For over a decade, MOSS Sailing has been teaching the art of sailing on the Dutch coast — building confidence and community through hands-on, small-group courses. As the school grew, its digital presence needed to evolve: from a simple informational site into a full platform that could manage bookings, courses, and payments seamlessly.
Drawing on several years of learnings from earlier iterations, I redesigned and rebuilt the MOSS website as a custom Shopify theme — tailored precisely to how the team runs its courses and communicates its brand.
The new site gives MOSS full control over how each course is presented, scheduled, and sold, with the flexibility to add new formats and dates without developer support. Beneath the surface, it leverages Shopify’s proven foundation for security, performance and payment handling, ensuring a reliable experience for students around the world.
Design-wise, the challenge was to balance maritime character with digital clarity. The new interface takes cues from nautical minimalism — white space, strong type, and calm rhythm — reflecting the school’s professionalism without losing its warmth and approachability.
Photography is given room to breathe, celebrating real people and real moments on the water. Custom course cards and variant pickers allow users to browse by skill level or season, while subtle animation and micro-interactions bring a sense of motion reminiscent of the sea itself.
Behind the scenes, the theme architecture was built to support future growth. Courses are managed through Shopify’s metaobject system, linking variants, dates, and instructors dynamically. The result is a lean, maintainable setup that adapts as MOSS continues to expand.
The relaunch has not only streamlined bookings and admin workflows but also elevated MOSS’s online identity — positioning it as one of the most trusted and design-forward sailing schools in the Netherlands.
