Empowering Future Dental Professionals Since 1972
Student National Dental Association: Complete Digital Transformation
From Outdated WordPress to Webflow CMS with SEO-First Architecture, Stripe Billing, Discourse Community, and HIPAA-Aligned Offboarding Process
Project Timeline
Started 2023 • Ongoing through 2026 and beyond as a continuous improvement program
Live Website
Industry
Healthcare Education • Dental Student Association • Non-Profit Organization
Introduction
In 2023, Frenchy Digital began a long-term engagement to modernize an outdated WordPress website and transform it into a scalable Webflow-powered web app style experience. This was not a simple visual refresh. The project required a secure agency transition, a full WordPress to Webflow migration, a redesigned UX system, a rebuilt CMS foundation, SEO and GEO-ready information architecture, and integrated product systems for billing and community.
Three years later, the project remains active and evolving as a continuous improvement program, with ongoing releases that expand content, improve performance, refine conversion journeys, and iterate on billing and community experiences.
Founded in 1972, the Student National Dental Association (SNDA) is dedicated to promoting, aiding, and supporting the academic and social environment of dental students from all backgrounds nationwide. With over 1,276 active members, 172 mentors, and more than 3,208 successful graduates, SNDA serves as a vital resource for minority dental students seeking collaboration, networking, community outreach, and financial assistance through scholarships.
The New SNDA Website
The redesigned SNDA website featuring modern UI, streamlined navigation, and integrated membership features
The Challenge
The legacy site ran on an older WordPress setup that had become difficult to scale and expensive to maintain.
Outdated Design
The visual design reduced credibility and conversion confidence, making the organization appear less professional than its mission demanded.
Plugin Bloat & Technical Debt
Excessive WordPress plugins impacted performance, reliability, and security, creating ongoing maintenance headaches.
Inconsistent Layouts
Page layouts and styling were inconsistent with fragile editing workflows that made updates risky and time-consuming.
Limited CMS Structure
The existing CMS made SEO growth and content governance difficult, limiting the organization's online discoverability.
Fragmented User Journeys
User experiences between marketing pages, billing, and community were disconnected and confusing.
Unclear System Ownership
Access boundaries and system ownership were unclear due to the older agency relationship, creating security risks.
The result was a website that could not keep up with the business. The goal was to rebuild on a modern CMS and create a cohesive, web app-like experience without losing SEO equity or operational stability.
Goals and Success Criteria
Frenchy aligned the project around measurable outcomes across UX, engineering, content operations, and discoverability.
Modernize UI and UX to increase trust and conversions
Improve mobile experience and performance to support Core Web Vitals
Migrate from WordPress to Webflow to reduce maintenance overhead and speed up publishing
Build a scalable Webflow CMS architecture for structured, repeatable content
Rebuild the website with SEO-first information architecture and clean URLs
Integrate billing through Stripe and internal APIs with reliable lifecycle handling
Integrate a community forum through Discourse with cohesive branding and navigation
Run secure access transfer and governance aligned with HIPAA-compliant software development standards
Establish a workflow for ongoing iteration using clear collaboration tools and controlled revision cycles
The Solution
We rebuilt the website using Webflow as the CMS and front-end delivery platform, supported by an integrated ecosystem.
Webflow
CMS & Frontend
Figma
Design
Stripe
Payments
Discourse
Community
GoDaddy
Domain
Markup.io
Feedback
Claude Code
AI Assistance
Slack
Communication
HIPAA-Aligned Off-Boarding and Secure Ownership Transfer
Before touching design or code, we executed a formal off-boarding process with the previous agency. Because the broader product context required disciplined handling of access and security, we followed standards consistent with HIPAA-compliant software development practices.
This phase ensured clear ownership, least privilege access, credential control, and full system continuity before migration began.
Off-Boarding Checklist and Execution
Document everything - Complete inventory of websites, tools, platforms, credentials, and roles
Notify the current team - Communicate transition plan and clarify ownership transfer
Meet with Frenchy - Handover meeting for scope, responsibilities, and timeline alignment
Access permissions - Ensure admin-level access to hosting, registrars, CMS, and tools
Transfer admin access - Transfer ownership across all systems needed for migration
Update passwords - Rotate passwords for every account with secure credential delivery
Backup data - Full backups of WordPress files, databases, and media assets
Update documentation - Reflect new owners, access rules, and escalation paths
Test access - Validate admin privileges across all systems
Update contact information - Registrar and hosting contacts match current operators
SSL certificates - Verify setup and readiness for migration and launch
Communication channels - Access to relevant tools and project threads
Transition plan - Document responsibilities, milestones, and timeline
Quality assurance during transition - Confirm properties remain functional
Documentation handover - Centralize credentials, system notes, and transition plan
Review and feedback - Check-ins to address transition blockers
Finalize transition - Revoke previous team's admin access
Security audit - Verify no unauthorized access and core security practices
Legal and contractual obligations - Align with confidentiality requirements
Post transition support - Support window for unexpected access issues
This phase reduced risk, prevented downtime, and created a secure baseline before the rebuild started.
SNDA Community in Action
SNDA 2025 Convention - Kansas City
National gathering for networking, scholarships, and professional development
SNDA 2024 Convention - Las Vegas
Annual convention bringing together future dental professionals nationwide
Building Lifelong Connections
SNDA members forming lasting professional relationships and friendships
Kansas City 2025
Professional development and networking at the national convention
Membership Events
Regular events supporting academic and social growth of dental students
Follow SNDA on Social Media
Stay connected with the latest news, events, and community highlights
Project Phases
A comprehensive 12-phase approach ensuring thorough execution from secure handover to ongoing optimization.
HIPAA Aligned Off Boarding
Initial Onboarding and Discovery
SEO First Information Architecture
Wireframing in Figma
Visual Design System
Webflow CMS Development
Content Migration
Internal Linking & Redirects
Live Site Feedback
Integrations (Stripe & Discourse)
Testing and QA
Domain and Deployment
Ongoing Optimization
Initial Onboarding and Discovery
With ownership secured, we ran a structured onboarding to align on goals, constraints, and success metrics.
What We Did
- Stakeholder interviews to define business priorities and user expectations
- Content inventory and audit of existing WordPress pages and performance drivers
- User journey mapping for discovery, conversion, billing, and community entry points
- Technical review of the current stack, integrations, and constraints
- Early SEO review to identify high-value pages, ranking URLs, and content gaps
Deliverables
- Project brief with scope boundaries and priorities
- Initial sitemap draft and page template list
- Migration inventory including all legacy URLs and content types
- Measurement plan for post-launch validation
SEO-First Information Architecture and GEO Readiness
A WordPress to Webflow migration can harm rankings without a plan. We treated SEO architecture as a core deliverable, not an afterthought.
What We Did
- Built a keyword-aligned sitemap and page hierarchy
- Defined pillar pages and supporting pages to build topical authority
- Standardized slugs and URL conventions for crawlability and clarity
- Planned internal linking patterns to improve crawl depth and navigation
- Prepared GEO-ready structures for location-based discoverability
Deliverables
- Final SEO-oriented sitemap
- Internal linking framework for menus and contextual links
- Redirect mapping plan to preserve rankings during migration
Wireframing and Visual Design System
We created wireframes to lock structure and flows before visual design, then built a component system for consistent, Webflow-friendly UI.
Wireframing (Phase 3)
- Wireframed core templates: home, pricing, product pages, resources, blog, FAQs
- Defined navigation logic connecting marketing, billing, and community
- Designed states for different user scenarios
- Hosted live reviews in Figma for faster decisions
Design System (Phase 4)
- Built design system for typography, spacing, buttons, forms, cards, navigation
- Designed key pages using the system to prove consistency
- Ensured responsive rules for mobile, tablet, desktop
- Completed up to two design iteration rounds
Webflow CMS Development and Content Migration
With designs approved, we built a scalable Webflow implementation and strategically migrated content for SEO and readability.
CMS Development (Phase 5)
- Created Webflow style guide to lock global styles early
- Built reusable components for consistent layout and faster page creation
- Created CMS collections and templates for structured content
- Ensured editors could update content safely without breaking layout
Content Migration (Phase 6)
- Migrated high-value content first based on rankings and conversion impact
- Improved heading hierarchy and on-page structure
- Condensed outdated sections and clarified messaging
- Optimized images, alt text patterns, and media handling
Internal Linking, Redirects, and Live Site Feedback
We protected SEO equity through comprehensive redirect mapping and streamlined feedback collection on the live staging site.
Routing & Redirects (Phase 7)
- Mapped WordPress URLs to new Webflow destinations
- Implemented 301 redirects to preserve backlinks and rankings
- Validated internal links across navigation, CMS templates, and contextual links
- Used Claude Code to accelerate link mapping and redirect rule generation
Live Feedback (Phase 8)
- Shared staging links and collected comments through Markup.io
- Grouped feedback into usability, content, SEO, and visual polish
- Applied changes in structured revision rounds
- Maintained clear approval path per phase and page set
Integrations: Discourse Community and Stripe Billing
This project included product-style systems that required real integration work, not only page design.
Discourse Community Forum
- Aligned community categories with website navigation and user journeys
- Applied branding and UI alignment so the forum feels native
- Validated access patterns between the website and community
Deliverable: A cohesive community forum experience powered by Discourse
Stripe Billing + APIs
- Designed pricing to checkout journeys for clarity and conversion
- Implemented Stripe subscription billing and lifecycle handling
- Connected billing status to the experience through internal APIs
- Tested edge cases: failed payments, cancellations, upgrades, downgrades, reactivations
Deliverable: Reliable billing flows and predictable post-checkout routing
Testing, Deployment, and Ongoing Optimization
We tested continuously, deployed carefully, and established a continuous improvement program that remains active today.
QA Testing (Phase 10)
- • Responsive behavior across devices
- • Cross-browser compatibility
- • Performance optimization for SEO
- • Forms and conversion paths
- • Stripe billing flows end-to-end
- • Discourse navigation and access
- • Redirects and legacy URLs
Deployment (Phase 11)
- • DNS updates with GoDaddy
- • SSL and redirect verification
- • Webflow site deployment
- • Critical path validation
- • Post-launch crawlability checks
- • Indexation readiness
Ongoing (Phase 12)
- • SEO growth and topic clusters
- • Continuous UI/UX improvements
- • Performance optimization
- • Billing flow refinements
- • Discourse community updates
- • Continuous QA validation
Results and Outcomes
A complete transformation delivering measurable improvements across UX, performance, operations, and growth.
Modern Webflow redesign replacing outdated WordPress site
Reduced maintenance overhead by removing plugin dependence
Scalable Webflow CMS templates enabling faster publishing
SEO equity preserved through 301 redirects and link integrity
Improved discoverability through keyword-aligned architecture
Performance improvements aligned with Core Web Vitals
Integrated billing using Stripe and APIs
Integrated community using Discourse
Streamlined collaboration via Slack, Figma, and Markup.io
Secure transition through HIPAA-aligned off-boarding
Long-term product-style engagement since 2023
Continuous releases improving the platform
SEO Keyword Coverage
What SNDA Means to Members
"SNDA represents a sanctuary, a platform for service, an advocacy realm, and a networking hub. This organization has catalyzed significant positive change for individuals with backgrounds like mine, and I'm immensely grateful for the chance to contribute to its enduring legacy."
Sydnie Taylor
Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine - Class of 2026
"Through the support of SNDA, I was able to establish the first USNDA chapter on the campus of Michigan State University. SNDA to me is about building lifelong relationships with individuals who become like family."
James Bennett III
University of Michigan School of Dentistry - Class of 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
Frenchy Digital rebuilt an outdated WordPress website into a modern Webflow-powered experience designed for SEO discoverability, scalable publishing, and product-level integrations. The project started in 2023 with a HIPAA-aligned off-boarding process to secure ownership and protect access, then moved through discovery, SEO architecture, design, development, migration, integrations, QA, and launch.
Three years later, it remains ongoing as a continuous optimization program that keeps improving performance, content growth, billing, and community as the business evolves. The Student National Dental Association now has a digital platform that matches the excellence and professionalism of its mission to support dental students nationwide.
Ready to Transform Your Organization's Website?
Let's discuss how we can modernize your web presence with the same comprehensive approach we brought to the SNDA project—SEO-first architecture, integrated billing, community features, and ongoing optimization.
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