No More Plugins and Crashes: Why Vechtsportinfo Left WordPress for Newsifier
“With WordPress, I was always fixing something — updates, crashes, broken plugins. Since switching to Newsifier, I haven’t had to think about any of that. It just works.”
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A Leading Combat Sports News Site, Held Back by WordPress
Vechtsportinfo is the leading combat sports news site in the Netherlands, with over 5 million monthly pageviews. But behind the scenes, its WordPress setup was a mess — slow load times, constant crashes, and plugin conflicts.
Founder Ron Emmerink, a seasoned journalist and martial arts fan, was spending more time troubleshooting than publishing.
“I felt like I was running a tech company instead of a news site,” he says.
Migrating to Newsifier changed everything. The site now scores 95+ on PageSpeed, passes all Core Web Vitals, and traffic has soared from 800K to 6 million pageviews.
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The Challenges: What Wasn’t Working
Constant Crashes and Instability
WordPress simply wasn’t built to handle the traffic Vechtsportinfo was pulling in.
“One plugin update and the whole website was down — sometimes for two days. Total madness,” says Ron. “You’re always on edge. Every update feels like a gamble.”
And when the site went offline, it wasn’t just an inconvenience — it meant lost traffic, missed opportunities, and frustrated readers.
Plugin Management Was a Full-Time Job
Managing plugins, updates, and security patches felt endless.
“With WordPress, you never know what will break next. You add a new plugin and boom — the whole site’s gone.”
Poor Speed and Google Core Web Vitals
Performance was another major issue. The site struggled to meet Google’s Core Web Vitals, especially on mobile.
“You could feel the site dragging,” Ron explains. “That definitely showed in the numbers. We were losing traffic.”
Editorial Time Wasted on Tech Problems
All the time spent troubleshooting meant less time for journalism.
“I’m up at 5 AM and I often work past midnight,” Ron says. “But I was spending way too much of that time on tech stuff. It was frustrating.”
Why Vechtsportinfo Chose Newsifier
A fully optimized CMS and website
The biggest difference? Peace of mind.
“Since switching, I haven’t had a single crash. No downtime. No nonsense,” says Ron. “I can finally focus on my content — not on fixing bugs or worrying about updates.”
Real-Time Analytics that tracks Google Discover traffic
Ron is a self-described “traffic freak.” For him, the buil-in live analytics in Newsifier are a game changer.
“That live view is powerful,” he says. “You instantly see what works and what doesn’t. I’m always checking it.”
Built Specifically for News Publishers
Unlike WordPress, Newsifier is made with digital newsrooms in mind.
“It’s like having all the tools that big publishers use — but without all the headaches and the big cost,” Ron says. “The editorial system is fast, efficient, and just makes sense.”
He’s also a fan of the live blog functionality:
“The liveblog works great. Once you understand it, you can play around with it. Those pages do really well on Google even days after an event.”
Fast and SEO-Optimized by Default
The site now runs blazing fast — with PageSpeed scores above 95 and all Core Web Vitals passed.
“It’s the first thing people notice. The site just loads immediately. And it pays off in Google traffic.”
Mobile-Friendly CMS
Ron isn’t always behind a desk. He often publishes directly from his phone.
“I sometimes just open my iPhone and post an article in minutes. That’s how smooth it is.”
Ongoing Improvements and Feature Releases
The platform never stands still.
“There’s always something new that makes my work easier,” he says. “I like being part of beta tests. You can tell the team listens and builds stuff that helps.”
Migration from WordPress: Smooth and Stress-Free
Switching from WordPress wasn’t a small task. Vechtsportinfo had over 60,000 articles to migrate. Ron admits he was nervous.
“Of course I was cautious,” he says. “My wife even asked me what I was doing. You build something over years, and switching CMS feels risky.”
But the actual migration?
“It was seamless,” he says. “Nothing was lost. No issues. All 60,000 articles were there. The traffic dipped a little during reindexing, but then it shot right back up.”
“The difference is night and day. Everything runs faster — and I’m not constantly fixing problems anymore.”
The Bottom Line
Ron shares that even contributors — who use WordPress for their own sites — are impressed.
“This isn’t just another CMS. It gives you what the big publishers have — without the high cost.”
Switching to Newsifier gave Vechtsportinfo the stability and performance it needed to grow. The site no longer crashes, loads faster, and meets all Core Web Vitals — without the need for constant technical fixes. Publishing is quicker, easier, and more reliable, both on desktop and mobile.
“I finally get to focus on what I love: reporting the news. Everything else just works.”
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