A complete redesign of honeyb.co.zw — rebuilt to the standard of the world’s leading law firms, in the firm’s own colours, with the firm’s own voice. This proposal presents the new design, what changes, the value it creates, and the investment required.
Honey & Blanckenberg has been practising law since 1893 — Zimbabwe’s oldest firm, Chambers-recognised, and connected to 160 countries through Nextlaw. Yet the first impression most clients and referrers now get is not the letterhead or the chambers — it is honeyb.co.zw. The current site, built on a dated template, undersells the firm: small type, generic imagery, fourteen thin practice pages, and the 130-year story buried below the fold.
We have redesigned and rebuilt the full website — all eleven pages — drawing on the design language of the world’s leading firms (Sidley Austin, Gibson Dunn and Chambers-ranked boutiques): commanding serif typography, generous space, consolidated expertise pillars, visible trust signals and a clear enquiry path on every page.
Nothing about the brand changes. The firm’s logo is untouched and the existing palette — teal, slate, silver and white — is applied exactly as-is, only more consistently and more confidently.
What changes is everything around it: structure, typography, messaging, mobile experience, speed and conversion. The result is a website that carries the weight of the firm’s name — and turns the referral moment into an enquiry.
This is not a mock-up. It is the actual rebuilt home page, embedded below. Scroll inside the frame, hover the cards, and switch between desktop and mobile views.
The full redesign covers all eleven pages — Home, About, People, the four expertise pillars plus overview, Insights, Careers and Contact — delivered with this proposal.
Open the full build in a new tab →
All eleven pages, fully navigable — best experienced full-screen, and on your phone.
A side-by-side view of every meaningful design decision, and the reasoning behind it.
| Area | Current website | Proposed redesign |
|---|---|---|
| First impression | ✕Dated WordPress theme; small type; generic slider imagery; the firm's 130-year story is buried below the fold. | ✓A full-height, editorial hero that leads with the firm's single greatest asset — "Established 1893, Zimbabwe's oldest law firm" — in commanding serif typography. |
| Typography | ✕One utilitarian sans-serif throughout; weak hierarchy between headings and body. | ✓A refined serif display face for headlines (the visual language of Chambers-ranked firms worldwide) paired with the existing Open Sans for body text — self-hosted for speed. |
| Layout | ✕Boxed, template-driven sections; dense, uneven spacing. | ✓Generous whitespace, a disciplined grid, thin rules and numbered sections — the "quiet luxury" layout style used by top-tier firms such as Sidley Austin and Gibson Dunn. |
| Navigation | ✕Deep multi-level menus; 14 separate thin expertise pages that fragment the story and dilute SEO. | ✓One clean menu with a structured dropdown. Expertise consolidated into four strong pillars (IP · Business · Personal · Litigation) — clearer for clients, stronger for search rankings. |
| Trust signals | ✕Chambers ranking, 1893 heritage and Nextlaw membership mentioned in passing, in body text. | ✓A dedicated credentials band (Est. 1893 · 130+ years · 14 practice areas · 160 countries), values grid, professional memberships panel and department leadership named throughout. |
| Our People | ✕Plain directory lists split across four separate pages. | ✓A single editorial People page — partners, associates, consultants and management — with elegant profile cards ready for professional photography. |
| Insights / News | ✕A standard blog roll; strong articles presented with little authority. | ✓A magazine-style Insights section with category chips and a branded "H&B Legal Alert" subscription band — turning existing writing into a visible marketing asset. |
| Mobile | ✕Responsive but cramped; desktop layout compressed onto small screens. | ✓Designed mobile-first: full-screen menu, thumb-friendly targets, and a hero that is as striking on a phone as on a boardroom screen. |
| Performance | ✕WordPress theme with plugin overhead and external dependencies. | ✓Hand-built, dependency-free pages: self-hosted fonts, no frameworks, no trackers — sub-second loads even on Zimbabwean mobile connections. |
| Conversion | ✕Contact details in the footer; a form on one page. | ✓A clear "How can we help you?" call-to-action band on every page, department-routed enquiry form, and confidentiality reassurance at the point of contact. |
A website redesign is not a cosmetic expense. For a professional-services firm it is a revenue asset. Here is where the return comes from.
No competitor in Zimbabwe can say "Established 1893." The redesign makes that claim the first thing every visitor sees.
International IP work arrives via ARIPO filings, INTA contacts and the Nextlaw network — and every referrer checks the website before sending a client.
Consolidating 14 thin pages into four substantive pillars concentrates authority on the terms clients actually search — "trademark lawyer Zimbabwe", "conveyancing Harare".
The firm already produces excellent case notes and statutory analysis. The Insights redesign and Legal Alert band convert that output into subscribers, return visits and demonstrated expertise.
Dependency-free pages with self-hosted fonts load in under a second — including on mobile data, where most Zimbabwean traffic lives.
A modern Careers page ("Practise where practice became tradition") positions the firm to compete for the best graduates against newer, flashier firms.
One once-off fee for the complete redesign, with an optional monthly retainer to keep the site fast, secure and current.
Once-off project fee
50% deposit (US$175) on commencement, balance on go-live. The site is already built — go-live in under two weeks of approval. Professional photography of partners and chambers can be arranged and is quoted separately.
The site stays fast, current and secure — without occupying your staff
The build fee is US$350 with or without the retainer. Month-to-month — begin at go-live or later, cancel any time on one month’s notice. Fees exclusive of any applicable taxes.
Sign-off on this proposal and chosen option; deposit invoice issued.
One partner-review round: final wording, people profiles, and any photography you wish to include.
SSL installed, contact forms wired, site deployed to your domain with all old URLs redirected.
Staff walkthrough, a plain-English editing guide, and the 30-day support window begins.
Approve the proposal and the new Honey & Blanckenberg website can be live in under two weeks.