There’s something really special about working with a client again
Around seven years ago, I built the website for Old Mill Acharn, and recently Alex & Vivien got back in touch because they were ready for a fresh new look. And I couldn’t have been happier to say yes!
Websites, just like businesses, grow and evolve. What worked beautifully seven years ago can start to feel a little dated not just visually, but technically too. Design trends change, user expectations shift (especially on mobile!), and search engines become smarter. A refresh isn’t just about making things look prettier (although that’s always fun!), it’s about improving speed, usability, security, and making sure the site continues to perform well in Google.
One of the most important parts of a rebuild happens quietly in the background. When you redesign a site, you have to be very careful not to lose the search engine rankings you’ve worked hard to build over time. That means carefully managing page URLs, setting up proper redirects, keeping valuable content, optimising images, checking metadata, improving loading speed, and making sure Google can still crawl and index everything correctly. It’s a bit of a behind-the-scenes balancing act — fresh and new, but without losing the strength of the original foundations.
The new Old Mill Acharn website keeps everything people love about the business, but with a cleaner design, better mobile experience, faster performance, and clearer calls to action. It feels modern, welcoming and easy to navigate exactly how their beautiful venue feels in real life.
And can we just talk about what a gorgeous place the Old Mill is? It’s one of those locations that instantly makes you feel relaxed the moment you arrive. Full of charm and character, it’s always been such a pleasure to work with a business that genuinely cares about what they do.
It was honestly so lovely to reconnect and collaborate again after all these years. There’s something really rewarding about seeing a business continue to grow and being trusted again to help shape their online presence means the world to me.
Here’s to fresh starts, beautiful spaces, and websites that grow alongside your business
Before
After
