The situation
A £2M business being judged by a website that looked like 2011
The business in this scenario — a UK facilities management company with 34 staff and approximately £2M in annual contracts — had not updated their website since 2016. The site was non-responsive (broken on mobile), used Flash-era design conventions, and had no clear call to action beyond a generic 'Contact us' link in the footer. They were generating leads almost entirely through referrals and trade event attendance.
The commercial director had identified a growing trend: prospective clients in their target segment (NHS trusts, local councils, and housing associations) were checking company websites as part of procurement due diligence. Increasingly, the old website was losing them credibility before a conversation had even started. Two lost tenders had been traced back to prospects citing concerns about the company's 'professionalism and scale'.
Core challenges
Four distinct problems compounding each other
Non-responsive and visually outdated
The site displayed as a fixed 960px-wide layout on all devices. On mobile — which accounted for 41% of their traffic — it was essentially unusable. Content was cut off and CTAs were invisible.
72% bounce rate
Nearly three quarters of visitors left without viewing a second page. Heatmaps showed most users scrolled 20% down the homepage before leaving — the content wasn't giving them a reason to stay.
No clear service hierarchy or CTA
The site listed 14 services in a flat, undifferentiated list. There was no logical journey from landing to inquiry. 'Contact us' appeared once, in the footer, in light grey text.
Zero trust signals
No case studies, no client logos, no certifications displayed, no team page, no testimonials. For a company working with public sector clients who require rigorous vetting, the absence of credibility indicators was commercially damaging.
Our approach
A structured 6-phase SEO programme
We built a phased plan that addressed technical foundations first, then content, then authority — in that order. Skipping the technical audit would have wasted the content investment.
1
Conversion audit and user research
Installed Hotjar on the existing site for a 4-week data collection period. Analysed heatmaps, scroll maps, and session recordings. Interviewed 6 procurement managers in their target sector about what they look for on supplier websites. This research shaped every design decision.
Hotjar heatmapsSession recordings6 stakeholder interviewsCompetitor analysis
2
Information architecture and wireframes
Restructured site navigation from 14 flat pages to a logical service hierarchy with three primary categories. Designed the lead journey: landing → service understanding → social proof → inquiry. Wireframes reviewed and approved before any visual design.
IA restructureLead journey mappingWireframes in FigmaClient review & approval
3
Visual design and brand refresh
Retained core brand colours but modernised typography, spacing, and imagery. Introduced a consistent component library (cards, CTAs, testimonial blocks, stat callouts). Every page template was designed mobile-first. Client approved in two revision rounds.
Mobile-first designComponent libraryBrand modernisationTwo revision rounds
4
Development in WordPress
Built on WordPress with a custom block theme — no page builder plugins that would slow the site down. Responsive across all breakpoints tested. Contact forms with lead routing to the correct department based on service type. Live chat integration.
Custom block themeNo page buildersLead routing formsLive chat integration
5
Trust signal and content layer
Wrote new content for all pages — service pages with clear scope descriptions, a 'Why us' section with verifiable credentials (ISO certifications, client count, years established), a team page with photos and bios, and 6 client case study summaries.
New page copyISO credentials displayedTeam page with photos6 case study summaries
6
Speed optimisation and launch
Mobile PageSpeed tested before launch, improved through image compression, CDN setup, and critical CSS. 301 redirects from old URLs. GA4 and Google Tag Manager configured with event tracking on all CTAs.
78 mobile PageSpeedCDN setupGA4 configurationCTA event tracking
What we would measure
How success would be judged
We agree a baseline in the first week and report against it every month. We don't promise figures before we have seen your data.
Enquiry form completions
Tracked per page, so we know which pages produce leads.
Engagement on key pages
Scroll depth and time on service pages, compared with the old site.
Search visibility kept
Rankings and traffic for existing pages protected through the move.
Mobile experience
Core Web Vitals and usability checked on real phones before launch.
