Refresh Your Stick is a new, easy to use demo program that allows surfers to ride a broad range of surfboard shapes from all the top board brands, including all the latest models and constructions with a choice of the latest fins from top manufacturers.
Refresh your Stick is also your ultimate ‘try before you buy’ – if you aren’t sure what you want to add to your quiver next or want to make sure the dimensions you are thinking of are right on that next board then Refresh Your Stick is the place to figure it all out, before purchase.
Background
Refresh Your Stick is a new and innovative surfboard demo program created by Melbourne’s No. 1 surf shop, Zak Surfboards. Refresh Your Stick was made by surfing experts with surfers in mind. The aim of the online program is to bring surfing enthusiasts a better way to decide which new board to buy. Surfers can try a bunch of new boards at a reasonable price before making any commitment.
The variety of options also gives casual surfers the opportunity to rent a board, saving money by only hiring a surfboard when they need one. Surfers are able to rent a board for one day, two days, or up to one week at a time.
We were asked by the team at Zak Surfboards to design and build a fully customised website and online booking system for the Refresh Your Stick program.
Methods
We worked closely with Zak Surfboards to design a system that would be best suited for short hire. A content management system was planned carefully with the aim that once the website was live, the Refresh Your Stick team could update their own content, products and information, as well as manage board availability and customer info.
We created a custom database that would include options for different brands of surfboards and different fins to ensure customers had options. The surfboards come with default fins, but customers are able to switch them out for the ones they want.
User experience and functions were designed with simplicity in mind, including:
● Easy sign up
● Quick and simple checkout using Stripe
● Streamlined process to pay the hire cost plus refundable deposit online
● Multiple options for rental lengths (one day, two day, and one week)
● Option to add late drop off
● Option to make an offer on your surfboard if you love it (and put your deposit towards the price)
We built a booking agent to allow customers to go online and see which boards are available and sort them by date and attributes.
In terms of front-end design, the system was designed to be as easy to use and mobile-friendly as possible since many surfers looking to rent out the boards would be browsing and booking the surfboard demos on their phones.
The website was built in Laravel - an open-source PHP web framework that Digital Bridge uses to develop their customised websites.
Result
The new Refresh Your Stick website looks fantastic - it’s sleek, clean and clearly shows each surfboard in detail. No tropical themes or hibiscus flowers in sight!
The surfboard demo program is so user friendly that you can browse and book a board on your phone during your Friday lunch break and be surfing that same board on the weekend. Like to the board so much that you want to keep it? Offer to buy the board online and put your deposit towards the purchase price.
Are you looking for a website development team in Melbourne to build a customised website for your business? Get in touch with Digital Bridge. We’d love to hear about your project.
