Evolving an established website without starting again
A visual rebrand, custom Amazon API integration and domain migration that transformed an established WordPress website while preserving its content, functionality and history.
The Challenge
Georgie's website had grown alongside her business, accumulating years of recipes, content and search visibility. But the brand had evolved while the website hadn't.
The challenge wasn't simply to make it look different. The existing site contained valuable content and functionality that needed to remain intact, while an unsupported WordPress theme created technical constraints around what could safely be changed.
Later, when GeorgieEats became Georgie Mullen, the project expanded into a full domain migration — preserving the existing site while moving the brand to its new online identity.
The Approach
Rather than rebuilding a functioning website unnecessarily, I first identified what needed to change and what was worth preserving.
Working from the designer's visual direction, I adapted the existing WordPress implementation while keeping the site's content structure and core functionality intact. Where the existing website couldn't provide what the business needed, such as automatically displaying recommended Amazon products, I extended it through structured WordPress development, including a custom plugin and API integration.
The Solution
Visual evolution
The new visual identity was translated into the existing WordPress website design through updated typography, colours, spacing and layouts, creating a more cohesive experience without unnecessarily rebuilding the site.
Amazon API integration
I developed a custom WordPress plugin integrating the website with Amazon's API, allowing relevant product information to be retrieved and displayed alongside Georgie's content without relying on an additional off-the-shelf plugin.
Domain migration
Migration from GeorgieEats to Georgie Mullen, including the website, domain, URLs and 301 redirects needed to preserve access to existing content and minimise disruption to existing search visibility.
The Result
Despite the limitations of an outdated theme, the refreshed website now aligns closely with the client’s updated visual identity. The design is cleaner, more cohesive, and easier to navigate, especially on mobile devices.
The addition of the custom Amazon Storefront API gives the client a scalable and low-maintenance way to integrate product recommendations into their content. The client appreciated the attention to detail, the quality of execution, and the ability to extend the site’s functionality while working within existing technical constraints.
The later domain migration moved the established website to the Georgie Mullen identity while preserving access to its existing content through redirects from the previous URLs.
Here is a Before and After showcasing the visual transformation. From the original layout to the updated design with refined spacing, modern typography, and a cleaner, more cohesive user experience.
Client Feedback
“Working with Matei was a pleasure! Communication was clear and easy throughout the process, and he made valuable updates to my website in just a few days. He also resolved a few background issues I’d been struggling with for a while. I’m really happy with the results and would definitely hire him again for future projects.”