WordPress to AWS Migration

The Challenge

Our company website was running on a WordPress multisite installation hosted on Amazon Lightsail, costing $12/month for a single site that rarely changed. The setup was overkill for our needs and came with several pain points that needed addressing.

Discovery & Analysis

We began with a comprehensive AWS billing analysis to identify cost optimization opportunities across the entire infrastructure.

Key Findings

• Discovered $20/month being spent on orphaned WAF Web ACLs from old projects
• WordPress multisite hosting only one active site (Castaneda Networks)
• Static IP address allocated but unused
• CloudFront distribution already available but not optimally configured
• Content rarely changed, making it perfect for static hosting

Cost Breakdown Analysis

The Solution

We architected a modern, serverless solution using AWS's native services that would eliminate maintenance overhead while dramatically improving performance and reducing costs.

Architecture Components

Implementation Approach

• Created modern, responsive static site with advanced animations using Anime.js
• Implemented serverless contact form using Lambda and SES
• Configured S3 bucket for static website hosting with proper permissions
• Set up CloudFront distribution for global content delivery
• Implemented clean URLs without .html extensions
• Added comprehensive SEO optimization and meta tags
• Integrated Microsoft Bookings for consultation scheduling

Technical Optimizations

• Implemented browser caching strategies for optimal performance
• Configured CloudFront behaviors for different content types
• Set up automatic cache invalidation for deployments
• Optimized images and assets for web delivery
• Implemented security headers and CORS policies

Implementation Timeline

Results & Impact

The migration delivered immediate and measurable improvements across all key metrics, exceeding initial expectations.

Additional Benefits

• Zero maintenance required - no more WordPress updates or security patches
• Infinite scalability - can handle viral traffic without configuration changes
• Global performance - CloudFront edge locations serve content from nearest location
• Enhanced security - No server-side vulnerabilities or attack surface
• Simplified deployment - Single command deploys changes in seconds
• Version control friendly - All content in Git for tracking and rollback

Technical Deep Dive

Migration Challenges Solved

• Dynamic Contact Form: Replaced WordPress contact form with serverless Lambda function integrated with Amazon SES
• URL Structure: Implemented clean URLs using S3 directory structure with index.html files
• SSL Certificate: Leveraged AWS Certificate Manager for free SSL with automatic renewal
• Content Updates: Created simple CLI deployment process using AWS CLI sync commands
• Analytics: Integrated CloudFront access logs for detailed traffic analysis

Performance Optimizations

• Implemented aggressive caching policies (1 year for assets, 1 hour for HTML)
• Enabled Gzip compression at CloudFront level
• Optimized critical rendering path with inline critical CSS
• Lazy loading for images and non-critical resources
• Preconnect hints for external domains

Lessons Learned

• Audit First: Comprehensive billing analysis revealed $20/month in unnecessary WAF charges
• Question Complexity: Not every website needs a CMS - static sites can handle most use cases
• Serverless Scales: Lambda + API Gateway can replace traditional backend for many scenarios
• CDN is Critical: CloudFront transformed performance from regional to global instantly
• Clean URLs Matter: Professional appearance requires thoughtful URL structure implementation