--- title: "Case study: Rusty the Raccoon — Gian Trotta" description: "How a children's book author escaped a $400/yr Wix bill, cut page weight from 1.7 MB to 193 KB, and got a site Google can actually read." source: "https://giantrotta.dev/case-studies/rusty/" --- Website Rescue · Case study # Rusty the Raccoon A children's book author was paying $400 a year for a site Google thought was called "My Site." Same content, zero platform fee, and a site that loads quickly. [See the live site →](https://www.rustytheraccoon.com/) At a glance · before → after Platform fee $0 was $400/yr Mobile speed 76 → 98 Google score Page weight 1.7 MB → 193 KB mobile home Largest paint 6.5 s → 1.8 s mobile LCP Before measured 2026-07-17 against the still-live Wix copy at michelletrotta20.wixsite.com/my-site. After measured the same day on rustytheraccoon.com. Homepage · before and after Before ![The old rustytheraccoon.com homepage on Wix — generic template nav, no real page title, Amazon buy button](/case-studies/rusty/home-before.png) After ![The rebuilt rustytheraccoon.com homepage — cleaner layout, full nav, and the same book cover front and center](/case-studies/rusty/home-after.png) The problem ## Paying rent on a site Google ignored Michelle Trotta wrote and published _Rusty the Raccoon is Scared of the Dark_, a picture book for kids who are nervous about the dark. Her site had seven pages: book info, author bio, free activity downloads, resource links, and videos. Nothing fancy. Just what a small publisher needs. It was on Wix, and the annual bill was **$400**. The renewal was due August 3, 2026. If she cancelled the plan, the whole site would disappear August 22. On a phone, the old home page weighed about **1.7 MB** and took **6.5 seconds** before the main content finished painting. Search had a separate problem. Every page title said **"My Site."** Not the book name. Not the author. "My Site," on every single page. Michelle wanted to keep her content: words, downloads, look and feel. She wanted to stop paying platform rent for a site that wasn't worth the bill. What we did ## Rescue the content, then rebuild ### 1\. Archive everything first Before touching the builder or the DNS, I downloaded every page, all 24 images, and all 11 activity PDFs. Once the content was safe on disk, the Wix deadline had a lot less leverage. ### 2\. Rebuild by hand I rebuilt all seven pages as a lightweight static site with no monthly platform or bloated page builder. ### 3\. Make Google understand the book Every page got its own title and description. I added a sitemap, plus structured data so search engines know this is a book by a real author with an Amazon link. I registered Google Search Console and submitted the sitemap on launch day. ### 4\. Keep the old links working Old Wix URLs from bookmarks and search results were redirected. Activity PDFs people had linked to on the old file server still download. Michelle reviewed the preview and signed off before I touched the domain. Results ## The numbers ### $400/year → $0 hosting The Wix site plan was cancelled before the August renewal. Hosting is free. The only recurring cost left is domain registration. ### "My Site" → real page titles The home page now opens with _Rusty the Raccoon is Scared of the Dark_, the actual book name. Every page has its own title and description. Basic stuff, but the old site never had it. ### 1.7 MB → 193 KB · 6.5 s → 1.8 s On a phone, the home page dropped from about 1.7 MB to 193 KB. The main content used to take 6.5 seconds to finish painting; now it takes 1.2 seconds, with a Google speed score of 98, up from 76. Desktop is 100/100, with main content in 0.3 seconds. The server answers in about 30 milliseconds instead of over a second. ### Registered with Google Search Console verified on launch day. Sitemap submitted. The site is ready to be crawled and indexed, which the old Wix site never was. > Michelle reviewed the preview before we flipped the domain. Her verdict: she loves it. Site checkup · before → after Measured 2026-07-17 · mobile Speed score 76 → 98 Largest paint 6.5 s → 1.2 s Page weight 1.7 MB → 193 KB Server response 1.1 s → 30 ms Page titles "My Site" → unique Platform fee $400/yr → $0 Before: michelletrotta20.wixsite.com/my-site. After: rustytheraccoon.com. Desktop after also hits 100/100 speed with a 0.3 s largest paint. Timeline The whole project happened in less than a week. Michelle had a preview to approve before anything went live on her domain. Sound familiar? ## Paying monthly for a slow site Google barely knows exists? Start with a free 15-minute call or a fixed-price Site Checkup. You'll leave knowing what your site needs, whether or not we work together. [Book a free call](/contact/) [See services](/services/)