The Client
McGarry’s Van Hire is a long-standing car and van hire firm serving trades, households, and local businesses across Middleton and Manchester. For years, the phones rang on reputation and a basic Yell listing. As more customers began their search on a phone screen, that directory page gave limited control over how the business appeared and felt weak as a first impression.
The Brief
The team wanted a straightforward web presence that reflected a mature, trusted business rather than a high-churn rental giant. The focus was on short-term rentals for tradespeople, house moves, and everyday van hire, with a compact fleet rather than a huge catalogue. They asked for:
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A clear way to present a small set of vehicles and key details
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Hire information that helps customers arrive prepared
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An enquiry route that fits their existing office process
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A light CMS that staff can update quickly with minimal training
The aim: replace a rented directory listing with an owned asset that earns its keep and requires little ongoing effort.
Our Solution
We built a simple site that does the basics well. Customers see the vans, the key details, and clear ways to call or send an enquiry. It loads cleanly on older phones and patchy data as well as on desktops, so people can check details in the yard, at home, or on site.
Behind the scenes, the CMS follows how the yard actually runs. It uses CakePHP, with vehicle records that match their hire paperwork and only the fields they use every day. Staff can add or remove vehicles in a few clicks, so the site matches the real fleet. Hire rules, ID requirements, and prices sit in fixed fields so pages stay tidy.
The vehicle list behaves like a small, sensible database. Visitors quickly scan the fleet, jump to the right van in a couple of clicks, and send an enquiry with context. The office receives leads with key details already included, so calls are shorter and admin is lighter.
The build stays light and stable on purpose. CakePHP gives them a robust, reliable base that can grow if they want it to. When they are ready, we can move more of the paper hire process into the site or add specific campaign pages without throwing anything away.
Result
McGarry’s now has its own website that matches the scale and history of the business and replaces a fragile directory listing. The team keeps fleet and hire information current in minutes through a compact CMS that fits their working day. The site runs as a low-maintenance asset and continues to give customers a clear, trustworthy way to check vehicles, understand the rules, and make contact.
Need A Bespoke Solution Like McGarry's?
Want a simple site that earns its place and needs little attention? Talk to us about a build that fits your business, your fleet, and your team.
