UX/UI Website Design for a Rural Guesthouse
Creating a warm and intuitive digital presence from scratch for a rural guesthouse in the Pyrenees.
1. Project Overview
Casa Forn is a newly renovated rural house located in the Pyrenees, surrounded by mountains, trails, and peaceful nature. The owners wanted to establish their online presence from scratch to reach new audiences, promote direct bookings, and offer potential guests all the information they need to choose Casa Forn for their getaway.
This was more than a design, it was the creation of a complete digital experience from the ground up.
Key Challenges:
- No existing website or digital presence
- The business relied on word-of-mouth and third-party platforms (e.g., Booking, Airbnb)
- The owners needed a site that was easy to maintain and aligned with the authentic, cozy feeling of the house
🎯 Goals
- Create the first official website for Casa Forn
- Increase online visibility and attract nature-loving travelers
- Provide clear contact methods for direct inquiries
- Display availability and booking information
- Highlight local activities and nearby points of interest
- Ensure the site is responsive and easy to navigate on all devices
🔍 UX Research & Strategy
To design a website that speaks directly to the needs of rural travelers, I started with a discovery phase:
Research Methods:
- Interviews with owners and guests
- Competitive analysis of similar rural lodgings
- UX benchmarks from leading booking platforms
- SEO and accessibility research
Insights:
- Users want to see availability immediately
- Clear directions are essential in remote locations
- Authentic, real photos build trust and emotional connection
- Local experiences are key decision factors for rural trips
- Reviews of other users, there are really important before book a rural house
🧑🎨 User Persona
Name: Laura
Age: 38
Lifestyle: Urban dweller looking for peaceful weekend escapes with her family
Needs:
Easily check availability of rural stays
Discover nearby activities for both adults and children
Contact the accommodation directly without third-party platforms
Frustrations:
Overcrowded booking platforms with impersonal listings
Lack of clear information about the area and activities
Difficulties finding family-friendly, nature-connected places
Websites that are hard to navigate or lack mobile optimization
🗺 Website Structure
I designed a simple, intuitive architecture that works beautifully on desktop and mobile:
- Home: Visual impact + value proposition
- The House: Details, amenities, and photo gallery
- Availability: Monthly calendar, prices, seasons
- What to Do: Nature, culture, activities around the area
- How to Get There: Travel instructions, map, parking info
- Contact: WhatsApp, phone, email, form
Wireframes
🎨 Visual Identity
- Colors: Warm neutrals and natural tones to reflect stone walls, wood, and mountain landscapes
- Typography: Soft, humanist fonts for warmth + legibility
- Photography: The house, rooms, details, and surroundings captured in natural light
The visual identity was designed to evoke calm, connection, and authenticity, values deeply rooted in the Casa Forn experience.
🧪 Prototyping & Testing
- I created high-fidelity mockups and responsive prototypes in Figma, and validated them with:
- Guest testers (mobile + desktop)
- Owners (content clarity and structure)
- Simplified contact form
- Added a “how to get here” section earlier in the user flow
- Included a WhatsApp button for direct communication
📊 Key Metrics & Impact
- Since launch (first 12 months):
+350 unique visitors
20+ direct booking requests via form and WhatsApp
Avg. session duration: 2 min 17 sec
Users interact regularly with the availability calendar
Site accessed 60% on mobile
✅ Final Results
- The website is now the central hub for Casa Forn’s visibility and has transformed how they attract and communicate with potential guests.
- Improved discoverability through SEO
- Professional, welcoming digital presence
- Direct contact and trust-based booking system
- Owners have full control over content updates
🛠 Tools Used
- Figma – Prototyping & UI Design
- Notion – Planning & Strategy
- WordPress + Elementor – Final website development
- Google Analytics – Post-launch performance tracking
- Photoshop – Photo editing
✨ Final Reflections
- Designing the Casa Forn website has been an enriching experience both professionally and personally. From the very first moment, the objective was clear: to transmit the essence of an authentic, welcoming rural accommodation, committed to the natural environment and the wellbeing of its guests.
- During the process, I faced the challenge of balancing rustic aesthetics with modern functionality. I wanted the website to reflect the warmth of the place, without sacrificing usability and clarity of navigation. Visual details, such as earthy palettes, environmental imagery and natural elements, were carefully considered, while information was structured in a clear, intuitive and conversion-oriented way.
- One of the most valuable learnings was working from empathy: understanding the user profile in depth, families like Laura Gómez’s, who are looking for more than just accommodation, they are looking for an experience, allowed me to make decisions focused on their real needs. This was reflected in sections focused on activities, sustainability, testimonials and practical details that often make the difference.
- In short, this project was not only a web design exercise, but also an opportunity to connect values such as sustainability, family and conscious tourism with a coherent and memorable digital identity.
- The result is a website that not only informs, but also invites you to live the Casa Forn experience from the first click.