P Merryfield: what changed in the design and why

The starting point was a focused single page

The earlier design presented plastering, tiling and property maintenance on one page. It used two interior photographs from the same refurbishment, followed by service information and contact details. With that small amount of verified material, a compact site was a sensible starting point.

The useful comparison is between that early design and the finished three-page website: the information available changed, so the layout changed with it.

Roofing became the main service to explain

The later brief asked for RESTEC roofing work to become a priority. P Merryfield is based in Hawkshead and covers Cumbria. That gave the homepage a more specific opening: the roofing offer, the service area, relevant work imagery and a route to discuss a job.

Genuine roof photographs replaced the interior-led opening. Plastering, tiling and property maintenance remained part of the site, with their place in the content made clear. Changing emphasis did not mean removing useful information about the other work Peter undertakes.

Three pages gave the information room

The finished structure separates three visitor questions:

• Home: what does Peter do, where does he work and how can I contact him?
• Roofing: what is the roofing service, and what relevant work and training can I see?
• Recent work: what kinds of projects has he worked on?

The roofing page can explain the service without turning the homepage into a long technical document. The work page can show several projects with their descriptions and photographs together. The extra pages followed the available content; they were not added simply to make the website look larger.

The photographs needed useful context

The earlier pair of photographs showed different views of one room. They were labelled accordingly. The later build used a wider selection of genuine work photographs across six projects, with descriptions and manually controlled galleries.

Captions help distinguish a whole project from the particular stage shown in a photograph. An image of interior work does not demonstrate a roof installation, and a progress photograph should not be presented as a finished result. Unknown project details were left out rather than filled in.

The same care applies to qualifications. The website describes Peter as a RESTEC FLEXITEC trained installer using the training evidence supplied. Any endorsement or guarantee needs its own supporting documentation.

Keep the work readable and contact straightforward

The existing cream and forest-green direction was retained. The work came from changing the information order, page structure and photography, rather than applying a different colour scheme. On narrow screens, the descriptions and galleries stack so visitors can read the context alongside the work.

Header text and navigation were enlarged during refinement. Checking narrow screens and enlarged text helped identify where the layout needed more room for clear labels and contact options.

Phone and email routes remain available. The enquiry worksheet prepares a draft in the visitor’s email app, where they can add photographs and send it themselves.

This approach leaves the final review and send action with the visitor. It needs a usable email application; preparing the draft is not confirmation that the message was sent or received. A website form that sends directly to an inbox is a different integration and should be agreed explicitly in the brief.

What another small business can take from it

Choose the service you most need to explain, then gather evidence that supports it. Give detailed subjects their own page when there is enough useful content. Use genuine photographs with honest descriptions, and make the contact route explicit.

These are changes to the design and content; their effect on enquiries or search performance has not been measured. See the P Merryfield project, visit the client website, or discuss the information your own website needs.