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Ranch Road Brewing Co.

A website for a Hill Country taproom that the staff run themselves: change the tap list, post an event, or build a new page, and the site keeps up.

Concept

headless cms · contentful · brand identity · react router

Ranch Road Brewing Co.

The challenge

This is a concept, not client work, and the brewery is fictional. A taproom's website goes stale fast: the beers change weekly, events come and go, and the hours shift with the seasons. When every update waits on a web developer, the site ends up listing a beer that ran out a month ago.

The approach

I designed the brand around Texas road signs, with a Ranch Road route marker for the logo, a mile marker in the hero, and a double yellow line between sections, then built the site so the staff own the content. Every page is assembled in Contentful from a set of sections like the tap list, events, menu, FAQ, and gallery. Flip a beer to "On tap" and every tap list on the site updates. Events drop off once they end, and weekly ones roll forward on their own. The editing screens come with plain-language help text, dropdowns, and date pickers, so nobody has to guess what a field is for.

The outcome

The finished site has six pages, a day and an after-dark theme, and a banner the staff can use for news like "crossing's closed, use the north gate." Each section checks its own content before it shows, so a half-finished edit is left out instead of breaking the page. Changes go live within a minute, with no developer involved.

What was delivered

  • Brand identity and logo
  • Six-page marketing site, light and dark
  • Content model with 11 reusable page sections
  • Editor setup with help text and seed content
Visit the taproom

For your project

If your website needs updating more often than you can call someone to do it, a site like this puts you in charge of the content while the design stays consistent. You add the menu item or the event; the site handles how it looks.

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Screens

The tap list in the after-dark theme: tap numbers, pint glasses tinted to each beer's color, and ABV meters
The tap list in the after-dark theme: tap numbers, pint glasses tinted to each beer's color, and ABV meters
The staff's side: a page is a list of sections, new sections are picked from a menu, and a beer goes on tap with one click
The staff's side: a page is a list of sections, new sections are picked from a menu, and a beer goes on tap with one click
Editing a beer: a plain text box for the tasting note, a color dropdown, and On tap, Coming soon, or Off
Editing a beer: a plain text box for the tasting note, a color dropdown, and On tap, Coming soon, or Off
The site banner, with help text under the field and a choice of three colors
The site banner, with help text under the field and a choice of three colors
Upcoming events grid with weekly trivia, live music, a beer release, and the Sunday market
Upcoming events grid with weekly trivia, live music, a beer release, and the Sunday market
Hours and a hand-drawn map showing the taproom at mile 8 beside the creek crossing
Hours and a hand-drawn map showing the taproom at mile 8 beside the creek crossing
Photo gallery of the yard, the bar, a dog under a picnic table, and a tasting flight
Photo gallery of the yard, the bar, a dog under a picnic table, and a tasting flight
The home page hero in the after-dark theme with the mile 8 marker
The home page hero in the after-dark theme with the mile 8 marker

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