Nijenhuis Botenverhuur
From an outdated site to a clear booking journey - plus a blog for content and discoverability.
The previous website looked dated, had broken links and no clear structure. It was replaced with a modern, booking-led site for a family business in Wanneperveen: boat rental near Giethoorn and Nationaal Park Weerribben-Wieden, with clear paths to holiday home, marina and camping. A blog was added as well: practical articles about the boating area, season and tips - so the site can grow with fresh content and stay visible in local search.
The challenge
The legacy site no longer supported the business: visitors struggled to find what they needed, and the experience did not feel trustworthy for a holiday on the water.
- ✗Outdated, inconsistent visual identity and weak mobile polish.
- ✗Broken links and unclear navigation to boat types and booking.
- ✗No clear booking flow: too many manual questions and phone calls.
- ✗Limited room for regional content and off-season discoverability.
The solution
A new, fast site with a clear customer journey: from orientation to boat choice, date and checkout - supported by a blog for Giethoorn and the surrounding area.
- ✓Homepage with booking widget and clear steps for guests.
- ✓Boat categories with pricing, availability and motor options.
- ✓Destination pages for Giethoorn, Belt-Schutsloot and Wanneperveen.
- ✓Blog for season, tips and SEO; cross-sell to house, camping and marina.
Key deliverables
LayoutGrid
Homepage with booking widget and a clear customer journey
Ship
Boat categories with pricing, availability and motor options
ScanSearch
SEO and regional landing pages for the boating area
ShoppingCart
Cross-sell paths to holiday home, camping and marina
Context
Nijenhuis Botenverhuur is a family business in Wanneperveen, active around Giethoorn and Weerribben-Wieden National Park. The old site had grown organically: scattered information, partly manual bookings - in tourism, the first online impression has to feel reliable.
Approach & outcome
We rebuilt information architecture around the main conversion: completing a reservation. Destination pages and blog posts keep the site visible outside peak season. Live at nijenhuis-botenverhuur.com.
What is live
Homepage with booking widget. Boat categories with prices and engine options. Destination pages for Giethoorn, Belt-Schutsloot and Wanneperveen. Cross-sell to holiday home, camping and marina. Blog for season and waters. German guests are part of the season, not an afterthought.
What I do not claim
No invented booking percentages. Check the live site. [NEEDS INPUT: go-live date, languages currently on, whether a payment provider sits in the flow].
Process: from intake to live
Intake first: how guests book today, which boat types exist, where the phone rings hardest in season. Then a fixed-price proposal: homepage, categories, destination pages, blog and booking steps. Design before code so Nijenhuis could see the journey. Build in visible stages, then DNS, handover and aftercare. [NEEDS INPUT: duration in weeks, who supplied copy, whether there was on-site training].
Booking flow, season and German guests
A rental near Giethoorn lives on peaks. In high season you do not want every price or availability question on the phone. The site shows supply, then date and type, then checkout. German guests belong to this waterway; the site should not treat them as an appendix. Off season the blog covers whisper boats, Weerribben-Wieden and practical boating questions. That is local content with a source, not doorway pages.
Stack and the limits of this write-up
Visible: a custom site, not a WordPress theme, with a homepage booking widget and destination pages that link internally. Not filled without a source: host, CMS name, whether Mollie or Stripe sits in checkout, which languages have a switcher. [NEEDS INPUT: stack, hosting, payment provider, live languages, whether iCal or an external calendar is connected]. Until Nijenhuis wants those public, the live URL is the proof.
Who this pattern fits
If you rent boats, houses or berths in north-west Overijssel or south-west Drenthe, the pattern is the same: visitors arrive on a place name, want price and availability, and decide on a phone. A website with a booking system is the shop. Pair it with destination pages for the waters and a blog you can fill in the quiet months. No invented “+40% bookings”. A guest who can finish before you pick up. Before/after in words: before, a dated non-responsive site with broken links; after, a booking-led homepage, categories, three destinations and a blog. Extra numbers only when Nijenhuis releases them. German-speaking guests are part of this season, not a market you “also translate later”. Giethoorn, Weerribben-Wieden and Wanneperveen belong on the site because guests search that way. That is the whole case until more facts are public.