Welcome back, fellow tech enthusiasts! Today, I’m excited to kick off a new series – The Website Rebuild Project (Re_Build). We’re going to embark on a journey of transformation, where we take a real-life website and give it a complete makeover, all the while documenting every step of the way in this blog series. But the interesting twist? Our ‘client’, the owner of the original website, gets to decide whether they want to implement the changes or not. So buckle up, as we delve deep into the realms of website design, branding, marketing strategies, and even AI implementation. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a curious newbie in the world of website creation, this series promises to provide valuable insights and practical knowledge that you can utilize in your own projects. So, let’s get started!
Re_Build: The Concept
As a freelancer, I have created numerous WordPress-based websites for clients, personal projects, communities, and more. Today, I would like to share all the experiences I have accumulated over the years and show you how to create a website. Professionally.
However, building a website like an agency does for a client is far from the promises we see online, “Create your website in 10 minutes and for free.” The reality is that it takes dozens of specific steps to create a website for a business. We are far from the vacation blog that we create for fun.
The “Re_Build” concept demonstrates how to create a website like a pro, using WordPress, and showcases each step through a complete series of blog posts.
In the Re_Build series, I will share complete How-Tos for each of the steps, from website design and technology choices to branding, various marketing strategies to consider, and the actual manufacturing process.
I will take the opportunity to create blog posts on specific topics, lists, and reviews of tools, and many other resources.
This way, you will have a complete understanding of website building and be able to replicate it for your own business. You can reuse these techniques for yourself, get inspired by ideas, and apply them.
On my part, rebuilding a real website will allow me to have concrete examples to showcase different phases. But beware! Several criteria differ from the work of a real agency: unlike a professional working for a client, I don’t impose any deadlines, and I will give free rein to my creativity. No imposed branding, no specific business constraints to take into account.
That’s why the Re_Build blog post series will span over several months: giving me enough time to create the website, as well as write all the articles I want to share with you (there are already dozens on my content planning).
An important note: at the end of the Re_Build project, my “client” (the owner of the website I am rebuilding) will have the choice to use or not use the rebuilt site. If they choose not to use it, I will put this site up for sale, giving another website owner the opportunity to benefit from it.
For my very first Re_Build project, I will revamp a friend’s website. I talked to him about the Re_Build project, and he gave me his approval.
And clearly, I don’t know if he will want to use the finalized website. But regardless, that’s not the point, my goal remains to show you how a professional creates a website for a client and all the necessary steps.
The Project: Ocelot Agency Website
The Ocelot agency is a young agency specializing in ethical and responsible WordPress website development. This makes it quite unique, and the philosophy it embodies is interesting. It is a French agency that I will personally transform into an international agency. The content will therefore be produced in English, unlike the original.
This is a freelancer, so it will be important to automate as many tasks as possible so that the website works for its owner, not the other way around.
Wait… But why?
True, the Ocelot Agency website is pretty new and completely up-to-date. So why rebuild it? Well, my friend is excellent in WordPress building, and has a lot of clients actually. He knows WordPress very well. But he’s missing some experience in Marketing, and I’m pretty sure we can implement some interesting sales funnels in his business.
Once again, this is more of an exercise than an actual rebuild. I will blend all my ideas and experience into this project to showcase the general process. I have no complaints about the current website; I will simply demonstrate how I would have built it without any business constraints and with my own creativity.
The products
Here are the products the Ocelot Agency actually provides, or could provide in my fictional projection of it:
- Custom revamp of WordPress websites: clients come to the agency to make a complete custom build of their website, but with GreenIT values, to match their mindset and business goals.
- Semi-custom website building (from templates): clients on a budget come to the agency, and accept a creation from a ready-made template kit. This speeds up the development, and the agency work is all around the modification of the template kit (text, images…).
- WordPress maintenance packages: Some companies prefer (rightfully so) to invest in the maintenance of their WordPress website, to have a secure and vulnerability-free site.
- Green optimization of the client’s website, making it consume less energy and be more environmentally friendly.
Here are the 4 products and services we will promote on the new site. Maybe I will think about other products and services on the way, so things may vary over time.
The process I will follow
From now, we need a clear action plan to build the website. Unlike a lot of businesses out there, we won’t jump into the construction right away, simply because we need to make the conception before working on it: why a website, for whom will it be, and how will we sell the products. A lot of questions should be answered before going to WordPress. It is not for nothing that an agency will ask you many questions before starting the development.
Here are the main steps I will follow:
- Conception of the Business: Buyer Personas, Offers, Marketing strategy, website structure, branding, Tech Stack.
- Website Building: Plugins and theme installation, settings, sales funnels, and pages creation
- We also talk about Content Marketing and Social Media Marketing, to see how we can power the business
For each of these steps, I will write articles, for you to have a clear vision of the whole process. So thank you to be patient.
A touch of magic with AI
Whenever possible, I will implement automated processes and artificial intelligence to save time for the agency. We will also discuss No Code and automation to stay competitive and leverage the latest technologies. This will undoubtedly help you in your business as well, or at least give you some ideas.
I hope you’ll enjoy the series. Of course, do not hesitate to submit your comments, ideas, questions, and suggestions, I can’t wait to discuss this project (or yours) with you.
To be sure to follow all the Re_Build process, think about following Boost My Site on Facebook and LinkedIn!
Takeaway
- The Re_Build series will guide you through the process of redesigning a website, covering topics from design, technology, and branding, to marketing strategies.
- The project will span several months, allowing for comprehensive and detailed content.
- The “client” will have the choice to use or not use the rebuilt site. If they choose not to use it, the site will be put up for sale for another website owner to benefit from it.
- The first Re_Build project features the revamp of the Ocelot Agency website, an agency specializing in ethical and responsible WordPress website development.
- The Ocelot Agency provides custom revamp of WordPress websites, semi-custom website building from templates, and WordPress maintenance packages.
- The website build process will involve business conception, website building, and exploring options for content marketing and social media marketing.
- The series will explore the use of automated processes and artificial intelligence in website development.
