WordPress Modernization For a Marketing Agency

How modernizing their WordPress website enabled a UAE marketing agency to slash the speed of web page creation by half and level up Google PageSpeed Insights score from 32 to 92 on average, significantly improving Core Web Vitals for desktop, such as LCP (from 4.5 to 2 seconds), INP (from 600 to 200 milliseconds), and CLS (from 0.3 to 0.1).

Industry:
Entertainment and Media

Web Development

Home / UAE

Business challenge

“Set it and forget it” isn’t something you can hope for in the digital world. Websites need updates every few years, or they become slow, clunky, and vulnerable.

Our client, a UAE marketing agency, learned this the hard way. Their WordPress website hadn’t seen an update for almost a decade. A newly set solution coped with 3.000 users per day glitch-free. However, over the years, traffic quadrupled, bringing performance, efficiency, and security concerns to the surface.

Performance was tanking, with Core Web Vitals way below acceptable standards. There was no way to enhance them while maintaining the current WordPress version.
The website team was overloaded with manual workflows, such as software testing, marking up every page from scratch, and managing redirects across 500+ pages to avoid conflicts between the plugins they rely on.
The website’s security was jeopardized because of compatibility issues between multiple third-party plugins and the old WordPress version.

Considering all that, the client had a decision to make — modernize their existing website on WordPress or switch to another CMS. With no in-house expertise to weigh their options, they contacted *instinctools.

Solution

Our team started by assessing the as-is state and communicating with the stakeholders to clarify their overall project priorities to map out the most efficient route to the spot-on, well-performing website.

A deep-dive tech assessment uncovered that website modernization would be enough to tick all the boxes — no need for a CMS migration. We suggested:

Fixing performance issues by updating the WordPress version, integrating specific plugins to boost website speed, and replacing their current server with one that can handle high loads with minimal resource consumption.
Implementing CI/CD and automating UI tasks with the help of Docker and a WordPress website builder.
Honing website security by reviewing third-party plugins they used and keeping only the ones with regular updates to close security gaps.

With a clear roadmap in place, our team of software and system engineers got to work.

Unlocking quick-wins

The first step was to upgrade the client’s WordPress from 4.1 to the latest version, 6.4.2.

This upgrade alone made an instant impact:

Automated redirects instead of manual fixes for every 404 error.
New performance-focused plugins, such as NitroPack, became available.
Enhanced security — a modern WordPress core meant better compatibility with third-party plugins.

Boosting website performance

Moving forward, we took on removing architectural roadblocks on the way to faster page loading time.

Implementing NitroPack plugin

With the latest version of WordPress, NitroPack was finally up for grabs. By enabling smart caching, a built-in content delivery network (CDN), and image optimization, NitroPack gave the site a massive speed boost.

Based on PageSpeed Insights data, our team also optimized the script and style sheets, which had previously contributed to poor performance.

Switching from Apache to Nginx

The client’s website initially relied on the Apache server. Its synchronous, process-driven architecture, which implies creating a thread for each connection request, suits smaller sites but becomes an obstacle when they grow.

Therefore, we recommended shifting to Nginx, a server with asynchronous, event-driven architecture that enables multiple connections to be handled within a single process. This server was designed to manage high loads with minimal memory and CPU consumption, making it a perfect fit for enterprise-grade corporate websites.

We also integrated NitroPack with the Nginx Helper plugin to additionally increase caching efficiency.

Doubling down on automation

While the WordPress upgrade enabled some automation, it wasn’t enough to lessen the burden of day-to-day manual tasks. During the tech assessment, the *instinctools team identified two major areas with the highest potential for automation.

CI/CD implementation

Previously, developers had to manually push every code change from local repositories to GitLab, then deploy it to staging and production.

Our system engineers enabled faster development cycles by establishing a solid and consistent CI/CD pipeline and adopting Docker.

UI automation

There’re numerous WordPress website builders, such as Elementor, Divi, Brizy, Beaver, Visual Composer, SeedProd, etc., to leverage and simplify creating, editing, and customizing the website pages. We opted for Elementor Pro for its high intuitiveness and customizability paired with the broadest range of features.

We accelerated the web page markup process from 8 to 4 hours on average by introducing reusable generic blocks, widgets, and shortcodes.

Ensuring smooth integration with the client’s software ecosystem

The client’s website integrates with various SEO and marketing tools, so we ensured everything stayed intact post-upgrade. The only minor hiccup we had to deal with was caused by NitroPack, which blocked the HubSpot forms from displaying on the website. We resolved it by configuring NitroPack bypass caching for HubSpot-related scripts.

Before

Overreliance on manual workflows
Apache server failed to keep up with the growing amount of traffic
Outdated WordPress version caused security risks
Limited plugin choices

After

CI/CD implementation and automation of UI-related tasks
Nginx server efficiently handles high loads with minimal resource consumption
Regular updates keep security tight
Access to a vast pool of plugins compatible with the newest WordPress version

Business value

Stable and scalable CI/CD pipeline
Fewer manual operations
Core Web Vitals for desktop were significantly improved: LCP from 4.5 to 2 seconds, INP from 600 to 200 milliseconds, and CLS from 0.3 to 0.1
Google PageSpeed Insights score raised from 32 to 92
Reduce the speed of web page creation by half

Multiplier effect

When performance and security degrade, many businesses assume they need to switch platforms. But in reality, modernization often delivers the same results with lower costs and fewer disruptions.

However, this option is not a one-time fix — your solution requires regular health checks anyway. We suggest running a tech assessment every three years to ensure your website or app stays future-proof and high-performing, on your terms.

Data Analytics and Visualization for Insurance

Reimagining Claims and Operational Reporting For a Global Insurance Corporation

How adopting Oracle BI with dynamic data visualization templates allowed a global insurance corporation with 150,000+ docs turnover to automate 92% of its claims reporting and operational analytics workflows, decrease flaw detection time from several days to 2–4 hours, and leave no room for human error.

Domain:
Enterprise Content Management

Budget:
$2.000.000 +

Team:
13 developers, 4 QA engineers, 2 Team Leads, a Project Manager

Duration:
4 years

Home / UAE

Challenge

About 150,000 documents, such as claims files, policy documents, underwriting dossiers, and related records, are created annually within our client’s organization. Their lifecycle spans claim registration, assessment, approval, payout, compliance review, and long-term archiving. Although the company had already moved away from fully paper-based processes, many workflows remained fragmented across legacy systems, leading to delays, duplicated efforts, and limited transparency into ongoing operations.

As the organization scaled beyond thousands of employees, these inefficiencies manifested as major bottlenecks, hindering core insurance processes:

Claims approvals and policy-related workflows were frequently slowed down by manual coordination, while operational data remained scattered across departments.
Executives lacked a consolidated view of operational performance, making it difficult to detect bottlenecks early, manage service levels, or prioritize actions based on real-time insights.

At the same time, increasing regulatory pressure required consistent, traceable reporting supported by reliable data. Without automation and end-to-end visibility into claims and workflows, the company faced growing operational risk and limited ability to improve performance at scale.

Under these conditions, implementing a BI-driven approach to reporting and analysis became vital for ensuring transparency, efficiency, and sustainable growth.

Task

The Instinctools team took over rewiring the existing document workflow system and turning it into a practical reporting tool for insurance operations. The goal was to give teams a clear view of claims and operational processes, make reporting faster and easier, and enable near real-time analytical visibility across departments and business units instead of semi-manual tracking.

Solution

Working on the project, our team:

Rebuilt and optimized the reporting system so reports could be generated faster and used more effectively in day-to-day operations
Added deferred reporting, allowing heavy reports to run in the background without interrupting ongoing work
Introduced dynamic reporting, where dashboards and visualizations automatically update as claims-related and operational data changes
Enabled on-demand reporting and processing for large datasets, helping teams work with high volumes of claims and policy data without delays
Designed a view-based Oracle DB data model (dynamic and materialized views) to ensure stable, consistent access to operational data
Created reusable visualization templates to simplify reporting and keep analytics consistent across teams
Improved the system interface to make reporting workflows more intuitive for business and operational users

As a result, most reporting steps that previously required manual data collection, preparation, and formatting were automated, removing repetitive work from claims and operational teams.

Key features

Improved UI/UX design for faster navigation across claims and operational reports

Flexible data analysis with the ability to slice and dice large volumes of claims and policy data

Historical data preservation for tracking trends and comparing past and current performance

Access Control List (ACL) integration to manage report visibility based on user roles and responsibilities

Benefits

Clear visibility into current and historical claims and operational processes
More informative reports that support faster decision-making
Easier identification of bottlenecks and problem areas requiring immediate attention
Reduced time needed to detect issues and inconsistencies in operational workflows
Role-based access to reports, ensuring teams see the data relevant to their responsibilities
Improved end-to-end transparency, allowing executives to monitor operational execution across departments
Data export in multiple formats for deeper analysis in third-party tools

Technologies

Facility Access Control To Hone Security For a Software Services Provider

How crafting a mobile app for seamless access control allowed a software company to remove hassle from the process of building a secure physical perimeter for software development and increase employee satisfaction rate by 27%.

Home / UAE

Challenge

We needed to provide an access control system with automated user identification without requiring the user to take an action.

The automated access control system was supposed to work via a mobile app using Bluetooth LE and centralized server to allow remote manipulation of locks.

Solution

To solve this problem, we developed a mobile app for iOS & Android. This app determines the distance to the door. When a certain threshold is reached, it signals the server to open the door. The server, in turn, communicates with the release mechanism through internal channels..

Key Features

Automatic opening of doors when approaching it. You don’t need to place a chip on the door. You only need to have a cell phone with the installed app

Seamless access control system: it prevents unauthorized access attempts, but at the same time doesn’t require any further action. That is, the door opens on its own by the time you approach it.

Technologies

Yoga Mobile App For a Wellness Company

How enriching their yoga app with a premium individual plan feature allowed a wellness company to introduce a subscription-based model and monetize their existing solution.

Home / UAE

About the client

The world’s favorite and most advanced mobile yoga studio to date! Enjoyed by over 7 million fans worldwide.

This app is beautiful, simple and delightful to use. 289 poses and breathing exercises, all shown in stunning HD video, make it the largest database of yoga poses. Search for poses by skill level, fitness goal or by type.