// Earthly Landscapes / Website design
Custom WordPress design for a Christchurch landscape practice. The thinking, the craft and the people behind it—made clear.
Earthly Landscapes — custom WordPress design for a Christchurch landscape practice.
Client / LocationEarthly Landscapes
Christchurch, New Zealand
Platform / Project yearWordPress
2026
My roleWebsite strategy, custom design, content structure and WordPress development
Dan Smith, Daniel James
// The brief
Earthly is built around continuity. Sam Oldroyd brings landscape architecture training together with practical involvement in construction and planting. My job was to make that combination easier for a prospective client to understand, and give the website a presentation that better reflected the care behind the work.
The starting audit identified a homepage carrying most of the service information, limited local targeting and too little prominence for Sam’s qualifications. I rebuilt the site with separate service pages, local search foundations and a project showcase, giving Earthly a clearer way to explain its services and demonstrate its work.
// The thinking
A list of landscaping services explains what a business does. It does less to explain why someone should trust it with their home. I brought Earthly’s connected approach to the foreground: the thinking behind the design stays involved as the landscape is built. The homepage and founder story give that idea context, helping visitors understand the person behind the business and what his involvement means for their project.
Landscape design and construction deserve their own explanations. The dedicated pages let the site discuss the decisions, scope and process behind each service, with Christchurch made explicit in the content and page naming. That gives visitors more relevant information before they enquire, and gives search engines clearer pages to understand. It also creates distinct destinations for future campaigns, instead of sending every potential client to the same broad introduction.
Earthly’s drawings and completed landscapes show different parts of the practice. The drawings reveal design thinking; photography shows how that thinking meets a real site. I brought CAD detail, hand sketches and project photography into the presentation so prospective clients can see both the planning and the finished landscapes. The showcase connects that work with the services Earthly offers.
// The website work
A custom WordPress website with a homepage and founder story that explain Earthly’s connected approach to design, construction and garden care.
Dedicated landscape design and construction pages with service-specific content, Christchurch targeting and clear prompts to start a conversation about a site.
A project showcase that brings drawings and landscape photography together, supported by a consistent presentation across desktop and mobile.
// The result
The visible change is a clearer explanation of Earthly’s value. A visitor can move from the overall approach into a specific service, understand how Sam works and find a route to an enquiry. That is a stronger basis for conversations about considered landscape projects.
The finished site brings Earthly’s services, founder story and project work into one connected presentation. It gives the business a useful platform for introducing its approach, showing completed landscapes and starting conversations with prospective clients.
// Project questions
I developed the website strategy, custom design, content structure and WordPress build. The work centres on clearer service pages, local search foundations and a presentation that explains Earthly’s approach. The landscapes, drawings and supplied project photography are the client’s work and source material.
Yes. I built dedicated service pages with Christchurch and Canterbury targeting, giving each service a clear subject and a relevant destination for local visitors. Those foundations help the website explain what Earthly offers and where it works.
The founder story explains Sam’s involvement across design, construction and garden care. Dedicated service pages give that approach practical detail, while drawings and project photography show how the thinking carries through into completed landscapes.
// First-hand project account
Written by Dan Smith, the designer and builder behind Daniel James. A first-hand account of the website strategy, design decisions and completed work.
// The expertise behind it
A considered structure, an editable website and room for the business to grow. The platform follows the job.
Strategy, structure, design and development. Make what you do easier to understand and easier to choose.
Does your website reflect the quality of the business behind it? Tell me what needs to change. We’ll find the useful starting point.