Sloop Inn
The Sloop Inn has stood on the harbour front in St Ives since around 1312, which makes it one of the oldest inns in Cornwall. It has a brewery, a loyal following for its food and ales, and twenty en-suite rooms overlooking the sand. A place with this much history and character needs a website that reflects it, and the previous site was not doing that.
The team came to us with a clear picture of what they wanted. The site had to feel as inviting as the inn, show off the setting and the rooms properly, and make it easy for visitors to find whatever they were after, be that a table, a room or a sense of the place before they arrived. They also wanted to be found. People searching for somewhere to eat, drink or stay in St Ives were not landing on The Sloop, and that was quietly costing them bookings.
We began with a kick-off session to get to the heart of what mattered: the harbour setting, the rooms, the food and drink, and the brewery. Everything we designed followed from that, rather than being forced into a ready-made template.
Instead of an off-the-shelf theme, we built The Sloop a custom WordPress theme on the Timber framework, using Advanced Custom Fields and Custom Post Types so that every part of the business has its own home. Each area is set up as its own content type, which means the team can add and update anything themselves without touching code or waiting on a developer.
The homepage leads with video and photography that put the setting right where it belongs, at the top. We simplified the navigation so guests reach the information they came for in a couple of clicks, and built the whole thing mobile-first, since most people planning a Cornish trip are doing it on their phone.
We also set proper SEO foundations. The site is well structured, quick to load and built to help The Sloop appear when people search for B&Bs and places to eat in St Ives and across Cornwall.
The Sloop Inn now has a website that feels like the inn itself: warm, welcoming and easy to spend time in. Every part of the offer has room to breathe, and the team can keep it all current without help from us.
The site launched in spring 2026 with strong search foundations and plenty of room to grow. We have continued to work with The Sloop on its wider digital marketing since.
