Alya Leon

WordPress redesign and rebuild for a small business — taking the site from an outdated layout through to a new design in WordPress, with ongoing management after launch.

In progress – WordPress build and ongoing management

The Brief

When the client’s original developer became unavailable, she reached out looking for someone to take over ongoing management of the website. Alongside general dissatisfaction with how dated the site had become, this presented a clear opportunity to do more than just a handover, so we embarked on a full redesign and relaunch.

While the new design and build was underway, critical maintenance updates were made to keep the existing site stable and functional for users. The refreshed website is currently in development, with a full relaunch scheduled for late 2026.

Before

The Original Site

Note: the original site was still live when this case study was written

• The site had been left largely untouched for several years, resulting in an outdated design that the client was no longer proud of.
• Without an active manager in place, routine updates had fallen behind and some features were not working.
• The existing theme offered little flexibility for making changes or improvements going forward.
• A full redesign with a new theme was needed to establish a clean, maintainable foundation for the site.

Process

Design Decisions

Wireframing focused on solving three problems:

• Outdated structure
• Unclear hierarchy
• Hero relied on a generic headshot rather than the brand’s actual story

Wireframe – Page structure

Additional page sections include: services strip, welcome, testimonial, CTA banner & footer

Wireframe – Navigation decisions

Mobile breakpoint – below ~768 px: links collapse into a hamburger icon (three stacked lines). Tapping opens a full-width drawer overlay with vertically stacked links, a close icon, and the language toggle at the bottom.

Wireframe – hero section

Introduced the doorway motif as a recurring visual metaphor for ‘unlocking’ insight’.

After

New Design

WordPress build in progress

Mockup of homepage

Mockup of About Alya section on homepage

Mockup of Contact page

The new site takes a more approachable direction — cleaner typography, a fresh layout, and a structure that makes it easier for visitors to understand what the business offers and how to get in touch.

• The doorway and key motif replaces the original headshot-style hero with a visual metaphor for “unlocking” insight — tying the imagery directly to the brand’s core message.
• Content hierarchy was clarified and restructured, so visitors can immediately understand what the business offers and how to take the next step.
• The result is a clean, maintainable foundation that’s easy for the client to update and straightforward to build on as the business grows.

Ongoing Role