WordPress Agency JRS Webdesign Improves Site Performance and Scalability for 300+ Clients with Cloudways

About JRS Webdesign

Since 2004, JRS Webdesign has been helping B2B companies grow through custom WordPress websites that combine strong design with technical precision. Based in the Netherlands, the agency specializes in building high-performance sites that align with each client’s brand and generate measurable leads and revenue.

As JRS Webdesign’s client base grew, their traditional hosting setup began to show its limits. Slow backend performance, inconsistent uptime, and restricted server control were holding their clients’ websites back, particularly during traffic peaks, where the impact on conversions and user experience was hard to ignore.

Switching to Cloudways gave JRS Webdesign the flexibility and control they needed without adding operational complexity. With over 300 applications now running across more than 7 servers, Mike Bekker and his team rely on Cloudways to keep their clients’ WordPress sites fast, stable, and ready to scale.

Cloudways: Can you give us a quick overview of JRS Webdesign, what you do, and the types of clients and WordPress projects you typically work on?

Mike Bekker: At JRS Webdesign, we design and develop custom WordPress websites with a strong focus on performance, design and conversion. We work mainly with B2B businesses where the website plays a critical role in generating leads or revenue.

– Mike Bekker and the JRS Webdesign team in discussion during a team meeting at their office in the Netherlands. (Source: JRS Webdesign)

Cloudways: Before switching to Cloudways, what hosting challenges were you facing, and how were those challenges affecting your clients’ websites and your workflow?

Mike Bekker: Before Cloudways, we worked with more traditional hosting providers where performance and scalability were often limiting factors. We frequently dealt with slow backend performance, inconsistent uptime, and limited control over server configurations.

For our clients, this meant slower websites, especially during traffic peaks, which directly impacted conversions and user experience. From a workflow perspective, managing performance issues and troubleshooting hosting limitations took a significant amount of time.

Cloudways: Among all the hosting providers you considered, what ultimately made you choose Cloudways, and was there a moment where the decision felt clear?

Mike Bekker: Cloudways stood out because it combines flexibility with ease of use. The ability to choose infrastructure providers like DigitalOcean, while still benefiting from a fully managed environment, made a big difference for us — especially with the added value of features like Object Cache Pro, 24/7 support, and advanced firewall logging and security options.

– The Cloudways platform showing the available add-ons, including Application Migration, Malware Protection, Cloudflare, and more.

The decision became clear when we experienced the performance improvements firsthand, along with the level of control we gained, all without adding operational complexity to our workflow.

Cloudways: How smooth was the onboarding and migration process when you moved your clients’ websites to Cloudways, and what stood out during that experience?

Mike Bekker: The onboarding process was very smooth. Migrating websites was straightforward with the migration plugin, and we were able to move multiple client projects without downtime.

Cloudways: How many servers and apps are you currently managing on Cloudways, and how has that setup evolved as your client base has grown over time?

Mike Bekker: We are currently running over 7 servers. Some clients are on a dedicated plan where others are set up in a semi-shared environment. At the moment more than 300 applications are running on these high performing servers.

Cloudways: Since moving to Cloudways, what measurable improvements have you seen, whether in site performance, page speed, uptime, or client satisfaction and retention?

Mike Bekker: Since switching to Cloudways, we’ve seen significant improvements in both frontend and backend performance.

For example:

• Faster TTFB and overall page load times
• More stable performance under high traffic (mostly when using the dedicated CPU plans)
• Improved backend speed for content management

These improvements directly impact conversion rates and client satisfaction. Faster websites consistently lead to better engagement and higher retention.

– TTFB details for jrs-webdesign.nl showing a 129ms “Good” rating, a Cloudflare server, and a CDN cache hit, as tested from Atlanta, United States. (Source: DebugBear)

Cloudways: Have you tried the Lightning or Hybrid stack on Cloudways, and how has your chosen stack influenced the performance and speed of the WordPress sites you build?

Mike Bekker: The Lightning Stack is a big improvement. The improvement in TTFB is modest, but where it really shines is concurrency. It can handle more concurrent users at once, which is why it’s our default stack for every new setup.

Cloudways: Which features or add-ons, like Cloudflare Enterprise CDN or Malware Protection, do you rely on most in your day-to-day work?

Mike Bekker: Object Cache Pro and the Agency Partner Program are essential for us. The agency-focused support is consistently fast and highly knowledgeable, especially when dealing with complex or performance-related issues. That level of expertise makes a real difference in our day-to-day work.

The 24/7 support is another major advantage, particularly for high-traffic websites where immediate assistance is critical. Knowing that support is always available gives us and our clients peace of mind.

Cloudways: For web designers and developers still relying on traditional hosting, what would you tell them based on your experience with Cloudways over the years?

Mike Bekker: My advice is simple: make the switch. Traditional hosting can’t keep up with what modern WordPress sites demand. Scalable cloud infrastructure gives you better TTFB, more control, and the reliability your clients expect, especially when traffic spikes and every second counts.

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