The WordPress website used the Site Origin page builder but was build in the most convoluted manner by someone completely incompetent. Some posts were being displayed inside pages.as the only content. Custom post types and custom fields were used in a most bizarre manner. And it was as slow as a wet week.
Website Redesign Project
So, the best solution was to start with a fresh WordPress install with Generatepress as the theme base. Then copy and paste the HTML page content from the old site, strip out the formatting in Notepad, and create new pages and posts in a conventional way.
The site owner wished to retain the “look and feel” so that previous customers would know they were on the right website. So a custom design and layout was built in Generatepress, using a modified version of the logo, the same main images, colours and fonts – with some legibility enhancements.
Almost all page header images were replaced with top quality stock photos and site owners photos.
Page Load Speed / Core Web Vitals
Full optimisation process with WP Rocket Cache, Asset Manager, Shortpixel image optimisation.
SEO Packages
The Domain Name was 20 years old, therefore a very valuable asset.
SEO was non-existent.
- On-Page SEO: zero search engine optimisation had been done on the site – there was barely a keyword to be found anywhere. Writing accurate Titles, Descriptions and image Alt tags. plus generating a good internal linking structure allowed this site to jump up in prominence.
- Off Page SEO: none whatsoever, just a handful of minimal-value links. A site does need a good portfolio of citations / links in order tp prosper. A site absolutely doesn’t need thousands of links, even in a competitive niche. .
- Local 3 Pack SEO: none. Schema data has been implemented and the citations have been built to complement that. Appearance in Local 3 Pack results should follow over time.
Initial Google Search Rankings Benchmark:
16th February 2023: the original website’s rankings after 20 years…
SERPs: Redesigned Site – 4th Day
8th March 2023: the redesigned website’s ranking, 4 days after launch.
SERPs: Redesigned Site – After 2 Weeks
17th March 2023: the redesigned website’s ranking, 2 weeks after launch.
SERPs: Redesigned Site – After 4 Weeks
31st March 2023: the redesigned website’s ranking, 4 weeks after launch.
Summary
This is a normal outcome from a painstaking website redesign coupled with best practices in search engine optimisation. The Google rankings will continue to grow for weeks/months as we are also adding new content.