Andrew Heeley Photography Website
Background
Andrew Heeley Weddings is a professional photography business specializing in weddings, portraits, and commercial photography. Despite a strong reputation in the industry, Andrew Heeley Weddings’ website was outdated by 2021, failing to showcase the portfolio effectively and attract new clients. The company needed a comprehensive website redesign to enhance its online presence and improve client engagement.
Challenges
- Outdated Website Design: The existing design was not visually appealing and did not effectively highlight ShutterScape’s stunning photography.
- Limited Functionality: The site lacked essential features such as image galleries, client testimonials, and booking forms.
- Poor SEO Performance: The website was not optimized for search engines, resulting in low organic traffic.
- Low User Engagement: The site did not effectively engage visitors or encourage interaction
Goals
- Modernize Website Design: Create a visually appealing and user-friendly website that aligns with ShutterScape’s brand.
- Enhance Functionality: Integrate plugins to add essential features like image galleries, client testimonials, and booking forms.
- Improve SEO: Optimize the website to improve search engine rankings and attract more organic traffic.
- Increase User Engagement: Implement features that encourage visitor interaction and conversion.
Strategy
To meet these goals, we implemented a strategic selection of themes and plugins:
1. Platform and Theme:
- WordPress: Chosen for its flexibility, scalability, and extensive plugin ecosystem.
- Theme Selection:
- Astra Theme: Selected for its lightweight, customizable, and SEO-friendly design. Astra’s pre-built templates suited for photography websites allowed for quick and efficient setup.
- Elementor: Paired with Astra, Elementor’s drag-and-drop builder enabled us to create custom layouts and designs without needing extensive coding.
2. Key Plugins Implemented:
- Elementor Pro: Used for advanced design capabilities and creating custom, responsive layouts.
- Envira Gallery: Integrated to create stunning, responsive image galleries to showcase ShutterScape’s portfolio.
- WPForms: Implemented for creating user-friendly contact forms, booking forms, and newsletter sign-up forms.
- Testimonials Widget: Used to showcase client testimonials, building credibility and trust.
- Rank Math SEO: Selected for comprehensive SEO optimization, including keyword management, XML sitemaps, and meta tag management.
- WP Super Cache: Utilized for performance optimization to enhance user experience and reduce bounce rates.
- Smush: Implemented for image optimization, ensuring fast load times without compromising image quality.
3. Design and User Experience Enhancements:
- Visual Refresh: Updated the website with a modern, visually appealing design that reflects ShutterScape’s brand and stunning photography.
- Mobile Optimization: Ensured responsiveness across all devices to accommodate the growing mobile user base.
- Improved Navigation: Simplified site structure and enhanced menu navigation for intuitive browsing.
4. SEO and Performance Optimization:
- Keyword Optimization: Conducted thorough keyword research and integrated targeted keywords into website content.
- Local SEO: Focused on local SEO strategies to enhance visibility in local search results, crucial for attracting nearby clients.
- Performance Enhancements: Used WP Super Cache and Smush to improve site speed, implement caching, and optimize images for faster load times.
Results
SEO Performance:
- Before: The website had low visibility on search engines, minimal organic traffic, and poor search rankings.
- After:
- Achieved a 50% increase in organic traffic within three months.
- Improved search engine rankings, with several targeted keywords ranking on the first page of Google.
- Enhanced local SEO resulted in higher visibility in local searches, attracting more prospective clients.
User Engagement and Functionality:
- Enhanced Design: The new visually appealing design and intuitive layout significantly improved user experience.
- Increased Engagement: User-friendly booking forms and interactive image galleries led to a 40% increase in client inquiries and bookings.
- Positive Feedback: Received favorable responses from clients and industry peers for the improved website usability and design.