Fading Hoofbeats is an ongoing field journal following two wild‑born mustangs across the American West—real training, real miles, and trust built the honest way. The creator needed a website that could hold a deep, evolving story and still feel simple for new readers to navigate.
Camelback East Marketing led the project from first wireframe to live site: full custom design, WordPress build, staff training, and ongoing maintenance.
Client snapshot
Client: Fading Hoofbeats – “A Mustang Odyssey”
Type: Independent, story‑driven project documenting wild horses, long‑form trail journals, and mustang adoption.
Project scope (end‑to‑end):
- Ground‑up website design and UX
- Full WordPress build using Kadence Theme + Kadence Blocks
- Information architecture and content structure
- Content management strategy and on‑site SEO basics
- Staff training on how to run the site day to day
- Ongoing maintenance, updates, and QA
Website: https://www.fadinghoofbeats.com/
The challenge
Fading Hoofbeats started as a powerful story: quiet miles, wild horses, and a long ride built on patience and ethics. But the project needed a digital home that matched that depth—without overwhelming new visitors.
The creator needed:
- A clear “trailhead” for people landing on the site for the first time
- A way to organize long‑form content, guides, and journal entries into simple paths
- A backend that non‑technical staff could use confidently while traveling
- A structure that could grow with future routes, guides, and field resources
Our approach
We treated the website like a trail system: one clear map up front, multiple well‑marked paths once you step in. From the first design concepts, every layout decision connected back to how real readers would arrive, explore, and return.
Our approach focused on:
- Designing the experience from scratch. Custom layouts, typography, and hierarchy tailored to long‑form reading and quiet visuals.
- Building a true “Start Here” hub. A guided entry point that explains what Fading Hoofbeats is and routes different visitor types to the right place.
- Structuring content around real journeys. Separating the route overview, trail journal, wild horse guides, and lighter “Trail Breaks” so each has a clear job.
- Making publishing sustainable. Using Kadence and sensible categories/tags so the team can publish from the road without breaking layouts.
What we built
1. A clear starting point for every visitor
We designed the “Start Here” page as the primary on‑ramp, written and structured like a trailhead sign. It quickly explains the project, then offers distinct paths:
- Start with the Journey – big‑picture mission and route overview
- Wild Horse HMA Guides – practical information on where to see wild horses and how to visit respectfully, organized by state
- Trail Journal – the story as it unfolds, day by day
- Meet the Mustangs – Floki and Lagertha at the center of the project
- Trail Breaks – puzzles and printables for lighter, ten‑minute breaks
2. Journey, guides, and deep content built for reading
We designed the Journey section to hold the “big picture”—route overview, purpose, and how to follow along—without feeling dense. The layout supports:
- Scannable headings and short sections for logistics and planning
- Inline links out to Trail Journal, Trail Breaks, and horse profiles so readers can go deeper when they’re ready
- Space for practical planning content, like gear and preparation for long rides
Typography, spacing, and image treatment were all chosen to make long‑form posts feel calm and readable, especially on phones.
3. WordPress build and editor experience
From the first line of code, we built the site in WordPress with Kadence Theme and Kadence Blocks to keep it flexible and maintainable:
- Custom page templates for Home, Start Here, and Journey, each with its own layout pattern.
- Reusable block patterns for common sections (callouts, route highlights, mustang profiles, journal intros), so staff can add new content without design drift.
- Logical categories and tags aligned to how the creator thinks about the work—journey stages, guides, planning, and lighter “Trail Breaks.”
4. Staff training and content governance
Once the build was stable, we trained the Fading Hoofbeats team on running their own site:
- How to add and edit pages using Kadence Blocks
- How to publish new journal entries and guides, including featured images and internal links
- How to keep key navigation elements—like links to Start Here and Journey—up to date as content grows
We also provided simple guardrails: what not to touch in the layout, how to avoid breaking patterns, and how to keep the site consistent over a long project.
5. Ongoing maintenance and QA
After launch, we stayed on as the operator:
- Regular plugin and theme updates with basic pre‑ and post‑update checks
- Fixes for small layout issues as new content formats appear
- Advisory on where new ideas belong—route pages, guides, journal, or new sections—so the structure stays coherent over time
Impact
For Fading Hoofbeats, success is measured in clarity, ease of use, and the ability to keep publishing without friction—not just in traffic.
With the new site:
- New visitors get a clear, welcoming starting point and a simple map of the project.
- The creator can support multiple visitor intents—trip planning, deep reading, quick “Trail Breaks”—without confusing navigation.
- Staff can add posts, update copy, and adjust navigation on their own, using the design system we put in place.
- The site can grow with future routes, guides, and long‑ride preparation content without needing another redesign.
Who this kind of project is for
This kind of ground‑up design and ongoing support is a good fit if you:
- Run a story‑driven, mission‑driven, or education‑heavy project
- Have more words, photos, and ideas than your current site can handle
- Want a website that your team can run confidently without constant developer tickets
- Care about structure, training, and long‑term maintainability as much as aesthetics
It’s probably not a fit if you:
- Just need a quick brochure site with a few static pages
- Don’t plan to publish regularly or build a deeper library of content
- Prefer one‑off design work with no interest in post‑launch support