Steel Wheel Campground is located in a legendary location, but their previous site clearly did not live up to the level of the location.
Legacy Drupal became a real pain for the client: it was difficult to maintain, and most importantly, it existed separately from the booking system.
It was important for the client to get a fast, modern site where the guest can choose accommodation, check dates and pay for the reservation in a single interface, without jumping to third-party pages.
JavaScript
PHP
React
Stripe
Dinamicka’s main challenge was not to create a website, but to create a custom version of WordPress that would interface seamlessly with the third-party booking platform Checkfront and have its own logic around availability, pricing and the booking process.
Prices had to be calculated in real-time, get real-time data from Checkfront, and add taxes before displaying the total.
In addition, we had to ensure that the site works perfectly on any device – from huge 4K monitors to compact 360px screens, taking into account the specifics of Safari and Firefox. A separate quest was the background video on the main page: it had to create an atmosphere, but at the same time not “hang” the page loading speed.
After a short pause in the project, another complication appeared – we had to reorganize the working environment and implement Stripe. It was important to add the new payment without breaking the already configured booking process, which added another layer of architectural complexity to the team.
Dinamicka Development led Steel Wheel Campground through a full cycle of website redesign: from an audit of an outdated Drupal site to the release of a modern platform and further technical support. The project lasted about 18 months.
Web development started with detailed UI/UX design in Figma, where we worked out each page for desktop, tablet and mobile resolutions.
For the main page, we implemented a hero section with a background video, paying special attention to its optimization to maintain a high loading speed even with a weak connection.
The key element has become property pages with dynamic filtering by dates and number of guests – all availability data is pulled in real time directly through the Checkfront API.
The central element was the booking process, which we abandoned redirects to external services, implementing the entire customer journey directly on the website. Guests now select dates, get an instant cost estimate including taxes, and complete their reservation in a single interface.
When the project resumed in late 2024, we integrated Stripe as the main payment gateway. Instead of outdated payment methods, we implemented a payment form directly on the page, added a timer to hold the armor and connected Google Pay for convenience. Each successful payment automatically updates the status in Checkfront and instantly triggers the sending of confirmations to the client’s email.
In addition to the booking system, we have expanded WordPress capabilities by creating custom post types for events, entertainment, and local attractions. This gave the client full control over the CMS: now they can update any information themselves without involving developers.
The final stage was an in-depth technical SEO audit. We fixed critical technical bugs, optimized all images, and added relevant micro-markups. We also strengthened security through HSTS headers for HTTPS and optimized URL structure – replaced underscores with hyphens, configured 301 redirects to save positions in search results.
As a result, Steel Wheel Campground received a modern platform where every element – from the interface to payment gateways – works as a single ecosystem. Users now go all the way from choosing a location to paying directly on the site, which has radically changed the user experience. The client’s team has full control of the content through WordPress, without having to rely on developers for daily updates.
Thanks to a comprehensive SEO audit, we managed to remove technical barriers to organic traffic, and Stripe integration became the final point in conversion optimization, removing unnecessary steps and friction during checkout
