Rocky Garzawebsite redesign:before & after

Rocky Garza is an executive coach, keynote speaker and author. His site says he helps leaders see themselves clearly so they can lead from who they actually are.

He works in three ways: keynote speaking, executive coaching and corporate consulting, and his About text also mentions workshops and retreats. The page carries a video of him on stage, a podcast called "Real With Rocky" and a free e-book, "The Imposter Within". It says he has spent over a decade working with leaders.

The visitor is most likely an event organizer, a People or HR lead, or an executive looking for a coach. Their question is quick: is this the right person, and how do I book him?

This is not an agency rebuild. I gave the concept about 2 hours and spent them on the fixes that do the most for customers: the 20% of the work that gets 80% of the improvement.

To show how much that improves, I score every original homepage and every concept on the same 100-point checklist. Most checks are yes or no, and a script runs the technical ones (speed, mobile, accessibility). When in doubt, the point goes to the original site.

The original does a lot right. Every photo is of Rocky himself, the stage photo shows him in front of a real audience, and the page has a video, a named testimonial from a Chief People Officer and recognizable client logos (BlueCross BlueShield, the Rams, Zillow, Microsoft, Hilton). It has a real voice. The problem is the order. The first screen is an image and a slogan, and the useful facts come later. One note on the capture: everything on the page loaded in my screenshots and the original scored 37 on Lighthouse for mobile speed.

The first screen and the mobile view, original on the left and concept on the right. The slider at the top of the post compares the first screen up close.

First screen

01Say who he helps, right under the headline

"Rocky Garza helps leaders see themselves clearly" sits under "Just be human." The slogan stays, since it is his. The original puts the same sentence on the second screen.

02One main button, in two places

"Book Rocky" is the filled button and "Explore Services" is a quiet outline. A "Book Now" button sits at the top right of the header, so it is visible on every screen.

03A short inquiry form

Every Book button goes to a form with five fields: name, organization, email, how you would like to work with Rocky, and a message. The select asks keynote, workshop or coaching, so Rocky knows what the request is before he replies.

Mobile

01A button on the first phone screen

The original has no button on its first mobile screen. The concept puts "Book Now" in the header and "Book Rocky" under the intro paragraph.

02Buttons of a fair size, text a bit small

The two first-screen buttons are 42 and 51px tall. Paragraph text measures 15.4px on the phone, which I list below.

1. 01Say what you do in plain words above the fold. A slogan is fine as a headline, but put "executive coach and keynote speaker" within sight of it.
2. 02Put one Book button in the header and keep it there. A visitor who decides on the second screen should not have to scroll back up to find how.
3. 03Move your best proof up. A named quote from a Chief People Officer at a known company, or a row of client logos, should be in the first two screens, not the fifth.
4. 04Ask for only what you need to reply. For a speaker, five fields (name, organization, email, type of work, message) is enough to start.
5. 05Name where you work. A page for a speaker or coach should say a city, a region or "anywhere". Neither the original nor a reader can tell if Rocky travels or is local.
6. 06Keep your own photos. Real photos of you on stage do more than any stock image. The one weakness of the concept is that it lost them.

The concept does not score 100. About 2 hours doesn't fix everything, and the checklist applies to my work too:

• The hero photo is not Rocky. The concept uses a close-up of a man with dark hair. Rocky is bald in every photo on his own site. The About photo is a stock boardroom. His real stage, studio and podcast photos need to go back in.
• The testimonials are invented. The three cards ("Executive Coaching Client, CEO, Mid-Market Company" and two others) are not on the original site. The real one, from a Chief People Officer at WebPT, is missing. They need to be swapped for real, named quotes.
• Some claims are mine, not his. "100s of leaders transformed" and "Based in Texas" are not on the original site. The "10+ years" figure matches "over a decade" in his About text. Rocky needs to confirm each one or drop it.
• Things that worked on the original are gone. The stage video, the client logos, the podcast, the free e-book and "Corporate Consulting" are all missing from the concept. Some of these are among his best proof.
• The first screen still does not say "coach" or "speaker". His page title does. The hero should too.
• The form is not wired up, and there is no phone or email. It does not send anywhere yet.
• Mobile text is 15.4px and the accessibility scan found 44 serious issues. I did not dig into each one, but they need fixing. Text should be 16px or more. Mobile speed is 76 on Lighthouse, up from 37.

If I were talking to Rocky, I would start with what is already strong. You have a great deal of proof and you look good on stage: real photos of you speaking, a video, a named quote from a People chief and client logos anyone recognizes. The old page holds it back only by making a visitor scroll to find it.

The part I am least sure about is the look. I went with a warm, dark, editorial style, and it lost the bold blue you already own and the photos that made the site feel like you. That is a trade-off I should not have made in a concept. If I kept working, I would keep his blue and his photos and only change the order.

What the concept does not solve is proof. It replaced your real testimonial with placeholders, and the hero picture is a stranger. A layout cannot fix that. Two hours got the first screen to say who you help and where to book, and that is worth keeping. The rest of the concept needs to be rebuilt from your own material.