Here’s a basic example of how a new website can build a brand from the ground up. Sometimes a site is needed quickly for advertising or promotion, but there is no logo or brand elements. I’ll cover how a small WordPress site created a solid identity for Black Belt Roofing.
With 12 years of residential roofing under his belt, Dustin Peterich started Black Belt Roofing, focused on some principles of earning a black belt like respect, responsibility, and dedication. While a master at insurance claims and damage repair, the new company needed a brand and website quickly. Referred by a fellow web designer, I talked with roofing company about their situation and goals, ending with the decision that a logo and website were equally important.
The logo design was the first order of business, and the owner knew what he wanted. A “black belt” was a requirement as was a red band on it, like what’s seen in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, something the owner is practiced in. After a few rounds of mockups and variations, a belt design, colors, and fonts were approved. These colors and fonts were used throughout the site, as well as the “belt” mark. The project went very quickly, from start to finish.
First, we had a kickoff call to discuss the logo and website requirements. Next, several logo mockups were created for review, and one was ultimately revised and approved. At that point, the client was given brand logo files to use for vehicle and apparel needs. With the logo finished, a live homepage proof was created. After minor revisions, it was approved, and the rest of the pages were finished. The website was completed and launched on schedule, followed by remote training on editing the site in WordPress.
That is how Black Belt Roofing created a brand and website in weeks vs months. The best part is your company can get the same results. If your business or organization needs a new brand and website, let’s combine the two, saving you time and money. Contact me for a quote today.
Colorado Can Command in Windsor, CO needed to showcase their brand with a fun website. After seeing a past trash bin cleaning site I did, Mr. San-Can, the owner reached out and we agreed on a small WordPress site. Colorado Can Command's services include trash bin and dumpster cleaning with new high-tech equipment and pressure washing for businesses and homeowners. The owner, also a lifelong artist, had created several fun illustrations showing his services in action, cleaning and sanitizing residential waste bins and commercial dumpsters. Like most of us, he needed his site ASAP.
The process started with creating a staging space for the site, which included an install of WordPress and Elementor Pro. Like most of my web projects, the homepage was live and ready to proof in a week. This included responsive design for mobile and tablet. In a few week's time, the rest of the illustrated website was finished and approved. The last steps were launching the site which included migrating the WordPress website to WP Engine for hosting, pointing the domain name, adding Analytics, submitting a site map to Google, and testing site performance. After launching any WordPress site, I provide a one-hour training and screen share to cover the WordPress dashboard, creating and editing pages with Elementor, and adding SEO to pages.
Outhire had a hard deadline for launching their new app and job portal but their WordPress site wasn't finished. A new job recruitment service, they needed to stick to a budget and it was disappearing near launch. Outhire had already reached out to eager candidates and companies, anticipation was growing. Their website was designed in Figma but the WordPress site was barely set up.
After reviewing the state of the site, it was determined a rebuild would be quicker than picking up where the last contractor left off. Due to their popularity and wide use, WordPress sites are common; but, what's not common is well-built WordPress sites. A majority of WordPress websites are designed with too many plugins and/or they use unneeded themes like Astra. When developing for minimal bloat, it's usually quicker to build a site from the ground-up versus working on an existing one. A site that's built lean and loads fast will have higher conversion rates and will make mobile users smile.
With a couple days until launch, I set to work staging a fresh install of WordPress and building out the website in Elementor, using the Figma designs and partially designed site as reference. Elementor is the most popular site builder for WordPress and also extremely fast to design and develop in. Two days and twenty-some pages later, the site was rebuilt and ready for all devices. Switching gears to web IT, I migrated the site to Cloudways for hosting and pointed the domain in time for launch.
Do you need a site that's built quick and loads fast? Contact me today for a quote.
Your website needs a faster load speed. How do I know that? Because you can't have "too fast" of a website these days. On sites that are optimized for performance, I always see an increase in conversions and visitor time browsing. As you know, this translates to more sales and leads.
Website speed is often measured incorrectly. For example, I will talk to site owners who swear their site is fast on mobile. What I often determine is they're viewing the site over their Wi-Fi connection at their home or office. This connection to broadband loads a site much quicker than a 5G, 4G, 3G mobile network. Because of this, I test all designs on 3G connections and older screens using tools and services. (To get technical, I look at sites starting with an iPhone 5SE with a 320-pixel wide screen and up.)
In developing WordPress sites or updating existing ones, load speed is one of the top things I address by eliminating bloat and plugins. This clean-up benefits a site's life span, maintenance, and stability. When necessary, I'll recommend a few WordPress host that will produce higher scores and better load speeds, instantly.
Besides creating and developing faster WordPress sites, my other top focuses are converting users with:
Already crucial for success, site speeds will need to adapt quickly as mobile devices continue to take over. Bottom line, your website can and needs to be faster on all devices. If you have a WordPress site, especially one created with Elementor or Oxygen Builder, let's chat or talk about it today.
