L’Etoile Education From WordPress Woes to Webflow Wins

Nicole and I first met on LinkedIn, both wearing our “accessibility nerd” badges with pride. She had a few questions about auditing and accessibility, and before you know it, we were fast friends and colleagues. One day, I wandered over to her website (because yes, I do internet stalk my accessibility friends), and yikes — her form validation was about as friendly to assistive tech as a cactus is to bare feet.

I pointed out a few issues, and Nicole admitted she already knew her site had accessibility barriers. She wasn’t thrilled about it, but her current designer/developer just didn’t have the accessibility skills to fix them.

At the same time, WordPress was going through one of its “we’re totally fine, nothing to see here” phases, and a lot of people were looking for the exit. I posted on LinkedIn: “Got a WordPress site you’re sick of? Thinking about switching to Webflow? Let’s talk.” Nicole’s reply was basically: “ME. NOW. PLEASE.”

She told me she wanted a fully accessible website, WCAG-conformant, built in Webflow — and she was so done with WordPress not representing her brand. And that’s how our beautiful project story began.

This is the heart of what we do when rebuilding and taking over websites from other platforms: same brand, better foundation.

The Game Plan

We started with a strategy call to nail down exactly what she needed. We mapped out her pages and components, and Nicole set up a Google Doc to collect all her content changes (and yes, she’s wonderfully organized). We also created an assets folder for imagery, because you know I can’t design without my visuals.

Then came the wireframes. I built them out in Relume, we collaborated until the structure and content were just right, and then I imported them into Webflow for the full accessible build.

The Fun Stuff We Added

• A Courses section so she could show off her amazing courses and link to where people can sign up.
• A Resources section with a filtering system, because nothing says “I respect your time” like easy-to-find info.
• Newsletter sign-up forms integrated with Kit.
• A global contact form on every page above the footer, fully WCAG-compliant (because forms are usually where accessibility goes to die).
• Spam blockers, because spam.
• SEO optimization baked right in.
• A fresh color palette, new icons, and custom imagery that tied in her star theme.
• Trimmed down wordy sections and added new ones that were missing.
• Expanded her Services page.
• A shiny new blog (her first ever!) so she could publish her own content.

The Results

Nicole went from “meh” to chef’s kiss overnight. As soon as we launched:

• Newsletter sign-ups and bookings went up.
• People started filling out her form (the accessible one — woohoo!).
• She started getting more leads.
• She received a flood of compliments on her new site.
• She became a total “blogging ninja,” pumping out content and driving her own traffic.

Nicole’s Words

“Crystal Scott, CPWA has done a phenomenal job with my website! Not only did she prioritize accessibility, but she also crafted a visually stunning site that resonates with professionalism and elegance. I highly recommend Crystal for anyone looking to blend accessibility with visual perfection. Her expertise has truly elevated my online presence.”

Takeaways

This project was the perfect combo of collaboration, accessibility know-how, and design magic. Nicole got the fully accessible, Webflow-powered site she’d been dreaming of, and I got the joy of helping a friend level up her brand.

Sick of your WordPress headaches? Let’s talk about moving you to a fully accessible Webflow site that actually works for you — not against you.

Crystal Scott, CPWA and certified Section 508 Trusted Tester, founder of Graceful Web Studio.