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Robert Lodi

Nobody Cares About Your Design

July 9, 2025 by Robert Lodi

Let’s go ahead and ruffle some feathers.

Unless you’re a huge brand like Coca-Cola, Burberry, or Apple, your customers probably don’t care about the exact shade of blue you picked. They’re not obsessing over whether you chose GT America over Helvetica Neue. They’re definitely not emotionally invested in your accent color being called “Moonlit Bay.”

Those brands have spent decades building recognition, emotional resonance, and global awareness. For them, design is part of the product. The visual identity carries weight because it’s been earned and reinforced over time.

But for many businesses, especially SMBs, or startups, customers just want your website to work.
They want it to load fast.
They want to find what they need without guessing.
They want to trust that you’re legit.

That’s it. Or, at least, most of it.


Let’s Be Clear: Design Is Very Important

We’re not anti-design. We’re very pro design-that-works. When design is done well, it builds trust, strengthens your message, and supports your brand and business in a powerful, visible way.

But here’s where things get off track.

  • When weeks or months are spent obsessing over microscopic details that no user will ever notice or care about.
  • When development is squeezed into a fraction of the timeline while the team debates which font feels “more convivial.”
  • When months are spent on designing for one screen size, while ignoring mobile and the actual site traffic and user personas.
  • When the idea of perfectionism delays a site that could be driving leads and sales and helping your prospects and customers.

That’s when “design” stops adding value and starts becoming…dare I say…a problem.


What Customers Actually Notice

Here’s some reality:

  • Customers probably don’t care if your H2 heading is 24px or 2.5rem. They care if it overlaps a button on their phone.
  • They don’t care exactly what hex code you chose. They (and ADA requirements) care if the text is too light to read or doesn’t have enough contrast.
  • They don’t care if your hero image is custom photography or a high-end brand element or stock. They do care if it takes 19 seconds to load.

If your website looks amazing but frustrates users, it’s not doing its job. And if your team spends more time tweaking colors than finalizing content or ensuring functionality, it may be worthwhile to rethink some priorities. 


Perfectionism is a Launch Killer

We’ve seen it too many times.

  • Three weeks of back-and-forth over font weights with no final files delivered.
  • Endless tweaks to spacing while placeholder text is still in the hero section.
  • Beautiful branding assets in formats the dev team can’t always open.

Meanwhile, the dev timeline shrinks. The budget stretches thin. And the website that was supposed to launch last month – or last year – is still not live and is not helping your business.


What If You Launched Sooner?

Here’s a wild idea.

  • What if you gave three weeks of font and color and stock photo debate time to development instead and launched early?
  • What if you launched with 90% design and real, functional, good content?
  • What if your branding team delivered web-ready assets instead of a beautiful PDF? Or *gasp* a PowerPoint?

Sometimes the MVP, the minimum viable product, needs to come before the MVW, the most visually wowing.


It’s Not Anti-Design. It’s Pro-Launch.

We’re not saying design and branding don’t matter. We’re saying they shouldn’t be a barrier to progress.

Your website should be beautiful. But in addition to that, sometimes maybe instead of that, it should work. 

It should sell. 

It should support.

It should exist. 

Because the most stunning site in the world won’t help your business if no one can find it or use it. And a perfect design that never makes it out of the Figma file doesn’t help convert many leads.


Designers, developers, and clients all want the same thing.

A site that looks amazing, works well, converts, and makes an impact. 

So launch already. Iterate often. Test things. Focus on what really matters to your market.

Your audience will thank you.


If you made it this far – thanks. A little context. At RPS, we work with many clients and designers directly. We also work with several agencies, sometimes as the third or fourth partner agency in the project. And sometimes…we are handed website designs and specs, at the last minute, that have been approved…but have never been seen by anyone outside the design group and the client. This can be…a challenge. While our goal is always to make it work, and work well, sometimes reality intrudes. This is where a little communication, collaboration, and flexibility go a long way. 

Because reality doesn’t always care.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

How to Actually Use Google PageSpeed Insights (Without Losing Your Mind)

June 24, 2025 by Robert Lodi

If you’ve ever run your website through Google PageSpeed Insights and found yourself spiraling into a pit of red errors and conflicting advice, congratulations—you’re just like the rest of us.

We try hard to do the development side well, but we can’t always control the content and SEO.

Let’s be real: PageSpeed Insights is like that overly honest friend who points out a wrinkle in your shirt and then recommends you change your entire outfit. It’s not wrong… but it’s also not always helpful.

First: What Google PageSpeed Is

Google PageSpeed Insights is a performance analysis tool that tells you how fast your website loads on both mobile and desktop. It gives you a shiny little score out of 100, which, let’s face it, is basically the SAT for websites—stressful, often misleading, and sometimes based on things you can’t change.

The tool runs audits using Lighthouse, Google’s own performance engine, and checks things like:

  • Time to First Byte (TTFB)
  • Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
  • Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
  • And a laundry list of code-related recommendations

Sounds helpful, right? Well… mostly.

Not All Warnings Are Created Equal

Here’s the kicker: some of the things PageSpeed flags are completely out of your control. In fact, we’ve seen it call out Google’s own tools—like Google Analytics or Tag Manager—as performance issues.

You read that right: Google complains about Google.

So before you fire your dev team or rip apart your plugins, know this:

🛑 You Can’t Always Fix✅ You Should Fix
Google Analytics scriptsUncompressed images
Core website assetsLazy loading missing
Third-party embed codeRender-blocking CSS/JS you added
Fonts hosted externallyUnused plugins/themes

If it’s hard-coded by a plugin, theme, or necessary third-party integration, chances are it’s not worth obsessing over. Your goal is real-world speed, not hypothetical perfection.

The Easy Wins That Do Matter

Here’s where we shift from doomscrolling red flags to taking smart action. These are the things PageSpeed flags that are actually worth your time:

✅ Image Optimization

Compress large images and use WebP where you can. No one needs a 5MB hero banner.

✅ Reduce Unused Plugins

You don’t need five different slider plugins. If you’re not using it, lose it.

✅ Enable Browser Caching

Make it easier for repeat visitors to load your site quickly.

But Don’t Stop There…

PageSpeed is a decent starting point, but it’s not the whole picture. We also use WebPageTest.org because it shows you things like:

  • Your load waterfall (fancy way of saying what loads, when, and how much it slows things down)
  • Time to Interactive (TTI)
  • What’s really bloating your site

Sometimes, it’s not one big issue—it’s a hundred little ones throwing a party and not cleaning up after themselves.

Final Word: Fix What Matters, Ignore the Noise

If your PageSpeed score is making you question all your life choices, take a breath. Scores are helpful—but context is better.

Focus on:

  • Making your site usable and fast for real humans
  • Prioritizing issues that actually affect user experience
  • Ignoring the stuff no one on Earth can control (looking at you, Google Fonts)

And if you want help figuring out what to fix first?
📬 We’re just a message away. Let’s take the guesswork out of speed and get your site humming like it should.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Accessibility Isn’t Just a Checkbox—It’s Good Business (and Great Web Design)

June 17, 2025 by Robert Lodi

Let’s get one thing straight: website accessibility isn’t just about compliance. It’s about people.

Real people. With different devices, different abilities, different ways of navigating the web—and every single one of them deserves a site that doesn’t make them want to chuck their phone out the window.

At RPS, we don’t just optimize for speed and SEO. We care about making the web better—and that includes making it usable for everyone.

So, What Is Website Accessibility?

Accessibility means your site can be used by all people, including those with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive impairments. That includes:

  • Screen reader users
  • Keyboard-only users
  • People with color blindness or low vision
  • Folks who need more time or clearer navigation

It’s not just about building for “them.” It’s about building better for everyone.

Here’s the Big Misconception

A lot of businesses think accessibility means slapping an ADA plugin in the footer and calling it a day.

Spoiler alert: It’s not.
(And those plugins? Often a band-aid. Sometimes a lawsuit magnet.)

Accessibility Is Performance

Did you know that many accessibility improvements also improve your site’s speed and SEO?

  • Using proper HTML headings = better for screen readers and search engines
  • Image alt text = helpful for vision-impaired users and Google indexing
  • Clear navigation = helpful for motor-impaired users and bounce rates
  • Faster load time = better for everyone (especially those on mobile or assistive tech)

It’s all connected. Fixing accessibility often means you’re also creating a smoother, faster, and more user-friendly site. Win-win.

Common Accessibility Issues We See All. The. Time.

Here’s a quick list of things we (lovingly) roast in audits:

  • Missing or duplicate <h1> tags
  • Buttons with no labels (looking at you, hamburger menus)
  • Text with terrible contrast ratios (grey-on-grey crime scenes)
  • Forms that can’t be submitted with a keyboard
  • Images with no alt text
  • No skip links or accessible navigation paths

Accessible Design Is Better Design

Here’s the thing: when you build with accessibility in mind, everyone benefits.

  • Your site is easier to navigate
  • Your bounce rate goes down
  • Your conversions go up
  • You avoid legal risk (yep, that too)

Oh—and your site won’t feel like it was built in 2010 by a guy named Jeff who only tested it on a single desktop browser.

Want Help Making Your Site More Accessible?

We’re not here to shame. We’re here to help you fix what matters—so your site works for more people, loads faster, ranks higher, and leaves a better impression.

📥 Reach out for a friendly audit. We’ll show you what needs attention, what’s working well, and what you can ignore (for now).

Let’s make the web a little more human—together.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

How to Run a Real Website Performance Audit (Because That Score Isn’t Telling the Whole Story)

June 10, 2025 by Robert Lodi

Let’s start with a thought: a Google PageSpeed score is like a first date. It’s great, and it gives you a general vibe—but it doesn’t always tell you everything going on under the hood. And it skews toward, well, Google.

You want a real performance audit? One that tells you what’s slowing down your site, what’s worth fixing, and what’s just a bunch of technical fluff? You’ve come to the right nerds.

At RPS, we don’t just chase numbers. We dig into the guts of your site to figure out what’s actually causing problems—and how to fix them.

So, What Is a Website Performance Audit?

It’s a full breakdown of how your site performs in the real world. Not just how it scores on a test, but how fast it loads, how stable it is, and whether your visitors are having to fight a digital boss battle just to reach your contact form.

Key Metrics We Look At:

  • Time to First Byte (TTFB) – How fast your server responds.
  • First Contentful Paint (FCP) – How quickly something (anything!) shows up.
  • Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – When the main stuff is fully visible.
  • Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – Does your content jump around like it’s had too much coffee?
  • Time to Interactive (TTI) – How fast your site actually lets people use it.

The Tools That Matter

Sure, you can use Google PageSpeed—but we pair it with some real-deal diagnostics.
Enter: WebPageTest.org. This is our favorite tool for good reason.

Testing in 4G emulation is like training in the mountains – it helps prepare for the real race.

Why? Because it shows things like:

  • Waterfall charts (what loads when, and what’s hogging the party)
  • Visual load progress (how your site actually appears to users)
  • Global testing locations (how your site performs around the world)

We also like:

  • Lighthouse reports for technical flags
  • GTmetrix for quick breakdowns
  • Chrome DevTools for in-depth code-level audits

Each tool gives us a different lens to look through—and together, they tell the full story.

What’s Slowing Down Your Site?

Here’s where it gets spicy. Common culprits include:

  • Oversized images (because your homepage doesn’t need a 12MB PNG)
  • Poorly coded themes or page builders
  • Too many plugins doing the same job
  • No caching, or the wrong kind
  • Third-party scripts running wild in the background (hello, chatbots and trackers)

What We Actually Fix First

Every site’s different, but generally we look for:

  1. Quick wins – Compress images, enable caching, clean up scripts
  2. Structural issues – Is your theme bloated? Are you loading 14 fonts for no reason?
  3. Server-side problems – Bad hosting? Slow TTFB? Let’s talk migration.
  4. Mobile problems – Because your site should work everywhere, not just on desktop.

TL;DR? Here’s Your Audit Game Plan

  1. Don’t just look at your PageSpeed score.
  2. Run your site through WebPageTest and Lighthouse.
  3. Identify bottlenecks using waterfall charts.
  4. Prioritize changes that improve real user experience.
  5. Fix the easy stuff. Then tackle the big stuff.
  6. Still stuck? That’s why we exist.

Ready for a Performance Audit That’s More Than a Score?

We offer performance scans that go beyond the numbers—and give you clear, human-friendly next steps. No BS. No “just install this one plugin” advice.

📥 Drop us a message, and let’s dig in.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Your Website Isn’t a Crockpot.

May 12, 2025 by Robert Lodi

You Can’t Just “Set It and Forget It.”

When you first launched your website, it was exciting, right?
Fresh design. Clever copy. Buttons that worked. Dreams of new customers rolling in. 

But fast-forward a year (or three)…

-A few broken links here
-A plugin held together with duct tape there
-A homepage that loads slower than your uncle’s dial-up in 1998
Yeah. Not quite the dream anymore.

Here’s the thing: Websites are living, breathing parts of your business.
Not fine china that you stuff on a shelf and admire once a year.
Not a crockpot you leave alone for 12 hours hoping dinner doesn’t catch fire.

If you want your website to actually work for you, you have to take care of it.

Here’s what regular maintenance actually does:

Keeps You Safe from the Internet Boogeymen:
Outdated plugins and ignored security updates are basically an open invitation to hackers. (“Come on in, the firewall’s fine!”)

Keeps Your Site Fast:
Spoiler alert: nobody waits 10 seconds for a homepage to load. They’re gone faster than you can say “broken cache.”

Boosts Your SEO:
Search engines want fresh, functional websites. If your site is broken, outdated, or otherwise crying for help, Google notices. And not in a good way.

Makes You Look Like You Actually Care:
Because nothing says “trust us with your business” like a 404 error on your services page.

Saves You Big Money Later:
Tiny problems turn into giant problems when ignored. Regular maintenance prevents costly rebuilds, SEO penalties, and tech emergencies later on.

Keeps Your Customers Happy:
Fast, intuitive websites = happy users = better sales.
(Also fewer angry emails about how your “contact us” form mysteriously vanishes halfway through filling it out.)

The good news?
You don’t have to channel your inner IT wizard to keep things running.

At Rock, Pixel, Scissors, we offer website maintenance packages that handle all the boring (but crucial) stuff — so you can focus on, you know, running your business.

This month, we’re offering a Spring Website Refresh Special — because your website deserves a little self-care too.

✅ Routine updates
✅ Security patches
✅ Speed optimization
✅ Broken link repairs
✅ Plugin tune-ups
✅ An overall health check (minus the awkward small talk)

If your site is starting to feel like a haunted house of glitches and broken links…
It’s time.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Heading Tag Hierarchy on WordPress Websites

September 22, 2024 by Robert Lodi

There are many conversations about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and its ongoing relevancy. SEO at its root tends to be a very long-term strategy. It is rare that a new website that is just getting started with SEO and creating will outrank competitors immediately, but it doesn’t mean that it will stay that way forever. SEO will always be important as long as humans are searching for things whether it be on-page information, a video online, or a social media post. 

In this example, H1 and H2 live at the top, and subheads throughout the page are H3.

One area of SEO that we work with consistently is on-page SEO and head tags. When it comes to optimizing a website for search engines, heading tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) play a vital role in organizing your content and enhancing your site’s readability and SEO performance. But how exactly does the hierarchy of heading tags affect SEO, and why should you care about their proper usage? 

Today we are talking about hierarchy, and not in a way that resembles every high school movie ever. No matter how fetch they were.

What are Heading Tags?

In the simplest terms (with the most convenient definitions), heading tags are HTML elements used to designate headings on a web page. They range from <H1> to <H6>, with H1 being the most important and H6 the least. These tags not only structure the content for your readers but also signal to search engines what the page is about, helping with content ranking. They help prevent Google from totally buggin.

The Hierarchy of Heading Tags

The hierarchy of heading tags follows a logical order:

  • H1: This is the main title or heading of your page and should be used once per page. It tells both users and search engines what the main topic is.
  • H2: These tags are used for section headings and can be used multiple times on a page. They typically break the content into digestible subtopics.
  • H3: These are used for subsections under H2 headings. They go into more detailed breakdowns of the content.
  • H4 to H6: These are used for further subdivisions within the page if necessary, though they are less commonly used. In almost 30 years of making web pages, I am not sure I’ve even seen an H6 in the wild.

To best showcase this in practice, please notice our own heading tags matching the color coding established above. Fancy.

Why is Heading Tag Hierarchy Important for SEO?

Improved Readability and User Experience

 A well-structured webpage is easy to scan. Most visitors won’t read every word on the page, so clear headings help them quickly find the information they need. When users stay longer on your page due to easy navigation, it reduces bounce rates, which is a positive SEO signal.

Search Engine Crawling and Indexing 

Search engines, such as Google, use heading tags to understand the structure and content of a webpage. Proper heading tag hierarchy helps search engines determine the relevance and importance of different sections. For instance, an H1 tag signals the main topic, while H2s and H3s break it down into subtopics, allowing search engines to better interpret the content’s organization.

Keyword Optimization 

Heading tags offer a strategic place to include your target keywords. By using primary keywords in your H1 tag and secondary or related keywords in H2 and H3 tags, you reinforce the relevance of your content for those search terms. However, avoid keyword stuffing; use them naturally to maintain a good user experience.

Featured Snippets and Ranking Opportunities 

Google often pulls content for featured snippets from well-structured pages with a clear heading hierarchy. Pages that use properly formatted H2 and H3 tags for specific sections or questions are more likely to be highlighted in featured snippets, increasing visibility in search results.

Best Practices for Using Heading Tags

Use Only One H1 Tag Per Page 

Every page should have a single, clear H1 tag that describes the page’s main topic. Avoid multiple H1 tags, as they can confuse search engines about the primary focus of the page.

Use Headings to Create Logical Structure 

Follow the natural flow of your content. Use H2 tags for main sections, H3 tags for sub-sections, and so on. Don’t skip levels; for instance, don’t jump from an H2 to an H4 without an H3 in between. Think of a term paper outline. (Do they still teach that? It’s been a while.)

Include Keywords Strategically 

Incorporate relevant keywords into your heading tags without forcing them. Ensure they align with the content beneath each heading to maintain a natural flow for both users and search engines.

Keep Headings Concise

Use short, descriptive headings that clearly summarize the content. This helps users quickly understand the topic of each section and enhances the user experience.

Use Headings for Both SEO and Usability 

While SEO is important, headings should primarily be used to improve the readability and navigation of your content. Don’t over-optimize or create unnatural headings solely for ranking purposes.

How to work with Heading Tags in WordPress

In WordPress, the page title will turn into the H1 tag.

You can turn something into a heading by clicking this paragraph symbol-

And set H2 through H6 with the heading tool in the text editor-

One last H2

Heading tags are a crucial aspect of both user experience and search engine optimization. Properly implementing a heading tag hierarchy improves the structure of your website, making it easier for visitors to navigate and for search engines to understand your content. By using clear, keyword-optimized heading tags, you not only enhance readability but also boost your chances of ranking higher in search results. Keep your headings logical, concise, and relevant to strike the perfect balance between SEO and usability.

Your pages will be a lot cooler if you do.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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