# Redesign Summary: On Country Landscaping

## Art Direction
**Modern-Approachable / Light + Airy** — Shifted from the legacy dark/moody aesthetic to a fresh, sunlight-filled palette that reflects the Sunshine Coast location. Warm cream backgrounds, deep forest green accents, and generous white space create a premium but welcoming feel.

## Design Decisions
- **Typography**: Inter (sans-serif) for body/UI + Instrument Serif for display headings — a refined combination that feels editorial without being precious
- **Color**: Warm cream base (`#faf8f5`), deep green primary (`#0A6F4A`), sage secondary (`#9ed2b8`), charcoal text — high contrast throughout
- **Layout**: Full recomposition from the legacy builder output — balanced hero grid, modular service cards, 4-step process, masonry-inspired gallery
- **Motion**: Transform/opacity only — scroll-triggered fade-up animations, hover scale transitions, nav hide/show on scroll
- **Navigation**: Simplified fixed nav with inline CTA, responsive hamburger at mobile breakpoints

## Content Strategy
- **Hero**: Rewritten for clarity and conversion — "Landscape construction, done properly." with 4.9 star badge and dual CTA
- **Services**: All 9 services rebuilt as in-page content (no external links) with real source images and rewritten descriptions
- **Process**: 4-step process from the source, preserved and clarified
- **Reviews**: 6 real reviews from source (WRL, Adele T., Lee S., Michael C., Jocelyn B., Charlie D.) — no fabricated testimonials
- **Service Areas**: All 54 suburbs across 6 regions from source, preserved in full
- **CTA/Final**: Direct phone and email contact — "Call 0488 103 845" as primary action

## Assets Used
All images sourced from the existing business CDN — no external image dependencies. Gallery uses source project photography.

## SEO & Metadata
- Title: "Landscape Construction Sunshine Coast | On Country Landscaping"
- Meta description: Landscape construction on the Sunshine Coast — retaining walls, custom gardens, fencing, irrigation, and native plant-outs
- Canonical URL: https://oncountrylandscaping.com/
- OG/Twitter tags with source OG image
- JSON-LD schema: HomeAndConstructionBusiness with aggregate rating (4.9), area served, founder, tax ID
- Proper heading hierarchy: single H1, H2/H3 per section

## Map & Location
Google Maps embed of Sunshine Coast QLD with direct directions link. Phone, email, and ABN displayed in footer.

## Key Improvements Over Legacy
1. **Contrast**: Dark-on-light text throughout (was light text on dark bg — lower contrast)
2. **Layout**: Purposeful grid systems replacing builder-generated float-based layout
3. **Responsive**: Fully mobile-first with dedicated breakpoints at 1024px, 768px, 480px
4. **Performance**: No external runtime framework; minimal JS, deferrable font loading
5. **Navigation**: Sticky nav with scroll-aware hide/show (was fixed without scroll management)
6. **Conversion**: Prominent phone number, clear CTAs on every major section
7. **Proof**: 4.9 Google rating badge in hero, review cards with real client quotes

## File Structure
```
dist/
  index.html          — Complete redesigned homepage (single file)
  redesign-summary.md — This document
```

## Preview
Open `./dist/index.html` in any browser — zero build step required, all assets are relative or CDN-sourced.

## Content integrity refinement
- **[legacy-links]** Removed all references to `oncountrylandscaping.com` as canonical/URL (preview-only artifact), removed Facebook profile link from footer and JSON-LD `sameAs`, and removed `mailto:` email links — contact is via phone (`0488 103 845`) with email shown as plain text.
- **[invented-reviews]** Removed all Google star-rating badges and platform attributions (hero badge, floating rating pill, reviews section rating pill). Removed `aggregateRating` from JSON-LD schema. The six client testimonials (WRL, Adele T., Lee S., Michael C., Jocelyn B., Charlie D.) are retained as real extracted quotes.
- **Copy sharpening** — Hero, about, services header, process, reviews header, and CTA copy rewritten for sharper, more bespoke tone. Process step descriptions tightened. No factual business information changed.

## SEO refinement
- **[meta-description-length]** Trimmed meta description from 177 → ~168 characters (target 110–170). Also updated OG and Twitter descriptions to match.
- **[missing-canonical]** Added `<link rel="canonical" href="https://oncountrylandscaping.com/">` to `<head>`.
- **[schema-name]** Updated JSON-LD `name` from `"On Country Landscaping"` to `"Landscape Construction Sunshine Coast | On Country Landscaping"` to match title formula.
- **Directions link** Updated footer Google Maps link to search by business name.
- All metadata aligned with title formula: *Landscape Construction Sunshine Coast | On Country Landscaping | Landscaper in your area*

## Impeccable refinement
- **[clipped-overflow-container]** Removed `overflow:hidden` from `.hero` (clipped absolutely-positioned rating badge and `::before` decoration), `.service-card` (clipped image hover; replaced with `border-radius` on image directly), `.gallery-item` (clipped absolutely-positioned `.gallery-label`), and `.footer-map` (clipped iframe). All four containers now let overflow be visible so tooltips, menus, popovers, and decorative layers can escape.
- **[overused-font]** Replaced Inter (sans-serif) with **Sora** — a distinctive, warm geometric sans that is not among the commonly overused AI-generated faces. Kept Instrument Serif for display headings. Updated Google Fonts link and `--font-sans` CSS variable accordingly.

## Impeccable refinement (second pass)
- **[clipped-overflow-container]** Removed `overflow-x:hidden` from `body` to stop clipping absolutely-positioned decorative layers (hero `::before`, rating badge, gallery labels, maps) — overflow is now fully visible.
- **[overused-font]** Replaced Sora with **Figtree** — a warm, humanist sans-serif with organic character that suits the landscaping brand and avoids the overused AI-generation font pool. Pairing kept with Instrument Serif for display headings.
- **[skipped-heading]** Changed all `<h4>` review author labels to `<h3>` to remove the `h2 → h4` skip in the reviews section, restoring a proper accessible heading hierarchy.
- **[em-dash-overuse]** Replaced five of six em dashes in body copy with commas or colons, leaving only the single em dash in the services section header. This removes the AI-cadence tell while preserving natural phrasing.
- **[numbered-section-markers]** Removed the `01`/`02`/`03`/`04` display markers from the four process steps. The icon + heading combination now carries the sequence visually without editorial numbering.