12 Years Later: Developing Mitchells & Butlers' New Website
01 Challenge
Talk about a blast from the past… The Mitchells & Butlers corporate website was the oldest website we managed; it was initially built 12 years ago, all the way back in 2010.
How’d it last this long, you ask? Well, it:
- Was still functioning as the brand needed
- Hadn’t been affected by any modern updates or issues
- Was still easy to use and worked for all audiences
But, even though their website was still working, Mitchells & Butlers had progressed as a brand and felt that their website no longer reflected the business they’d become. We agreed.
Our challenge was to create a new corporate website for Mitchells & Butlers that reflects the organisation they are today, targeting their core audiences (investors, shareholders, staff, and customers) and helping them achieve their goals as a business.
02 Approach
Collaborative workshop: Define website objectives
For any project of this scale, we carry out a collaborative workshop to discuss and agree on the following:
- Audiences and their end goals
- The hierarchy of pages for these audiences and the brand
- Opinions and expectations for website design and content
From here, we created a refined sitemap and began style extrapolation, giving us a solid foundation to build a prototype website, capturing Mitchells & Butlers’ key pages, expectations, and desired visual style.
Refreshing their website with SEO-rich content
With the website design approved, we were in the perfect place to understand website content requirements, creating and updating content to fit the new designs and objectives.
Our expert team jumped into action with:
- An updated tone of voice guide
- Pathfinder copy, designed to get client approval before writing the entire website
- A robust SEO strategy, including keyword research and implementation
- Full website content, from on-page copy to meta copy and image alt text
This combination of SEO and copywriting means that more of the right people can find the new Mitchells & Butlers’ website, so more people will be blown away by its contemporary style and efficient user journey.
The latest website features and integrations
It’s not only Mitchells & Butlers that’s progressed in the last decade… Website platforms are on another level, which is why we upgraded to a brand-new CMS and Gatsby setup, famous in web development for creating fast, secure, and powerful websites.
It also uses a ‘React-based framework’, which makes integrating third-party features and applications a breeze. For Mitchells & Butlers, this included:
- A new image library for newly selected and resized brand images
- ‘Find a pub’ integration for customers searching for their closest establishment
- ‘Share price’ integration, plus a new information centre for financial updates
- ‘Site search’ ability to create smoother user journeys
- Enhanced Cookie control to adhere to modern rules around tracking
For the first time, their website is also fully responsive, automatically resizing to fit the screen of whatever device a person may be using – a must for modern websites.
Future-proofing the new website with training
Training and support after a project like this are crucial, giving the client the knowledge and confidence to continue using their new website in an efficient, long-lasting way.
So, alongside creating a handy, know-all user manual for their new website, we’re planning training sessions for key stakeholders in using the website after website control is handed back to them.
“We worked with Brew to deliver a pragmatic and cost-effective solution to updating our dated corporate website. After overcoming a number of challenges, the result is a significantly improved design, with much improved useability and a consistent look and feel with our other corporate touchpoints that has garnered positive feedback throughout the business.”
Sophie Chadd, Digital Production Manager
03 Outcome
This project was incredibly important to Mitchells & Butlers, driving their business forward with a website that can keep up with them. So far, we’ve seen:
- All involved in Mitchells & Butlers are delighted with the final creation
- An upgraded website that captures the personality and goals of a modern brand
- Kind words from our contact at Gatsby, who was highly impressed
- Proof that Brew has the expertise required to take website development to an enterprise level
And, not to brag, but this was all achieved in a hurry, with a request for the site to be live ahead of their Full Year Results 2022, Mitchells & Butlers most significant company update of the year. As you can see, the FY22 launch was successful – one new website and one happy client.
Modernise your website with Brew
From single-brand websites to multi-brand enterprises, we have the tools and skills to transform your website into something that will stand the test of time, including timeless designs, SEO-rich content, and ongoing feature and security updates to keep your website efficient, secure, and on-trend.
Send us a message and let us guide you to your digital best.
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