Frances Valentine was preparing for the launch of their founder’s book, paired with increased brand coverage and organic traffic spikes. But the site’s frontend was struggling under the weight of legacy code, inconsistent UX, and bloated templates. Performance was lagging, especially on mobile, and there were clear opportunities to clean up the structure without compromising design.

The team needed a refined digital presence that could tell their story, scale with press-driven demand, and offer a smoother shopping experience without waiting for a full brand overhaul.

We tackled the project from two sides: design clarity and technical performance. Rather than introduce unnecessary creative complexity, we focused on modernizing what already worked, rebuilding the frontend to be lighter, faster, and more stable while preserving brand DNA.

The redesign streamlined templates, cleared out redundant code, and optimized every key user path across devices. We worked closely with Frances Valentine’s internal team to ensure every decision improved both storytelling and speed.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WORK INCLUDED:

• Refactored PDP and PLP templates to reduce DOM size and improve load times
• Removed outdated theme files and cleared legacy app scripts still running in the background
• Simplified homepage structure while keeping content modules CMS-flexible
• Improved LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) and mobile stability by deferring non-critical elements
• Ensured site was ready to support new traffic from press features and the founder’s book launch

We rolled out the new templates in stages to ensure minimal disruption. The new site loaded faster, performed better on mobile, and set a stronger foundation for future design and retention projects.

By cutting through the clutter and prioritizing what mattered, Frances Valentine now had a site that worked as hard as the brand itself, stable under traffic surges, easy to merchandise, and aligned with their growing presence in the press and marketplace.