St. Paul
Yacht Club
Website Redesign • UX/UI • Development
stpaulyachtclub.org
- Client
- St. Paul Yacht Club
- Location
- Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Industry
- Yacht Club / Marina
- Year
- 2026
- Agency
- Cracker Digital Media
Project Overview
Project Overview • 2026
The St. Paul Yacht Club has been serving boaters on Harriet Island since 1912. The redesign focused on transforming its website into a modern, responsive and easier-to-navigate digital experience for members, prospective boaters and visitors.
The new experience brings together essential club information, slip applications, facilities, events, member resources, marina navigation, weather information and club updates within a clearer information architecture.
“Modernizing a 100+ year-old boating community for today's digital audience.”
100+
Years
Historic Club
Responsive
Desktop + Mobile
Cross-Device
Interactive
Marina Map
Leaflet + OSM
Connected
Weather + Calendar
Live Integration
What They Wanted
SPYC needed more than a visual refresh. The website needed to become a practical digital hub for members, boaters and visitors.
Modern Website
Create a contemporary digital presence that reflects the club's long-standing reputation.
Easier Navigation
Make important information easier to find and understand.
Slip Information
Make slip availability, rates, applications and related information easier to access.
Better Mobile Experience
Ensure members and boaters can access information comfortably from phones and tablets.
Club Communication
Create a simple structure for Updates, Board Agendas, events and announcements.
Marina Information
Make the physical marina easier to understand through an interactive map.
Weather Integration
Bring relevant weather information directly into the website.
Search-Friendly Structure
Create a stronger content and SEO foundation for future growth.
What Challenges
We Faced
Legacy Content
The existing website contained years of club information and older documents that needed to remain accessible.
Complex Marina Location
The yacht club contains multiple harbors, docks, gates, parking areas and entrances that needed to be represented accurately.
Multiple Audiences
The website needed to serve existing members, prospective members, slip renters, boaters and general visitors.
Content Management
The client needed a simpler way to publish announcements, updates, meetings and board documents.
Calendar Requirements
The website needed a future-ready calendar workflow, including Google Calendar synchronization.
Responsive Experience
Information needed to remain easy to scan across desktop, tablet and mobile.
SEO Foundation
The content architecture needed to become clearer and more search-friendly without inventing performance metrics.
Designed Around
Real Boaters
The website needed to serve multiple audiences — each with different needs, priorities and reasons for visiting.
Existing SPYC Members
For club information, events, documents, updates and facilities.
Prospective Slip Renters
For researching slip availability, rates, applications and marina information.
Local Boaters
For discovering the club, facilities and boating resources.
Transient Boaters
For understanding docks, facilities and marina access.
Club Staff & Administrators
For managing updates, events, documents and website content.
Visitors
For finding location, contact information and general club information.
The Problem
SPYC needed a modern digital home that could make a long-standing club's information easier to discover, easier to manage and easier for boaters to use.
The challenge was not simply to redesign the interface. The experience needed to organize a large amount of practical information while maintaining the identity and history of the club.
Easier to Discover
Easier to Manage
Easier to Use
Our Approach
“We redesigned the experience around clear information architecture, strong calls to action, responsive layouts, content-driven pages and practical marina tools.”
Simplify
Reduce friction and improve information hierarchy.
Organize
Create clear navigation for members, boaters and visitors.
Connect
Bring weather, calendar and marina information together.
Visualize
Use maps, photography and structured layouts to make information easier to understand.
Maintain
Create a CMS structure that allows the club team to update content independently.
Understanding the
Yacht Club Digital Landscape
A factual design comparison of two regional yacht club websites, and what the analysis meant for the SPYC redesign.
Wayzata Yacht Club
wyc.orgFocus Areas
- Sailing / Racing Programs
- Membership
- Mooring Information
- Schedules
- Club Resources
Minnetonka Yacht Club
minnetonkayachtclub.orgFocus Areas
- Racing
- Membership
- Events
- Social Activities
- Volunteer Opportunities
- Club Resources
What this meant for SPYC
Instead of simply following the same structure, the SPYC redesign focuses strongly on:
Presented as a factual design comparison and opportunity analysis. No ranking or superiority claim is made.
From Traditional
to Connected
Before
Legacy Website
- Older information presentation
- Less structured navigation
- Limited visual hierarchy
- Less interactive functionality
- Information harder to scan
- Less cohesive responsive experience
After
Redesigned Website
- Clear navigation
- Strong CTA hierarchy
- Responsive layouts
- Structured content
- Interactive marina map
- Weather integration
- Calendar / Updates workflow
- Modern visual identity
A Clearer Way
to Navigate SPYC
The sitemap separates club information, member resources, boating/slip information, communication and contact/conversion actions into clear content areas.
Club Information
- About Us
- Facilities
Member Resources
- Members Info
- Board Agendas
Boating / Slips
- Apply For A Slip
- Book A Transient Slip
Communication
- Calendar
- Updates
Contact / Conversion
- Contact Us
- Map
A Visual Language
Inspired by the Water
Navy
Primary
Brand / headings / navigation
Gold
Accent
Highlights / CTA / accents
Beige
Background
Editorial background
Teal
Secondary
Secondary accent / info
White
Surface
Content surfaces
Inter
Sans-Serif · 300–800
Typography
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789
Inter provides a clean, highly readable interface across navigation, content, forms and mobile layouts.
Buttons
Tags
Cards
Slip Information
Rates, availability and applications.
Form Fields
A Stronger
First Impression
The homepage introduces the club with a clear hero, strong calls to action, and immediate access to the most important information.
Making the Marina
Easier to Understand
“The marina contains multiple docks, gates, entrances, parking areas and public access points. We transformed this physical complexity into a clearer digital navigation experience.”
SPYC Marina Map · Harriet Island · Saint Paul, MN · Leaflet · OpenStreetMap
Filter by category
Club & Core
- Harriet Island Pavilion
- U.M. Showboat
- SPYC Office
Gates
- Gate B – 315 Dr. Justus Ohage Blvd.
- Gate C – 287 Dr. Justus Ohage Blvd.
- Gate D – 257 Dr. Justus Ohage Blvd.
Docks
- Lower Harbor
- Transient / Connecting Dock
- Paddleford Boat Dock
Parking Areas
- Lower Harbor Parking Lot (East Lot)
- Paddleford Parking Lot (West Lot)
- Entrance to Lower Harbor Lots
Landmarks
- Covington Inn
- Harriet Island Public Dock (“City Dock”)
- Minnesota Rowing Club on Raspberry Island
+ more locations across the marina
Weather, Right Where
Boaters Need It
“We integrated live weather information directly into the website so visitors can quickly access relevant conditions without leaving the SPYC experience.”
Saint Paul, MN
Harriet Island
Wind
8 mph
Water Temp
68°
Humidity
54%
Mon
74°
Tue
71°
Wed
68°
Thu
73°
Fri
76°
Technology
Tomorrow.io
Live weather data is pulled directly from the Tomorrow.io API and rendered inside a custom widget styled to match the SPYC visual identity.
- Real-time conditions
- 5-day forecast
- Wind & water temperature
- No page redirect required
Making Club
Communication Easier
Calendar
Google Calendar SyncUpcoming Events
Mar
12
Membership Meeting
MeetingApr
20
Spring Launch Party
EventMay
05
Board Agenda Review
BoardUpdates
Announcements · News · Board Info
2026 Slip Applications Now Open
Harbor Dredging Update — Lower Harbor
February Board Meeting Minutes Posted
Posts use a consistent template — no manual design required for each update.
Built for the Marina,
Not Just the Desktop
The experience adapts cleanly from desktop to tablet to mobile — keeping information scannable and interactions touch-friendly at every size.
Building a Stronger
SEO Foundation
The redesign focuses on factual design and process improvements — structured content, clear hierarchy, and a search-friendly architecture.
Clear Content Hierarchy
Structured headings and sections make information easier to understand.
Location-Focused Content
Relevant Saint Paul, Harriet Island and marina information provides stronger contextual relevance.
Search-Friendly IA
Important pages and services are organized more clearly.
Internal Linking
Relevant pages connect users to related information.
Content Structure
Updates, facilities, membership and slip information are separated into clearer content areas.
Responsive Design
A mobile-friendly experience supports users across devices.
What We Achieved
A Modern Digital Presence
A contemporary website aligned with the identity of a historic yacht club.
Clearer Navigation
Important information is easier to discover.
Responsive Experience
A consistent experience across desktop and mobile.
Interactive Marina Map
A practical visual guide to the marina environment.
Live Weather
Relevant weather information integrated directly into the site.
Content Management
A clearer workflow for updates, events and board information.
SEO Foundation
A more structured and search-friendly content experience.
Stronger User Experience
A more intuitive journey for members, boaters and visitors.
Client Feedback
Verified Google reviews will be displayed here once supplied by the client. The layout below uses clearly labeled placeholders.
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Tools Behind
the Experience
The platform was designed in Figma, built on WordPress with Elementor, and enriched with interactive mapping and live weather integrations.
Figma
UX/UI Design
Photoshop
Visual Design & Image Editing
WordPress
CMS
Elementor
Page Building
Leaflet
Interactive Map
OpenStreetMap
Map Data
Tomorrow.io
Weather Integration
A Better Digital Home
for SPYC
Designed to make boating information easier to discover, club communication easier to manage, and the SPYC experience easier to navigate.
Same Club / Better Experience
St. Paul Yacht Club
375 W Water StreetSaint Paul, MN 55107
Contact
651.292.8964office@stpaulyachtclub.org
Agency
Designed & Developed byCracker Digital Media