Client: Arthur van der Werff, Nautisch Kwartier Stavoren
Project: New multilingual website for Nautisch Kwartier Stavoren
Background and challenge
Nautisch Kwartier Stavoren is a renowned yacht brokerage specializing in the sale of Jeanneau sailing yachts and Lagoon catamarans. As an official dealer, Nautisch Kwartier strives for high-quality service and an optimal online experience for its customers, both nationally and internationally.
With an outdated website, the company faced several challenges:
- Limited functionality: The old website did not offer sufficient options to present complex product information, such as the extensive specifications of yachts, in a clear manner.
- Incomplete multilingualism: For international customers, the website was only available in Dutch.
- No integration with business processes: Manual entry of customer data and yacht information in systems such as Teamleader and Yachtshift slowed down the sales process and led to inefficiencies.
- Outdated design: The look and feel of the website did not match the premium brands that Nautisch Kwartier represents.
Arthur van der Werff called on me to develop a completely new, professional website that would solve the challenges and help Nautisch Kwartier grow further.
Project approach
Step 1: Strategy and concept development
In consultation with the client, we drew up a plan aimed at realizing a future-proof website with the following key points:
- User-friendliness: An intuitive interface that allows customers to quickly find information.
- Multilingualism: A seamless multilingual experience with WPML to optimally serve both Dutch and English-speaking customers.
- Integrations: Integrations with Teamleader and Yachtshift to automate business processes.
- Modern design: A responsive and visually appealing website that perfectly matches the premium look and feel of Jeanneau and Lagoon.
Step 2: Technical development
For the development, we chose WordPress as a basis because of its flexibility and scalability. Here are some of the technical highlights we achieved:
- WPML for multilingualism
We integrated WPML to make the website available in Dutch and English. This enabled Nautisch Kwartier to serve international customers with the same high standard of user-friendliness and professionalism. - Link with Teamleader
The integration with Teamleader automated the CRM process. New leads, generated via contact forms or quote requests on the website, are created directly in Teamleader. This not only saved time, but also ensured better follow-up of customer requests. - Link with Yachtshift
Yachtshift, a platform for managing yacht sales information, is integrated via an API link. This automatically synchronizes yacht data between Yachtshift and the website, eliminating double entry and improving accuracy. - Responsive design
With a growing number of users visiting the website via mobile devices, we implemented a fully responsive design. This makes the site perfect for use on smartphones, tablets and desktops. - New professional design
The design is fully aligned with the corporate identity of Nautisch Kwartier and the premium brands they represent. We opted for a sleek, modern look with many visual elements, such as high-definition photos of the yachts and interactive presentations.
Step 3: Content and SEO optimization
To increase online visibility and support sales, we:
- Developed product pages that are fully optimized for SEO, with detailed descriptions, technical specifications and calls to action.
- Added blog functionality to share nautical tips and updates, making the site attractive to returning visitors and driving organic search traffic.
- Applied multilingual SEO, which also English searches scored better in search engines.
Step 4: Testing and launch
After development, we extensively tested:
- Functionality: All integrations, forms and interactive elements.
- Speed: Optimizations performed for fast loading times, crucial for a positive user experience.
- Compatibility: Carefully tested on different browsers and devices.
After approval by Arthur van der Werff, the new website was successfully launched.
Results
The new website delivered immediately visible improvements:
- Better customer experience
Customers can now easily navigate through the available yachts, request information and get in touch, both in Dutch and English. - More efficient business processes
The integrations with Teamleader and Yachtshift significantly reduced manual actions. This gave the sales team more time to focus on customer contact and yacht presentations. - Professional appearance
The new design has taken Nautisch Kwartier’s online presentation to a higher level. The website now exudes the same class as the brands they represent. - Increased traffic and leads
Thanks to the improved SEO and the focus on multilingualism, website traffic has increased and Nautisch Kwartier receives more quality leads than ever before.