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From Crashes and SEO Struggles to 95+ PageSpeed: Why Puna.nl Left WordPress for Newsifier
"Before Newsifier, I felt like I was running a tech company. Now, I can finally focus on publishing — and our traffic and revenue have never looked better."
The Netherlands’ Hip-Hop News Leader — Held Back by WordPress
Puna.nl is one of the Netherlands’ most iconic platforms for hip-hop and urban music news.
But behind the scenes, the tech was falling apart. An outdated WordPress setup patched with plugins and custom code led to crashes, slow load times, and failed SEO audits — right when major stories were breaking.
“We had the content. We had the audience. But the tech was getting in the way,” the founder says.
After switching to Newsifier, PageSpeed scores now top 95, Google Discover traffic is booming, and revenue is up more than 60%.
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The Challenges: A Constant Battle with WordPress
Outdated WordPress & Plugin Chaos
Puna.nl started with WordPress like many publishers. But over time, the number of plugins stacked up. Many were paid, some were outdated, and most didn’t play nicely together.
“You’d only notice something broke when it was already causing problems. Sometimes a plugin hadn’t been updated in months, and it would suddenly crash the whole site,” he says.
There was no warning — just a broken site and a scramble to fix it.
Crashes During Viral Moments
When an article went viral, the excitement quickly turned into panic. The site couldn’t handle the traffic surges. Hosting providers offered one answer only: upgrade.
“Whenever we hit a spike, I’d get a message: ‘You’re out of resources. You need to scale up.’ That was their solution every time — pay more.”
Instead of celebrating traffic wins, the team was firefighting crashes.
Slow Site, Poor SEO & Missing Google Discover traffic
Site speed wasn’t just a user experience issue. It affected visibility on Google. Puna.nl struggled with poor Core Web Vitals and slow loading times.
“Our Google traffic was never that strong. Looking back, I think our tech setup was the problem — we just weren’t meeting the quality signals.”
And because of that, Discover traffic — one of the biggest growth levers for news publishers — never really took off.
Too Much Time on Technical Work
As the founder, he didn’t want to be a developer. But every week, he was deep in technical problems.
“There were times I spent entire weekends fixing plugin conflicts or dealing with crashes. I started to feel like I was running a tech company, not a media brand.”
It was exhausting, unscalable, and completely unsustainable.
Why Puna.nl Switched to Newsifier
SEO Improvements & 95+ PageSpeed
Since migrating to Newsifier, Puna.nl scores above 95 on PageSpeed for both mobile and desktop. All Core Web Vitals are now in the green.
The difference in visibility was immediate.
“Within days, our Google Discover traffic came back. That was a turning point. We now get 20–25% of our traffic from Google. That never happened before.”
Technical optimization used to be a blocker. Now, it’s a strength.
Smart Editorial Tools that Just Work
The switch also made publishing easier. The editor is fast, intuitive, and doesn’t require any tech skills.
“I was used to WordPress, so I expected a learning curve. But after two or three days, I was fully comfortable. It’s that simple.”
Instead of worrying about which plugin does what, the team can now focus purely on content.
Real-Time Analytics for Smarter Decisions
Newsifier’s built-in real-time analytics replaced their previous mix of tools — and gave them better insights.
“It’s like Google Analytics, but made for publishers. I can see what’s going viral right now, what channel is driving traffic, and which author wrote it. That’s so valuable.”
This has helped them double down on high-performing content and spot trends earlier.
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A Huge Boost in Ad Revenue
The impact on revenue has been one of the biggest surprises. With better speed and stability, Puna.nl was able to negotiate higher ad rates.
“Our RPM went from around €2–3 to €9–12. That’s an increase of 60%. For us, that’s a massive jump.”
And without all the plugin-related downtime, revenue is more stable too.
Stability and Speed All the Way
No more crashes. No more “out of resources” warnings. The site is stable — even when traffic spikes.
“I honestly can’t remember the last time we had downtime. The backend is fast, the frontend is fast. Everything just works.”
Migration Experience: From Fear to Relief
Switching CMS is always scary — especially after years on WordPress. But the transition went smoothly.
“It felt risky, I won’t lie. But Newsifier handled everything. They guided us through each step, and the moment we went live, I felt this huge sense of relief.”
Instead of looking for errors, the founder finally had time to publish again.
“I stopped worrying about the tech. That alone was worth it.”
The Results: A Faster, Stronger Puna.nl
“Within days of switching, we saw results — more traffic, more stability, and more revenue. And I finally got my time back.”
Final Thoughts: A CMS That’s Built for Growth
For Puna.nl, moving to Newsifier wasn’t just a technical migration — it was a business transformation.
No more chasing plugin updates. No more crashes during peak moments. No more time wasted on tech troubleshooting.
Instead, they now run a news business the way it should be — fast, stable, and focused on content.
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