Client Business Website

The Problem

The client needed a professional web presence that could generate leads and rank in local search. They had an outdated site that hadn't been updated in years and wasn't indexed by Google.

The hard constraint: once built, the site had to be maintainable by non-technical staff without developer involvement for routine content updates.

Context & Constraints

• Budget sensitivity: cost-effective AWS EC2 on a small instance, not managed hosting.
• Non-technical maintainers: Django Admin customized as an accessible CMS.
• SEO was the primary business goal: the client needed to rank in local search for their core services.
• No ongoing developer dependency: documentation and training were a core deliverable.

What Was Built

• Django backend with PostgreSQL (AWS RDS). Custom models for pages, services, testimonials, and contact submissions.
• Django Admin customization as the CMS: simplified admin views with only the fields non-technical users need, with inline help text throughout.
• Bootstrap 5 frontend with mobile-first responsive design. Templates with minimal JavaScript for fast load times.
• AWS EC2 deployment on Ubuntu 22.04, Nginx + Gunicorn, SSL via Let's Encrypt with auto-renewal.
• On-page SEO: meta titles/descriptions via admin, canonical URLs, LocalBusiness JSON-LD schema, XML sitemap, robots.txt.
• GA4 integration with event tracking for contact form submissions and CTA clicks.

Process

Discovery 45-minute scoping call to define pages, target customers, and success criteria. Agreed on: Lighthouse SEO 90+, page load under 3s mobile, client can update any content independently.

SEO implementation Ran Lighthouse audits throughout. Initial score: 67. Fixed:

• Missing meta descriptions → admin-managed SEO fields
• Images without alt text → enforced alt field in admin
• No structured data → added LocalBusiness JSON-LD
• Render-blocking resources → deferred non-critical JS, inlined critical CSS

Final score: 100.

Training + handoff 2-hour walkthrough covering: adding service pages, updating testimonials, editing contact info, viewing GA4 reports. Accompanied by a written guide with screenshots.

Results

• 100% Lighthouse SEO score — up from 67 at project start
• AWS production deployment with SSL and auto-renewing certificates
• Client self-managing all content within one week of handoff, no support calls in the first month
• Page load under 2s on mobile (1.7s measured on 4G simulation)
• Google Search Console verified and indexing within 48 hours of launch