Sage Advisory - Web Redesign @ Kordami
Sage Advisory is a Wealth Management firm based out of Austin Texas that offers fixed-income asset management, tactical ETF strategies, and liability-driven solutions for institutional and private clients.

Regulated Financial Website Redesign & SEO Preservation
Role: Technical Lead / Front-End & SEO Partner
Client: Sage Advisory
Location: Austin, Texas
Website: sageadvisory.com
Platform: WordPress
Focus Areas: Fixed-Income Asset Management, Tactical ETF Strategies, ESG Offerings
Overview
I served as a technical and front-end lead on the redesign of Sage Advisory’s corporate website, partnering with internal stakeholders to modernize the brand experience while operating under strict financial and regulatory constraints.
The engagement focused on delivering a new visual identity and ESG-focused experience, while preserving SEO equity, maintaining the existing sitemap, and adhering to the heightened compliance standards required of financial institutions.
The Business Context
Sage Advisory is a wealth management firm serving institutional and private clients, offering:
- Fixed-income asset management
- Tactical ETF strategies
- Liability-driven investment solutions
Their website functions not just as a marketing asset, but as a credibility and compliance surface—where design decisions carry regulatory, reputational, and legal implications.
The Challenge
The project presented several non-negotiable constraints:
- Financial regulatory scrutiny governing online claims, disclosures, and presentation
- A requirement to preserve existing SEO rankings, including the original sitemap structure
- The need to introduce a modernized ESG narrative without triggering compliance risk
- Coordination across internal marketing, executive leadership, and external technical teams
This was not a typical redesign. It required precision, restraint, and deep technical discipline.
My Role & Responsibilities
I operated as the technical execution partner, translating design intent into a compliant, SEO-safe implementation.
Responsibilities included:
- Implementing the redesigned WordPress front end
- Ensuring sitemap, URL structure, and SEO signals remained intact
- Collaborating with Sage’s marketing team and CTO
- Supporting wireframe validation, mockup feasibility, and asset integration
- Identifying and mitigating compliance and SEO risks during development
Strategy & Execution
1. Compliance-First Design Implementation
All design and UX decisions were filtered through a financial compliance lens, including:
- Conservative content hierarchy for regulated disclosures
- Careful handling of ESG language and positioning
- Avoidance of risky UI patterns that could be misinterpreted as promotional claims
The result was a modern aesthetic that remained institutionally appropriate and defensible.
2. SEO Preservation Through Structural Discipline
A critical requirement was to retain existing SEO performance. To achieve this:
- The original sitemap and URL architecture were preserved
- Page templates were updated without altering crawl paths
- Metadata, internal linking, and page intent alignment were maintained
- Redirects were avoided wherever possible to reduce risk
This ensured continuity for search engines while still delivering a refreshed experience.
3. Cross-Functional Collaboration
The project was executed in close partnership with:
- Sage Advisory’s internal marketing team
- Sage’s CTO
- Kordami’s design and technical teams
Detailed wireframes, mockups, and asset reviews were used to align early and prevent late-stage rework—especially important given regulatory sensitivity.
4. WordPress Modernization Without Disruption
Within WordPress, we focused on:
- Clean, maintainable front-end implementation
- Improved responsiveness and performance
- Modular components that marketing could safely manage post-launch
This balanced flexibility with governance.
Results & Impact
Post-launch outcomes included:
- Significant increase in site traffic
- Reduction in bounce rates, indicating stronger engagement
- No loss of existing SEO rankings
- Successful rollout of the new ESG-focused experience
- High satisfaction from Sage Advisory’s leadership and marketing team
Most importantly, the redesign delivered modernization without regulatory or SEO fallout—a non-trivial achievement in financial services.
Why This Work Matters
This project demonstrates my ability to:
- Operate effectively in heavily regulated industries
- Balance design ambition with compliance reality
- Preserve and protect SEO equity during redesigns
- Collaborate across technical and executive stakeholders
- Deliver measurable UX improvements under constraint
It reflects a mature, risk-aware approach to product and web execution.
Key Skills Demonstrated
- Regulated-industry web development
- SEO-safe redesign strategy
- WordPress architecture & front-end execution
- Compliance-aware UX implementation
- Cross-functional stakeholder alignment

Sage Advisory Before

Sage Advisory After

Traffic Statistics
