The Challenge
Cansmith, a marketing agency, approached us in 2022 to develop a website for a new business venture, Nena Apartments – a stylish apartment rental service targeting a younger audience.
Their requirement was a visually appealing, multilingual site website that mirrored the modern and unique interior design of the apartments. The design for the project was delivered by Cansmith, while our focus was on implementation.
An additional challenge lay in a very tight budget and timeline, since the site was for a startup that was waiting for completion of the website before they could launch their business.
About the client
Nena Apartments is an accommodation concept created by the Orbis Group, based in Berlin, who have been providing accommodation services since 2015.
Cansmith is a design agency based in Munich.
The Solution
Since Cansmith is focused on design, they expected pixel perfect execution of their ideas – there were also some visual changes during the project and in general a great focus on detail.
The site was built with WordPress, the priority being to facilitate easy and consistent multilingual content management. During development we prioritised the re-usability of layout elements to ensure the client was later able to change layouts and edit all content without developer intervention. In the final stage, our focus shifted to API integration and testing.
Throughout development our team – particularly thanks to our famously pedantic lead developer Dom – went beyond the brief, especially in backend usability. Each page builder element was tailor-made, maximising flexibility and ease of use for the client.
Testament to this flexibility, the clients themselves were able to create a separate microsite dedicated to their newly-launched “Nena Hostel” without any additional support.
Lessons learned
Throughout the project we were constantly aware of the strict timeline, and at times it was a challenge to handle this pressure without losing morale or sacrificing attention to detail.
To achieve this we organised structured weekly project updates with Cansmith, which turned out to be an efficient and effective form of communication. We also tweaked and improved some of our internal processes to expedite decision-making and implementation.
Notable features
Reusable Layout Elements
Almost all layout elements can be used site-wide, rather than being limited to their original page/row/purpose to increase flexibility in layout and simplify content management.
Efficient API Integration
The API integration with the website OnePageBooking.com streamlines the booking process, with many of the steps automated by the external service provider.
Accommodation At-A-Glance Page
For a better reading UX, we implemented a responsive and dynamic TOC (table of contents) generated automatically on the basis of existing page headers.
Measuring project success
The success of the website is mirrored in the company’s rapid expansion – since launching the website the size of the company has doubled. Nena Apartments has also become a regular client, thanks to our speed and dedication during the initial project. Since then we’ve taken on the regular site maintenance and implemented further layouts and elements.