Introduction
Charles Faram, a historic name in hop supply, has been connecting brewers with premium-quality hops for over 150 years. Known for their expertise, diverse hop range, and dedication to the brewing community, the company had built its reputation on deep industry knowledge and strong customer relationships. However, while their physical presence and reputation remained exceptional, their online presence needed a refresh.
As more customers shifted to researching and sourcing hops online, Charles Faram’s existing website no longer matched their brand’s dynamism or supported the growing demands of modern brewers. It was clear that the website had to evolve — not only to look more appealing but also to offer the kind of intuitive, information-rich experience customers expected.
The brief, therefore, was not simply to “redesign” but to create a modern, eye-catching, and functional platform that still preserved the brand’s heritage. The solution also had to empower the Charles Faram team to easily update content themselves, avoiding reliance on external developers for routine changes. In short, the new site had to be both beautiful and practical.
The Challenge
From the outset, the challenge was twofold. First, the new design needed to reflect the quality and authenticity of the Charles Faram brand without losing the essence of the original site’s style. Second, it had to function as a powerful tool for customers — helping them navigate a vast range of hop varieties, blends, and products with precision and ease.
Customers in the brewing industry often have specific requirements when sourcing hops. They want to filter by attributes such as flavour profiles, oil composition, and aroma characteristics. They also need quick access to detailed technical information to ensure their brewing outcomes meet expectations. Therefore, the new website had to function almost like a digital hop library — both informative and easy to navigate.
Adding to the complexity was the requirement for future scalability. While the current site would focus on hop information and brand storytelling, the design had to anticipate the integration of features like eCommerce and expanded product categories without causing disruption to the user experience or backend systems.
The key challenges could be summarised as:
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Preserving brand heritage while making a bold visual statement.
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Enhancing user navigation for a highly specific and technical product catalogue.
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Empowering the internal team with easy content management.
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Ensuring long-term scalability for future business needs.
The Approach
To address these challenges, we began with a discovery phase. This involved in-depth conversations with the Charles Faram team, exploring the brand’s history, customer needs, and business goals. We also conducted a competitive analysis of other hop suppliers and brewing industry websites, identifying what worked well and where gaps existed.
From the discovery stage, three strategic pillars emerged:
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Heritage-Inspired Design: Maintain elements of the original colour palette, typography, and imagery that reflected Charles Faram’s long-standing history, while introducing modern design patterns and visuals that signalled innovation and forward thinking.
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Customer-Centric Navigation: Build an advanced filtering and search system that allowed users to browse hops by detailed criteria — from aroma notes like citrus and floral, to oil content, to geographic origin. This would give both novice and experienced brewers an efficient way to find exactly what they needed.
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Modular and Scalable Architecture: Develop the website on a platform that made it easy for the Charles Faram team to update content, add new hop varieties, and expand features. This meant designing with future integrations — like eCommerce — in mind from day one.
Execution
1. Information Architecture
We began by restructuring the entire site map. The old site had scattered information, making it harder for customers to connect the dots between different hop varieties, their technical specifications, and related products.
Through workshops with the Charles Faram team, we created a logical content hierarchy:
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Home – A strong visual welcome with clear calls-to-action.
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Hop Varieties – A searchable, filterable database of all hops.
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Hop Products – Information on hop pellets, extracts, blends, and more.
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Brewing Resources – Educational content, brewing tips, and technical guides.
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About Us – The brand’s story, heritage, and commitment to quality.
This structure made it easy for users to explore without feeling overwhelmed.
2. Design System
Next, we established a cohesive design system. This included:
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A refined colour palette that honoured the earthy tones of hops while introducing vibrant accents to guide user attention.
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Typography that balanced readability with a sense of craft heritage.
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A grid-based layout to ensure consistency across pages and device sizes.
The result was a visual identity that felt both rooted and refreshed — a nod to tradition with a modern twist.
3. Search and Filter Functionality
One of the most significant upgrades was the dynamic hop search and filter system. Customers could now search by:
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Flavour profile (citrus, tropical, floral, herbal, etc.)
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Oil composition levels
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Alpha and beta acid content
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Geographic origin
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Brewing style recommendations
This functionality transformed the website from a static catalogue into an interactive tool, making it invaluable for brewers planning their next recipe.
4. Content Management
To give the Charles Faram team full control over their site, we implemented a user-friendly CMS. This allowed them to:
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Add new hop varieties with images and data tables.
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Update flavour profile descriptions.
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Publish news and educational articles.
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Manage events and promotions.
By reducing dependency on external developers, the new system saved time and money, enabling the team to keep content fresh and relevant.
5. Future-Proof Development
Even though eCommerce was not part of the initial launch, we built the site on a flexible architecture that could integrate a full online store in the future. This forward-thinking approach meant no expensive overhauls would be necessary later.
We also ensured the hosting environment and database could scale easily, supporting potential expansions into new markets or product lines.
Results
Since launch, the new Charles Faram website has achieved several key outcomes:
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Improved User Engagement: Analytics showed that visitors spent more time exploring hop varieties and reading brewing resources.
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Increased Search Efficiency: The advanced filtering system reduced the time users spent finding specific hops by more than half.
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Higher Content Update Frequency: The Charles Faram team now publishes new content regularly without technical bottlenecks.
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Positive Industry Feedback: Brewers and industry partners praised the site’s design and usability, noting how easy it was to find detailed product information.
In addition, the brand perception improved. The website now matched the premium quality of the products themselves, positioning Charles Faram as a modern leader in hop supply while maintaining their deep-rooted heritage.
Future-Readiness
The new site was designed with longevity in mind. Features like eCommerce integration, expanded product lines, and multilingual support can be added without disrupting the current structure.
Because the backend was developed using a modular framework, any future updates — whether adding an online store, introducing customer accounts, or integrating with inventory management systems — can be executed with minimal downtime.
This future-proofing ensures that as the brewing industry evolves, so too can Charles Faram’s online presence. The website is no longer just a digital brochure — it is a strategic business tool.
Conclusion
What began as a brief to “make something new and eye-catching” evolved into a comprehensive digital transformation for Charles Faram. By combining heritage-inspired design, customer-focused navigation, and scalable development, we delivered a platform that not only serves the needs of today’s brewers but also anticipates the demands of tomorrow.
The project’s success lies in its balance: it honours the history of a century-old brand while embracing the possibilities of modern web technology. As Charles Faram continues to grow and innovate in the brewing industry, their website now stands as a true reflection of their expertise, quality, and vision for the future.