CASE STUDY 03 ◦ SHOWN ANONYMISED

THE
DECORATOR

Client
A local painter and decorator
Trade
Painting & decorating
Patch
Bedfordshire
Scope
Design ◦ copy ◦ build
Year
2026

THE PROBLEM

A one man decorating firm with decades on the brush, proper qualifications and a pile of genuine testimonials. His website was a 2019 WordPress build on an agency plan: forty eight separate files just to draw the homepage, a silent video where the headline should be, a gallery link that led to a page that didn't exist, and a news section quietly announcing that nothing had happened since 2019.

It wasn't cheap, either. Between hosting, maintenance and the platform underneath, we estimate £115 to £380 a year, every year, for a site nobody had touched in seven years.

The old decorator website, shown with identifying details blurred: dark template layout with a silent video slider and no headline The rebuilt decorator website, shown anonymised: light warm design with a clear headline, WhatsApp and call buttons and qualification badges
Server response
1.27s ▸ 0.07seighteen times faster before a single pixel loads
Files to draw the homepage
48 ▸ 1thirty five stylesheets and thirteen scripts became one HTML file
Yearly running costs
£115–380 ▸ £0no hosting bills, no platform, just the domain renewal

WHAT WE DID

We rebuilt it around what he actually had going for him: real skill, real qualifications and customers who rave about him. His logo's coloured dots became the design system, so the site still looks like his firm. Just finished properly.

  • A headline instead of a silent film. The old site opened with a wordless video and no call to action. The first screen now says what he does, where he does it, and how to reach him.
  • One file instead of forty eight. No WordPress, no theme, no plugins. Nothing to update, nothing to hack, nothing to pay for monthly.
  • His reviews, finally on stage. The best sales material he owns was scattered down a long page. Now it leads.
  • Qualifications up front. NVQ, CITB registration, full insurance. In the first screen, next to the quote button.
  • Contact by tap. WhatsApp, call or email, one tap each. No forms to maintain, nothing to break.
  • Old links redirected. Every URL from the old site points at the right place, so years of Google history carry over instead of turning into error pages.
Reviews section of the anonymised rebuild: five star customer reviews presented as cards
The reviews section of the rebuild
Services section of the anonymised rebuild: interior, exterior and wallpapering written up in plain English
Every service on the page, in plain English
Old decorator site on a phone, identifying details blurred
BEFORE
Rebuilt decorator site on a phone, with WhatsApp and call one tap away
AFTER

THE RESULT

From a 1.27 second wait before anything even starts, to a site that answers in 0.07 seconds and puts his reputation on the first screen.

One difference from our other case studies: this business chose to stay with their long-standing provider, and we respect that, so the work is shown anonymised. The names, photos and numbers in the rebuild are fictional stand-ins. The design, the structure and the performance figures are the real rebuild.

See the anonymised build ▸

CASE STUDY 04 ◦ YOUR BUSINESS? START A PROJECT