Dolphin Leisure

Discover how Laposa helped Dolphin Leisure, a leading UK pool and spa specialist, scale their eCommerce platform and dominate organic search rankings with a decade-long partnership built on responsive design, seamless user experience, and powerful SEO strategies.

Dolphi Leisure Website

Introduction

In 2010, Dolphin Leisure, an established family-run UK business known for providing swimming pools, portable spas, and related equipment since 1987, sought out Laposa to build and maintain a powerful website and eCommerce platform.

With Dolphin Leisure’s deep history in the pool and spa industry and having served customers since the 1980s, they realized the importance of continuing to evolve in an increasingly competitive online marketplace. Hence, their collaboration with Laposa aimed at creating a robust, scalable, and highly-optimized website and eCommerce experience.

Laposa provided a full-service website build using its bespoke open-source content management system (CMS) Onyx, which was further powered by the Onyx E-commerce module—known for its reliability from Laposa's prior web builds.

This case study showcases how Laposa's long-term partnership with Dolphin Leisure has successfully enhanced their digital footprint, created a seamless user experience, and weathered changes in e-commerce trends.

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Challenge

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Dolphin Leisure needed more than just a basic website; they needed a powerful e-commerce platform capable of handling thousands of products, accommodating growth in digital customers, and optimizing their visibility in the crowded swimming pool and leisure market.

They had several key requirements:

  1. Scalable Content Management and E-commerce Platform: The ability to efficiently manage thousands of SKUs, their variants, stock, and customer orders.
  2. SEO and Digital Marketing: Advanced SEO integration to improve their search engine rankings, allowing them to remain competitive in search-heavy product categories.
  3. Responsive Design: As mobile traffic surged, especially after 2015, Dolphin Leisure required a seamless, mobile-first responsive design to provide the same purchasing experience on both desktops and smartphones.
  4. Long-Term Support for Ongoing E-commerce Success: Ongoing maintenance, hosting, and support from a partner who understands not just the technical side but also long-term SEO and marketing optimization.

Solution & Execution

Laposa delivered a comprehensive solution to meet Dolphin Leisure's needs, leveraging the Onyx CMS and e-commerce module to handle all aspects of the website, from product management and order processing to search engine optimization (SEO).

Key Components of the Build:

  • Onyx CMS and E-Commerce Module: The backbone of dolphinpools.co.uk is the Onyx CMS, customized for Dolphin Leisure’s specific needs. Utilizing the eCommerce module, the website manages an extensive catalog of 10,000 SKUs across 1,600 product pages, including everything from pools to hot tubs and water purification systems.
  • Full Mobile-First Redesign (2015): In 2015, as mobile ecommerce grew and Google shifted its emphasis toward mobile-friendly websites, Laposa redesigned Dolphin Leisure’s website focusing on responsive design and user-centric navigation. With seamless integration across devices, the redesign facilitated more efficient mobile shopping, echoing Dolphin Leisure's commitment to modernization and ease of use for their customers.
  • SEO Integration: Laposa did extensive search engine optimization to optimize visibility for relevant search terms. Using SEO best practices, Dolphin Leisure quickly rose in rankings, leading to significant organic traffic growth. This rich SEO work also included Google Analytics, Google Merchant Center, and Google Search Console integration, making it easier to track, analyze, and enhance performance.
  • Advanced Ecommerce Components: The Onyx E-commerce module delivers a fully featured system:
    • Product listings and variants
    • Basket and checkout integration
    • SagePay as the payment gateway
    • Full-text search to streamline product discovery
    • Customer forms, newsletter signup, and contact integration
  • Powerful Backoffice Management: Ensuring smooth operations, the backend allows Dolphin Leisure to manage every aspect from product data, stock levels, and orders to discount campaigns and reporting:
    • Product and stock management
    • Order management and processing
    • Real-time reporting on sales performance
    • Custom discount management functionalities
    • Media library integration for a fluid content management experience
  • Performance Hosting & Support: Beyond just building the site, Laposa also takes care of ongoing hosting and long-term support. This includes monitoring, regular updates, and continuous technical assistance, ensuring the platform runs smoothly year after year.

Key Milestones in the Project:

  • 2010: Initial website build and eCommerce platform launch.
  • 2013: Laposa implemented a website reskin, ensuring the UI/UX remained fresh and modern.
  • 2015: Full site redesign with a mobile-first approach, resulting in better mobile performance and an improved customer journey.
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Results & Impact

The partnership between Laposa and Dolphin Leisure has proven to be a long-term success, blending digital commerce with a seamless user experience that scales with the business:

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High Performance in Organic Search

Thanks to Laposa’s skillful SEO optimization, Dolphin Leisure enjoys strong rankings on competitive search engine queries, significantly improving their online visibility. This has brought in consistent organic traffic streamlining their sales over the years.

01.

Ecommerce Success

The platform’s e-commerce functionality proved its value with over 13,000 transactions processed and 12,000 customers served since launch. The integrated back-end functionality has empowered Dolphin Leisure to handle these operations smoothly without undue strain on resources.

02.

Thousands of Products and Complex SKUs Managed

The website currently manages over 10,000 SKUs across diverse categories ranging from chemicals to luxury hot tubs—a testament to the scalability of Onyx CMS and its e-commerce capabilities. This includes complex operations such as managing product variants, updating stock levels, and processing orders all from a single, user-friendly interface.

03.

Over 70,000 Shopping Baskets Created

The system has effortlessly stored thousands of customer sessions, generating 70,000 shopping baskets over its lifetime—a robust indication of its popularity with customers.

04.

Conclusion

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Over more than a decade, Laposa’s consistent, targeted approach has enabled Dolphin Leisure to thrive in the competitive online pool and spa market. By combining advanced eCommerce functionality, SEO optimization, and responsive design, the platform has become a cornerstone of Dolphin Leisure’s business operations.

As Dolphin Leisure continues to expand its product offerings and customer base, their ongoing relationship with Laposa ensures they stay ahead of digital and eCommerce trends—delivering superior buying experiences for customers while enhancing operational efficiency.

Next Step

If Dolphin Leisure’s success story resonates with your business goals, Laposa would love to help you achieve similar results.

Whether you need a custom eCommerce solution, SEO strategy, or a mobile-friendly redesign, get in touch with us today to discover how we can elevate your online presence. Let’s build something great together!


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