New Dawn Site Rebuild Decision — 2026-04-05

Overview

In an impromptu Zoom between Mark Hope and Sebastian Gant, the team resolved the long-stalled New Dawn project by deciding to scrap the client-built site entirely and rebuild from scratch in Elementor. The rebuild is framed as a ~$10k value delivered against the original $5k SEO/Ads contract, positioning the team for a retainer conversation after delivery.

Meeting recording: https://fathom.video/calls/567950190
Attendees: Mark Hope, Sebastian Gant
Related clients: ^[1]

Background

The original agreement (October, $5k) was a three-month SEO and Google Ads engagement — not a website build. The project stalled when the client, Katie, decided mid-engagement to rebuild her own WordPress site using an unfamiliar theme and plugins. With no stable site to send traffic to, neither SEO optimization nor ad campaigns could proceed.

The team attempted to salvage the situation by helping build out specialty page templates within Katie's self-built site, with Eshok handling page assembly and Sebastian providing keyword strategy and copy direction. However:

• The page builder Katie chose was difficult to work in
• Rank Math and other plugin choices were substandard
• The About Us, Client Center, and other non-templated pages remained unbuilt
• Katie's expectations had not been formally reset — she still expected the full original SEO and Ads scope to be delivered

By the time of this meeting, the project was several months past its original December deadline with no clear path to completion.

Key Decision

Rebuild the New Dawn site from scratch in Elementor.

Rather than continuing to patch the existing client-built site, the team will spin up a fresh WordPress environment, migrate the existing specialty page templates, and build out remaining pages properly.

Rationale

• The current builder and plugin stack (including Rank Math) are not up to team standards and are inefficient to work around
• Fixing the existing site would take comparable effort to a clean rebuild, with worse long-term results
• A clean Elementor build gives the team full control over SEO foundation, analytics, and site structure
• The rebuild resets the narrative with the client: instead of a stalled, incomplete project, she receives a professional site she didn't pay extra for

Framing for Client

The rebuild will be communicated to Katie as a ~$10k value delivered as part of the original engagement. Key messaging:

"We're not fixing the site you built — we're building you a completely new, professional site from scratch, done right from the beginning."

After delivery, the team will use the completed site as a springboard for a retainer conversation covering ongoing SEO, Google Ads, and content. If Katie declines a retainer, the team accepts that outcome — the priority is leaving her with a good product and no negative word-of-mouth.

Rebuild Plan

Target timeline: 4–5 days for the build; approximately one week to delivery.

Action Items

• [ ] Sebastian — Email Katie explaining the full rebuild plan; set expectations on timeline and request her review of content/images as pages are delivered
• [ ] Sebastian — Brief design team on Figma mockups needed for About Us and Client Center pages; deliver mocks to Eshok
• [ ] Eshok — Spin up new Elementor WordPress environment; migrate templates; build all pages; deliver to Sebastian for review
• [ ] Sebastian — Audit images on completed build; polish or flag as needed
• [ ] Mark — Set up foundational SEO for new site: Google Analytics, GTM, instant indexing, sitemap

Notes & Context

• Backlinks: Mark explicitly deprioritized backlink building for this client. For a local Madison therapy practice, backlinks are unlikely to move the needle, and the team is not spending additional cash on link acquisition given the rebuild investment.
• Shine (sister company): Katie also has a separate company (Shine) that was part of an adjacent agreement. That work is on hold at the client's request — she and her husband are building a house and cannot take new leads. No action needed there for now.
• Retainer outlook: Mark flagged that Katie's retainer potential is probably modest. The primary goal is delivering quality work, protecting reputation, and closing the engagement cleanly. A retainer is a bonus outcome, not the plan.
• Design team note: Mark cautioned against the design team over-engineering the non-templated pages. Simple Figma mocks from existing templates are sufficient — this is a small therapy practice site, not a flagship build.

Related

• ^[1]
• ^[2]
• ^[3]
• ^[4]