A Modern WordPress Rebuild for a Sweden-to-Cape Town Travel Brand

Overview

Sydafrikaexperten.se is a travel company founded by Swedish owners Minna & Madelen who fell in love with Cape Town and want to offer the same experiences to their Swedish audience.

With offices in both Sweden and South Africa, their mission is to help travellers from Sweden experience the very best of Cape Town and beyond, from pristine beaches and luxury mountain getaways to unforgettable safaris and even offering full wedding planning services.

The team behind Sydafrikaexperten started off with a simple website, but soon realised they needed a website that matched the quality of the experiences they offer.

Their previous attempts at a new site presented a few challenges for them, and that’s where I stepped in.

The Challenge

The team originally built their website themselves using a basic WordPress theme.

It worked well enough to get them started, helping them get found online and manage early bookings… But as the business grew, so did the need for a more professional, purpose-built website.

They hired another company to rebuild their site, but the experience quickly became frustrating:

• Communication was poor
• Very few updates or progress reports
• Long stretches with no response to emails or messages
• The final website was unsatisfactory
• The theme was poorly configured and template-driven
• No attention was given to Core Web Vitals, accessibility, or performance best practices

The result?

A website that didn’t reflect the brand, loaded slowly, and did little to support the growing business. The web vitals were worse than the self-built website.

It was another website built with pre-built page builder templates and did not fit the brand.

My Approach

When the team approached me, the goal was clear:
Rebuild the entire website from the ground up… Properly!

I designed (along with Madelen’s suggestions) and developed the site using:

• A fully custom FSE (Full Site Editing) WordPress theme, built by me specifically for clients needs
• Two custom plugins built by myself enhanced functionality and better content management
• A design direction guided closely by the client’s vision
• A strong focus on speed, accessibility, and SEO best practices (Core Web Vitals)

Throughout the project, communication was a priority.

We worked together closely, reviewing designs, refining layouts, and ensuring every page supported their business goals, inspiring travel, showcasing destinations, and making enquiries effortless.

The Result

The new Sydafrikaexperten website is:

• Fully custom-built: no bloated templates
• Fast and lightweight, with excellent Core Web Vitals
• Optimised for SEO, helping attract more Swedish travellers
• Accessible, inclusive, and built with WCAG best practices
• Designed to showcase Cape Town’s beauty, from beaches to winelands to safaris
• Structured for conversion, making bookings and enquiries seamless

The client loved the final result, and their new website now reflects the professionalism and warmth of the brand.

It supports their growing business while giving travellers a beautiful, informative, and trustworthy place to plan their journey to Cape Town with the help of the client.

And as the website grows, it’s very easy to change design and layouts.

A Great Client Partnership

It was an absolute pleasure working with the Sydafrikaexperten team.

Their clarity, passion, and involvement throughout the project made the process smooth and enjoyable for me.

And the best part?
We’re not done.

We’re now working on a second project together, a new platform that highlights South African travel destinations (coming soon) in and around Cape Town.

Just like this one, it will be fast, modern, and crafted with purpose.