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Sample website made by Oiko. The business, people and reviews are made up.

All sample workBook a time

Sample website: Fishing charter: Blue Heron Charters

Striped bass, bluefish and fluke with a local captain. All gear included. Families and first timers welcome.

Open the sample websiteBook a time
Sample: Blue Heron Charters, website on a computer

Sample work by Oiko. Every business shown is made up.

Sample: Blue Heron Charters, website on a phone

The same sample on a phone.

How we would build it

This is a sample for a made-up business. There is no client and no result to report: this is how we would plan and build it for a real one.

The problem

A fishing captain is on the water all day and cannot answer messages. Guests want to know which trip fits, whether the boat is free on a Saturday, and whether the weather will hold. A booking that waits until evening may already be gone, and a day lost to weather means a round of phone tag.

What we built

For our sample fishing charter, Blue Heron Charters, we would build a website where guests pick a trip, a number of guests and a day, then put down a deposit by card to hold the boat. The captain sends a weather text the night before, and can move the trip with one message.

Problem and answer

  • Guests are not sure which trip suits them.

    The three trips are described in plain words with the hours and the kind of fishing. A first timer can see which one is for families.

  • The same day gets promised twice.

    The booking box shows only days the boat is free. Once a day is taken, nobody else can choose it.

  • Guests book, then cancel at the last minute.

    A deposit by card holds the boat, and the rest is paid on the day. The page says so before the guest chooses.

  • Bad weather turns into phone tag.

    The captain sends one text the night before. If the weather turns, he moves the trip, and every guest on it gets the same text.

  • Guests do not know what to bring.

    A What to bring page lists the basics. The confirm text links to it.

How it works

  1. 01A guest picks the trip, the number of guests and a day on their phone.
  2. 02They pay the deposit by card, and the day is marked as taken in the captain's calendar.
  3. 03The guest gets a confirm text with the meeting place and the time.
  4. 04The night before, the captain sends the weather check. If a trip moves, the new day is offered with one link.
  5. 05On the day, the guest pays the rest at the dock.

Works with

  • Google Calendar, so the captain sees every trip next to the tides
  • Stripe, for the deposit by card
  • Square, if the captain wants to take the rest of the payment on the dock
  • A text message service, for confirms and weather texts
  • Google Business Profile, so the marina address and the booking link appear on Google

The plan we would follow

  1. Week 1We spend time with the captain, learn how a booking really goes, and agree the trips and the deposit rule.
  2. Weeks 2 and 3We write the trip pages and build the booking box, with the season and the limit of 6 guests built in.
  3. Week 4The captain tests a few bookings from his phone, and we fix what is awkward on the boat.
  4. Week 5We connect the calendar, the card payments and the texts, and run a pretend weather change.
  5. Week 6Launch, ahead of the first trips of the season.

What the owner keeps

  • The domain name and the website files
  • The Stripe or Square account, in the captain's own name
  • The calendar and the text message account
  • Every photo, and the list of past guests