550 Brewing Company
Website Redesign & Digital Transition | 550brew.com | Aztec, NM
Project Overview
Launched May 2026
550 Brewing Company is a locally loved brewery and gathering space in Aztec, New Mexico known for craft beer, live events, community nights, and a laid-back atmosphere.
This project started pretty organically after getting to know the owner through the brewery itself. What began as a conversation about an outdated website eventually turned into a full website rebuild, platform migration, and digital modernization project completed alongside the brewery’s reopening.
The goal wasn’t just to refresh the visuals — it was to build a website that actually felt like 550 Brewing while making things easier to manage behind the scenes.
Identifying the Gaps
The previous 550 Brewing website had grown difficult to manage over time, making updates frustrating and time-consuming for a small business owner already wearing a dozen hats. Along with outdated infrastructure, the site lacked clear organization, modern usability, and tools that supported the brewery’s growing community events and taproom experience.
Key challenges included:
Difficult and time-consuming site management
Inconsistent branding and user experience
Limited SEO structure and search visibility
Multiple inherited backend systems that needed untangling
Static PDF beer menus that were difficult to update
Limited mobile responsiveness and accessibility
Event information that was easy for customers to miss
Outdated event layouts with limited promotion visibility
No dedicated venue rental or event space workflow or forms
Key Focus Areas
Social Sync
Content Management
Venue Rentals
Digital Beer Menu
Events & Promotions
SEO & Visibility
Brand Consistency
Mobile Optimization
Migration & Support
Visual Transformation
The updated website created a noticeably more polished and welcoming experience for both visitors and the business owner.
Compared to the previous site, the redesign:
Feels more modern and welcoming
Better reflects the brewery’s atmosphere and personality
Makes information easier to find and navigate
Improves readability across desktop and mobile devices
Creates a stronger sense of community involvement
Highlights events, menus, and venue offerings more effectively
Provides a more manageable long-term editing experience
The end result feels far less like a static online placeholder and much more like an actual extension of the brewery itself.
My Contributions
Website Redesign
Full website redesign and rebuild in Squarespace
Responsive mobile-friendly layouts
Improved navigation and content structure
Homepage content strategy and copywriting
Updated branding alignment and visual consistency
Platform Migration & Technical Support
Migrated website from Joomla to Squarespace
Managed domain transfer process
Preserved existing email functionality during migration
Consolidated and simplified digital infrastructure
Helped identify and recover legacy backend systems and access points
Content & SEO Improvements
Reorganized existing content into a more user-friendly structure
Built SEO-friendly page structure and metadata foundations
Improved menu readability and accessibility
Expanded searchable website content to improve discoverability
Added metadata to all images, pages, and events
Content & Page management Improvements
Swapped the old PDF beer menu for an easy-to-update digital tap menu
Made every day website updates way less frustrating for the business owner
Better highlighted events, specials, and weekly happenings
Added a venue rental page to help promote bookings
Connected events to social platforms to cut down on duplicate posting
Added homepage promos and popups for featured events and announcements
Reflection
This project ended up becoming a major turning point in my professional journey.
It reinforced how much thoughtful web design can directly support small businesses and local communities — not just through aesthetics, but through usability, accessibility, organization, and creating systems that people can realistically maintain long-term.
More than anything, this project showed me how impactful the right digital tools can be when they’re built around real people, real businesses, and the communities they serve. I am excited to continue to share my contributions to this amazing community. A huge thank you to 550 Brewing Company for their support.
550 Brewing Company, LLC branding and screenshots shown for portfolio demonstration purposes only.
Let’s build something great together.
From enterprise systems and accessibility-driven development to small business websites that actually work for real people — I bring strategy, structure, and human-centered design into every project.
Whether you need a full website, ongoing support, or help untangling digital chaos, I can help.