Web Design and Website Support for Cotswolds Businesses

The Cotswolds is home to some of the most characterful independent businesses in the country: hotels and bed and breakfasts, pubs and tea rooms, galleries and gift shops, tradespeople and professional practices. Many of them depend on visitors, and almost all of them depend on a website that works as hard as they do.

At O’Brien Media we provide our full range of web design and website support services to businesses across the Cotswolds, from Cirencester and Tetbury to Stow-on-the-Wold, Moreton-in-Marsh and Chipping Campden. This is a look at how that works, and why being close to the area makes a difference. You can find a summary on our web design for Cotswolds businesses page.

Close to the Cotswolds, and familiar with the area

We are based in Swindon, on the edge of the Cotswolds, so we are a short journey from towns such as Cirencester, Fairford and Lechlade, and close enough to meet in person when it helps. More importantly, we know the area. We know how different Painswick is from Nailsworth, why Burford, Bibury and Bourton-on-the-Water draw visitors from all over the world, and what a busy Saturday in Tetbury, Northleach or Winchcombe looks like for a local business.

That local knowledge shapes the advice we give. A website for a business in Chipping Campden or Broadway needs to speak to visitors planning a trip, and to local customers who just want to know what time you open. We build for both.

Websites for tourism and hospitality

We have worked with businesses in tourism and hospitality for as long as we have been designing websites. Our very first customer, back in 2006, was the owner of a bed and breakfast. Since then we have helped hotels, guest houses, pubs, restaurants, holiday lets and visitor attractions get found and get booked.

Whatever the business, the same things tend to matter:

• A site that works on a phone. Visitors plan trips, check opening times and look for somewhere to eat on their mobile, often while they are already in the area.
• Clear information. Opening hours, rooms, menus, prices and how to get to you should be easy to find and always up to date.
• Easy ways to book or enquire. A simple booking link or enquiry form turns a browser into a guest.
• Good photographs that load quickly. A beautiful setting deserves beautiful images, without slowing the page down.
• Being found locally. Searches such as “pub in Stow-on-the-Wold” or “bed and breakfast near Cirencester” depend on a good website and a well-kept Google Business Profile, which is part of our SEO, local search and AI work.

Most of these websites are built on WordPress, which gives you control over your own content without locking you in to a single supplier.

Helping seasonal retail businesses sell online

Many Cotswolds shops do most of their trade in the summer months and in the run-up to Christmas. A website that sells online lets those businesses reach customers beyond the high street and beyond the season: visitors who loved their visit and want to buy again, and customers who have never been to the area at all.

We have helped seasonal retail businesses expand online, and we can help you choose the right platform for the way you trade. That might be Shopify for a straightforward, hosted shop, or WooCommerce if you want your shop to sit inside a WordPress website. Our ecommerce work covers everything from product structure and delivery settings to taking payments online, so the shop is practical for you and your team to run.

Our full range of services, from one team

You should not have to deal with a different company for every part of your website. We provide everything in one place:

• Web design and development, including a redesign or move from an existing website or website builder.
• WordPress support and maintenance, so updates, backups and fixes are looked after.
• Website hosting and website security.
• Domain names and email.
• SEO, local search and AI search, with a free AI review if you would like to see how your website looks to AI tools.

Keeping up with the seasons

Businesses in tourism, hospitality and seasonal retail change things often: Christmas opening hours, a spring menu, summer events, special offers. We make that easy. Customers can use Client Connect, our customer portal, to raise a ticket whenever something needs changing. Its Worklists feature, which we explain in our post on Worklists, lets you collect your seasonal changes in a list and send them to us in one go.

Talk to a team that knows the area

If you run a business in the Cotswolds and want a new website, help with the one you already have, or a way to sell online, we would be happy to talk it through in plain English, with no obligation. Take a look at our web design for Cotswolds businesses page, or get in touch and tell us about your business.