Wevise · Website Redesign
The exact, ordered sequence to take the redesign live in one clean switch — with a verify step and a way back at every stage. Run it top to bottom in a low-traffic window.
Prepared Aug 8, 2026 · for launch Sep 1, 2026
Elementor 4.2.1 on this site can't scope a header/footer to specific pages — the new shell (header #4294 + footer #4296) is either live for the whole site or off. So the golden rule is: get every page's content in place first, then flip the shell and nav last, in one tight sequence. Page drafts stay invisible until then. To make the switch seamless to visitors, optionally raise a brief maintenance page for the ~15 minutes of active cutover.
Don't begin the sequence until every box here is true.
elementor_pro_theme_builder_conditions (current value)
#2043 / footer #1374
#1237)
Run in order. Each step names how to confirm it worked and whether it's instantly reversible.
Stop any other edits to the site. Confirm the pre-flight backup completed and is downloadable. Optionally raise a maintenance/holding page now.
For each "port" page, copy the draft's Elementor content into the matching live page so the URL and its SEO history are preserved. Copy these post-meta from draft → live: _elementor_data, _elementor_page_settings, _elementor_edit_mode, _wp_page_template, _elementor_template_type. Keep the live page's own ID, slug, and title. See the Port Map below.
Flip these brand-new drafts to Published at their final slugs: /get-involved/ #4274, /mentee/ #4275, /resources/ #4276, and /industry-insights/ #4277 (only if the content is owned).
Point Settings → Reading to the new Homepage #4306 — or port #4306's content into the current front page #1237 (same method as Step 2) to keep the exact front-page ID.
wevise.org/ shows the new homepage. Reverting the Reading setting restores the old one instantly.This is the moment the site changes for everyone. Set the new templates live site-wide and retire the old ones. Both edits below are mandatory — a dry-run proved that changing only the option flips the header but leaves the old footer live (wrong EIN, no newsletter). Do both:
· 1. Option elementor_pro_theme_builder_conditions → header 4294 = ["include/general"], footer 4296 = ["include/general"]; set the 2043 / 1374 entries to [].
· 2. Post-meta _elementor_conditions on 4294 & 4296 = ["include/general"] (protected key — needs --force); set it to [] on 2043 / 1374.
Assign the Primary 2026 menu #23 to the Primary and Mobile menu locations, replacing the old menu. Then repoint the four net-new items to pretty permalinks — Resources, Get Involved, Industry Insights and Mentee currently link by ?page_id= (they were drafts); after Step 3 publishes them, edit each menu item to /resources/, /get-involved/, /industry-insights/, /mentee/.
Confirm the new blue logo is set as the site/customizer logo. The org-schema logo was already repointed. No redirects are needed for the redesigned pages (links use existing slugs). But retire these stale / superseded orphan pages so nobody lands on old-design duplicates — install the Redirection plugin first (not currently installed) for the 301s:
/chicago/ (#3010, stale Chicago dup) → 301 → /techpath-alliance//why-partner-with-wevise/ (#2150) → 301 → /partnerships//partnership-corporations/ (#2207) → 301 → /partnerships//sign-up/ (#3491) → retire (set to draft / unpublish)/our-impact/ (#1150) → 301 → / (homepage — impact now lives there)Now built & ported (see Port Map): About Us, Contact, Volunteer, Coaching Corner, Stories, and the four partner co-brand pages (Blacks in Technology, Code Your Dreams, DPI, Northwestern) — each restyled to the new brand and ported into its existing live URL at Step 2. Nothing old-design ships.
Regenerate Elementor CSS, flush the WordPress object cache, then Cloudflare → Purge Everything (the edge cache will otherwise serve the old site). Then run the smoke test below, and drop the maintenance page if you raised one.
?cache tricks needed once Cloudflare is purged).Where each built draft lands. Porting into the existing live ID keeps the URL and its SEO equity.
| Built draft | Lands at | Action |
|---|---|---|
Homepage 2026 · #4306 | / · front page #1237 | Front page |
Become a Mentor 2026 · #4312 | /become-a-mentor/ · #1433 | Port into live |
Partner With Us 2026 · #4314 | /partnerships/ · #1325 | Port into live |
Chicago TechPath 2026 · #4316 | /techpath-alliance/ · #3297 | Port into live |
Donate 2026 · #4318 | /donate/ · #3853 | Port into live |
Donate — Chicago TechPath 2026 · #4370 | /donate-chicago/ · #3647 | Port into live |
Our Team 2026 · #4328 | /our-team/ · #1020 | Port into live |
About Us 2026 · #4372 | /about-us/ · #664 | Port into live |
Contact Us 2026 · #4374 | /contact-us/ · #2669 | Port into live |
Volunteer 2026 · #4376 | /volunteer/ · #1309 | Port into live |
Coaching Corner 2026 · #4378 | /coaching-corner/ · #2719 | Port into live |
Our Stories 2026 · #4380 | /blogs/ · #2061 | Port into live |
Blacks in Technology 2026 · #4382 | /blacks-in-technology/ · #3410 | Port into live |
Code Your Dreams 2026 · #4383 | /code-your-dreams/ · #3449 | Port into live |
DPI 2026 · #4384 | /dpi/ · #3436 | Port into live |
Northwestern 2026 · #4385 | /northwestern/ · #3427 | Port into live |
Get Involved · #4274 | /get-involved/ | Publish new |
Get Mentorship · #4275 | /mentee/ | Publish new |
Resources · #4276 | /resources/ | Publish new |
Industry Insights · #4277 | /industry-insights/ | If owned |
Run in a fresh private window once Cloudflare is purged.
Every step above is individually reversible; you rarely need the full restore. Work back up the list:
2043 & footer 1374 → ["include/general"]; set 4294/4296 conditions to empty []. Re-sync _elementor_conditions meta (--force). Purge caches. The old shell returns site-wide.#1237.The launch isn't done at the flip; it's done when it's stable.