ThePixel ranks well — aren't they the SEO experts?

They're genuinely good at SEO, and we'll give them that. But their own website scores 48/100 on mobile and takes ~28 seconds to load — a tough look for an agency selling performance. We run the same location- and industry-page SEO strategy on a build that's actually fast (90/100), and you work directly with the developer.

They're in Cedar Rapids but target Dubuque — does local matter?

It can. They rank for Dubuque through city-targeted pages, but they're a Cedar Rapids agency. Neely is in the Tri-State area and works Dubuque, the Quad Cities, and the wider region directly — local presence plus the same SEO approach.

Head-to-head

Neely Solutions vs ThePixel

ThePixel is a Cedar Rapids agency that's genuinely good at SEO — it ranks for “Dubuque web design” from out of town using city-targeted pages and a deep content library. The irony is the build itself: for an agency that sells performance, their own site is the slowest we measured (48 mobile, ~28-second load).

Page-builderCedar Rapids, IA48mobile

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At a glance

The short version

Mobile PageSpeed

Neely Solutions

90 / 100

ThePixel

48 / 100

Pricing

Neely Solutions

Published from $1,200

ThePixel

No published pricing — consultation and quote.

Build

Neely Solutions

Hand-coded Next.js

ThePixel

WordPress 7.0 + WPBakery

You own the site

Neely Solutions

Yes — code & content

ThePixel

Builder / plugin dependent

Speed, measured

The same test, side by side

Google PageSpeed Insights scores the experience real visitors get. Higher is faster.

Mobile PageSpeed

0–100

Neely Solutions90

ThePixel48

Desktop PageSpeed

0–100

Neely Solutions100

ThePixel48

90+ good50–89 needs workunder 50 poor

Source: Google PageSpeed Insights (Lighthouse), measured June 2026.

Time to load (mobile)

8.5× slower

Neely Solutions3.3s

ThePixel28.1s

Largest Contentful Paint — how long until the main content actually appears on a phone. Visitors leave long before 28.1 seconds finishes.

Side by side

Capability for capability

Green is a clear strength; amber flags a gap. We mark their genuine strengths too.

Capability

Neely Solutions

ThePixel

Build & stack
Hand-coded Next.js, performance-first
WordPress 7.0 + WPBakery
Build & stack
Neely Solutions
Hand-coded Next.js, performance-first
ThePixel
WordPress 7.0 + WPBakery
Mobile PageSpeed
90 mobile · 100 desktop
48 mobile · 28.1s load
Mobile PageSpeed
Neely Solutions
90 mobile · 100 desktop
ThePixel
48 mobile · 28.1s load
SEO
Location + industry pages built in
Strong programmatic SEO
SEO
Neely Solutions
Location + industry pages built in
ThePixel
Strong programmatic SEO
Pricing
Published packages from $1,200
Quote-only
Pricing
Neely Solutions
Published packages from $1,200
ThePixel
Quote-only
Who you work with
1:1 with the developer (Nick)
Agency team / account layer
Who you work with
Neely Solutions
1:1 with the developer (Nick)
ThePixel
Agency team / account layer
Locality
Dubuque / Tri-State
Cedar Rapids (targets Dubuque)
Locality
Neely Solutions
Dubuque / Tri-State
ThePixel
Cedar Rapids (targets Dubuque)
You own the site
You own the code & content
WordPress + builder dependent
You own the site
Neely Solutions
You own the code & content
ThePixel
WordPress + builder dependent

The build, scored

How we stack up, at a glance

Speed is the measured score; the rest is our honest read from the research. The further out, the stronger.

Speed is the measured PageSpeed score; the other axes are our assessment from public research. Detailed, even-handed notes are in the table above.

The honest take

Where each of us fits

Where we win

Modern hand-coded build vs. WordPress + WPBakery — 90 mobile vs their 48
We run the same location/industry SEO play, on a faster foundation
Founder-direct: you work with the developer, not an account layer
Published pricing from $1,200 instead of quote-only
You own a clean codebase, not a builder-locked theme

Where ThePixel is strong

Effective programmatic & local SEO (ranks in Dubuque from Cedar Rapids)
Large content and resource library
Scale and a long client roster

Choose ThePixel if: Businesses that want a larger agency with a heavy content-marketing and SEO operation, and are comfortable with WordPress and a more hands-off, team-based relationship.

Switching is easy

What moving to us looks like

No lost rankings, no lock-in, no babysitting. Here's the whole move.

Step 1
We map & migrate
We pull your existing content, pages, and assets and set up 301 redirects, so the rankings and links you've already earned carry straight over.
Step 2
We rebuild, you review
A fast, modern build on your content. You review it on a private staging link and we refine it together before anything goes live.
Step 3
Launch in ~3 weeks — you own it
We flip it live with no downtime and hand over the code and content. No builder lock-in, no plugin lease, nothing to babysit.

Common questions