Services we offered
- Website strategy + structure (bringing multiple businesses into one journey)
- WordPress build (Gutenberg editing for easy client updates)
- Booking integrations across multiple services (bespoke per activity)
- Content structure + page templates to reduce “blank page” edits
- Handover guides + training to support ongoing self-management
- Photography (sourcing of a photographer to fit the brief
What they wanted…
“We’ve got loads going on at Otby — fishing, shooting, camping and accommodation — but it all feels split across different websites. We need one place that shows the full picture, makes booking straightforward, and lets us update things quickly when we’re out and about.”
Otby House Farm is a rural leisure destination with multiple strands to the business — and each one had its own set of needs. Over time, their online presence had become fragmented across separate websites, which made it harder for visitors to understand the full offering and harder for the team to keep everything updated consistently.
They wanted one central platform that clearly showcased every activity, while still making it easy for people to find the right thing quickly (whether that’s a day of fishing, a weekend of camping, clay pigeon shooting, or staying in The Boat House).
Just as importantly, they needed control. Not “edit access” in theory, but genuine confidence they could make updates themselves, without worrying they’d break layouts or need to wait on someone else.
What they really meant…
What Otby House Farm really needed was peace of mind.
With a business that changes week to week — seasonal availability, pricing, packages, and practical details — the ability to update the website quickly matters. Even if changes aren’t made every day, knowing they can make changes at any time was a shift that stood to remove a huge amount of friction and stress.
The second issue was clarity. When a business’s offering is spread across multiple websites, visitors don’t always realise everything is part of the same parcel, so to speak. People might land on a fishing page and never discover accommodation. Or find camping information, but miss the shooting packages. That fragmentation creates missed opportunities and makes the customer journey feel incredibly disjointed.
So the real goal became: bring everything onto one platform, guide people to the right next step (book, enquire, explore), and make the website simple to run. Even when the team is busy on-site.
What we agreed to do…
A single, structured WordPress website that brings all of Otby’s activities together, designed around clear journeys, simple editing, and booking/enquiry pathways tailored to each service.
Working closely with Natalie and the Otby House Farm team we delivered:
- A WordPress website built around the Gutenberg editor for straightforward in-house management
- Consolidation of multiple websites/services into one coherent platform (with clear navigation and page structure)
- Clear booking and enquiry pathways tailored per activity (because there isn’t one “blanket” booking system)
- Fishing booking
- Caravan / camping booking
- Accommodation (Boat House / stays)
- Clay pigeon shooting (package-led enquiries / booking as applicable)
- Page templates and content blocks designed to keep layouts consistent and reduce “messy” edits
- Handover support (guides/training) so the Otby team can confidently update the website going forward
So we got to work!
We started by getting the structure right, then built a site that Otby can genuinely manage day-to-day — with the right booking route for every activity.
The answer?
Make it one place — and make it manageable.
First, we mapped Otby’s offering as a single destination rather than separate “mini businesses”. That meant designing the structure around real visitor intent: What am I here for? Where do I book? What else might I want to do while I’m there?
We began with lo‑fi wireframes to lock the journeys in place early, ensuring the navigation and page hierarchy made sense before visuals came into play. Once the structure worked, we moved into hi‑fi design, building a look and feel that consistently says “Otby House Farm” and supports the calm, countryside, reconnect-with-nature positioning.
Then came the practical complexity: bookings. Otby doesn’t have one system that covers everything, so we needed a flexible approach. Some services required external booking links, others worked better as direct enquiries, and some needed page-level flexibility depending on what was available at that point in time.
Finally, we built the website on WordPress with Gutenberg so the Otby team can update content easily while keeping layouts tidy. The goal wasn’t just “editable” — it was editable without the site slowly falling apart.
- Lo‑fi first to validate structure and user journeys before design
- Hi‑fi design grounded in the Otby brand feel (so every page feels like the same destination)
- Each section built with a “why” — nothing added without supporting the journey to conversion
- Flexible booking/enquiry setup per service (not forced into one template)
- Gutenberg editing so the client can manage updates quickly and confidently
Did it work?
For Otby, “did it work?” isn’t just a number — it’s whether the website supports day-to-day running of a real place, with real availability, real bookings, and real last-minute changes.
By consolidating their offering into one platform, visitors can now see the full Otby story in one place — and move from browsing to booking (or enquiry) without getting lost between separate sites. And because the site is built for client editing using Gutenberg, the Otby team can keep pages current as the business evolves through the seasons.
- More control: updates can be made quickly in-house (without waiting on a developer)
- Clearer customer journeys: visitors can find the right service faster and take the next step
- Reduced risk of “stale” information: the site can stay aligned with real-world changes on the farm
However, there were other benefits…
The biggest shift was confidence. With a single website that’s easy to manage, Otby can keep information up to date, adjust content as the seasons change, and respond quickly when something needs tweaking — without the website becoming a headache.
It also changed how the whole business presents itself. Instead of separate pockets of information across different sites, Otby now has a joined-up platform that helps people understand the destination as a whole — which supports referrals, repeat visits, and the wider perception of Otby as a place with a clear, professional offering.
And because the structure is built to scale, it gives Otby room to grow — adding new pages, packages, and offers without needing to reinvent the site each time something changes.
A measurable success
“We absolutely love our new brand, which Knapton Wright has worked with us to create. We feel that it fully represents Otby House Farm and everything that we are about… The new brand has created the perfect platform for our new website, which has been beautifully designed and created to showcase the wide variety of services that we have on offer at Otby.”
