Making Awesome Winery Websites with Ivy Kehoe of Hardpour Designs

In this episode of the Wine Marketing Podcast, Ivy Kehoe helps us understand what wineries often get wrong on their websites and how they can be improved to help you sell more wine online.We get into some of the common mistakes wineries make, like, poor homepage hierarchy, weak or missing calls-to-action, neglecting updates, and not aligning your homepage with current promotions. We also dig into the importance of designing your website around your customer journey, why your e-commerce shop should not live on a subdomain, what wineries can learn from non-wine brands (think: loyalty programs, referral incentives, subscriptions), what to have ready before you start a web project—like brand values, visual identity, and digital assets and simple changes you can make today that actually move the needle (including automation and traffic strategies).Finally, we talk about what the Commerce7 and WineDirect merger means for winery DTC operations (and things you can be excited about with a move to C7!)Key Takeaways:* Your homepage should reflect your business goals.Don’t lead with an aerial vineyard shot or your origin story. Instead, highlight what you want people to do—shop, visit, or join—above the fold with clear calls to action.* Keep your website active.Regular updates—like new product listings, blog posts, or photos—signal to Google that your site is relevant. The more frequently you update your site, the better it can perform in search.* Treat your website like a storefront, not a brochure.Think like your customer. What journey do you want them to take? Map that out and structure your homepage and navigation accordingly.* Don’t sleep on subscriptions, rewards, and referrals.Wineries can learn a lot from brands like Sephora and Ulta. Loyalty programs and refer-a-friend incentives deepen engagement and drive DTC sales.* Audit your purchase path regularly.Start from your social media or email and walk yourself through the entire buying journey on both mobile and desktop. Place an order, join your own wine club, and see what’s working—and what needs to change.About Our Guest: Ivy Kehoe of Hardpour DesignsIvy Kehoe is the founder of Hardpour Designs, a web design studio focused on building modern, effective websites for beverage brands. With a background in engineering, human-centered design, and wine hospitality, Ivy blends technical expertise with deep industry insight. Before launching Hardpour Designs, she worked for Jameson, Teeling, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and later trained as a sommelier while studying design at the University of Washington. She now lives on Orcas Island, WA, and serves clients across the wine and beverage space.* Website: https://www.hardpourdesigns.com/* Instagram: @hardpourdesigns* Email: [email protected] Stamps00:00 Introduction and Background05:01 Transitioning to E-commerce in the Wine Industry11:41 The Impact of COVID-19 on Wine Marketing17:10 Common Mistakes in Winery Websites22:12 The Importance of Effective Website Design25:32 Clichés in Vineyard Photography28:06 Website Non-Negotiables for Wineries33:12 Learning from Non-Wine Brands39:20 The Power of Subscriptions and Loyalty Points48:37 Understanding Reward Points in Wine Clubs55:05 Innovative Referral Strategies in the Wine Industry01:00:14 Essential Preparations for Winery Website Projects01:08:26 Exploring Customer Journey Enhancements01:10:11 Small Changes for Big Impact01:12:47 Leveraging Automations for E-commerce Success01:18:05 Integrating Website with POS and E-commerce Systems01:25:40 Actionable Steps for Immediate Improvement Get full access to The Wine Marketing Field Guide at www.winemarketingfieldguide.com/subscribe