A faster, easier website for MTB Strength Factory
A website rebuild that reduced fully loaded time by 57%, simplified everyday updates and made newsletter sign-ups a priority.
arrow_downward Load time
Page load reduced by 57%
arrow_upward Simplicity
Everyday updates made easy
Ben helps mountain bikers improve their strength, fitness and confidence. Through MTB Strength Factory, he shares specialist training advice and sells programmes designed around the demands of riding.
But his website was making it harder to reach potential customers. Slow loading times were losing him visitors from paid advertising, while routine updates took more effort than they should. The rebuild needed to address both problems and reflect his recent move from The Strength Factory to MTB Strength Factory.
Paying for visitors who never reached the content
Ben’s biggest frustration was the speed of his ageing WordPress website. Pages were slow to load, with an even worse experience for visitors in America. People clicking through from paid advertising were leaving before they had even seen what his business offered.
It had reached the point where Ben was using a third party landing page for his campaigns because he couldn’t rely on his own website. That made performance a business problem: he was paying to attract potential customers, but the website was getting in the way before they could explore a programme or join his newsletter.
The performance report made those delays clear. The browser waited 2.2 seconds to receive the first byte of data, before it could begin displaying the page. The website took 10.4 seconds to fully load in the same test.
The brief was therefore about more than updating the design. Ben needed a website that gave visitors quicker access to his content and could better support the marketing bringing them there.
A rebuild that worked for Ben as well as his visitors
We rebuilt the website in Umbraco, making faster performance and simpler content editing priorities throughout development.
Umbraco provides a good foundation for a fast website because it gives developers control over how pages are built and what they load. It doesn’t impose a theme or add its own front end scripts and styles, giving us the freedom to keep pages lean and tailor the build to Ben’s needs. That flexibility supported our focus on getting visitors to his advice and training programmes more quickly.
For Ben, managing the content is straightforward. Using Umbraco’s back end editor, he can select individual content blocks, edit headings and text, and add images or videos through familiar, point and click controls. Routine changes don’t require him to work with code. The content blocks are built to follow the website’s styles and layouts, so Ben can make updates confidently, knowing his content will stay consistent with the design.
This makes it easier to publish training advice, share new videos and update programme information, with less reliance on a developer. Ben has more control over keeping the website current, while his visitors benefit from faster access to the content.
Bringing the mountain biking focus into the design
Before the rebuild began, Ben had renamed the business from The Strength Factory to MTB Strength Factory. The change made his specialism explicit: riders discovering him through search, social media or advertising could immediately see who his training was for.
Our design carried that focus through the website. Mountain biking imagery reinforced the connection between Ben’s coaching and the sport, while clearer layouts gave his content and programmes more structure.
There was no need to discard everything about the existing identity. Ben already liked its colours and overall feel, so we retained the dark backgrounds and bold blue accents, building on a style he wanted to keep.
We paired that familiar identity with simpler navigation, clearer calls to action and a stronger focus on the main programme pages. The aim was to help visitors understand the offer and find their next step, whether they wanted training advice or were ready to explore a paid programme.
Giving the newsletter a clear role
The website’s main goal is to encourage riders to sign up for Ben’s free newsletter. It gives him a way to stay in touch with people interested in his coaching, share useful advice and introduce his paid training programmes over time.
That goal shaped the homepage. We gave the sign up form a prominent position near the top and explained what subscribers would receive: training tips, useful content and programme discounts.
The messaging gives riders a specific reason to subscribe. It also connects the website to Ben’s wider marketing: a visit can become an ongoing relationship through email, giving him further opportunities to demonstrate his expertise and promote relevant programmes.
We also built in A/B testing options so Ben can compare different layouts and calls to action. This gives him a practical way to learn which approaches encourage more sign ups and refine the website using those results.
Measurable improvements in performance
The before and after GTmetrix reports show how much the website’s performance changed:
| Measure | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| GTmetrix grade | C | A |
| Performance score | 60% | 100% |
| Largest Contentful Paint | 2.8 seconds | 0.573 seconds |
| Fully loaded time | 10.4 seconds | 4.5 seconds |
Both reports were run from London on 22 October 2026.
Fully loaded time fell by 57%, from 10.4 seconds to 4.5 seconds. The improvement was also visible earlier in the loading process: the largest visible content element appeared in under 0.6 seconds, compared with 2.8 seconds before. This matters because visitors can see key content before the rest of the page has finished loading.
Ben has also reported more sales since launch.
Alongside the measured speed improvements, the finished website makes routine updates easier and gives the newsletter and training programmes clearer roles. It addresses the problems that prompted the rebuild while reflecting MTB Strength Factory’s specialist audience.
The finished website brings together faster performance, easier content updates and a refreshed design that reflects MTB Strength Factory’s specialist focus. It gives Ben a stronger platform for sharing his knowledge and selling his training programmes.
Does your website need a fresh start?
Wondering whether your own website needs a fresh start or a few improvements? If your website is slow, difficult to update or making it harder for customers to buy, get in touch. We can help you work out what needs to change.
For a starting point, read our guide, Should I rebuild or fix my website?
Let's chat
If you have a specific project in mind, or you’re not sure what you need, please get in touch - we’d be happy to chat, even if it’s just for friendly advice! We’re based in Clevedon, near Bristol and work with businesses across the UK.