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A few years ago I desgined a site for a holiday cottage in Staithes. As in most professions, improvement at whatever it is you do is (almost) innevitable as time passes. Sites I built in the past rarely reflect my current methods so I am pleased when I get the opportunity to redesign and rebuild an existing site.
At the beginning of September I was contacted by Hilary McAra, the new owner of The Moorings, in Staithes. I had been referred to her by the cottage’s previous owners, for who I had designed the existing site.
I worked with Hilary to create a new site for her cottage. We wanted to inject some life into what had been quite a basic, drab web-presence. After a couple of iterations, we arrived at a design which we felt worked – giving a bold, vibrant feel which also presented the information clearly and provided simple navigation to ensure visitors would find their way around the site.
We’ve used full sized background images which make use of the entirety of the visitor’s screen. Staithes is a picturesque fishing village on the North Yorkshire coast and we wanted to make the most of that.
The calendar gives visitors up to the minute availability information and by using multiple image sliders (particularly on the Accommodation) page we’ve made use of lots of photos, giving potential customers a clear impression of the cottage and its facilities.
The Moorings has one of the best views in the village, straight out to sea over the neighbouring rooftops from its private balcony. Hilary really wanted to make this a feature on the site so we used a photo of this view as a background image on a couple of pages as well.
Hilary is able to update the page text and the availability calendar herself via the bespoke content management system I produced for her, giving her the freedom to use her site as she wishes.
This is what she had to say about the project:
“I contacted Jack because I’d looked at several websites and I really liked the ones that he’d designed. I went to see him and told him what I was looking for. I had never been involved with anything like this before so I was totally reliant on him understanding what I needed.
He designed a basic website and sent it to me. I liked the design immediately but there were a few changes I wanted to make. Jack and I emailed each other several times. He patiently made all the changes I asked for. Some I liked, and some I didn’t and he had to make further changes.
The website is now finished and I am delighted with the result and very pleased with the patience, skill and artistic flair that Jack has shown.”
You can visit the website here www.holidaycottagestaithes.co.uk and as usual I’d love to know what you think in the Comments.