Healthcare WordPress Developer & SEO Expert Needed to Modernize Neurology/Sleep Clinic Website

We are looking for an experienced WordPress developer / web designer with strong SEO experience to modernize an existing healthcare website. The organization provides neurology, sleep medicine, EEG, EMG, sleep studies, CPAP/DME-related services, and other neurological diagnostic and treatment services. The existing website is operational and indexed by search engines, so this is not simply a new website build. We are looking for a structured modernization that improves usability, patient experience, technical quality, SEO performance, accessibility, and overall design while preserving existing SEO value wherever practical. Main Objectives The project should improve: Patient experience Website design and visual presentation Mobile usability Accessibility Local SEO Technical SEO Service-page structure Appointment and conversion pathways Google Business Profile visibility Schema / structured data Website performance Search visibility AI-search / answer-engine visibility Existing indexed URLs should be preserved wherever practical to avoid unnecessary loss of SEO equity. Scope of Work 1. WordPress Website Modernization Before making major changes, review the existing WordPress environment and recommend the safest modernization approach. Expected work includes: Full website backup before development Staging environment setup Review of WordPress core, theme, plugins, PHP compatibility, and hosting environment Modernize the visual appearance Create a clean, professional healthcare-oriented design Improve responsive mobile experience Simplify website navigation Modernize header and footer Improve homepage Improve Contact page Improve Appointment page Improve Services architecture Repair or replace broken map/directions functionality Make patient-facing phone links consistently clickable Improve internal linking Fix broken links and URLs Correct grammar, wording, and duplicated content Improve accessibility The design should feel professional, calm, clinical, modern, and trustworthy, rather than overly decorative. 2. Priority Website Fixes We would like the selected freelancer to address the highest-priority issues first, including: Broken map/location functionality Unfinished or weak Services page Contact page Appointment pathway Broken links WordPress technical review Backup and staging setup These items should be handled before lower-priority redesign and content-expansion work. 3. Homepage and Navigation Improvements The homepage and main navigation should be modernized to make it easier for patients to understand available services and determine their next action. Work should include: Cleaner homepage structure Clear service overview Strong appointment pathway Clear patient portal pathway where applicable Improved navigation Mobile-friendly menus Improved footer Better content hierarchy Reduced visual clutter Accessibility improvements 4. Service and Content Architecture Improve the organization and presentation of healthcare services. The service structure may include areas such as: Neurology Sleep medicine EEG EMG / nerve conduction studies Sleep studies CPAP / DME Neurological conditions Sleep disorders Diagnostic services Patient education Referral information Service and condition pages should be organized for both patient usability and search visibility. 5. Technical SEO Please review and address the site's technical SEO foundation. This should include: Google Search Console Google Analytics Bing Webmaster Tools XML sitemap Robots.txt Canonical tags Broken URLs 404 errors Redirect chains Duplicate URLs Indexation Image optimization WebP or other modern image formats Mobile performance JavaScript/CSS optimization Core Web Vitals HTTPS/security configuration Internal linking Schema validation Low-value utility pages should also be reviewed to determine whether they should remain indexed. 6. On-Page SEO Improve the optimization of important pages, including: Page titles Meta descriptions H1/H2 structure Canonical URLs Image alt text Internal links Service-page content Location relevance Local keyword targeting Search-friendly content structure Any URL changes should use properly tested redirects. 7. Local SEO We are looking for strong local-search optimization. Work may include: Google Business Profile review and optimization NAP consistency review Local healthcare citations Location-page optimization Local keyword targeting Map integration Local internal linking Local backlink recommendations Review strategy consistent with healthcare requirements 8. Structured Data / Schema Please implement appropriate structured data where relevant, including: MedicalClinic Physician MedicalOrganization LocalBusiness MedicalWebPage FAQPage BreadcrumbList WebSite PostalAddress We want the relationships between: Clinic → Physician → Services → Location → Contact to be clearly represented where appropriate. 9. AI Search / AEO / GEO Experience with AI-search optimization, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), or Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is a plus. Important pages should be structured so they can potentially be better understood by: Google AI Overviews ChatGPT Gemini Perplexity Other answer engines We are particularly interested in concise FAQ and direct-answer content covering patient questions such as: What does a neurologist treat? When should someone see a neurologist? What is an EEG used for? What is the difference between EEG and EMG? When is a sleep study needed? Where can patients obtain neurological or sleep services locally? AI-search optimization should be supported by authoritative medical information, provider expertise, structured data, and strong local signals. 10. Healthcare Requirements Because this is a healthcare website, the freelancer must follow appropriate healthcare content and privacy practices. Requirements include: No unsupported medical claims No invented physician credentials No fake testimonials or reviews Do not collect PHI through unsecured public forms Maintain a clear distinction between general education and medical advice Medical content should be suitable for physician review before publication Patient privacy must be respected Public contact forms should be limited to appropriate nonclinical information Healthcare website experience is strongly preferred. Expected Deliverables The selected freelancer should provide: Website backup Staging environment WordPress technical review Website redesign / modernization Mobile-responsive implementation Homepage improvement Services hub rebuild Contact page redesign Appointment pathway improvement Working map/location functionality Accessibility improvements On-page SEO Technical SEO Local SEO Schema implementation Google Search Console setup/review Google Analytics setup/review Google Business Profile optimization recommendations Performance optimization Core Web Vitals optimization Redirect plan if URLs change QA/testing before launch Documentation of major changes Post-launch verification Preferred Project Approach We would like the project completed as soon as reasonably possible, while maintaining proper staging, testing, SEO protection, and quality control. Priority 1 — Stabilize and Correct Website backup Staging environment WordPress audit Broken map Services page Contact page Appointment pathway Broken links and technical errors Priority 2 — Redesign and Optimize Homepage Navigation Mobile experience Accessibility On-page SEO Schema Search Console Analytics Technical SEO Priority 3 — Improve Search Growth Service and condition content Local SEO Google Business Profile Core Web Vitals Educational content AEO / AI-search visibility Preferred Experience We are especially interested in freelancers with experience in: WordPress Healthcare or medical websites Web design Technical SEO Local SEO Google Business Profile Google Search Console Google Analytics Schema markup Core Web Vitals Responsive design Website accessibility SEO-safe WordPress redesigns Healthcare website and healthcare SEO experience will be given preference.