Methven NZ

This project is the true definition of a labour of love. An enormous, gigantic labour of love..
A Methven Tourism Website has been sorely missed since the amazing creation of Michelle Bungard in collaboration with Nor’west Arch many moons ago.

Nor’west Arch has sponsored a significant portion of the development time required to build the website – an investment that would otherwise be beyond the reach of the community. Even with full participation from local businesses, this initiative is not intended to be profit-making.

Instead, it is a strategic investment in Methven’s future, where the collective economic benefit to the town far outweighs any commercial return. Enjoy 🙂

Hotel Ashburton

The Hotel Ashburton website was designed to showcase one of Mid Canterbury’s leading accommodation and events destinations while providing a clear and intuitive user experience. A strong redesigned brand and streamlined navigation allow visitors to easily explore accommodation, conference facilities, weddings, and dining, all set within the hotel’s tranquil garden setting.

A key focus of the project was simplifying the user journey—from discovering the venue’s event capabilities to making accommodation or function enquiries. Clear information architecture highlights flexible spaces for conferences, weddings, and events of varying sizes, while well-placed calls-to-action support enquiry and booking conversions. The result is a modern website that reflects the venue’s welcoming character while making it easy for guests and event organisers to plan their stay or event.

Quadway NZ

Nor’west Arch partnered with passionate local owners to design and build the new Quadway Croquet Products website, creating a refined digital home for a brand deeply rooted in the sport. The project combined considered UX, strong brand development, and high-quality photography delivered by a talented locally based creative team—demonstrating once again that great outcomes are built through collaboration.

With more than 20 years’ involvement in croquet as a player, coach, manager, and volunteer at national and international levels, Quadway’s new owners see themselves as kaitiaki (guardians) of the brand. Their vision is to honour Quadway’s legacy while carefully evolving it into a trusted, high-quality one-stop shop for croquet equipment in Aotearoa and beyond—grounded in community, precision, and a deep respect for the game. Time to learn about croquet products? Step right in..

Community House Mid Canterbury

Once again, the privilege of developing websites for an organisation, is the insight and understanding that is gained during the process. We believe it’s not possible to create an effective online presence without a comprehensive understanding of what makes a business tick. In this case it is yet another incredible asset for our community offering a range of like minded businesses a professional space alongside offering services for members of the community. A new logo was facilitated and developed providing creative inspiration for colours and design. Professional imagery from our favourite photographer added the final touch for this website to shine. Check it out…

Brinkley Resort

Brinkley Resort is a popular New Zealand winter holiday destination with quality, self catering Qualmark 4 star accommodation via 74 self contained apartments; 37 studio hotel rooms and 37 quality two bedroom apartments. Add to that their conference centre and bar and restaurant and wide range of packages – it’s well worth a visit.
This site has all the online booking functionality you’d expect along with easy navigation and click through imagery to make it easy to find what you want and simply book in!

Greenland Heli

This operation offers exclusive heliskiing packages on the East Coast of Greenland with 4 guests per guide and only 2 loads per B3 helicopter. This is an opportunity to explore unique arctic terrain with descents to an ocean filled with icebergs. This is simply the most stunning arctic scenery on the planet and can be easily accessed from Reykjavik, Iceland.
This is one of those great situations for a web designer where the client is also a particularly talented photographer, and when that is combined with one of the most spectacular places on the planet the result is magical.
The site has a full page video on loading with mouse interactive blurbs, full width galleries, accordions and employee profile modules. All the bells and whistles…:)

Mt Hutt Memorial Hall

For community venues like the Mt Hutt Memorial Hall, a website should feel just as welcoming and vibrant as the space itself. The original site had served the hall well for many years, but like many older websites, it no longer reflected the quality, versatility and energy of the venue today.

Nor’west Arch was engaged to reskin and modernise the website, creating a cleaner, more visual experience that better showcases everything from weddings and functions to heritage, arts and community events. The refreshed design improves usability across desktop and mobile, simplifies navigation and brings the venue’s personality to life through stronger imagery, clearer content structure and a more contemporary feel.

This project is a great example of how updating the look and feel of an older website can instantly build credibility, improve user engagement and help a much-loved community space stay relevant for modern audiences — without losing the history and character that make it special.

Methven Central

Methven Central is a community owned retirement village in the heart of Methven, Canterbury and has been developed with the belief that a home in retirement should be your space and a sanctuary that allows you to live the way you want. This community driven project was a honour to be part of. So many incredible people volunteering their time to create this asset for Methven. The website is designed to be informative and easy to navigate and understand for all.
Icon boxes, accordion FAQs, newsletter signup integration and an interactive timeline help to highlight the offerings alongside great photography and striking colours.

Humm Engineering

With a hard working team of highly experienced engineers, Humm Engineering cover a wide range of work, and pride themselves on a top quality result.
With new imagery and an updated logo, what better time could there be for a website re-skin. This is a cost effective way to update your existing website with a complete overhaul of platform, colours, fonts and images. Humm employed the services of our local photographer and these professional images really showcase the range of services this business can provide.

Police Dog Trust

You couldn’t ask for better subject matter with which to build a site than gorgeous puppies that grow up to be big tough police dogs. This site is a modern one page scrolling site with a live facebook feed, accordion styling, flip cards, icons for easy navigation and a payment button via Paypal to allow for secure donations directly from the site.

Methven Scarecrow Trail

The Methven Scarecrow Trail website was created as a free community project by Nor’west Arch to help celebrate and promote one of Methven’s most loved annual events. Designed to capture the fun, creativity and family-friendly spirit of the trail, the website provides a vibrant central hub for event information, maps, sponsors and community involvement.

Built with a strong focus on accessibility and ease of use, the site helps visitors quickly discover what’s happening while showcasing the personality that makes the event so special. More than just a website project, this was about supporting local connection and community pride — with all profits from the event going straight back into the community. Projects like this highlight the value of thoughtful design in helping grassroots events grow their reach, strengthen engagement and create lasting impact beyond the event itself.

Rural Transport

With branches in Ashburton, Fairlie, Kurow & Waimate, Rural Transport are the team to help you with all cartage needs. They get the job done quickly and efficiently, with a very experienced team of drivers who take great pride in their work and are passionate about their trucks.

This site showcases many of the modules available to our clients depending on what is required. Partner modules, image animation, checklists, AI image enhancement (for historic images that require sharpening or resolution improvements), sticky sub menus, menu anchors, trade me sales plugins, custom icon boxes and much more!

Search and Rescue Dogs Avalanche

Search and Rescue Dogs Avalanche is the official volunteer organisation that provides search and rescue avalanche dog teams in alpine environments across all of New Zealand. We are endorsed by the NZ Police, the Mountain Safety Council and SAANZ (Ski Areas Association of NZ) and are made up of highly skilled alpine professionals who all live and breathe the snow industry. This website has some pretty good material (cute dogs in the snow) to work with but also needs to acknowledge the seriousness of a search and rescue agency where the response is time critical. Content boxes are used to split important  pieces of information along with a partner element for sponsors and supporters logos.

Philip Wareing Ltd

This highly successful transport company has an interest in 6 additional transport businesses in the South Island providing a combined fleet of over 240 trucks. This truly means that no job is too big or too small; from carting straw & baleage or logs, through to picking up one carton in Christchurch on their daily freight run. They operate with care and professionalism and ensure their modern fleet and drivers are of the highest possible standard. Nor’west Arch built the first website for PWL way back in 2010 and boy things have changed in the world wide web in that time. A refresh of the site was completed in 2016 and then a full reskin in 2023. We are thrilled to continue the relationship with this impressive business and give them a brand new online face.

The Blue Pub

The Blue Pub. World famous in Methven for a reason. Not too many people can say they have been to Methven but didn’t see this beautiful historic building with its sweeping verandahs and fantastic outdoor dining spaces. Norwest Arch has had a long history with the Blue, building the first website for the business in 2007 and we havejust completed the most recent of many upgrades since then. The world wide web has come quite a way in the 16 years we have been building websites, and the latest reskin  is created on the most modern platform available today. Check it out.

St Brigid’s School

St Brigid’s School needed a website that reflected the warmth, inclusiveness and modern learning environment that defines the school community today. The goal was to create a welcoming online presence that balanced professionalism with personality — giving prospective families an immediate sense of the school’s values, culture and opportunities.

Nor’west Arch designed and developed a fresh, easy-to-navigate website that places storytelling, imagery and user experience at the forefront. From curriculum and enrolment information through to school life, events and community connections, the new site was structured to make information simple to access while still feeling engaging and human.

The result is a modern school website that feels approachable, vibrant and future-focused across all devices. Projects like this show how thoughtful web design can strengthen trust, improve communication and help schools better connect with both current and prospective families online.

Rural Natives

Rural Natives is a Mid Canterbury based company specialising in the establishment and ongoing maintenance of native shelterbelts and riparian strips. From plant selection and design consultation right through to planting the last plant they will help you to achieve your vision.
Mike has always had a passion for working with plants which in turn led to the creation of Rural Natives. He takes great pride in the knowledge that as a business they can help to enhance the wonderful environment we all live in.

Icon imagery, expandable FAQs, testimonials, an image gallery along with a live Facebook feed provide all the information needed to plant your native shelterbelts with Rural Natives now!

The Brown Pub

Warm in atmosphere and welcome, you’ll feel like a local from the moment you walk through the door. The Brown Pub is located right in the middle of town with bars,  family restaurant,  affordable accommodation and the Methven Liquor Centre. Following on from the purchase of The Brown by a new owner, came a new paint job, interior renovations and new branding to go with it. A perfect time for a new website to reflect the smart new look of this historic building. Go and check it out for yourself!

Trans West Freighters

Based in Kaiata, just a stone’s throw away from Greymouth, Trans West Freighters are perfectly positioned to service the entire West Coast and beyond.
Their livestock trucks frequently journey to the lower North Island, while bulk and freight trucks cart regularly to Canterbury. And with two full-time dispatchers, they’re available when you need them.

Featuring interactive icon boxes, a partner module, an attractive services layout, and a live jobs and sales plugin, this site has everything the client asked for, and delivered in a speedy timeframe.

Methven Camping Ground

The camp is set in park like grounds and has a friendly & relaxed atmosphere offering a good old-fashioned kiwi camp ground experience. Accommodation options include tent sites, powered sites & assorted cabins including the modern and warm pods.The spacious grounds can also easily accommodate large vehicles.

These clients were a perfect example of business owners who inherited a website that they were unable to access or edit which is not at all helpful. We can help you find and access where old outdated websites are hosted so you have more options, including a complete rebuild as in this case.
Please don’t hesitate if you are in the same boat to get in touch so we can help you too!

Drug & Alcohol Testing Specialists (DATS)

A professional company who are considered a trusted source for expert guidance in the drug and alcohol testing industry. Available 24/7 as a mobile testing unit with a wealth of experience and a full  range of testing options. This is a great example of a one page scrolling site utilising anchor links, pop up modules, FAQ accordion, icon content boxes, lottie animation and even an information icon circle (just to be fancy).

Fairfield Freight Hub

Fairfield Freight Hub has been established with the objective of ensuring the enduring viability of the Canterbury supply chain. This intermodal project is part of a long-term agreement with KiwiRail for the development and operation of a rail siding, combined with container transfer services, warehouse storage and grain handling facilities.

Sometimes with a new business, it can feel hard to provide content but you know you need an online presence. This is where we come in – we can help with creative ways to display bullet points with icons, background imagery and even animated numbers. From there the choices are endless, as all NWA websites are modular and you can simply add more content, text and imagery once you have it available. This means you can get out there in the online world sooner and start promoting!

Capelli Hair Design

Capelli Hair Design Salon is located in the heart of Ashburton’s central business district and the large salon is a superb place to enjoy a relaxing coffee while taking advantage of one of their many services. The salon comprises a total of nine styling bays, two consultation areas, and three black basins for delivering indulgent Kerastase spa rituals and care.
The website was designed around the staff who make this business special and includes an extensive online shop to order all the quality products this top Ashburton hair salon stock.

Greystone NZ

I don’t own horses but if I did I would most certainly be buying these unique products from Greystone NZ designed to make life easy. Who knew there was such a thing as a Paddock Vacuum to pick up manure with ease! This e commerce website has everything you need to find out about and purchase products that will change your life ( if you have horses, alpacas, chickens, orchards, leaf collection and other cleaning jobs:)

An FAQs accordion module, scrolling testimonials, featured products carousel and a host of other features make this an easy to navigate website along with a full integrated e-commerce shop. Browse away…

Brady’s Painting & Decorating

The team at Brady’s Painting know what they’re doing. They’ve been operating in the Ashburton district for more than 20 years and are well known for their professional work, having completed some major high profile commercial jobs recently. Check out their portfolio of work to see the scope of services and did we mention they provide free quotes..
This bright and colorful glow up on their old website incorporates the colours from the awesome brush stroke imagery created by Ashburton Signs and Graphics for the work vans and made it a fun project to work on.

Wandersearch

Such a pleasure to work with the team at LandSAR New Zealand on the rebuild of their Wandersearch website. WanderSearch is useful for any person living with a cognitive impairment who has a risk of going missing and where other technologies are not suitable. The WanderSearch system provides at-risk people with a small device that can be found by Police and trained volunteers using specialised equipment, providing peace of mind that should they go missing there are methods to assist in locating them quickly.

This website has lots of interactive features including embedded youtube videos, pdfs and easy to follow links. This is such a worthy cause and they are always looking for volunteers so check out the site and see if you could help in some way too!

Dayboo Clydesdale Stud

How much fun did we have with this project. Super lovely clients who are passionate about what they do. I want their jobs. Dayboo Clydesdale Stud welcome visitors – mostly to see the smiles on people’s faces when they meet these gentle giants. This site has icon content boxes to display all the beautiful horses along with full width image galleries showcasing the many faces of this business. You can even make a splash at your next event by arriving on a Clydesdale…

Methven Pre School

Methven Pre School is a not for profit community preschool and when you walk in, the sound of happy, excited children is a significant indicator that this environment is a fun and happy place for your child. This website has been designed to reflect the feeling of colour and interaction found in this happy and welcoming place.

Methven Golf Course

We are very lucky to have one of the finest country courses in New Zealand with the Methven 18-hole golf course offering spectacular views of Mt Hutt Ski Area and the Southern Alps.
The requirements of the hard working committee were simple. An easy to navigate website showcasing the beauty of the course but with all the relevant information easy to find for members and visitors alike. This functionality was achieved using slideshow galleries, accordions, a customised event calendar and online membership application forms among other things! Take a look, you’ll want to vist!

Flow Pool & Studio

This fantastic asset to the Methven and wider Canterbury area has been designed and created to promote wellbeing and balanced living, offering space for pilates, yoga, hydrotherapy, aquacise, flotation therapy, infrared sauna and spa pool.
Working on the website was a dream with the benefit of fantastic graphic design by Ville Creative and stunning photography by Bill Irwin. Vertical navigation, personalised icons, the use of tabs and animation along with an Instagram feed and many other features make this an easy site to stay and browse on.

Arrowsmith Station

The original website built for this client by Nor’west Arch had well and truly worn out its welcome. A fresh new look encompassing a number of new accommodation products was the brief. Website features include slideshow banner imagery, call to action icons on the accommodation page reflecting key selling points and an integrated booking system. This site was a pleasure to build thanks to the stunning imagery supplied by the client – this really adds impact to any website.

Methven Primary School

Methven Primary School is an exciting and vibrant place for children to do their learning with teachers committed to providing stimulating learning activities both inside and outside the classroom. Their stunning new website uses the school colours, logo and branding and provides a wealth of resources and information via a clean and easy to navigate platform. There are too many elements to list on this extensive site so let’s just say it has ALL the bells and whistles – that’s fancy techo speak at its best!

Ski Time Restaurant & Lodge

Everything about Ski Time is just right, from the open fires, ensuite rooms and cozy ambience, to the extensive wine list, great food and brilliant service.
Such a pleasure to work with a professional business who knew exactly what they wanted from their new website. Integrated online booking systems, easy to use navigation and an online presence that truly represents the experience of staying in this unforgettable location were boxes that needed to be ticked. An embedded virtual tour and live weather camera feed complete the brief of ensuring expectation meets reality.

Ashburton Cleaning Services

Ashburton Cleaning Services is a locally owned and operated commercial and domestic cleaning service. With over 20 years in the industry Ashburton Cleaning Services are able to provide personalised cleaning solutions, and have a team of professional, well trained staff that are all police vetted for our customers peace of mind. The easily recognisable brightly coloured branding provided inspiration for the design featuring vertical side navigation and striking icon imagery to showcase the many services on offer.

South Pacific Seeds

South Pacific Seeds New Zealand Ltd (SPSNZ) has been producing quality hybrid vegetable seed for almost thirty years and are ideally positioned to take full advantage of Canterbury’s world-renowned climate and growing conditions for quality vegetable seed production. This highly successful company approached Nor’west Arch with a plan in mind of presenting a professional online presence, showcasing their products and all important team. The attractive imagery provided made it easy to design a highly visual website with all the bells and whistles!

Hospice Mid Canterbury

This amazing service provides support to people dealing with a life limiting illness. Support is also available to families and carers and all services are free. Browse this site to find out just how amazing people can be by helping others. The eye catching Hospice NZ kowhai logo and branding colours provided the inspiration for the design of the website which includes image galleries, testimonials and an interactive google map with multiple custom markers.

Ashburton Forks Storage

These forward-thinking clients developed the Storage Units on their property adjoining Ashburton Forks Engineering, as the catch-phrase “you can never have enough shed space” is a constant issue around their place and is probably the same for most kiwis! This one is a fairly functional one page scrolling site, with the bright green accents and hover animations lifting the dark design which is currently all the go for modern websites.

Methven Electrical

You don’t find many more experienced than Methven Electrical. Owner Mike Pulley has been an electrician for over 35 years. He started his career working in nuclear power stations, was the apprentice of the year for the UK at age 17 and became the youngest enhanced electrical craftsman to be qualified at the age of 20. This website highlights the reality of trades where customers do expect to find your website to identify services and verify credibility. A simple one page site like this will do the job doesn’t need to cost the earth!

Sea to Sky Builders

Sea to Sky Builders Ltd is an established building company, specialising in residential renovations and new home builds. This one page scrolling site with an embedded portfolio feature includes a pop up quote form, flip boxes, partner logo element and content boxes to highlight and structure information. An existing super cool logo made the design and colours of this new online presence a pleasure to create.

Mountain High Clothing

Based in Timaru, this is the place to go for top quality, handmade hunting and fishing gear and if you spend a lot of time in the outdoors then you know your garments need to be functional and go the distance.
This website utilises the attractive colours of the company logo and features a full range of products with an advanced enquiry form. This can easily be converted to an online shop if required, as all our websites can be added to or expanded in functionality at any stage.

Peak to Pub Multisport Event

The very popular Peak to Pub Multisport event has recently had an online facelift in line with updated branding. This website incorporates full page youtube video intro, accordian styling for race information and fancy new course imagery featuring animated hotspots to delineate the transition areas. The sections are broken up using bright colour blocks and a scrolling partner logo area ensures the supporters are not forgotten. A race video, results table and a facebook feed complete the modern integrated look and feel.

Era Consulting

This stylish looking website totally reflects the owner. A new business with a brand new logo and some amazing imagery really lift the look and feel. Functionality includes zoom in page imagery, flipboxes linking to key information and a range of font sizes, styles and colours to highlight details. An excellent project and a great opportunity to work with an exciting and progressive company.

Cedar Chalets

Cedar Chalets are gorgeous self contained apartments located in central Methven. The owners goal was to increase occupancy and contracted Nor’west Arch to not only build a sharp looking website but also set up a complete online booking system utilizing a channel manager and front end booking system. Also included is an embedded Google Maps interactive virtual tour and a range of widgets to make life easy for guests wishing to book a chalet.

Stronechrubie

Following on from the floods in 2021, owners Sean & Madeline have recently completely renovated their superb a la carte restaurant, Bistro restaurant and gorgeous outdoor dining space. The website allows visitors to easily view the many offerings available with a pleasant interactive experience including a live booking calendar plugin for accommodation packages and a FB feedbox to ensure the home page remains current.