How a Brooklyn Interior Designer Improved SEO and Conversion Rates with a Custom WordPress Theme

Client Overview

A renowned interior design firm based in Brooklyn, New York, specializing in vibrant and creative interior projects. Their work has been featured in publications like Houzz, Domino, Curbed, Lonny, and Park Slope Brownstoner. Seeking better control over their website and SEO, the client approached GrowthIQ Digital to help transition their site from Squarespace to a custom WordPress theme that would enhance functionality, search engine optimization, and user experience.

Challenges

The client was using Squarespace as their website platform, which limited their ability to fully control important SEO elements such as meta tags, meta descriptions, image titles, and alt tags. They also wanted more flexibility in design and site management. Their goal was to transfer to a more robust content management system (CMS) that allowed greater customization for both SEO and website functionality.

Solution: A Custom WordPress Theme with SEO Optimization

GrowthIQ Digital developed a comprehensive plan to transition the site to WordPress, optimize it for search engines, and create a seamless user experience across all devices.

Step 1: Defining Project Goals

The primary objectives were:

• Migrate the website from Squarespace to WordPress for greater SEO control.
• Implement custom plugins to manage SEO features like meta tags, descriptions, and alt tags.
• Track SEO improvements over time, focusing on optimizing keywords and building a strong backlink profile.

The solution was to build a fully customized WordPress theme that allowed for easier management of SEO efforts, greater control over content, and improved site performance.

Step 2: Developing a Custom WordPress Theme

While designing the new WordPress theme, we sought to maintain the best features from the old Squarespace site while improving functionality and usability.

Key Improvements

• Simplified navigation for mobile users to enhance the browsing experience.
• Added visually appealing call-to-actions on each page to drive engagement.
• Ensured that each page had optimized <h1> title tags with keyword-rich content.
• Increased the amount of copy throughout the site to provide users with more information about the designer’s projects and services.
• Wrote custom JavaScript code to load image galleries asynchronously, ensuring faster page load times without sacrificing visual appeal.

As a result, the redesigned site was more user-friendly, featured internal linking that improved navigation, and included additional relevant content to boost SEO performance.

Step 3: Monitoring SEO Efforts

After launching the new website, we initiated a comprehensive SEO campaign to track and measure progress. The ongoing plan focused on:

• Continuously adding new content and pages as the designer completed new projects.
• Building high-quality backlinks from reputable sources such as design magazines and blogs.
• Developing a keyword strategy to target relevant terms and increase visibility in search engine rankings.

This approach laid the foundation for long-term SEO success, with continued monitoring and optimization to ensure growth in organic traffic and client conversions.

Results

The newly developed WordPress site provided the client with greater control over SEO, improved website performance, and an enhanced user experience. Over time, these efforts are expected to result in higher search engine rankings, increased website traffic, and greater visibility in the competitive interior design market.