Web Developer Case Study

WordPress Turnaround

Restormel Architectural Services (RAS) realised their existing WordPress website was not pulling its weight. Weak SEO, lack of showcasing their work, difficulties with editing and poor calls to action meant it wasn't creating any leads for them. SEO-wise, the site just wasn't in the right place in the search engine results to create awareness.

RAS is a young, vibrant, architectural design company with a growing number of great projects under their belt.

Pendigital was approached by RAS founder, Sarah Yelland, to propose a solution. Sarah knew that SEO had to be built-in right from the off. Sarah liked our emphasis on SEO, performance, accessibility and felt like she was in safe hands. She was also keen on a quick turnaround.

The Solution

We know that WordPress can be a great solution. Sarah wanted to stay with this CMS. With the right SEO, and the right WP setup there's no reason why the situation couldn't be turned around.

The new plan of attack was:

• SEO Report: In a nutshell: Where are we now? Where do we need to be? And how feasible is it to get there? Combined with a new SEO focused architecture, i.e. recommended site map. Read more about our SEO services.
• High Performing Website: As we wanted to stay with WordPress, then we needed the super-powers of LiveCanvas. LiveCanvas is a high performing page builder. Quick to load, easy to edit and perfect for great accessibility scores.
• High performance Hosting: We went with FlyWheel. Managed WordPress hosting that's fast, with UK data-centres, awesome security. And excellent back-up and roll-back functionality.

I've written quite a bit about SEO in other case studies and articles, so please check them out here:

• Naomi Jenkin Case Study
• SEO landing page
• Scientific Services

So, in this case study, I really want to talk about LiveCanvas and FlyWheel. Two of our essential ingredients for quick and accessible WordPress sites.

LiveCanvas

LiveCanvas is a page builder. We like this approach for sites that need a quick turnaround. Now, there are probably some hard-core devs out there, who prefer hand-coding everything. But if you're needing visually stunning designs, then page builders give you that instant design feedback. They're also very quick to use, which is good for both us and the client.

As you probably know, the marketplace for WP page builders is as wide as it is broad. You could say it's very crowded. There's plenty to choose from. And we assessed many, before settling with LiveCanvas.

Here's our reasoning for LiveCanvas:

• It's billed as being able to create super-fast loading pages. This is true. With RAS's website we achieved 100/100 for PageSpeed Insights on desktop and 88/100 on mobile. That's a very strong result for a dynamic WordPress website. Speed is an important part of a well-performing website and contributes to good SEO. [Read our articles on performance.]
• Accessibility was another important factor in our decision-making. With LiveCanvas, you can get under-the-hood to fix troublesome accessibility issues. Did you know that accessibility is a component of good SEO? If there is a missing aria-label attribute on a button, you can fix it easily. With other page builders, this can be locked away. The LiveCanvas devs position this as: "Get rid of the handcuffs". And it's true, you can do anything in LiveCanvas as you would in plain HTML.
• Quick development, build anything... internally, LiveCanvas uses the Bootstrap 5 (B5) framework. B5 is a powerful, pre-written toolkit of HTML components. It has a powerful CSS grid (based on Flex) which makes easy work of complex components. We have also standardised our design system on B5... that means it's straight-forward to introduce our bespoke components into LiveCanvas.
• Easy to edit. It's very easy for non-technical editors to edit their website content.

Bearing in mind the needs of the RAS project. LiveCanvas was the perfect choice. It ticked all of the boxes: WordPress, SEO first, accessibility, easy to edit and more. Check out our LiveCanvas services.

The missing ingredient? Fast, secure, managed hosting...

FlyWheel Hosting - Fast, Secure, Managed...

We were introduced to FlyWheel a few years ago. It shifted our mindset back to WordPress as a great option for business websites. Due to the popularity of WordPress, it has been a target for hackers. This isn't a problem for well-maintained, up-to-date WordPress websites. But maintenance fees and looking out for frequent updates... is well, a pain and can be expensive.

FlyWheel removes that pain.

Here are some of its top features (from our perspective):

• Managed: All WP sites are managed... They auto-update the system. FlyWheel notifies you when your site has been upgraded. You're never left with an out-of-date system.
• Backups: Daily backups, but the next point is the best...
• Rollback: It's so easy to roll your site back to a previous version. This can be done instantly. Having seen many server management programmes... then FlyWheel makes this look like child's play.
• Secure: HTTPs certificates straight out-of-the-box.
• Client handover: Once you're finished, you can hand-off the project account straight to the client. This is very popular. The client owns the account. It makes the cost of hosting very transparent.
• Staging: A staging website is very easy to set up. Ideal for testing plugins and more.

These are the benchmarks for any serious WordPress hosting system.

The Outcome

The result wasn't simply a faster WordPress website. RAS now has a website that is generating organic visibility and, most importantly, enquiries. The perfect platform to support RAS's business growth.

That final point is what we're here for. Your website really needs to make a positive impact on your business. If it isn't, then give us a call.

Check out their site here: https://restormelarchitecturalservices.co.uk/