Case Study: Pharmaceutical Site Boosts Speed and Conversions in 10 Days
Quick Summary (If You Are in a Hurry)
- The client was a pharmaceutical company with a website built on a custom CMS that no one understood anymore.
- Pages loaded slowly, images were 2 MB or more, and the site was not responsive.
- Over 70% of their traffic came from mobile, but the site broke on phones. They had visitors, but no sales.
- I logged into their hosting and saw the real issue: heavy, unoptimized images and a CMS that only the original developer could use.
- I advised them to move to WordPress with a reputable responsive theme, optimize all images, and rebuild the key pages.
- Within about 10 days, speed, usability, and conversions improved, and the owner finally felt in control of her website.
The lesson: if you cannot control your CMS and mobile experience, you lose sales even when you have traffic.
Full Case Study
Client and Website
This client was a pharmaceutical company that sold products across the whole country. They shipped orders by courier and postal service. The website was an important sales channel, not just a brochure.
Their site ran on an unknown custom CMS. It was coded by a developer who had disappeared. The team was three women: the owner and two colleagues in marketing and sales. None of them knew how to work with that CMS.
The site had no responsive design. It did not adapt to mobile screens. Many product images were 2 MB or larger. Visitors arrived, but the site felt slow and broken.
The Problem
When they contacted me, they said something very simple. They could not change product images, and the site was very slow. They were stuck, and the developer who built it would not answer their calls or emails.
Their main goal was also simple. They wanted to update images and keep the site working. They did not want something fancy. They just wanted a site they could manage on their own.
But the symptoms were serious. The backend was confusing. The CMS had no tools for image optimization. Every product image had a different size and a large file weight. Pages crawled, especially on mobile.
Google Analytics showed a clear fact. About 70% of visitors came from mobile phones. Yet the site had no responsive design at all. How can a user buy if they cannot even view the page?
They blamed the missing developer, and that part was fair. But the deeper problem was the choice of CMS and the lack of basic web standards. If they did nothing, they would keep getting traffic but miss out on sales. How long can that last in a competitive market?
What I Found
I asked for access to their shared hosting and to the CMS. Once I logged in and looked at the file structure, it became clear. Product images were huge. Many were 2 MB or more. None were optimized for the web.
The CMS had no automatic image compression. No resizing. No simple way for a non-technical user to upload and optimize assets. Every change required a developer.
My first clear insight was that this was not just “a slow site.” It was the wrong tool for this team. You might think the fix is just to compress images. But what happens the next time they add new ones?
I explained it to them in plain language. The pages were slow because the images were too large. The site looked bad on phones because there was no mobile layout. The platform itself was holding them back.
There was also a time limit. They needed the site to work well, and they needed it soon. They had no extra staff. They had no time to learn a complex custom system.
The Plan We Followed
My advice had two parts.
First, we had to fix the obvious problem: the heavy images. I told them they needed web-optimized images, saved in the right dimensions and reduced file sizes.
Second, and more important, we needed to replace the CMS. Staying on that unknown system meant they would be dependent on one missing developer forever. Does that feel safe for any business?
We chose WordPress as the new platform. I suggested a well-known, responsive theme from a reputable developer. It had solid support and room to grow, including a future online store if they wanted it.
The owner hired an experienced web developer. I worked as the bridge between them. With the owner, I spoke in simple business language. With the developer, I translated those needs into clear technical tasks.
I wrote a detailed PDF for the developer and for the team. It described the steps in order: set up WordPress, install the chosen theme, configure responsive layouts, optimize and upload new product images, and apply basic on-site SEO.
The developer handled most of the technical work. I stayed in contact, answering questions and checking that the site matched what the owner wanted. It was a simple chain: owner explains business needs to me, I translate, developer builds.
The Results
The new WordPress site was the opposite of what they had before. It loaded fast. It worked on phones and tablets. It had a clean, professional design that matched a serious pharmaceutical brand.
Conversions improved because users could finally browse products without fighting the layout. Usability increased. Time on site went up. With basic on-site SEO in place, rankings in Google started to improve and organic traffic grew.
We also set the foundations for email marketing. They began building an email list they could use later for promotions and updates.
The owner’s reaction said a lot. She told me that in about 10 days we had solved problems they had been struggling with for months. She was very grateful and later came back several times to ask for help on new ideas.
The emotional shift was strong. She moved from feeling stuck and dependent on one missing developer to feeling calm and in control. A WordPress site with a solid theme meant that, in the future, many people could help her. She now had real options.
Key Lessons for Other Site Owners
- A custom CMS can be a trap if only one developer understands it. Choose a platform where you can always find help.
- Large, unoptimized images kill mobile performance. File size matters as much as design.
- If most of your visitors are on mobile, responsive design is not optional. It is the base layer.
- A consultant can act as a translator between business needs and technical tasks. That bridge saves time and money.
- Before building a site, think about long-term control. Who will update it next year, not just this week?
Are You Facing a Similar Problem Right Now?
It can be stressful when your site feels slow, old, or out of your control. Many owners blame themselves, but often the real issue is the platform and the choices made years ago. Most of these problems can be solved with clear steps and the right tools.
If you want calm, simple help to understand your own website, you can contact me.