WordPress Designer & Developer

I’m looking for an experienced WordPress designer and developer to help refresh and optimize my website — ----------
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The goal is to transform it into a clean, modern, and responsive site that reflects my work as a researcher, engineer, and designer focused on environmental and water-related innovation.

The site should communicate expertise, creativity, and sustainability — while being fast, SEO-friendly, and visually engaging.

Scope of Work (~20 hours total)

1. Website Redesign & UX Improvement
* Modernize the overall design to make it visually appealing, professional, and easy to navigate
* Create a consistent visual identity (typography, colors, layout) aligned with an eco-innovation / design / engineering theme
* Improve structure and readability of content (homepage, services, about, blog, contact)
* Ensure mobile responsiveness and accessibility across devices

2. SEO & Performance Optimization
* Review current SEO setup and implement best practices (meta tags, image optimization, site speed, internal linking)
* Improve Google Lighthouse performance metrics (loading, accessibility, SEO score)
* Suggest SEO-friendly content structure (titles, blog hierarchy, permalinks, etc.)

3. Blog & Media Integration
* Enhance the blog experience — better layout, related posts, author highlighting
* Integrate videos and visuals seamlessly (YouTube embeds, video thumbnails, or a dedicated media section)

4. Technical Updates & Clean-Up
* Audit and streamline plugins to improve performance and security
* Ensure proper backups and update procedures
* Test all links, forms, and features after updates

Deliverables
* Updated and optimized WordPress website (on existing hosting)
* Style guide for consistent future updates
* SEO checklist or summary of changes made

Ideal Candidate:
* Strong portfolio of modern, responsive WordPress websites (preferably for professionals, designers, or consultancies)
* Solid understanding of UI/UX principles, SEO, and site performance optimization
* Experience customizing themes
* Creative eye for clean, minimalist design with clear messaging
* Interest in sustainability, environment, or design/engineering topics is a plus

Excellent communication skills and ability to deliver within ~20 hours

How to Apply - Please include:
A. A short intro about your experience with similar redesigns
B. 2–3 examples of relevant WordPress sites you’ve built or redesigned
C. Your hourly rate and availability