Website Case Study | Spring Creek Ranch

Sarah Berns contacted us this spring about redesigning her website. She had a beautiful new calligraphic logo and wanted something more fresh and wild than her current, somewhat dowdy, site design. Check out this exciting website case study!

Drawbacks of the old site

• Having an intro/splash page instead of a real home page. You can lose a lot of potential viewers by making them go through this extra (and rarely informative) step.
• The home page was disorganized, with confusing subnavigation links.
• The blog was not part of site, and was missing from the main navigation.
• The photos were small and not compelling – Spring Creek Ranch is beautiful, and really needs to showcase photos.
• The site design and layout looked dated and uninspired.

Sarah Moule happily tackled this task as the web designer on the project, and we were thrilled with Sarah B’s response to the new design idea:

“I admit that it took a few years to convince myself that redesigning our website would be worth the financial investment, another year to decide which web design company to go with and all of ONE INSTANT to utter the word, “PERFECT” when I saw Sarah Moule’s mock up for Spring Creek Ranch.”

The redesign

[click to view site]

Sarah M. created a visually stunning home page for the site. It immediately draws you in with the photographic slide show, the centerpiece of which is a description of Spring Creek Ranch, and an immediate call to action: “BOOK YOUR NEXT STAY.”

The blog is now linked in the footer of the site, and every page has lovely photography, paired with a consistent message throughout of fresh air, wilderness, relaxation, and good times with family. We also added a “weddings” section, for couples to be inspired by past weddings at Spring Creek Ranch and easily be able to sign up for a wedding package.

How did Sarah M. work this magic?

It helped that she got wonderful information and feedback from Sarah B. so that she was able to perfectly capture the feel of the ranch:

“Spring Creek Ranch isn’t just a home that we rent out to the public, it is a total property, an experience, really. The Methow Valley is a popular destination for those seeking outdoor adventure, an escape from the city and Spring Creek Ranch is a perfect (I think) place for one to stay while they experience the Valley. We often have guests remark at the wonder of just opening the doors and letting their kids explore outside in a way that they themselves remember from their childhoods, but that is rare in our society today.

Honestly I have been searching for the past 2 years to hit on a site and go, “Ah! That is exactly what I want the Spring Creek Ranch site to FEEL like.” To no avail. And that is why I hired you!“

Inner pages of site

A final note from Sarah Berns

“Working with Aeolidia has felt like being ushered onto a team full of creative, motivated and incredibly professional team players. From start to finish I always felt like my questions were answered in a thorough and timely fashion and when I needed a hand to hold (and oh, did I ever) I always found one outstretched and available.

It is obvious to me that Sarah Moule takes her job very seriously and that she did a ton of research before coming up with the SCR design. I felt like the little touches of her design (the dark framing edges- so much like a Kodak film reel) and the negative version of barn board were on the verge of brilliant. Where I live just about every other site has some form of wood or barn wood as part of their website, but I have never seen the negative version used and I thought the black and white made the site feel modern and historical at the same time. How does one do that? I thought Sarah M figured out the most perfect way to do just that.”

Thanks, Sarah! We loved working with you, too!

If you enjoyed this website case study, you can see more projects in our portfolio.