Web design · Web development
The Coopers Arms — A Country Pub Website With Menus, Events and Our Own Photography
A family-run Derbyshire pub had a dated website that was hard to edit and did not work on phones. We rebuilt it on WordPress, shot the food and the building ourselves, and set it up to stay current every season.
- Web design
- Web development
- On-site and product photography
- Copywriting
- WordPress
The brief
More than just a country pub, with a website that said otherwise
Vimana Digital replaced The Coopers Arms' dated, non-responsive website with a WordPress site built around what the Weston-on-Trent pub sells: carvery and restaurant dining, drinks, corporate hospitality, funeral receptions and a fishing pond. We photographed the dishes and the building ourselves, refined the copy for each service, and set the site up so menus and events stay current each season.
The Coopers Arms is a family-run country pub that has served happy, returning customers for decades. Its tagline says it is more than just a country pub, and that is true: alongside drinks, a carvery and restaurant dining, it offers a well-kept fishing pond, corporate hospitality, funeral receptions and some of the finest food for miles around.
The old website showed almost none of this. It was very dated, becoming difficult to edit, and had lost modern functionality such as mobile responsiveness.
The new site had to showcase every service, display up-to-date menus, list upcoming events, and carry imagery good enough to show both the dining and the history of the building.
How we did it
How we rebuilt it
01
Consolidate before designing
As with every build, we gathered as much existing content as we could. For The Coopers Arms we went further and supplied several services beyond development, covering the photography and portions of the copywriting ourselves.
02
Photograph the real thing
Food photography sells a pub better than any adjective, so we gave individual dishes their own shots and captured the building to show its history.
03
Refine the words together
We worked with The Coopers Arms to refine the copywriting for each service page.
04
Design for elegance, not noise
The pub is an elegant venue and the design had to reflect that. The palette is luxury but subtle, and the layout gives the photographs room.
05
Fix the editing problem
The old site was becoming difficult to edit, so the new one was built on WordPress. See WordPress web design.
What we built
What the Coopers Arms website includes
The photography is what makes this site work. We took our product photography equipment to the pub and shot dishes individually, then covered the interior and exterior. That gave us enough material for page banners, page content and the gallery.
- A WordPress website with a page for each service: eat and drink, corporate hospitality, funeral receptions, what's on
- Our own photography of individual dishes, plus interior and exterior shots of the building
- A gallery and page banners built from that photo set
- Copywriting refined with the client for every service page, with the pub's history told on the About Us page
- Up-to-date menus and an events listing, kept current each season
- A luxury but subtle colour palette that gives a timeless feel
- Easy navigation and full mobile responsiveness
Responsive experience
Clear on every screen
The outcome
Results
The Coopers Arms has hundreds of happy customers, and you can read their reviews on Google. The website is kept up to date with events and menu changes each season. If you are looking for the perfect carvery, a special evening meal or a room for an event, you can contact them through the site.
Related services
Questionsabout thisproject
Not covered here? Call and ask. We reply within 24 hours.
What should a pub website include?
Opening hours, menus that are current, a what's-on page, photographs of the food and the venue, directions and a booking or contact route that works on a phone. Anything you offer beyond drinks and food, such as function rooms, funeral receptions or corporate hospitality, deserves its own page so people searching for it can find you.
Do you photograph the food and the venue?
Yes. For The Coopers Arms we took our product photography equipment on site, shot individual dishes and covered the interior and exterior of the building. That gave us enough images for page banners, page content and the gallery. See our photography service for food, product and premises shoots.
Can we update menus and events ourselves?
Usually, yes. A WordPress site lets non-technical staff change menus and events without writing code, which is why The Coopers Arms moved from a hard-to-edit old site. If you would rather not, our website management service starts from £50 a month (paid annually), and hosting starts from £120 a year. Prices exclude VAT.
Our current website is not mobile-friendly. Do we need a full rebuild?
Often, yes. The Coopers Arms had a very dated website that was difficult to edit and had lost modern functionality such as mobile responsiveness, so we rebuilt it on WordPress rather than patching it. Whether you need the same depends on your platform. Book a free 20-minute call and we'll tell you honestly.
How much does a pub website cost?
Small business websites start from around £1,000, and medium to large sites typically cost £3,000–£6,000. Where a pub site lands depends on the number of pages and whether you add photography and copywriting. Straightforward builds typically take one to three weeks once content is agreed.
Start your project
Does your pub's website show what you actually offer?
Tell us about the venue and what you want people to book. We will quote for the site, the photography and the words together, or just the parts you need.