Homepage Redesign & Bug Fixes for Anthro-Website

We are looking for a skilled WordPress developer with strong UI/UX design sensibilities to optimize and fix several elements on our website, antropologi.org.

The project is split into two main parts: Section Redesigns (UI/UX Optimization) and Functional Bug Fixes.

Part 1: Homepage Section Redesigns (UI/UX)
We want to streamline the top of our homepage to save space, reduce vertical scrolling, and improve user engagement. We need a clean, modern, and user-friendly way to display these two sections:

1. "Aktuelt fra NAF" (Latest News)
Currently, this is a continuous flow of recent posts. We want to transform this into a structured 4-quadrant layout, a clean tabbed switcher, or a grid that dynamically pulls the single most recent post from four specific categories:

Månedens antropolog (Anthropologist of the Month)

Antro-podden (Our Podcast)

Norsk antropologisk tidsskrift (The Journal)

Antrobloggen (The Blog)

Technical Note: These must update automatically whenever a new post is published in their respective WordPress categories.

2. "Ser du etter noe spesielt?" (Navigation Menu)
We want to condense this section into a compact, elegant layout containing only the following 5 options:

Antropologi i Norge (Should act as an anchor link that smoothly scrolls the user further down to the "Antropologi i Norge" section on the homepage).

Arrangementer (Events)

Faghistorieprosjektet

Etikk - FEEF

More (A dropdown or expandable element for secondary links).

Note: We welcome creative, space-saving layout proposals (e.g., icon grids, sleek horizontal tab bars) that keep the presentation clean.

Part 2: Technical Bug Fixes
1. Ajax/Pagination Category Filter Fix
Location: [https://antropologi.org/nyheter-i-antronorge/](https://antropologi.org/nyheter-i-antronorge/)

Issue: When a user filters posts by a specific category and then clicks "Next Page" or a page number (2, 3, 4, etc.), the filter resets, and it displays posts from all categories instead of maintaining the active selection.

Requirement: Fix the pagination/AJAX functionality so the chosen category filter persists across all pages.

2. Top Navigation Search Bar Fix
Issue: The search button/icon on the far right of the top main menu is currently broken and does not execute searches.

Requirement: Fix this so it opens a functional search input capable of querying all blog posts across the site.

3. True "Related Posts" Logic
Location Example: [https://antropologi.org/manedens-antropolog-ingjerd-hoem/](https://antropologi.org/manedens-antropolog-ingjerd-hoem/)

Issue: The "Related Posts" section at the bottom of individual blog posts currently just pulls the most recent global posts.

Requirement: Modify the query logic so it exclusively pulls posts sharing the same category/tags as the current post. For example, a "Månedens antropolog" post should only recommend other "Månedens antropolog" posts.

Ideal Freelancer Requirements:
Strong proficiency in WordPress development (PHP, JS, CSS, HTML).

Experience with AJAX pagination and custom WordPress queries (WP_Query).

A keen eye for UI/UX design, creating clean, minimalist Nordic-style layouts.

Good communication skills and ability to provide a brief mockup or explanation of your design approach for the homepage sections.

Please include examples of similar WordPress redesigns or custom query fixes you have completed in your proposal.