Press This: A Shared Vision for a Faster Web

Welcome to Press This, a podcast that delivers valuable insights and actionable tips for navigating the ever-evolving world of WordPress. 

In this episode, host Brian Gardner and NitroPack Co-founders Mihail Stoychev and Georgi Petrov discuss WP Engine’s acquisition of NitroPack—what it means to customers and what’s next for them.

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Brian Gardner: Hey everybody, welcome back to Press This. I am your host, Brian Gardner, and today we have an extraordinary episode. We have historically brought in guests from the community, and today is unique because we have an agenda to share. Many of you who have followed WP Engine may know that we announced last week that WP Engine acquired NitroPack.

Today, we have very special guests, co-founders Georgi and Mihail, joining us to talk a little bit about the acquisition but, more importantly, about NitroPack itself, what it is, why it exists, and who it’s for. We want to share that with the audience because the founders behind the product have a great story, and the co-founders will share that.

Before we start, Georgi and Mihail, I will have you introduce yourselves separately; give us some context regarding your WordPress origin. But before we go there, congratulations. Congratulations to you both on a well-deserved acquisition. I know from personal experience, specifically with WP Engine acquiring StudioPress and our Genesis framework, that I have sat in the same seat you guys are in.

So I understand it’s a busy time and a lot is happening. So, thank you, first and foremost, for taking the time to be on the show. Mihail, let’s just start with you. A little bit of your WordPress origin story and then Georgi, and then we’ll get into how that led to NitroPack and go from there.

Mihail Stoychev: Hey Brian, thanks for having us. Pure pleasure. It’s been hectic last week, let me tell you. Talking about being very busy, we have been trying to be on the busy side for the past 14 years with Georgi. How NitroPak came to fruition: we had a big customer with a busy eCommerce website operating in the Middle East. That was back in 2011, 2012. So, we were working on a platform called OpenCard. And that was a platform of choice for this customer in particular. And the store was great. We made it. It was okay. But the speed around the website was never where the customer wanted. They would always complain about different types of fallbacks and other experiences, causing churn. So, what we did is we said we knew how to solve this. We created NitroPack. We called it NitroPack because it combined more than one optimization metric. So, we would smash and optimize the images.

So, we will minify the resources and take care of the CSS and HTML, and since it has more than one feature, we call it NitroPack. We created this concept in 2019 for WordPress since this is where the market is. We love open source and serving a much more extensive array of customers, which is how we came to exist in the WordPress store. Let Georgi continue the story from there.

Georgi Petrov: Yeah, just building upon what Mihail said when we launched NitroPack IO in 2019, what we wanted to achieve was to offer an all-in-one solution because it was too challenging to have CDN on one side, image optimization on another side, caching on a third side, and fonts optimization on the fourth side. So, we decided to combine everything in one product and go with NitroPack IO. So this is how the current and the big version of NitroPack was born, NitroPack IO.

Brian Gardner: I have been building WordPress websites since 2006, and one side of the web that I’ve never really gotten into is sort of this whole caching and speed and CDNs and stuff like that, mainly because I have never needed to use any of that. So because of that, I’m always a little bit behind the curve on understanding how caching works and how page speeds, things are compressed, and all of that stuff. So, it’s been fascinating for me to dive deeper into this once we announced the acquisition. And so, I’m curious about the creation of NitroPack. If you guys don’t mind, Georgi, we’ll start with you and then Mihail. Before NitroPack, what was your experience with WordPress, and how did you come to WordPress ahead of even the idea of creating NitroPack?

Georgi Petrov: Thanks for the question. We all witnessed fantastic progress in the WordPress ecosystem. My first touch with WordPress was in 2007 or 2008 when I built a WordPress website. Things have changed a lot since then. I also co-organized the first WordCamp in Bulgaria, where we invited Matt in 2009 or 2010; I am trying to remember the date.

And yeah, since then, things changed a lot, and since then, like me and Mihail, we started doing open source freemium, then we moved to SaaS in the software world and back to 2000. In 2018, we crossed paths again with WordPress, where we identified that NitroPack IO could greatly benefit WordPress as a platform by creating synergies by combining all the products available at that time in the market. Yeah, success was pretty close to launching. Since we launched, the community and the users have appreciated our solution, and it has started growing on a self-serve basis, completely like an online solution, an online marketing solution out of Bulgaria.

Mihail Stoychev: My first touch with WordPress was the website we built for my mom. I love you, Mom. We built that in 2012 or 2013. I can’t recall the exact year, but the website remains the same after many years. We’re just updating it. So it comes to speak to WordPress’s impact on the whole ecosystem, the whole internet.

Many things we take today for granted wouldn’t be here if they weren’t the stepping stones, and I believe WordPress is a huge stepping stone for everyone to appreciate today.

Brian Gardner: It’s funny how WordPress back in the day was so simple, and then it became complex and then offered just with it being open source, so many options and availability to sort of build into it and build out of it, which is undoubtedly what NitroPack is. I will admit this, I said. Being a novice when it comes to this sort of thing, what I love most about it is likely the foundation of the success you guys have had.

I’m going to read your website’s article about NitroPack. Because I think we should spend a few minutes just talking about it. And so, your website says NitroPack is an all-in-one cloud-based site speed solution that optimizes WordPress, WooCommerce, and custom-based websites. And this is the catch. It requires no coding or tech skills, so every website owner can set it up and see improvements in less than three minutes.

Now, that is a bold claim—one that I certainly think again helps with anybody because, like me, you don’t need the skills to do it. And as we’re sort of in this no-code WordPress evolution, let’s talk a little about the behind-the-scenes part of NitroPack. Like what exactly it does and then go into how it works and how a user can set it up and

I mean, it’s practically for anybody who owns a WordPress website and beyond; I realize that you guys, from my understanding, NitroPack and sort of the technology work outside of WordPress itself. Let’s talk a little bit, maybe Georgi; I’ll ask you specifically about the meat and potatoes, so to speak, of NitroPack and how it impacts websites.

Georgi Petrov: Great. Well, we are very different from everything else out there. We are different in how our technology is designed, which makes us very different.

So, when designing NitroPack, we boldly decided to remove all the heavy lifting and optimization operations from the hosting provider and put them on our servers in the cloud.

That was an excellent strategic and architectural decision because it allowed us to scale and apply much more significant optimizations than any other solution could provide. So, for example, heavy image optimizations, video optimizations, HTML optimization, and anything that is super heavy and cannot run on shared hosting providers are with us.

For the world, we are simply an API, and we have a simple WordPress connector that connects to this API. We do all the heavy lifting. We have our crawler, which crawls your website the way Google crawls your website. We index the website through different devices, create device-specific versions, and, in the end, the result is device-specific lightweight HTML files directly served to your visitors from us produced for you. That’s more or less how we operate and what our value is.

Brian Gardner: Now, at WP Engine, we found the value in partnering with you ahead of the acquisition. I don’t remember exactly how far back this goes, but we launched Page Speed Boost to our customers, which is a part of the technology behind NitroPack. We implemented that in a way that our customers could take advantage of, which gave us a value add and put us ahead of the competition.

Mihail, let me ask you this: Do you know the origin of that first part of the partnership? Can you speak to that with the current iteration of Page Speed Boost via NitroPack and what that means for our customers, specifically right now? Then, we can move into what’s next and what’s to come.

Mihail Stoychev: Yeah, that’s a great question, Brian. Thanks. We started based on our shared DNA that WP Engine’s fast hosting. Then NitroPack is a product that helps speed up many things to put some data behind this. So, there is this portal called Google Data Studio. Here, you can compare how the different platforms and caching solutions rank regarding passing Core Web Vitals. What are Core Web Vitals? This is Google’s way of showing how users experience a website once they land on it. So, this is slightly different from PageSpeed, which is a score. It’s an integer between one and 100.

Based on this score, you see how fast your website loads in a shared test. So it’s not like the real users, but it’s like a server that simulates how fast your website loads. This is the most important way for Google to see how users perform once they land on your website. So this is very, very important for us.

As we realized when we initially started talking with the WP Engine folks, it’s also quintessential for the WP Engine. When designing NitroPack, I could only step on what Georgi said. We realized that most users want to focus on creating a successful business, a successful blog, a successful news outlet, a gallery, a self-representation website, and a name, and they want to be as simple as possible. So, we designed NitroPack initially with a straightforward setup. You register on our website or download NitroPack from the WordPress extension directory, and then you create an account, click one button, and select the mode in which you would like everything cached. So please take it as the drive selector on the car.

Where you have comfort, you have fast, we have nitro, ludicrous modes, different modes, depending on how aggressive you would like to go, and then you’re all set. So this is where our promise for three minutes comes from. When we initially started thinking in the same direction with WP Engine, our cornerstone decision was, can we make a solution that is as simple as possible for the end user, where they can get immediately visible benefits on the way that their website loads and this should happen with a single click of a button? So this is how we came up with NitroPack OneClick: You need only one click to set it up. WP Engine loves our proposed solution, and this is how PageSpeed Boost was born by NitroPack.

The WP Engine audience took it very warm-heartedly. We saw significant adoption and benefits but only a little support, which is always good. So this is when we knew that, all right, this thing works. And we’re super happy to pilot it with one of the best hosting providers.

Brian Gardner: Well, we certainly appreciate that. One of the things I love most about WordPress and the open-source community is that there are so many different ways to be a part of it. And because it’s such a complex ecosystem for me, I love design. So it is my goal to beautify the web and to make it more beautiful, obviously functional,

You know, with you guys, it seems like, you know, you’ve set out to establish a faster web that loads more efficiently, which is more delightful for users to experience a website, obviously for things like Core Web Vitals and PageSpeed and all of that. It also accomplishes that. Do either of you have some origin story for what made you care about making the web faster?

Mihail Stoychev: I think we both do so. Georgi, why don’t you go first?

Georgi Petrov: Yeah, so we do have an origin story, and this story changed over time because the web changed over time. So, the problems we were facing on the web in 2013 were, I would say, about 50% different from the problems we’re facing right now in terms of performance. But the bottom line for us was that we wanted a more desktop-like experience on the web because the internet connections were slower then. So, it was an obvious problem to solve.

Also, browsers and computers were less capable, so it was straightforward to understand that it needed to be solved but could have been more easily solvable. Techniques like putting all the images into one image, loading only one resource, and showing only part of the resource on the front end were huge differentiators that improved the user experience.

In 2024, this performance site of web loading converted more to a user-centric performance, which means that now we are analyzing things like how the user is actually experiencing the web page, whether we are serving the visible part first and then delaying everything non-visible, and whether the user is interacting in the right place.

Is he getting responsive interactions and things like this? So, this is where the current performance focus is. In all cases, our focus is on helping the users experience faster loading, which has been our biggest motivator since the beginning.

Mihail Stoychev: I rate this 10 out of 10 in terms of a response. If I have to go back to when we started, throughout the evolution of humanity, people always wanted it bigger, faster, and better. So this is how we build this as a stepping stone towards what we try to achieve. We know how important it is to make the web faster.

After all, this was one of Google’s credos as well. They made it not only accessible, but we believe that they tried to make it faster as well with platforms in the face of WordPress as partners. We wanted to give our input into making this mission a reality. We chose speed in terms of a domain, and we just gave our best to be the best at it.

Brian Gardner: I appreciate what you guys have said, and Georgi, I really kind of love the call out of starting with desktop and transitioning to mobile because every aspect of WordPress, whether it be, you know, page loading or even design, you know, again, as a designer, the whole idea of responsive design mobile first and all of that sort of hits that that that crux of when things some switched over from like 50 % desktop to 50 % mobile and

It’s amazing. Especially going as granular as e-commerce and WooCommerce and ensuring things load fast from a search and user perspective. I appreciate the emphasis on following the trend of viewership on what devices. Again, mobile-first responsive design, intrinsic design, and all that, like, is the language I look at this all from. And so I remember even during the Genesis Framework days when we switched to a mobile-first style system. And, of course, the evolution of Gutenberg, the new block editor, and WordPress also has room for improvement, as we all can agree. However, the intrinsic nature of that block editor serves up the ability for people to design and build their websites.

With the time we have left. I want to shift over a bit into a Page Speed Boost for the acquisition. I will quote from our announcement about the partnership with WP Engine.

And so, having sold companies before, we’re highly selective about who we do business with, and our journey with WP Engine has reaffirmed that they’re the right fit for our team, our technology, and our customers, all of which are critical factors, by the way, at least when. I’ll jump into that quickly. So, for those listening, there are many considerations when you sell a company. Is the thing I’m selling getting valued? The money part of it matters.

But also the fit, the sort of transitional piece. In other words, will the company do what I hoped I could do with my product but decided I didn’t want to do it by myself or needed someone else to take the baton and run with it? In other words, are they going to see out the vision? And then also, and for me, this was crucial, and it was a delineating factor as to why the people mattered when we sold StudioPress to WP Engine.

I’ve always been a people person. I know you guys are people, people, people also. It sounds funny. But when I sold WP Engine with StudioPress, we had a relatively small team; maybe there were 15 or 20. The five of us partners decided not to come over with that transition. But the people who made up StudioPress, those who made it a success, the ones whose families depended on it, I insisted it was a deal breaker.

And so let’s talk a little bit less about the specifics regarding the money because that’s not important, and indeed, business is only between you and the company. But let’s talk about the decision to sell, kind of how you guys as founders came to that. Maybe some of the process. I wrestled with it because it was my baby when we sold, and handing that over is not always easy. Let’s talk a little bit about the process of the acquisition and then head into what’s next for both Nitro Pak and the people. I mean, you have a lot of folks on your About page, people who are part of the NitroPack company in various fashions.

We are infusing a few of your folks into our marketing team, and I’m looking forward to meeting them. And then a little bit about what’s next because I know what’s next for you guys is a little different than what’s next for NitroPack. So, let’s start with that. Mihail, maybe talk about how the actual Conversations took place and what considerations you guys had regarding selling to WP Engine?

Mihail Stoychev: In the beginning, it happened much faster than we had anticipated. So we just came from another exit and are on year one plus our journey. We got approached first to see if we could do something together.

We always believe this is the right way to be like a vet on culture. The same thing that you mentioned, Brian, is how you think the other side will be, you know, in a relationship because an acquisition is a relationship. Partnerships also involve a specific type of relationship. Things work well with Page Speed Boost and NitroPack OneClick. We started giving this a thought. And our logic was, well, we have Nord of 200,000 websites right now, and WP Engine has 1.5 million. We have 1 million websites as a North Star on our mind. What is the fastest way to go to 1 million websites?

Because, at the end of the day, when we boast about helping make the internet faster and improving WordPress in the capacity of what businesses need the most, we are also constrained by time. So, if we can speed up the process and partner with the best-in-breed provider, would this be a win for everyone?

Someone in a smaller company wanted to grow into a position we don’t have, and then we would tell them we don’t have it, so they would have to look elsewhere. Are we doing this person a favor, or are we just not taking care of them? We also considered the same considerations you mentioned about people on the map, and we thought, all right, what would be best for WordPress businesses?

How can we reach this one million website in the fastest manner? Who can carry on the legacy so NitroPack can continue existing as a tested and true brand? And what can we do to help our folks excel in their careers while we remain focused on something we love doing?

How can we maintain this thing that we are around and that we help avoid mistakes that might turn south and accelerate the mission to reach those goals? Those were the proper consideration parameters.

Is the player respected in the industry? Check mark. Is this a company that has already made acquisitions? So, are they going to take care of the folks properly? Yes. Can we expand the office? We are from Bulgaria, a small country in Southeast Europe. Can we bring a global player to the local market where they can grow and expand?

Last but not least, will this legacy stay, and will we be incredibly proud of where the company that acquired us in this case? We’re happy to say that WP Engine will take NitroPack in a few years, and we can say, my gosh, they’ve made it and even exceeded our expectations.

Brian Gardner: Well, Georgi, before you jump in, I will assure both of you, based on my experience, that the company culture at WP Engine is fantastic. The care for those coming in from an acquisition, in other words, the employees or contractors that come with the acquisition, everybody came over intact. Most of them have been here since the acquisition and have found their way through various parts of the company, just identifying opportunities and being recognized for their leadership skills. And so I love that six years after our acquisition, there are people in the company at very high levels who came through the studio press acquisition and are like proud parents. It’s like I knew my kids, who worked for us, were exceptional, skilled, and unique.

And it took the acquisition and the integration of those people and the identification of their, you know, skill sets and all that stuff. Every day we’re on calls, I love seeing the integration of the cultures, regardless of location, right? Some of ours were on the other side of the globe, which didn’t matter. And we made it work. And I know we have a considerable presence in Europe anyway, and we have a hub office, at least one. I assure you that those coming over with the acquisition will be well cared for.

Georgi Petrov: Thank you for sharing this, Brian. I can feel it. Honestly, I can feel it. It’s already been a few days, but I can feel it and am pleased about our move.

Brian Gardner: Good. One more call out before, Georgi, I’ll ask you. I love Mihail when you said acquisition is a relationship because it is. Often, it’s not; users, community folks, and everybody involved can detect when it’s not. And so I think WP Engine has always, through the acquisition of StudioPress, Atomic Block, ACF, and Flywheel, been like it is and always has been that way for us. So I feel very proud about that part of it. So Georgi, let me ask you, now that WP Engine is the owner of NitroPack and without necessarily going into trade secrets and all of that kind of stuff, where should, and I was asked this yesterday actually on one of our community agency partners’ calls. What does the future look like? What should folks expect from the togetherness that WP Engine and NitroPack will have now? From your understanding, because I assume there’s been some conversation around that, what should users expect moving forward? And then, after that, I want to know what you guys are going to personally do because I know you guys have already committed to working on the next thing, which is fantastic. What’s next for you guys?

Georgi Petrov: That’s a fantastic question because this is the same one for me. First, what do we expect from NitroPack, and where will our focus go? We want a better and more powerful NitroPack within WordPress and put jet engines on the existing NitroPack website. Our solution will stay open for any WordPress vendor out there. Yeah, that’s going to be the focus of NitroPack. And what’s next is actually what’s next complementing NitroPack, so we’re planning to launch a solution called Navigation AI. It was showcased on Google IO this year, and this solution will optimize navigation. It will predict the user’s following navigation, prepare and optimize it, and play well with NitroPack. So this will be a complementing solution, and we’ll continue building and innovating solutions related to actual user experience and improving it.

Brian Gardner: Excellent. Mihail, how about you? What about you guys? Are you guys working together on this project?

Mihail Stoychev: We are, so I think Georgi took the stage to introduce it on behalf of both of us. So that will be our, I don’t know, consecutive company we do together. We kind of already know our good sides. We know our responsibilities. So this is one of the advantages of creating things with Georgi. We have known each other since university.

If anyone out there is listening, they’re contemplating starting a business. That’s a great, great thing. Always look for a buddy you have trust in. And if you’re looking for a hosting provider, look no further than WP Engine.

Brian Gardner: That is the best mic drop we can do here. So, on that note, we’ll call this one a session. Georgi and Mihail, again, congratulations to you both on not your first exit but this exit in particular, as it affects me and the WP Engine and WordPress communities. I wish you guys both the very best in Navigation AI. Thank you for sharing that a little bit.

I will follow that journey to see what you guys are up to and how that works. As a reminder, the Press This podcast delivers valuable insights and actionable tips for navigating the ever-evolving world of WordPress. I am your host, Brian Gardner. I am a WordPress advocate here at WP Engine. I love exploring topics within the community and bringing in folks from the community. I also greatly champion WordPress’s direction with the block editor. We will talk to you again soon. Thanks again for listening. Have a great day.