Progress review of the SBS website redesign with Brandon Aman and Chris Sisinni (SBS/WI). The meeting covered content decisions across the homepage and case studies, confirmed the mid-March launch timeline, and surfaced a bot call problem Brandon has been experiencing.
Attendees:
- Melissa Cusumano (Asymmetric)
- Sebastian Gant (Asymmetric)
- Brandon Aman (SBS/WI, external)
- Chris Sisinni (SBS/WI, external)
The existing icon-based case study format was found to be inconsistent and confusing, particularly for projects involving multiple service types. The team agreed to replace icons with a structured narrative format:
Problem → Solution → Testimonial
Rationale: the narrative is cleaner, tells a more compelling story, and scales consistently across all case studies. Icons may be revisited later as an optional enhancement once content is in place.
Melissa will create a template document (one case study per page, with a mock-up screenshot at the top) and send it to Brandon for population.
The homepage copy, while written to hit SEO word-count targets, is too long and heavy in layout. Melissa will shorten it after consulting with SEO colleagues to confirm the reduction won't hurt search rankings. The goal is to recover the clean, quick-message feel from the original mock-ups while retaining sufficient keyword coverage.
Brandon expressed a preference for a cleaner look without icons on service pages, but Melissa made the case that icons provide a quick visual summary for visitors. Decision: keep the service icons.
| Owner | Action |
|---|---|
| Melissa | Shorten homepage copy; consult SEO team on word-count floor |
| Melissa | Send all updated service pages to Brandon for review by Wednesday |
| Melissa | Create and send case study template document (Problem/Solution/Testimonial structure) |
| Melissa | Research bot call mitigation options (plugins, filters); check with Mark |
| Brandon | Provide 2FA code to Mark for SiteGround DNS access if requested |
| Brandon | Populate case study template — 1 new winter project + 4 additional |
| Brandon | Continue paying Hibu through March; notify them when ready to cut over |
Brandon has been receiving a high volume of silent/automated calls — roughly every 30 minutes at peak — believed to originate from the phone number listed on the website. He wants a solution but has a hard constraint: must not block legitimate customer calls.
Options discussed:
- Website-side bot filters / plugins — Melissa will research; reCAPTCHA applies to form submissions but not direct calls
- Do Not Call registry — ruled out due to risk of blocking real prospects
- Current workaround: answer and hang up immediately
Melissa will follow up with Mark on what can be implemented on the new site to reduce bot exposure.