Case Study: BoatSitterUS – Productized Yacht Rentals With WordPress + WooCommerce
Client Overview
BoatSitterUS is a fast-growing Florida-based startup revolutionizing the way people book luxury yacht charters. By offering productized boat rentals through a modern, mobile-friendly marketplace, BoatSitterUS simplifies the charter process for families, groups, and gig economy drivers alike. Their mission is to make boating more accessible, transparent, and efficient for both renters and boat owners.
The Challenge
BoatSitterUS came to us with a bold vision — to build a fully functional, scalable online marketplace for charter bookings. However, they faced several critical roadblocks:
No existing website or booking infrastructure
Disconnected tools (manual payments, spreadsheet-based tracking)
Lack of brand identity, customer communication flows, or automation
No central system for onboarding, listing, and managing boats
They needed a comprehensive solution that combined design, development, automation, and business operations — fast.
Our Approach
We divided the BoatSitterUS project into six agile phases:
- Discovery & Strategy
- Brand & Visual Identity
- UX/UI Design & Elementor Setup
- WooCommerce Custom Product Integration
- Stripe + CRM + Automation Setup
- Blog & Content Framework
Phase 1: Discovery & Strategy
We began with a deep-dive into BoatSitterUS’s value proposition, customer personas, and revenue goals. After stakeholder interviews, we identified three core user types (gig drivers, families, business groups) and mapped the necessary infrastructure:
- Marketplace via WordPress + WooCommerce
- Stripe for deposits and payments
- GoHighLevel for onboarding and lifecycle automation
- Elementor for layout flexibility
- Blog for organic traffic and SEO lift
Phase 2: Brand & Visual Identity
The client had no logo, no palette, and no visual guidelines. We helped create the entire design system:
Logo lockup and favicon
Global color palette (light creams, sea blues, pinks, and bold accents)
Font selections for headers and body copy
Design tone: clean, nautical, energetic
Phase 3: UI Design & Elementor Structure
Using Elementor Pro, we built a modular homepage and section templates including:
Hero with CTA
Boat category blocks
Owner onboarding callout
Reviews/testimonials
Blog preview section
Mobile-first optimizations
We ensured reusable global elements, padding consistency, and responsiveness across all devices.
Phase 4: WooCommerce + Productized Listings
One of the most challenging parts was uploading variable product listings for each boat. Our team:
- Created a CSV upload format tailored to WooCommerce’s needs
- Standardized hourly charter pricing options (4hr, 6hr, 8hr)’
- Included attributes like amenities, capacity, features, photos
- Built logic for optional add-ons (captain, catering, etc.)
We even enabled custom product categories (e.g., “Jet Skis”, “Luxury Yachts”, “Party Boats”).
Phase 5: Stripe, CRM, and Automation
To support operations and payments, we integrated:
- Stripe for deposits and payment links
- GoHighLevel to manage:
- Owner applications and onboarding
- Post-booking confirmations
- Email/SMS automation
- Review and testimonial collection
- QuickBooks integration plan for reconciliation
All automations trigger based on WooCommerce events (via Make).
Phase 6: Blog & SEO-Ready Content Structure
To drive traffic and increase trust, we launched a blog framework with three core categories:
Charter Guide – How-to articles and expectations
Destination Spotlights – Places to explore
Events & Occasions – Boats for parties, weddings, etc.
Each post includes images or videos, optimized slugs, metadata, and internal linking.
Launch & Results
Within 6 weeks, BoatSitterUS launched their MVP platform with:
✅ 40+ live variable boat products
✅ Functional payment and booking flows
✅ Owner onboarding forms and CRM triggers
✅ A growing blog and SEO content strategy
✅ Fully mobile-optimized design
More importantly, they built a scalable operational backbone to grow beyond just Florida.
Testimonial: Steve Vento, Owner of BoatSitterUS
“Working with Make Plain was a game changer. They didn’t just build us a site — they built us a business system. From product listings to automation to design and CRM, everything works together now. I’d recommend them to any startup that wants to go from idea to income fast.”
- By makeplainsolutions_0egsfr