11 07 2024 08:40
reading time: 5 min
This week marked an important milestone for the COCO team. We focused on various site improvements—from design to content development and thorough technical fine-tuning. Each team member contributed, from creating the new visual style and managing social media to developing key content for different sections and optimizing functionality. All these efforts are aimed at making our site as useful and user-friendly as possible and at solidifying our ranking platform as a trusted source for finding the best countertop contractors.
This week, we concentrated on critical tasks related to integrating the new design and functionality. This process brought its own set of challenges, especially in merging the new front end with the existing back-end structure.
Key tasks and achievements:
Completed API setup, creating a foundation for all site modules to work together. Rebuilt the site and updated it in the production environment. Integrated the front end of the listing page, covering sub-tasks like filter development, sorting, and page adaptation.
Began transferring contractor data to the site (currently in the staging phase).
Challenges and Solutions: We initially underestimated the back-end work volume. Some existing modules, such as URL creation, schema.org, breadcrumbs, and pagination, didn’t meet the requirements of the new front end. Key data, filters, and sorting needed for the new design were missing in the source code and required additional work. Since the new front end relies on the API, we had to revise our coding approach to avoid style conflicts with other pages.
Special Measures: Until November 14, the development process will proceed in accelerated mode, with the team working in two shifts, from early morning until late at night. Meeting the November 15 deadline is challenging, but the team is making every effort to achieve it.
Over the past week, we’ve made significant progress with our designer! We decided to abandon our first homepage concept, as it didn’t match our vision. Going back to the drawing board, we found a new reference that aligned perfectly with our expectations. Dara began reworking the design from scratch, and it was immediately clear this was the right direction.
Now, the new homepage design is almost complete, and we plan to hand it over to the front-end developer soon. For a little sneak peek—here is the first screen of our updated homepage, and we’re thrilled to share it!
This week was very productive for our social media, and we have fantastic news on the stats! We started posting Reels and posts on Instagram, duplicating the content on Pinterest and Facebook. Traffic on Pinterest reached 1.3K, and our page looks livelier with stylish videos and posts. On Friday, our SMM manager Vikki will have a consultation with an expert to boost our presence even more on this platform.
Additionally, Vikki continues tagging contractors on Instagram. Although co-authoring hasn’t been confirmed yet, many contractors are resharing our posts in their Stories, which helps raise awareness of our project. This week, we released a trending Reel, and it’s already performing better than any previous posts. A true success for our SMM team!
If you haven’t followed us on Instagram yet, join us here: https://www.instagram.com/countertopscontractors/
Ann, our dedicated analyst, did incredible work this week, verifying data from over 10 cities for price and quality accuracy. Out of these cities, five were sent back for revision due to missing contact information from some contractors.
However, six cities passed verification, so our copywriter can now prepare detailed articles on countertop prices. Ann’s thorough approach ensures we maintain high-quality data, providing users with reliable information. Her careful attention to detail at every stage is key to creating a precise and trustworthy ranking for our users.
This week, Alice focused on developing content for the listing page and FAQ section for the new site. This project demands meticulous attention to detail and patience, as the text must be both informative and engaging, while also optimized for key search queries. Our goal is to get our site to the top of searches for countertops, care, installation, and maintenance.
Despite the scope of this project, Alice completed four more articles on countertop prices in different cities, which is a great addition to the main project. These materials will soon appear in our blog, and we’ll be actively sharing them on social media. In the meantime, you can check out our previously published articles for cities like Mesa, Austin, Raleigh, and Aurora.
This past week has been an essential step forward. We improved the homepage design, expanded social media reach, added valuable content, and strengthened the technical foundation of the site. Every team member contributed significantly, working toward our shared goal—to create a reliable, user-friendly, and informative resource for our clients. Many tasks still lie ahead, but with this pace and team spirit, we’re confident we’ll reach the finish line with flying colors.
