Case study · Confidential agency partner
They built it with AI. Then they came back.
A client turned down an agency’s redesign quote and built the site themselves with an AI tool. Weeks later they couldn’t edit it, couldn’t do SEO and had no one to call. We rebuilt the same design on WordPress, under the agency’s brand.
Why no names? White label means our partners’ client lists stay private. This is a real project for one of our agency partners, told without names or screenshots.
At a glance
The whole story in 30 seconds.
Short on time? These three cards are the case study.
The challenge
A site they couldn’t run.
The AI-built site looked right, but the client couldn’t edit it, add SEO titles and descriptions, or get support. Every change cost time.
What we did
Same design, rebuilt properly.
We rebuilt their exact design on WordPress with core Gutenberg blocks and a custom theme, under the agency’s brand.
The result
A site they can own and grow.
Every page edits in the block editor, SEO fields on every page, and ongoing support from the agency they first asked.
The story
The boomerang client.
It’s a story more agencies are hearing. Starting a site with AI is easy. Running one is not.
01
The quote
The client asked our agency partner for a redesign. The agency sent the price and the plan.
02
The detour
The client decided to save the money and build it themselves with an AI website tool.
03
The wall
Weeks later: changes were hard, SEO settings were missing and there was no one to help.
04
The return
They went back to the agency. The agency brought the project to us to rebuild.
The bigger picture
This client is not alone.
AI made starting a website easy. Finishing and running one is still hard, and the data shows it.
8 in 10
small business owners still can’t finish a website on their own, before AI or with it
In an interview with Webhosting.Today, Atarim CEO Vito Peleg said the share of small business owners who finish a site with DIY tools was around 20% before AI and is still around 20% with it, and described people who moved to an AI builder and back to WordPress. WordPress powers 58.5% of websites with a known CMS, so the help, plugins and people to support it are everywhere. We cover what agencies should do in your client built a site with an AI tool, now what?.
What we did
The same design, rebuilt to last.
The client liked how their AI site looked. They just couldn’t run it. So we kept the look and rebuilt everything underneath.
01
Capture the design
Every page, section, color and font of the AI-built site, recorded so the rebuild would look the same.
02
Build a custom theme
A lightweight WordPress block theme with the client’s colors, fonts and spacing as editor presets.
03
Rebuild with core blocks
Each page rebuilt with default Gutenberg blocks, so the client edits text and images in place.
04
Add SEO everywhere
Titles, meta descriptions, headings, image alt text and redirects from the old addresses.
05
Forms, tracking, speed
Contact forms that reach the right inbox, analytics, and pages tuned to load fast.
06
Hand over with support
A short walkthrough for the client, then ongoing care delivered by us and billed by the agency.
Before and after
Same look, very different site to own.
Visitors see the design they already knew. The client sees a site they can finally manage.
The results
What everyone got.
The client, the agency and the agency’s reputation all came out ahead.
The design they loved, kept
The new site matches the AI-built design, so nothing changed for their visitors.
Edits in minutes
Text, images and new pages change in the block editor, without code or a developer.
SEO built in
Every page has its title, meta description, headings and alt text, ready for search.
Ongoing support
Updates, backups and changes handled every month through the agency’s care plan.
The agency won the client back
The quote that was turned down became a rebuild plus monthly care, delivered by us under their brand.