Expectations
Project Start: April 6 at 3:00 PM
This client came to me for an “emergency” website re-design. Yes, you read that correctly… An emergency!!
Direct visits to the website worked as normal, but when you searched for her business on Google and clicked on the listing, you’d be re-directed to a totally different website that had nothing to do with her business.
This problem was likely a result of either an outdated or insecure WordPress plug-in. I consulted my colleagues (who are more proficient in WordPress things than I), who agreed with my assessment of the situation. We determined it was easier and faster to start a whole new site from scratch than to try to fix the bug on the existing site.
Process & Results
The client had VERY little about the old site she needed to change/modify, so I started by copy + pasting the entire old site into a Squarespace template. Since the client is open to merging a secondary Wordpress site for her business with this new Squarespace one in the future, I chose a template that has a function that I think will be perfect for this down the road.
The general flow of information, navigation, and content is all the same, but the layout is slightly updated by the Squarespace template I started with, which helped user experience.
I charged for this service by the hour since I wasn’t sure how time consuming or simple the process would be, or what technical roadblocks might get in my way. I quoted an estimate when I started, and I kept the client updated about how many hours I had spent on this job along the way.
By April 7 at 5:00 PM I was already changing DNS settings to point at the domain. There were still a few small tweaks the client wanted to make to content, layout, and style of the site, but the important part is that her website was now directing correctly from Google search results (usually the most popular source of web traffic).
The project and all revisions were completed by April 9.
April 14: A personal review of SEO revealed that the site was performing really well without any special techniques or tags added. I noticed a few ways in which I thought the site could be doing better, so I went back and added some location-based keywords.
An April 16-17 follow-up showed her site ranking first among local catering businesses no matter what variations of the search query I used. The client reported an increase in leads.
Conclusion
Now, I'm not necessarily advertising 24-hour-turnarounds — but I understand the plight of the business owner, so making other business owner's lives easier makes me happy. I was genuinely curious and puzzled by this client's dilemma, so it was satisfying to create a solution for her quickly and efficiently.
My estimate for the client on how many hours this project would take was right on point.
Another business saved from WordPress
Although WordPress may offer better flexibility for some specific applications, I have found this added flexibility is not necessary in most cases. Squarespace has less moving parts; it is an all-in-one, accessible solution to website hosting, CMS (content management systems), and e-commerce.
Other Work for HazelBea
After upgrading the HazelBea Catering website, we also upgraded the sister company’s HazelBea At Home site.