Background
About the project
Keller Home Loans needed a rebranded website, and it needed to go live fast. I built the new site on WordPress and made the day-to-day development and UX calls as the project moved.
The Problem
What wasn't working
The business needed a fully working site on a tight timeline. There was no room for a long discovery phase, and I was new to the mortgage industry, so I had to get up to speed quickly while still making good decisions.
The Solution
The approach
In collaboration with another developer and a brand manager, I built a fresh WordPress site and kept it lean, with only the plugins it needed. Speed and accessibility were the priorities, so I made them part of the build instead of something to patch up later.
Tools & workflow
Process
How it came together
I did competitive research whenever I could fit it in, just so I wasn't guessing on UX and development choices. The timeline meant I made a lot of small decisions on the fly and improved things across the site as I went. Once the site launched, I went back and focused on any items that got squeezed during the rush.
Challenges
Bumps along the way
The tight timeline was the biggest one. Moving that fast in an industry I didn't know meant leaning on research and instinct more than I'd like. Speed and accessibility also suffered a bit in the rush to launch, so they needed a dedicated pass afterward.
Final Product
The finished site
A fast, responsive WordPress site on the new branding, with clean markup and a layout that's easy to use on any device.
Learnings
What I learned
Build speed and accessibility in from day one. Fixing them after launch worked, but it was more effort than doing it right the first time. I also learned that a little research goes a long way when you land in an industry you don't know.