Coles Castings: Website Redesign

A digital rebrand for Coles Castings

Coles Castings is an iron foundry based in the beautiful UK county of North Dorset, and are experts in their craft. They’re incredibly creative people, and help creatives bring their ideas to life using the most amazing traditional methods of craft. 

However, Coles Castings found their online presence and user experience quickly slipping away. So, they got in touch with Modern Classic and we sat down to find out exactly how we can get them up to speed in the most efficient way.

OBJECTIVE

Coles Castings knew that their site needed a major facelift (you can see the original home screen below), so we had a call to discuss the project and establish key objectives. The first objective was to create a simple, elegant, and easy-to-use website that didn’t require major upkeep. 

The second objective was to create a more cohesive brand that felt streamlined and consistent across the entire website. This was significantly aided by a previous asset of a logo that Coles Castings had on a business card. 

The final objective was to make the user interface stronger. Previously, booking forms were appearing distorted, links were broken, and navigation was difficult. 

However, this wasn’t all, as we also needed to set them up with a fully functioning email address, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console. Why? Because we know the importance of the often-overlooked Google tools. Without them, you’re absolutely blind to who is visiting your website, what you’re ranking for on Google, and so much more.

While we had a big job on our hands, we’re never ones to shy away from a challenge; especially when we knew the final product was going to be amazing.

STRATEGY

Like all redesign projects, Modern Classic scoped a timeline for getting everything done so that we could stay on track. Without this, it’s possible for projects to miss key deadlines and end up overdue, and overdue is something we’re proud not to be.

Once this was established, we gathered assets for Coles Castings and added them to a private folder where they could access them 24/7. It means they now have a safe place to grab brand-relevant files and use them as they see fit. 

We then got to work on the email address. This was a key priority as if it wasn’t functioning properly then Coles Castings could lose out on valuable business. So, within a day, Modern Classic had the email address up and running so that nothing got lost. 

Next was the major website redesign. We agreed on a site structure with Coles Castings and also provided them with a mock-up of how the site would look. The client absolutely loved what we put together and we got to work on it straight away. Within the week, the old website was out and the new one was in. 

With the majority of the work complete, Modern Classic sat down with the Coles Castings one last time to iron out any further tweaks or amends. We know the importance of delivering a satisfying product, so we left no stone unturned. 

With the website complete, we wanted to educate Coles Castings in order to help them care for their website with more ease in the future. We did this by providing consistent SEO knowledge, guides, and useful reading to make sure that they understood how to make their website more powerful. Not only did they receive a great new website, but they can look after it better than ever.

ORIGINAL SITE

NEW SITE

RESULTS

Coles Castings were over the moon with their new site and so were we. With a whole new look, a functional email, and a massively improved user experience, we knew that their new website would make for more customers and position them as a more modern and up-to-date foundry. 

• Completely redesigned website

• Updated WordPress plug ins

• User interface improved

• User experience improved

• Google Analytics connected

• Google Search Console connected

• SEO optimised

CLIENT TESTIMONIAL

“We were looking to refresh our website after our previous web designer retired, and Modern Classic Digital were recommended through a trusted colleague. We have been impressed with both their expediency and professionalism in designing a site that works well for us. We went from languishing near the bottom of the search results to second on the list. 

When we met with Barney he took the time to listen and understand our goals and the nature of our business.  We have already seen results in the website bringing in new clients. We look forward to working with them over the coming years and can't recommend them enough.” - Stephen Coles, Owner at Coles Castings