insecure, outdated. All of these things are true. WordPress is a mess.

It’s a 20-year-old PHP application that started as a blogging platform and got Frankensteined into a full CMS through years of backward-compatible additions.

The codebase is ugly. The admin interface is confusing. The plugin ecosystem is a security nightmare and everyone knows it. Everyone has always known it.

And yet WordPress keeps winning because the mess is a feature, not a bug. The mess means flexibility. You can make WordPress do literally anything.

You want an e-commerce store? WooCommerce. You want a membership site? Pick from 50 plugins. You want to build a job board, a directory, a learning management system, a social network? Someone’s already built a plugin for that.

MDASH has a vision for what websites should look like. WordPress doesn’t care what your website should look like. It’ll become whatever you force it to become.

The other thing these WordPress killers never understand is that WordPress’s market isn’t Silicon Valley startups building the next hot SaaS product. It’s everyone else.

It’s the small business owner who needs a website and doesn’t want to think about it. It’s the freelancer who can charge clients $2,000 to set up a site in a weekend.

It’s the agency that can hire junior developers at $30 an hour because WordPress skills are commodified. It’s the enterprise that picked WordPress in 2012 and has too much invested to migrate.

MDASH is betting that superior technology wins. WordPress already proved that superior technology doesn’t matter. Network effects matter. Ecosystem matters.

Switching costs matter. WordPress has spent 20 years building moats that no amount of venture capital can cross in three years.

Look at what happened to every other WordPress killer. Webflow found product-market fit with designers and agencies building custom sites for clients.

Great business. Didn’t kill WordPress. Squarespace owns the DIY small business market. Huge success. Didn’t kill WordPress. Ghost carved out the newsletter and publication niche.

Smart positioning. Didn’t kill WordPress. They all found their lane because they couldn’t compete with WordPress everywhere, so they competed with WordPress somewhere specific.

MDASH will probably find its lane too. Maybe it’ll be great for certain types of sites. Maybe developers will love it for specific use cases. That’s fine. That’s not killing WordPress. That’s competing in a market that’s big enough for multiple solutions.

The WordPress killer won’t be a better WordPress. It’ll be something that makes websites obsolete entirely. Maybe it’s AI that generates personalised experiences without traditional websites.

Maybe it’s some new protocol that replaces HTTP. Maybe it’s a shift in how humans interact with information online. Whatever kills WordPress won’t look like WordPress at all.

Until then, WordPress will keep running nearly half the internet because it’s good enough, cheap enough, flexible enough, and familiar enough.

MDASH can be better on every technical metric and it won’t matter. The race is already over. WordPress won by becoming boring infrastructure that nobody wants to replace because replacement is expensive and risky and pointless.

The question isn’t whether MDASH will kill WordPress. The question is whether MDASH will still exist in five years when the next WordPress killer shows up promising to finally, truly, definitely make WordPress obsolete this time.

Emdash reflects a modern shift in CMS architecture — serverless, secure, and built with developers in mind. That said, WordPress isn’t disappearing anytime soon.

Its enormous ecosystem of plugins and themes, along with its accessibility for non-technical users, gives it a deeply entrenched position.

The more realistic outlook isn’t that Emdash will “kill” WordPress, but that it will occupy its own space. It’s well suited for high-performance, custom, and developer-driven builds, while WordPress will likely continue to dominate content-heavy sites, client projects, and small-business websites.

Innovation rarely wipes out the old guard overnight — more often, it reshapes the landscape and creates room for different tools to serve different needs.

The post MDASH Is Not the WordPress Killer, Just Like the Last Ten Platforms That Tried appeared first on Tech Business News.

The network operator converted 287,000 premises from copper to fiber in the first half of its 2026 financial year, pushing the total beyond one million upgraded homes and businesses.

But the rapid conversion rate has come at a cost, with NBN Co paying retailers 32,411 rebates for FTTP service issues in the December quarter alone. That represents a 40% jump from the roughly 23,247 rebates issued three months earlier.

NBN Co says the increase reflects growing complexity in fiber upgrade orders during the period, suggesting installation teams are encountering more challenging scenarios than expected as the program scales up.

The service failure pattern creates an unusual situation. Fiber technology typically outperforms the older copper-based systems it’s replacing, with FTTN and FTTC connections generating 40 to 60 issues per 1,000 users under normal conditions.

However, the breakneck installation pace has temporarily pushed fiber failure rates higher, raising questions about whether NBN Co is moving too fast.

The rebates compensate retail providers when the network operator misses service commitments, costs that retailers typically pass along to customers through bill credits.

The rising payout rate suggests quality control may be slipping as NBN Co races to complete its fiber transition.

Consumer demand for the upgrades remains strong regardless of the installation troubles. Data usage hit 557 GB per month across all active services by year’s end, with fiber customers consuming 668 GB on average.

The rebate increase arrives at an awkward moment for NBN Co, which is currently locked in negotiations with the competition regulator over what service standards it should be required to meet.

NBN Co and the ACCC are hammering out benchmark performance targets as part of the special access undertaking (SAU), the regulatory framework that governs how the network operator does business.

The standards cover service levels across all the different technologies NBN Co uses to deliver connections.

The two sides are far apart on cost. NBN Co says the ACCC’s proposed standards are technically impossible to meet in some cases and would cost around $610 million over five years.

The company has countered with its own proposal priced at $134.1 million over the same period.

Much of the dispute centers on copper infrastructure, particularly in regional areas, where NBN Co is reluctant to invest in maintaining aging networks.

The company argues that capital is better directed toward fibre, which it says is more reliable and cheaper to operate over the long term.

The timing creates a credibility problem. NBN Co is telling the regulator it can’t afford to meet certain service standards while simultaneously reporting a surge in service failures and rebate payments, particularly on the fiber network it describes as superior to copper.

The post Fiber Upgrade Rush Drives Increase In NBN Service Failures appeared first on Tech Business News.

Revenue in Q4 2025 was led by the EMEA region, contributing 68% of total revenue, with the Americas and APJ regions accounting for 23% and 8%, respectively.

“EMEA delivered the strongest performance this quarter, with revenue increasing by 25% quarter-over-quarter, thanks to our expanding partner network and enterprise adoption,” said Bruce Talley, CEO of NAKIVO.

Expanding Global Footprint

NAKIVO’s international footprint continued to expand rapidly, with revenue doubling quarter-over-quarter in countries including:

Mauritius, Costa Rica, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Cameroon, Curaçao, Turkey, Luxembourg, Vietnam, New Zealand, Malaysia, Slovenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Ecuador, Cyprus, Lithuania and French Polynesia.

“We are seeing unprecedented global demand for reliable and cost-effective data protection solutions,” Talley added.

Customer growth remained steady, with the overall customer base increasing by 9% year-over-year in Q4 2025. New customers added during the quarter include Zucchetti S.p.A., Immunocore Limited, Kasemrad Hospital and the Municipal Entity “Kyivteleservice” of Kyiv City State Administration.

These additions span industries such as healthcare, life sciences, government and technology, highlighting broad market demand for dependable backup and disaster recovery solutions.

Enterprise Adoption and SMB Traction

Enterprise momentum accelerated in Q4, with the number of enterprise customers growing by 19%. At the same time, Synology NAS installations increased by 8% year-over-year, demonstrating continued adoption among SMBs seeking efficient and cost-effective data protection.

NAKIVO’s partner ecosystem also expanded significantly. The company now collaborates with partners in 173 countries, with 205 new partners joining the NAKIVO Partner Program in Q4 alone.

Partners from Cabo Verde and Mongolia joined for the first time. Growth among cloud provider partners rose by 19%, reflecting increased demand for Backup as a Service and cloud-based data protection offerings.

Product Innovation: v11.1 and v11.2

In Q4 2025, NAKIVO released Backup & Replication v11.1, introducing additional Proxmox VE backup and recovery options, automated real-time replication, enhanced MSP Direct Connect functionality and five new interface languages.

Building on that momentum, NAKIVO announced the general availability of v11.2, strengthening compatibility and security for modern IT environments. Key updates include:

● Full support for VMware vSphere 9 and Proxmox VE 9.0, including Proxmox VE 9.1
● Built-in OAuth 2.0 authentication for secure, compliant email notifications
● Broader platform compatibility and critical security enhancements
● Automated real-time replication and improved MSP management

“Our priority is to give customers a smooth and secure path forward as their environments evolve,” said Talley.

“Q4 was a strong finish to the year, driven by consistent global demand, enterprise adoption and the growth of our partner and cloud provider ecosystem. Organisations of all sizes are prioritizing data protection and cyber resilience.”

Customer Impact

Customer feedback highlights the practical benefits of the updates. “With previous backup tools, I could not recover full VMs, but with NAKIVO Backup & Replication, I can recover VMware VMs within 10 minutes.

“With data deduplication, we were able to decrease storage space by 80%,” said Matt Mitchell, Web Developer at SEHD at the University of Colorado Denver.

The post Global Demand Drives NAKIVO Backup & Replication Growth and v11.2Release appeared first on Tech Business News.

Safety Sector, which has operated in the road safety equipment market for 15 years, sits at the intersection of these trends, supplying access ramp systems designed to meet Australian Standards while addressing the practical risks associated with workplace injuries and mobility access.

The shift comes as more than 5.5 million Australians live with a disability and new accessibility standards take effect across public and private sectors in 2025.

At the same time, Safe Work Australia recorded 146,700 serious workers’ compensation claims in 2023-24, with falls and body stressing accounting for the majority of injuries, reinforcing the link between access design and workplace safety outcomes.

Safety Sector’s product range includes portable loading ramps, wheelchair access solutions and heavy duty ramp access ramp systems engineered to meet AS 1428.1 requirements, which set strict gradients for safe access.

The company says its designs balance compliance with real-world use cases, from residential modifications under the NDIS to industrial loading dock operations.

The company supplies major Australian organisations including Woolworths, Qantas and Sydney Airport, operating from a Sydney-based warehouse with same-day dispatch capabilities for urgent orders.

Its offering spans kerb ramps, machinery loading ramps and threshold access solutions, reflecting demand across commercial, infrastructure and logistics sectors.

Industry-wide, the focus on compliance is intensifying. The Australian Human Rights Commission’s updated guidelines in 2025 extended obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act, while digital and physical accessibility standards are increasingly being applied in parallel across projects.

At the same time, safety remains a broader economic issue. With workplace injury rates and vehicle-related fatalities continuing to weigh on costs to business and the economy, access infrastructure is increasingly being treated as part of core risk management rather than optional investment.

Safety Sector says its manufacturing process includes load testing, slip-resistance validation and gradient verification to align with Australian Standards, underscoring the technical requirements behind what is often treated as basic infrastructure.

As enforcement tightens and compliance expectations rise, businesses are being pushed to integrate accessibility into planning and procurement decisions, signalling a shift from reactive fixes to built-in design standards across Australian workplaces and public facilities.

The post Safety Sector Advances Accessibility As Compliance Standards Tighten appeared first on Tech Business News.

The company said its Australian footprint has doubled over the past year, driven by customer growth including JB Hi-Fi, Endeavour Group and Accent Group, as organisations seek to unify and activate customer data across business units for personalisation, analytics and engagement.

With deployment in local AWS regions, Amperity said enterprises across sectors such as airlines, banking, insurance and telecommunications can keep customer data within Australia while supporting real-time intelligence, advanced analytics and AI-driven use cases in line with local privacy requirements.

“Australia has become a proving ground for some of our most complex customer data challenges, from strict data residency requirements to large-scale, multi-brand environments,” said Billy Loizou, AVP and General Manager at Amperity.

“Expanding our team and making Amperity available in AWS regions in Australia allows us to support customers more closely on the ground and help them turn trusted customer data into real business outcomes.” he said.

Alongside this expansion, Amperity has continued to invest in its local team in Melbourne. The company recently hired Matthew Yip as a Customer Solutions Architect and Uday Gupta as a Services Delivery Manager.

The new additions strengthen Amperity’s ability to support customers locally as adoption grows across industries and use cases.

Amperity says its Australian expansion forms part of a broader strategy to help enterprises move beyond fragmented customer data and establish a unified, AI-ready foundation, enabling organisations to personalise, analyse and act on customer insights at scale.

The company will host its flagship event, Amplify, on May 6 in New York City, bringing together marketing, data and technology leaders to register and explore how AI and customer data are driving measurable business outcomes, with limited places available.

The post Amperity Advances Australian Strategy with AWS and Talent Expansion appeared first on Tech Business News.

During a summer storm that cut power across parts of south-east Queensland last year, many homes with battery systems encountered a common limitation.

Even with fully charged batteries and strong solar generation, only select circuits remained active. Air conditioning, EV chargers, and other major appliances were often left offline because the system was not designed to support the entire home.

Anker SOLIX aims to address that gap with the Power Dock Pro, an intelligent energy gateway that elevates the X1 from partial backup to whole-home coverage. The result is a system designed to maintain normal household operation whether the grid is available or not.

The limits of partial backup

More than one in three Australian homes now has rooftop solar, and battery installations surged by over 60 per cent in 2024.

Despite that growth, most households still rely on systems that only support essential loads during outages.

This typically excludes high-demand appliances such as air conditioning, pool pumps, and EV chargers, which remain dependent on the main grid connection.

With longer bushfire seasons and increasingly unpredictable cyclone activity, maintaining a fully functional home during outages is becoming a practical necessity rather than a luxury.

What the upgrade delivers

The Anker SOLIX Power Dock Pro connects the grid, rooftop solar, battery storage, and all household loads through a single 63-ampere interface compliant with AS/NZS standards.

When the grid fails, the entire home remains powered with instantaneous 0 ms switching, allowing connectivity and everyday use to continue without interruption.

The system can also be expanded with a second Anker SOLIX X1 inverter, enabling up to 24 kW of parallel output without requiring additional rewiring.

With several state-based battery rebate programs set to reduce from May, the timing presents an opportunity for households to scale up while current incentives remain available.

Solar that keeps working during outages

Around one in three Australian homes uses solar systems not supplied by Anker SOLIX. In a blackout, many of these systems shut down automatically, preventing households from using the energy they generate.

The Power Dock Pro introduces a Smart Port that allows compatible third-party solar inverters to feed into the system. This enables solar panels to continue charging the X1 battery during an outage, extending the system’s capacity to operate for prolonged periods in regions prone to bushfires or cyclones.

Live fully powered

Households can continue running air conditioning, complete appliance cycles, and charge electric vehicles without interruption. Periods of grid instability become less disruptive, shifting the focus from managing outages to maintaining normal daily routines.

Anker SOLIX describes this approach as living fully powered, a system designed not just for emergencies but for consistent, uninterrupted home energy use regardless of external conditions.

The complete system

The Power Dock Pro and the X1 both carry a C5-M marine-grade anti-corrosion rating, making them suitable for coastal environments and harsh outdoor conditions.

The system is supported by a 10-year warranty and integrates with major Australian virtual power plant programs, including Origin Energy, Amber Electric, and GloBird Energy.

Energy scheduling and monitoring are managed through the Anker app, which consolidates data from both Anker and third-party solar inputs into a single interface.

The Power Dock Pro is available now through authorised installers and energy retailers across Australia.

About Anker SOLIX

Anker SOLIX is the energy division of Anker Innovations, a global technology company with a customer base exceeding 200 million users.

In Australia, the wider Anker ecosystem already supports more than 1 million homes through eufy, a leading smart home security brand.

Building on that foundation, Anker SOLIX is positioning itself as a provider of integrated energy solutions designed to give households greater reliability and control over their power use.

The post Anker SOLIX X1 Shifts From Backup To Whole-Home Power Control appeared first on Tech Business News.

For Melbourne-founded ROLLER Software, that inflection point came as its international footprint expanded beyond what its finance stack could efficiently support.

Founded in 2010, ROLLER Software has built a cloud-based platform for the attractions and leisure sector, combining ticketing, point of sale, memberships, waivers and guest experience into a single system designed for high-volume venues.

The company now supports more than 3,000 venues across over 30 countries, spanning family entertainment centres through to major attractions including water parks, zoos and cultural institutions.

Its growth has been recognised through inclusion in the AFR Fast 100 for two consecutive years, alongside a Great Place To Work certification.

As ROLLER expanded across Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and other markets, its finance operations became increasingly fragmented.

Multiple Xero instances were used to manage different regions and entities, limiting visibility and slowing reporting cycles.

Core processes such as consolidation and revenue recognition relied heavily on manual intervention and spreadsheet-based workflows. Month-end reporting required significant coordination across teams, adding pressure and limiting the organisation’s ability to focus on forward-looking analysis.

To address these constraints, ROLLER required a more scalable finance platform capable of centralising operations, automating key processes and providing real-time visibility across its global structure.

“ROLLER came to us knowing they had significant growth ahead and that Xero wouldn’t support them at that scale,” Annexa Director Matthew Owens said.

“They’ve built a really strong foundation in NetSuite and are now in a position to keep building efficiencies as they grow, which is exactly where you want to be,” he said.

The company selected Oracle NetSuite OneWorld as its new finance platform, working with Annexa to deliver the project.

Annexa came into the selection process late but quickly aligned with ROLLER’s billing and payments model, a factor that helped secure the engagement.

ROLLER decided to replace its multiple Xero instances with Oracle NetSuite OneWorld, selecting Annexa to lead the implementation.

Despite an ambitious timeline, the system went live on 1 February 2025, as planned, following a six-month implementation.

“From the get-go, we felt very comfortable working with Annexa. It quickly became clear that their product knowledge and practical understanding of NetSuite were strong; they were able to grasp our business model straight away,” said Pragati Sharma, Director of Finance Operations at ROLLER Software.

“They weren’t just providing an implementation service; they acted as true consultants, offering insights based on their experience with other businesses.”

“Every person I’ve interacted with on the Annexa team has been absolutely incredible, and it’s a partnership we value greatly as we continue to grow,” said Sharma

Following deployment, the shift in day-to-day finance operations was immediate. Revenue recognition, which previously required multiple team members and several days to complete, is now largely automated within NetSuite.

“Revenue recognition now takes the team only about 15 minutes each month. When we were using Xero, it took two to three days and required at least three people to complete,” Sharma said.

The new system also serves as a central layer across ROLLER’s financial ecosystem. Integrations with platforms such as Chargebee, Adyen and ProSpend, connected through the Celigo integration platform, have replaced manual data handling with automated flows.

With billing, payments and expenses consolidated into a single source of truth, the finance team now works from consistent, real-time data. Reporting cycles are faster, reconciliation is reduced and data accuracy has improved across the organisation.

“We wanted everything in one system so everyone had visibility of the data and could see how the different entities were performing without having to jump between tools,”

“Moving to NetSuite has significantly increased confidence internally and with the board, the numbers we’re producing now are accurate, and we’re receiving them earlier,” Sharma added.

According to Owens, the implementation reflects a broader shift in how ROLLER approaches scaling operations.

“What ROLLER has done here is put a platform in place that allows them to scale without that same increase in manual effort, processes or people,” said Owens

“That’s one of the advantages of cloud ERP, it gives you more structured processes without needing to add more headcount,” he said.

The partnership has since moved beyond implementation into ongoing optimisation. The system has changed how ROLLER approaches continuous improvement, with both teams now focused on refining workflows and unlocking further efficiencies.

“ROLLER came to us with a strong understanding of their business, the challenges they were facing and where they wanted to go, and we were able to bring the NetSuite ecosystem expertise to shape the right solution,”

“That made it much easier for us to deliver a smooth rollout.” Owens said.

ROLLER continues to position NetSuite as a core platform supporting its global operations, with future priorities including further automation across bank reconciliation, expense management and other financial processes as the business expands and pursues additional acquisitions.

The post ROLLER Software Scales Global Finance With NetSuite As Xero Reaches Its Limits appeared first on Tech Business News.

Content management systems underpin how websites are created, edited and published without manual coding, with WordPress remaining the dominant platform globally, powering more than 40% of sites.

EmDash is positioned as a modern alternative, built on a cloud-first architecture and designed for deployment either across Cloudflare’s global network or within existing infrastructure.

The platform is free and open source, reflecting a shift toward more flexible and scalable web development models.

Security is a central focus. Traditional CMS platforms rely heavily on third-party plugins, which often have broad access to site data and systems, making them a common source of vulnerabilities.

EmDash introduces an isolation model where each plugin runs in a separate environment with tightly defined permissions, limiting the impact of any single compromised component.

The platform also signals a shift in web monetisation. EmDash includes native support for pay-per-use access models, enabling publishers to charge for content consumption by users, automated tools and AI agents, rather than relying solely on subscription models.

Adressing The WordPress Plugin Security Gap

WordPress’ plugin model continues to expose sites to risk, with 96% of known vulnerabilities linked to plugins. In 2025, the number of high-severity flaws identified across the ecosystem exceeded the combined total of the previous two years.

At the core of the issue is architecture. Plugins are built as PHP scripts that integrate directly into WordPress, with no isolation layer.

This gives them broad access to the site’s database and filesystem, effectively requiring full trust that each plugin can safely handle malicious input and edge cases.

EmDash introduces a different approach. Each plugin operates within an isolated sandbox known as a Dynamic Worker, with access to data controlled through declared permissions in its manifest.

Built on modern web frameworks, EmDash is designed to deliver improved performance, reduced infrastructure overheads and greater flexibility, with migration tools available to help organisations transition existing WordPress sites.

The post Cloudflare Unveils New Open-Source CMS (EMDASH) That Can Replace WordPress  appeared first on Tech Business News.

Google’s Core Web Vitals framework has further reinforced the need for measurable performance improvements, making speed optimisation essential for any modern site.

This guide breaks down the most effective ways to improve website performance, from hosting upgrades to script optimisation and CDN deployment.

Why Website Speed Matters for SEO and Conversions

Page speed directly affects three critical areas:

• Search rankings: Google uses speed and Core Web Vitals as ranking signals
• User experience: Slow pages increase bounce rates and reduce engagement
• Conversions: Even a one-second delay can significantly impact sales and leads

Key performance metrics to monitor include:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
• First Input Delay (FID)
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
• Time to First Byte (TTFB)

Measuring Website Speed

Measuring website speed is essential to identify bottlenecks, track improvements and ensure consistent performance across devices.

The right tools provide insights into load times, Core Web Vitals and real user data. Some for the best are.

1. Move Away from Shared Hosting to a VPS or Dedicated Environment

Shared hosting is often the biggest bottleneck for growing websites. Resources such as CPU, RAM, and disk I/O are shared across multiple users, leading to inconsistent performance.

Why Upgrade Hosting

• Reduced server response time (lower TTFB)
• Dedicated resources improve stability under traffic spikes
• Greater control over server configuration

Recommended Options

• VPS (Virtual Private Server): A cost-effective upgrade with dedicated resources
• Cloud hosting: Scalable infrastructure that adjusts to demand
• Dedicated servers: Maximum performance for high-traffic sites

For WordPress sites, managed VPS solutions often strike the best balance between performance and ease of use.

Fast Hosting & VPS Providers 2026 – The Winners

2. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)

A CDN distributes your website’s static assets across a global network of servers. Users are served content from the closest geographical location, reducing latency.

Benefits of a CDN

• Faster load times for global audiences
• Reduced load on origin server
• Built-in caching and DDoS protection

What to Cache via CDN

• Images
• CSS and JavaScript files
• Fonts
• Static HTML (in some configurations)

Proper CDN configuration can reduce load times by several seconds, especially for international traffic.

Content Delivery Network Providers & Services

3. Optimise WordPress with Performance Plugins

WordPress sites often become slow due to excessive plugins and unoptimised configurations. The right performance plugins can significantly improve speed.

Essential Plugin Categories

Caching Plugins

These store static versions of your pages to reduce server processing time.

• Page caching
• Browser caching
• Object caching

Image Optimisation Plugins

Compress and convert images to modern formats such as WebP or AVIF.

Database Optimisation Plugins

Clean up unused data such as revisions, spam comments, and transient options.

Asset Optimisation Plugins

Minify and combine CSS and JavaScript files.

Best Practices

• Avoid installing multiple plugins that perform the same function
• Regularly audit and remove unused plugins
• Use lightweight themes optimised for speed

WordPress Speed And Performance Optimisation Plugins

4. Reduce Scripts and Unnecessary Code

Excessive scripts are one of the most common causes of slow websites. Many themes and plugins load scripts globally, even when they are not needed.

Key Optimisation Techniques

• Defer JavaScript: Load scripts after the main content
• Async loading: Prevent scripts from blocking page rendering
• Remove unused CSS: Eliminate styles not used on the page
• Limit third-party scripts: Reduce reliance on external tools such as trackers and widgets

Common Performance Drains

• Marketing tags and analytics scripts
• Social media embeds
• Chat widgets
• Excessive animation libraries

Reducing script load can dramatically improve Core Web Vitals scores.

5. Optimise Images and Media Files

Images are often the largest assets on a webpage and a major contributor to slow load times.

Best Practices

• Compress images without noticeable quality loss
• Use next-gen formats like WebP or AVIF
• Implement lazy loading for below-the-fold images
• Resize images to match display dimensions

Video Optimisation

• Avoid self-hosting large video files
• Use external platforms and embed efficiently
• Delay loading until user interaction

6. Enable Advanced Caching Strategies

Caching reduces the need to regenerate content for every user request.

Types of Caching

• Browser caching: Stores assets locally on the user’s device
• Server-side caching: Pre-generates HTML pages
• Object caching: Speeds up database queries
• Opcode caching: Improves PHP performance

Combining multiple caching layers can significantly reduce load times.

7. Minify and Compress Files

Minification removes unnecessary characters from code, while compression reduces file sizes during transfer.

Techniques

• Minify HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
• Enable GZIP or Brotli compression
• Combine files where appropriate

These optimisations reduce bandwidth usage and improve load speed.

8. Improve Database Performance

Over time, databases become bloated with unused data, slowing down queries.

Optimisation Steps

• Remove post revisions and drafts
• Clean up orphaned metadata
• Optimise database tables
• Limit autosave intervals

For high-traffic sites, consider using dedicated database servers or caching layers such as Redis.

9. Use HTTP/2 or HTTP/3

Modern protocols improve how data is transferred between server and browser.

Benefits

• Faster multiplexing of requests
• Reduced latency
• Improved performance for asset-heavy pages

Most modern hosting providers and CDNs support these protocols by default.

10. Reduce Redirects and Fix Broken Links

Each redirect adds additional HTTP requests, increasing load time.

Best Practices

• Minimise redirect chains
• Fix broken internal links
• Use direct URLs wherever possible

11. Optimise Fonts and External Resources

Fonts and third-party resources can slow down rendering.

Recommendations

• Use system fonts where possible
• Limit font weights and styles
• Preload critical fonts
• Host fonts locally instead of relying on external providers

12. Monitor Performance Continuously

Speed optimisation is not a one-time task. Ongoing monitoring ensures performance remains stable as the site evolves.

Tools to Use

• Google PageSpeed Insights
• Lighthouse
• GTmetrix
• WebPageTest

Track Core Web Vitals and identify regressions after updates or plugin changes.

WordPress Optimisation Task Priority Checklist

Static, PHP and WordPress Explained for Speed, Flexibility and Performance

As of early 2026, WordPress powers about 42.6 per cent of all websites worldwide. That means roughly four out of every ten sites on the internet are built with WordPress, making it the most widely used content management system globally.

Within this figure includes sites that use WordPress as their CMS and is based on aggregated web technology surveys.

Within the CMS market specifically, WordPress’s dominance is even clearer. Among sites that use a content management system, WordPress accounts for nearly 60% of usage, far ahead of other platforms such as Shopify and Wix.

By contrast, static sites and custom PHP websites are harder to quantify precisely because they do not always fall into a single tracked category.

Static sites include everything from hand-coded HTML pages to sites generated by static site generators, and they make up a significant portion of the web outside CMS usage.

Custom PHP sites are also widely used across frameworks and bespoke applications, but their usage is spread across multiple categories, which makes direct percentage comparisons less precise.

In summary:

• WordPress is used by about 42.6 per cent of all websites globally in 2026
  
  
• Within CMS platforms, WordPress holds around 59.7 per cent of the market
  
  
• Static and custom PHP sites account for a large portion of the remaining web, but are not tracked as a single unified category in most datasets

This data highlights how dominant WordPress remains, while also showing that a significant share of the internet is built using alternative architectures that prioritise either simplicity, flexibility or performance.

Statistical Conclusion: Website – WordPress Speed In 2025–2026

Recent industry data shows website performance is now tightly linked to rankings, revenue and user retention, with even small delays producing measurable losses.

In 2025, well-optimised websites typically load primary content in around 1.7% to 1.9% seconds under ideal conditions, yet real-world averages remain closer to 2.5% seconds on desktop and up to 8.6% seconds on mobile, highlighting a persistent performance gap.

User expectations remain significantly higher than actual performance. Around 50% of users expect a page to load within 2 seconds, while 53% abandon a site if it takes longer than 3 seconds, making this range the critical threshold for engagement.

From a commercial perspective, the impact is immediate. Every 1% second delay reduces conversions by approximately 7%, while even a 0.1% second delay can reduce sales by around 1%.

Conversely, small improvements deliver strong gains, with 0.1% second speed improvements increasing conversion rates by up to 7%.

Performance also remains a competitive advantage rather than a standard.

Fewer than half of websites meet Core Web Vitals benchmarks, particularly on mobile, while sites that do achieve compliant performance can see ranking-related improvements of around 10% to 15%.

Conversion data further reinforces the divide between fast and slow sites. Pages loading in around 1 second can reach conversion rates near 39%, compared to roughly 29% at 3 seconds, with significantly higher performance than sites loading in 5 seconds or more.

Out-Take – Summary

Improving website speed requires a combination of infrastructure upgrades, front-end optimisation, and ongoing monitoring. Moving away from shared hosting, implementing a CDN, reducing scripts, and optimising WordPress are among the most impactful steps.

For most websites, the biggest gains come from addressing fundamentals first, including hosting quality, caching, and image optimisation. Once those are in place, deeper technical improvements can deliver further performance gains and long-term SEO benefits.

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A recent survey found that 27% of Australians are currently through a side hustle or micro-business, while another 28% are considering launching one within the next year, highlighting the growing role of supplementary income streams in household finances. (Over 55%)

“The side hustle economy is now firmly re-shaping how people work and earn,” said Anthony Mathews, Westpac National General Manager, SME and Small Business. 

“And it isn’t just a big city phenomenon. Australians in regional areas are just as innovative and engaged in side hustles as those in our capital cities.”

Extra income is driving the trend

For most people, the motivation is clear: earning more money.

More than three-quarters (77%) of those with — or considering — a side hustle say supplementing their income is the main reason behind it. The motivation is particularly strong among women (83%) and regional Australians (83%).

“While financial relief is the primary driver, we’re also seeing Australians pursue side hustles for personal fulfilment, flexibility, and to explore their passions,” Mathews added.

Younger Australians leading the way

The data shows participation is highest among Australians under 50, with those aged 18–34 averaging 1.75 different side hustles when they operate one.

Among the most common activities are:

• Retail and e-commerce (30%)
• Creative content (20%)
• Gig-economy services such as rideshare driving (18%)

“Whether it’s someone selling homemade ceramics at the local markets, providing graphic design services on weekends, or dog walking in their local area, there is no end to Australian ingenuity,” said Mathews.

“Side hustles are helping people earn extra income, often while doing what they love,” he said.

Queenslanders appear the most likely to have an additional income stream, with 34% currently earning through a side hustle, followed by Victoria (28%) and NSW & ACT (23%). – More than 55% overall.

Interestingly, participation rates are almost identical between metropolitan and regional areas, with 27% of metro residents and 28% of regional Australians reporting they currently have a side hustle.

Earnings vary widely

While most side hustles bring in relatively modest income, the earnings potential varies significantly.

Around two-thirds (67%) earn less than $500 per month, while 18% generate $1,000 or more. On average, side hustlers earn around $736 a month, equivalent to roughly $8,800 a year.

Most people (62%) plan to keep their side hustle as a small supplementary income stream. However, 30% hope to eventually scale their venture into a part-time or full-time business.

“The potential of side hustles shouldn’t be underestimated,” said Mathews.

“At Westpac, we’ve seen many examples of successful global businesses that started as side hustles. Great Australian business success stories often start with one person who sees a problem they can solve and has the guts and the right support to bring that idea to reality,” he said.

Informal advice networks dominate

Despite the growing interest in entrepreneurship, most side hustlers rely on informal sources of support rather than professional advice.

The most common resources used include:

• Friends and family (36%)
• Social media groups (34%)
• YouTube tutorials (31%)

“The research suggests that formalised supports, such as government programs and advice from financial institutions, are under-utilised.

“There’s a clear opportunity to better support Australia’s side hustle economy with education and practical resources to help them scale their businesses.”

“From a finance perspective, for example, we often hear feedback from our customers that separating business and personal finances gives them clearer insights into what their business is generating – what’s coming in and what’s going out.”

“We also currently have a $100 cashback offer for eligible customers opening a new Westpac business transaction account,” Mathews said

Top reasons Australians start side hustles

1. Earn extra income to ease financial pressures – 77%
2. Personal fulfilment – 31%
3. Flexibility and/or independence – 29%
4. Explore passion and/or creativity – 29%
5. Build long-term wealth – 27%

Biggest barriers to starting or growing a side hustle

• Lack of time – 33%
• Work-life balance – 28%
• Lack of knowledge / don’t know where to start – 28%
• Upfront costs of tools or equipment – 27%
• Lack of confidence – 25%

Top Australian Side Hustles in 2026

Australia’s Growing Side-Hustle Culture Is Emerging

Australia’s growing side-hustle culture is emerging alongside a broader shift in the labour market, with freelancing and independent work becoming a significant part of the national economy.

Recent labour market data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows there were around 1.1 million independent contractors in Australia in 2025, representing roughly 7.6% of the workforce.

When sole traders and other forms of freelance work are included, industry estimates suggest millions more Australians are earning income outside traditional employment structures.

At the same time, the gig-platform sector continues to expand rapidly, with analysts estimating the Australian gig economy was worth more than $9 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow strongly over the rest of the decade.

The shift is being driven by both workers and businesses. Increasingly, professionals are seeking flexible ways to earn income, while companies are turning to freelancers and project-based workers to access specialised skills on demand.

Together, the trends point to a structural shift in how Australians work and earn, with many moving beyond a single full-time role to build multiple income streams across freelancing, e-commerce, creative services and gig work.

Rising living costs and easier access to digital platforms are blurring the lines between employees, freelancers and entrepreneurs, pointing to a side-hustle economy that is becoming a lasting shift in Australia’s workforce rather than a passing trend.

In 2026, the strongest side hustles in Australia are centred on AI-driven content creation, online tutoring and specialised freelancing. Demand is also rising in areas such as digital marketing and virtual assistance

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