Case study: A premium site for a premium dining pub

[ Client ] The Boathouse – Hall and Woodhouse

[ Platform ] WordPress

[ Service ] Food & Drink, Hospitality

Hospitality marketing agency, Propeller was tasked with creating a sleek and modern WordPress website template that could be used across all 22 of Hall and Woodhouse’s premium dining portfolio, starting with The Boathouse.

They needed a mobile-first execution with a clear and impressive menu functionality that displayed the range of offerings to customers quickly and easily.

The site needed to feel premium, inviting and unique through great imagery and excellent storytelling, and needed to maintain an already strong conversion rate, increase web traffic, and improve the site speed score.

• We used a component/ regional level design methodology to allow flexibility to create and build new templates.
• We designed premium feel pages to allow unique stories to be told.
• We incorporated handwritten fonts, sketches and illustrations to give add a personal, welcoming touch to the site.
• We incorporated a number of third-party integrations to optimise the functionality of the site: data capture with Acetol, table booking integration with LiveRes, room bookings with Welcome, and food menu integration with TenKites.
• We maintained a keen focus on the site performance and technical SEO, paying attention to site speed, code hygeine, and appropriate Headings.

• 140% improvement in site speed on mobile
• 47% improvement in site speed on desktop
• 10% increase in page views
• 9% increase in sessions
• 6% increase in organic traffic

“With this new website template showcased on The Boathouse and designed by Propeller, we were purely inundated with ‘wow’ ‘this is amazing’ and ‘I just love it’ comments. 

Propeller worked really hard to ensure the usability & styling flowed seamlessly to drive more intrigue and bookings. 

With careful input and consideration from the team at Hall & Woodhouse layered on top of that, we feel we have really captured the essence of this one-of-a-kind pub in Bath as sleek, special and absolutely worth a visit. 

We are immensely proud of it and will continue the roll-out of this style across many more houses.”

Rosie Akenhead | Head of Digital & Marketing Communications | Hall & Woodhouse

Being relentless in our attention to detail is what we do. Propeller isn’t a hospitality marketing agency that relies on pretty pictures or crafted copy, instead we look holistically at your brand, business and your objectives to create a bespoke digital experience and website design for property businesses.

Creative & Design

We keep you, and our senior designers, in the loop at every stage of the design process. You’re always able to feedback and review design elements in real time and with interactive Adobe XD links.

Customer & User Experience

Working with your design resource, we collaborate for a mobile-first approach built on wireframes that define structure and hierarchy to make the end to end journey as smooth as possible for your customers .

Engagement & Consistency

Ultimately, you want a web design agency that can build something beautiful that your customers will love to use. To keep the good times rolling, we’ll work to build a strong component library that helps you tell a consistent and engaging story throughout the customer journey.

Site Audits & Conversion

Our team doesn’t necessarily just start from scratch. We audit your existing website to understand what’s working, and build around those areas to create even more conversion opportunities.

Wireframes & Architecture

As a UX design agency we prioritise developing wireframes for your website as a foundation of design. We firmly believe that defining the functionality of every inch of the site is essential to strong UX design, and wireframes are key.

Journey Mapping & Site Structure

Take your users and customers on a journey that works for them and convert more sales for you. Our team seeks out the right insights and analytics to deliver the best website and wireframe structure for your business.