Trust BGW

Overview

BGW is a business accounting and advisory firm based in Charlotte, NC, with additional offices across the Carolinas. The site ran on HubSpot and had strong brand personality but struggled to convert and underperformed in search due to heavy visuals, non-standard UX, and bloated scripts. We delivered a custom redesign that preserved BGW’s voice while streamlining UX, improving accessibility and performance, enabling an SEO-first content structure, and building a sitewide lead-capture system with clear entry points.

Client quick facts

• Client: BGW — Business accounting & advisory, Charlotte, NC (multi-office)
• Platform / Stack: HubSpot CMS (custom modules + JS), GA4 + Google Tag Manager, Figma (design)
• Services Delivered: UX & IA, custom UI design, HubSpot development (modules/templates), performance optimization, on-page & technical SEO, schema, resource & podcast architecture, lead capture & CTA system
• Live URL: https://trustbgw.com

Client Goals & Pain Points

Context

BGW invests in SEO, but design/UX decisions were limiting results. Personality-driven visuals and experimental patterns made navigation less intuitive and slowed the site.

Goals

• Improve organic performance by making the site faster, clearer, and more indexable
• Maintain brand personality while aligning with standard UX patterns
• Make services, resources, and the podcast easy to discover and act on
• Increase conversion opportunities across homepage, services, resources, and blog

Pain Points

• Non-traditional UI elements (e.g., “bubble” buttons) reduced clarity and click confidence
• Contrast and readability issues (e.g., white text on saturated backgrounds)
• Heavy homepage with sliders and excess JavaScript slowed loads and distracted users
• Content pushed far below the fold, weakening topical signals for search
• Navigation and flows made it harder for a professional, often older demographic to find key content

Success Criteria

•  Homepage desktop fully loaded ≤ ~3.5s (achieved ~3.1s)
• Clear CTA patterns and conventional controls that feel familiar to the audience
• Improved content structure for indexing (less script-heavy, content higher on page)
• Accessible typography and color contrast across key templates

Approach & Strategy

Discovery & UX

• Heuristic audit identified friction from motion, sliders, and unconventional controls
• Re-mapped information architecture; simplified top-level navigation and pathways to services, resources, and podcast
  Defined clearer conversion journeys (services → consult/contact; resources → lead magnets)

Design System

• Custom Figma design emphasizing higher contrast, readable typography, and conventional component patterns (buttons look like buttons)
• Kept BGW’s personality by shifting expression to media (video, photography, copy tone) rather than experimental controls
• Reusable blocks for sidebars, CTAs, and lead gen components

Development & Integrations (HubSpot)

• Custom HubSpot modules and templates to mirror the Figma system within CMS constraints
• Reduced client-side JS, removed sliders, minimized motion, and deferred non-critical scripts
• Resource system rebuilt: consistent templates, taxonomy, and index pages for podcast episodes, guides, and lead magnets

Lead Capture & CTAs

• Elevated “Hire Us” as a primary CTA on the homepage (above the fold) and in the global header for persistent visibility
• Featured newsletter sign-up (“weekly insights”) in the homepage hero/intro and mid-page for research-mode visitors
• Standardized inline CTAs on static pages (services, About, Contact) and end-of-post CTAs on blog articles
• Introduced sidebar CTAs on high-intent templates (services, resource listings) with clear next actions
• Integrated all forms with HubSpot (lists, tags, workflows) to route leads and attribute sources

SEO Foundation

• On-page: titles, metas, heading hierarchy, internal links to priority services and resources
• Technical: lighter DOM, improved LCP/INP pathways, XML sitemaps, robots/canonicals, clean redirects
• Schema: Organization, WebSite, BreadcrumbList, Article/PodcastEpisode (where applicable), and page-level enhancements

Key Features (Technology & UX)

• Conventional Controls, Clear CTAs — Buttons and links that read as interactive elements at a glance, improving click confidence
• High-Contrast, Readable UI — Accessible color and type settings tailored for a professional, older audience
• Streamlined Homepage — Fewer moving parts, no auto-sliders; key content placed higher to strengthen topical signals
• Performance Pipeline — Image compression/next-gen formats, reduced JavaScript, caching best practices in HubSpot
• Resource & Podcast Hub — Consistent templates and filters so users can find episodes, guides, and lead magnets quickly
• Scalable Landing Pages — Templates for targeted, campaign-specific pages that align with SEO and PPC
• Sitewide Lead Capture System — Multiple, clearly labeled entry points (Hire, newsletter, sidebar/end-of-post CTAs) integrated with HubSpot lists/workflows