Creating a user-centred, content-led digital experience for Castell Howell
Heading up the redesign of a large-scale digital experience for one of Wales’ largest and most trusted brands by combining UX strategy, content design and technology to create a more engaging and conversion-focused platform.
Overview
Castell Howell is one of Wales' largest independent food wholesalers, supplying hospitality businesses across the UK. Following several years of successful collaboration, Four Waves was commissioned to redesign and rebuild their digital presence.
The goal was to create a more engaging, user-focused website that better communicated the breadth of Castell Howell's offering, improved customer journeys, and supported key business goals including trade account sign-ups and organic search growth.
The project combined UX strategy, content design, custom media production and technical delivery to create a high-performing digital experience.
Comprehensive wireframes were created to reflect a diverse range of user flows, before prototyping began.
Role & process
As Lead Digital Designer, I was responsible for shaping the UX strategy, design direction and overall experience of the project. I led discovery activities including competitor analysis, keyword research, website audits and customer research through interviews, questionnaires and digital analytics.
Working closely with Castell Howell and their customers, I translated research findings into user journeys, information architecture and wireframe prototypes, which were tested and refined before development began.
I also led the content strategy and production of custom video assets, recognising that rich media could play a key role in communicating Castell Howell's expertise, building trust and improving engagement.
The project was delivered with support from a small team of trusted specialists across development, photography and media production, which I coordinated throughout the delivery process.
Challenges & solutions
The previous website contained a significant amount of valuable information but lacked clear pathways for different audiences. The challenge was to create an experience that served multiple user groups, from existing trade customers to potential new customers, while making it easier for users to discover products, services and reasons to choose Castell Howell.
Through research and analysis, we identified opportunities to improve navigation, content structure and conversion journeys. These insights informed a new information architecture and user experience designed around clearer user goals.
A key part of the approach was treating content as a core part of the experience rather than something added after design. Custom video and photography were strategically introduced throughout the site to showcase Castell Howell's people, expertise and offering in a more engaging and authentic way.
As part of the discovery phase's user research, I helped faciltate customer intercept research at Castell Howell events to gather feedback directly from existing customers.
Outcome & reflections
The redesigned website delivered significant improvements across both user engagement and business outcomes:
29% increase in organic traffic
Nearly 6x increase in engagement per user
Nearly 5x increase in trade account sign-ups, the project's primary conversion goal
This project reinforced the value of combining UX design with content strategy and technical understanding. By considering the complete digital experience - from user needs and interface design through to storytelling and implementation - I was able to lead a solution that delivered measurable commercial impact.
It also demonstrated my ability to lead larger, multidisciplinary projects, collaborating with specialist teams while maintaining ownership of the overall design vision.