Local Spring Selected work Ottawa Deck Builders
Case study · Website rebuild · Ottawa
Rebuilt from scratch, keeping what worked
I rebuilt this Ottawa deck builder’s website for faster loading and easier enquiries, keeping the owner’s photography, content and existing URLs.
01 Results
Measured results
- −61%
- Lighter homepage 3.4 MB → 1.3 MB per visit
- −75%
- Lighter service pages 3.3 MB → 0.8 MB per visit
- 688→270ms
- Homepage load time same browser, same connection
- 52→25
- Requests per page fewer round-trips to render
Measured on both sites in the same desktop browser, at the same window size, on the same connection. 1
The project
- Client
- Ottawa Deck Builders, a division of Delta Decks
- Sector
- Deck design and construction, residential
- Market
- Ottawa and west-end communities, Ontario
- Platform
- WordPress → static site framework
- Scope
- Rebuilt from scratch, existing assets reused
- Period
- May - August 2026
- Live site
- ottawadeckbuilders.ca
What I did
- Full rebuild New front end, from scratch
- UX & interface design Layout, hierarchy, lead paths
- URL migration URLs kept page-for-page
- Local SEO & Google Business Profile linked to the site
- Structured data Business details for search engines
- Asset reuse Owner's photos and copy kept
02 Achieved
What was delivered
Four things had to be true for the rebuild to be worth doing. All four are in place.
- Design
Completed projects on the homepage
The homepage now leads with a completed client project, reviews and clear next steps.
- URL parity
Existing page URLs preserved
All six service pages, both blog posts and top-level pages kept their existing URLs.
- Entity
Business details for search engines
Added business markup, a linked Google profile, fifteen service areas and eight services.
- Low maintenance
Less routine software maintenance
Pre-built pages replace the database and PHP runtime, reducing routine maintenance.
03 Problem & solution
The brief
The business had fifteen years of projects, a 4.8★ Google profile and a photo library. The website needed to make that work easier to find and compare.
The code is new; the photography, project history and company story remain the owner’s.
04 What changed
Before and after
Each pair below is the same job on the old site and the new one. Select any screenshot to open it full size.
01Service pages
Clearer service pages
A clear service summary and two calls to action replace an unbroken block of text.
02Portfolio
Project cards with locations and descriptions
Project cards identify the neighbourhood and build type, using the owner’s original photographs.
03Project pages
Before-and-after project photos
The same photo set now shows the old and completed deck in a draggable before/after view.
04Lead path
A dedicated quote request page
A dedicated quote page captures project address and contact preference, sending enquiries to the business mailbox.
New sections
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After - service chooser
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After - service areas
Mobile views
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Before · stock skyline
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After · deck, rating, quote
05 Google & AI visibility
Local search setup
Structured business details help search engines understand the services and areas covered.
Linked to the Google Business Profile
The site and the 4.8★ Google listing now point at each other, so the map result, the reviews and the website read as one business rather than two unconnected records.
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Business type
BeforeProfessionalService - a generic catch-all
AfterLocalBusiness + HomeAndConstructionBusiness
-
Address
BeforeRegion recorded as “Ottawa”, province filed inside the postal code
AfterCarp · ON · K0A 1L0, each field in its own place
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Google Business Profile
BeforeNot linked to the site at all
AfterLinked from the markup and from the page, with the 4.8★ profile
-
Service areas
BeforeNone declared
After15 named communities, matching a visible section on the page
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Services
BeforeNone declared
After8 services, each an entity pointing at its own page
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The person behind the work
BeforeProse on the About page only
AfterNamed as the founder, machine-readable, linked to his profile
06 Under the hood
How the new site loads faster
A static build replaces the database-driven site and reduces ongoing maintenance.
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Pre-built pages
Pre-built pages load without database queries or server-side rendering.
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Fewer scripts to load
Legacy script bundles were removed; the requested review widget remains.
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Images are converted at build time
Images are resized, encoded and given fixed dimensions to reduce load and layout shifts.
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Fewer routine updates
The site no longer needs routine WordPress plugin and PHP updates.
The homepage went from 52 files / 3.4 MB to 25 files / 1.3 MB, with one stylesheet and no legacy theme runtime.
Does your website need an update?
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Notes
- How to read the figures. Page weight, request count and load time were measured directly on both sites, in the same browser at the same window size, in August 2026. They describe how much the pages ask of a visitor's connection - not rankings or enquiry volume, which depend on far more than the site. ↩
- The old site. The previous WordPress build is kept at a separate archive address so the before and after can be compared side by side. Both were captured on the same day.