Technical requests from our professional services clients: how we resolved domain migration, content transfer and API integration challenges

We often hear that professional services clients put off website projects because technical challenges feel overwhelming.

How about a few stories of a better reality? When approached methodically, a new professional services website can be planned with the ‘big questions’ addressed at the beginning. Even better, improved processes and good tech can lead to significant business change that dramatically reduces future workflows down the track.

Here’s how we’ve solved five complex technical briefs for our clients.

1. Domain migration

The challenge:
“After months of work, our huge new website is ready to go live. SEO is vital to us, with over 80 web addresses covering all our detailed services as well historical blog posts going back years. They are registered by search engines and point to our old site. How do we switch over to the new site without breaking everything?”

What we did:
For international immigration law firm Barella Global, we sourced their live website domains and created a spreadsheet listing them all. We then mapped each URL from original on the left to destination address on the right. We uploaded this file to the new site which immediately integrated with our redirection software. The result was a seamless site upload, avoiding 404 errors and meant all pre-existing web traffic was preserved.

With a ‘through line’ from old site to new ensured, we integrated a further improvement. Every single page of the new site has had headers, descriptions and sharing optimisation added within search engine management software, upgrading its appearance online and social sharing potential (both on public-facing networks and in intimate high-trust forums such as texting).

Why this matters:
This is very much a case of trying to think ten steps ahead our side. Co-ordinated forwarding preparation will avoid lost business caused by broken links and maintain (or hopefully in this case, improve) SEO value. With this sort of process in place, ‘invisible workloss’ type situations in the form of clients who’ve bookmarked the old site, as well as new potential customers searching for a highly specific service, will reach the right page of your site, regardless of which URL they use.

2. Content transfer

The challenge:
“We have over 800 blog posts going back to when we started the business, with images, categories, and custom formatting. We need to be absolutely sure the new site maintains everything we’ve achieved.”

What we did:
With a major website redesign focussing on their artists’ portfolios, illustration agency The Artworks‘ blog was the largest section of their site, with hundreds of posts going back years. The migration process involved exporting their content database, cleaning the data and using WordPress’s import tools alongside custom scripts for image handling. Everything had to then work with our new typeface hierarchy amid the updated design. We completed this process weeks before launch, ensuring it had all worked smoothly with the entire content history transferred intact. Posts created in the interim between transfer and go live were added in tandem, across old site and new.

Why this matters:
Your content library is an incredibly important (and underrated) asset with hundreds of hours invested in building audience engagement. It’s also the history of your business. A migration like this one preserves SEO rankings and keeps every post accessible and cross-linked on social channels. This was vital for a highly visual business like The Artworks, who have a huge following on Instagram. However, the same principle applies for financial and legal practices who had spent years building authority through thought leadership.

3. Product catalogue integration and upload

The challenge:
“We have thousands of products with specifications, images, and pricing. Can you work with our content and hosting agency to find the best automated way of ensuring the new site integrates across all our suppliers?”

What we did:
For premium antique dealers Brownrigg, we created an automated import system that processed their product data and populated the WordPress database. At an early stage we engaged with the agency who had managed the ongoing workflow for years and quickly decided how to set up the processes for moving across to our new design and site build. We agreed not only a way of taking the data from the old site to the new, but also worked on a new system for a fresh ongoing process, streamlining the workflow and reducing costs.

Why this matters:
Automation like this transforms weeks of manual work into hours of systematic processing. We’ve found it essential for our clients across wine wholesale, antique dealers and interior design firms with extensive product catalogues. Even better, right now we’re working with Brownrigg again on new code for their site, meaning they can reduce impact on server space by streamlining their archive without impacting SEO.

4. Website security and spam prevention

The challenge:
“How do we slow down spam or frustrate bots without losing enquiries from real clients?”

What we did:
On the website we had designed and built for London financial services ‘back office’ specialist Langham Hall, we have extensive contact forms and downloads which are accessible after a ‘data input’ jump. Anticipating bot attacks which could overwhelm and sidetrack the team, we put in place a variety of measures to safeguard the site.

No site is completely invulnerable to spam, but this summer we went the extra mile, working with the team to retrofit the site, at their request, with hCaptcha at every access point. Concurrently this project included a further raft of security features added to the site including additional backend filtering.

Why this matters:
Smart security protects both the inbox of you as well as your client services team, while keeping access avenues clear for genuine enquiries. It sounds simple, but the alternative to taking this sort of care is so much wasted time and needless headaches. We believe this sort of work is vital for large professional services businesses operating in a competitive environment, where time is precious and every lead matters.

5. API integration

The challenge:
“Our online estimating and accounting system is currently separate from our website. On the new system, could they talk to each other?”

What we did:
For signature furniture and accessories design business Richard Taylor Designs, their website includes the ability to extensively customise their products, meaning conventional pricing or e-commerce is not really possible (or even desirable). Instead, as visitors move around the website, they can add their products, complete with requested sizes or finishes, to a ‘My quote’ section. Integrating the website’s quoting system with Quickbooks’ API, we gave the accounts and client services teams the ability to build out a fully priced estimate which could then be returned to the customer without delay. Once the order was agreed, this generates a parallel invoice, saving hours of hand-transcribing.

Why this matters:
The story of this integration is such a good example of how a great collaboration and smart thinking can lead to better, connected systems. The efficiency of the new quoting process and the ability to totally customise product is what Richard Taylor Designs’ clients have come to expect. Our new system gives them the ability to do that better, as well as offering a slicker ordering system. The benefits extend to the team too: time saved on admin means more can be spent building business by focusing on marketing or ‘the fun stuff’ such as working on new products.

Our track record

• Domain migration:
  Over the years we have successfully migrated tens of thousands of domains as we transition from old websites to new, ensuring users avoid the dreaded ‘not found’ or ‘404’ page
• Content transfer:
  We have preserved the time and effort creating years of past blog posts and thought leadership articles with a smart import from a variety of content management systems
• Product catalogues:
  On the Brownrigg project alone, we enabled the automated import of 15,000+ products from the previous website to our new design
• Security implementation:
  Every requirement is different here, but for all our most security-sensitive clients we have implemented a range of systems aimed at reducing exposure to spam bots
• API integration:
  Where integration is enabled from large data services companies, we have connected dozens of our sites to platforms such as email marketing and even accounting systems which can help streamline client workflows

Can we help you with domain migration, content transfer and API integration?

At Richard Chapman Studio, we combine WordPress technical expertise with brand strategy experience. Every integration is thought through carefully with the aim of better serving your broader business goals, not just technical functionality.

Ready to discuss your project? Whether you’re facing domain complexity, content migration, or system integration challenges, get in touch and we’d be happy to outline how we’d approach your specific situation.

Call us on +44 20 7351 4083 or email us direct to start the conversation.