From Broken Build to Brand Beacon
Broken Theme to Digital Beacon—How We Rebuilt The Naturalist School’s Site for Speed, Stability & Seamless Updates in 30 Days
Fixing the Design and Layout
The site had no clear visual style. We set up a consistent color palette, font pairing, and spacing rules using the theme.json file. This made sure that every new page or post followed the same design without needing manual formatting each time.
Improving the User Experience
We simplified the navigation menu and made the mobile version easier to use. Buttons were made larger, forms were shortened, and important links were added to the footer. These small changes helped users find what they needed faster and reduced the number of support questions the client received.
Adding Media and Animations
We added new images and background videos to make the site more engaging. All media was compressed and converted to WebP to keep file sizes small. Animations were added only where they helped explain content, and they were disabled for users who prefer reduced motion.
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Google My Business and Social Media
We set up and linked the client’s Google My Business profile and added social media icons in the footer. This made it easier for visitors to find the client’s profiles and helped improve local visibility.
Frequently asked questions
Blog and Content Setup
We created a blog section with a clean layout and added a few starter posts. The blog template was built to be easy to update, with pre-set styles for headings, images, and quotes. The client’s team could now publish new posts without needing help from a developer.
Working with the Internal Team
We worked closely with one of the client’s team members throughout the project. We held short weekly check-ins, shared updates, and guided them on how to update pages and add new content. This made the handover smooth and gave the client confidence to manage the site on their own.
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Final Result
The site now looks complete, works well on all devices, and is easy to update. The client can add new pages, upload media, and publish blog posts without any technical help. The finished site reflects their work in conservation education and gives visitors a clear, simple way to learn and get involved.
The Starting Point
The client came to us with a WordPress site that was only half complete. Pages were missing, the design was inconsistent, and the navigation didn’t work properly. Our job was to finish what was started and make the site functional, clean, and easy to manage.
Building the Missing Pages
We created the remaining pages using the existing theme and layout structure. Instead of rebuilding everything, we worked within the current setup to save time and keep costs down. We used Gutenberg blocks and ACF to build flexible templates that the client could reuse for new content later.
We created the remaining pages using the existing theme and layout structure. Instead of rebuilding everything, we worked within the current setup to save time and keep costs down. We used Gutenberg blocks and ACF to build flexible templates that the client could reuse for new content later.