Ranktics.com already scored 99 on Google PageSpeed Insights before we touched it, and the score is now 100. The number barely moved, but the page loads about a third faster on a mobile connection.
We didn't redesign anything, compress a single image or change a line of code. We moved the site to HigherHost, switched DNS and put a CDN in front of it. This post shows what that did, and why a perfect score can hide a real improvement.
What we changed
Ranktics is a link building agency, and its homepage was already lean. So the test was clean: same site, same content, same design. Only the infrastructure changed.
- Hosting: the site moved to HigherHost's WordPress servers.
- DNS: we moved the domain to faster DNS servers.
- CDN: we put a CDN in front of the site, so visitors get it from a location close to them.
The results
Every loading metric improved by 32% to 37%. We tested the mobile homepage in Google PageSpeed Insights (Lighthouse 13.5.0, emulated Moto G Power, slow 4G throttling) on 8 October 2026, before and after the move.
| Metric (mobile) | Before | After | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Performance score | 99 | 100 | +1 point |
| First Contentful Paint | 1.4 s | 0.9 s | 0.5 s faster (36%) |
| Largest Contentful Paint | 1.9 s | 1.3 s | 0.6 s faster (32%) |
| Speed Index | 3.0 s | 1.9 s | 1.1 s faster (37%) |
| Total Blocking Time | 0 ms | 0 ms | unchanged |
| Cumulative Layout Shift | 0 | 0 | unchanged |
Before: PageSpeed Insights, mobile, on the old host (8 October 2026, 22:29 CEST).
After: the same test on HigherHost (8 October 2026, 22:48 CEST).
Three weeks later: we ran the test again on 29 October 2026 (13:18 CET) and the result held. The score is still 100, with First Contentful Paint at 0.9 s, Largest Contentful Paint at 1.2 s and Speed Index at 1.7 s.
Why a score of 100 hides the real gain
The PageSpeed score is capped at 100, and it flattens once a page is fast enough. Going from 99 to 100 looks like nothing. The underlying timings tell the real story: visitors see content half a second sooner, and the main image or headline appears 0.6 seconds earlier.
That matters because the score is a ceiling, not a measurement of speed. Two sites can both show 99 or 100 while one still loads a third faster than the other. If you only watch the score, you miss that difference.
Blocking time and layout shift were already at zero, so those could not improve. Everything that could get faster did.
Why each change helps
- Better servers: a managed WordPress stack answers each request faster. The browser gets the first byte sooner, and everything after it starts earlier.
- Faster DNS: before a browser can load a site, it must look up the domain. Quicker DNS servers shorten that first step, which helps First Contentful Paint.
- CDN: static files such as images, CSS and fonts are served from a location near the visitor, so there is less distance and less waiting. This mostly helps Largest Contentful Paint and Speed Index.
The takeaway
Fast hosting is not only for slow sites. Even a page that already scores 99 gets noticeably quicker when the infrastructure underneath improves, and visitors and search engines both notice speed.
Want to see what it does for your own site? We'll copy your WordPress or WooCommerce site to HigherHost for free and show you a before-and-after speed test. Request your free site copy and compare the numbers yourself.