Psychedelic Passage: Re-branding & SEO Transformation

This is a project and cliënt from Meraqi and Glenn van Roggen and was directly commissioned by him.

The purpose of this page is to showcase the skills and knowledge I acquired during my training and development under his guidance.

Team Lineup

Project management > Meraqi 
Creative Direction > Meraqi 
Lead Design > Meraqi 
Lead Development > Meraqi 
Development > Rimbo Designs

In my ongoing collaboration with Meraqi, I had the privilege to contribute to a rebranding and web development project for Psychedelic Passage. Here, my contributions were focused on development and managing the migration to the new website.
‍
Psychedelic Passage is a network of trusted psychedelic concierges and guides dedicated to supporting individuals on their transformative psychedelic journeys.

Their mission is to provide safe and supportive environments for ceremonial psychedelic use by offering journeyer advocacy and access to a network of pre-vetted, professional guides in their local area.  

Project Overview:

Psychedelic Passage already boasted an impressive 100,000+ organic monthly visitors who engaged with their extensive repository of over 200+ insightful articles. Given the pivotal role of SEO in sustaining the web traffic of Psychedelic Passage, our foremost objective was to ensure a seamless migration process. To navigate this intricate task, we collaborated closely with SEO experts and opted to retain the WordPress platform to streamline the migration process and minimize potential complications.

Although I advocated for a migration to Webflow, the client opted for WordPress due to familiarity and risk mitigation. While I initially preferred Webflow for its advanced capabilities, I embraced the challenge of crafting an exceptional website using the more limited WordPress platform. This experience also led me to valuable insights, which I've shared in this indepth Webflow vs WordPress comparison.

before and after of website and branding psychedelic passage

Key learnings

1) How to manage a site migration for Optimal SEO Performance
2) Why you shouldn't go for WordPress
3) The importance of a good testing plan

How to manage a site migration for Optimal SEO Performance

In the pursuit of peak SEO performance, I planed out a comprehensive migration plan. Which we ran by SEO experts for approval.

The process began with mapping all structural changes from the new design into an Excel spreadsheet. This step was crucial for planning all necessary 301 redirects, ensuring Google could accurately track where the old pages were being replaced.

The migration plan also included detailed checklists of all on-page SEO optimizations we aimed to enhance. For instance, we fine-tuned file compression to balance quality and file size, implemented efficient DNS hosting, and minimized plugin usage to optimise site functionality. Additionally, we organized all the essential assets needed for development.

n the original content, there were significant inconsistencies in formatting. To address this, I provided Psychedelic Passage with practical guidelines for effectively structuring SEO-optimized content, which included a checklist and a video guide I created. Through this experience, I learned the importance of addressing formatting issues early, as they can be quite time-consuming when dealing with a large number of articles.

For more information on site migration here is my migration guide.

Why you shouldn't go for WordPress

It was good to experience a large WordPress x Elementor development project. However, during development, I faced many hurdles that led me to advise against using WordPress.

Even though we limited plugin use, utilized a light theme, and optimized all file sizes, the site performance was still not optimal. This is because WordPress and Elementor generate a ton of garbage code that is just unavoidable. This will negatively impact user experience and SEO rankings.

You will also run into many design limitations, forcing you to either limit the design or fall back on custom coding, which is time-consuming. Additionally, the inconsistency of Elementor’s interface makes it hard to navigate, which further slows down development.

There are a lot more problems with WordPress that I highlight in my article, 'WordPress vs. Webflow' I'm confident I could have halved the development time while also elevating the design quality if I had used Webflow. That’s why I wouldn’t recommend WordPress to anyone.

The importance of a good testing plan

This was the first time I had worked on a project of this scale, and it was a real eye-opener. I learned that thorough testing is crucial; just because something looks good on my screen doesn't mean it will look the same on others' screens. Similarly, compatibility with one browser like Chrome doesn't ensure it works across all browsers. The project's size underscored the importance of allocating sufficient time for testing—without it, managing hundreds of pages can become overwhelming. Moving forward, I will develop comprehensive testing plans to ensure everything functions smoothly across all platforms and devices.

Conclusion

I was an honer to assist Glenn van Roggen on this project. As Psychedelic Passage plays a vital role in the psychedelic renaissance, facilitating profound healing and self-discovery through sacred psychedelic experiences. It's a fantastic cause, and I feel very grateful to have been a part of this project.