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"Working with Patrice and her team was so easy and so fun. The communication was ideal all along the way, with options presented clearly and trade-offs examined before every decision. I would happily work with ProFusion again."

Preserving a Historical Blog for the Soap Queen

SoapQueen.com is a beloved resource in the soap-making community, originally created by Bramble Berry CEO, Anne-Marie Faiola. With over 4,600 posts filled with recipes, tutorials, and creative ideas, the site remains a go-to archive for soap makers around the world. While new content is no longer published there - the blog has since been migrated to Bramble Berry’s main website—Soap Queen still plays a valuable role in connecting hobbyists and professionals alike to Bramble Berry’s products and expertise.

Visit The soap queen

The Challenge

When Bramble Berry came to ProFusion Web Solutions, SoapQueen.com was in a precarious state. The WordPress installation was running on:

  • An outdated version of WordPress
  • An old PHP environment
  • Multiple unsupported and discontinued plugins

The site was “limping along”- an update, a hack, or even a minor server change could have brought it down completely. Because of the sheer volume of content and its ongoing value as a historical archive, it was critical that the site be preserved for the long term.

  • Our Approach

  • The Results

  • Conclusion

Our Approach

Our Approach

At ProFusion, we always look for the most cost-effective yet reliable solutions. Our initial plan was to clone the site onto our servers and attempt a methodical update:

  • Upgrading WordPress and PHP
  • Updating plugins one by one
  • Monitoring for breaks

Unfortunately, even with this cautious approach, the site broke during updates. It became clear the site was simply too old to bring forward intact.

That led us to Plan B: A Rebuild.

Here’s what we did:

1. 

Exported all 4,600+ blog posts from the legacy site.

2. 

Rebuilt the site with a modern WordPress theme, ensuring it was stable, secure, and mobile-friendly.

3. 

Replaced outdated plugins with modern, supported tools—such as reintroducing a recipe function critical to Soap Queen’s content.

4. 

Reimported and adapted posts to fit the updated theme and functionality.

5. 

Reviewed and fixed broken links and images across thousands of pages to maintain the site’s usefulness as a resource.

The Results

Conclusion

Looking for a custom solution for your organization? Contact ProFusion Web Solutions to learn how we can help.