WordPress Template Editor for Rental Site

About the Client Our client manages a portfolio of short-stay and extended-stay accommodation properties across two cities in East Africa, alongside a small number of curated tour products in each location. The business currently operates on major OTA platforms and is building a direct booking website to give guests a unified way to discover and book directly. All listings, content, and backend management will be handled by the client's internal team after handover. The freelancer's role is limited to build, configuration, and training. No ongoing content or booking management is required post-launch. Project Overview We are seeking a skilled WordPress developer and UX designer to build a fully functional, professionally designed travel and hospitality website on the Traveler theme by shinetheme. A valid theme license will be provided upon engagement. The site must support two independent guest-facing booking flows: accommodation, and tours. Each must function as a separate journey from search to confirmation. A guest booking a tour should never be required to interact with the accommodation module, and vice versa. Payment gateway: a Tanzanian mobile money and card payment gateway will be the primary checkout method. The successful candidate must have prior experience integrating a Tanzanian or East African mobile-money-capable payment gateway into WooCommerce or a comparable WordPress booking system. Specific gateway and merchant credentials are provided at engagement. Scope of Work Phase 1: Setup and Configuration • Install WordPress on the hosting environment provided. • Install and activate the Traveler theme and required plugins. • Configure theme settings, colour scheme, typography, and brand identity using assets we provide. • Set up two service modules within Traveler: Accommodation, and Tours. Phase 2: Multi-Destination Architecture • Create destination landing pages for each operating city (minimum two at launch). • Each destination page displays all available services in that city in a clear, visually compelling layout. • Homepage navigation allows guests to filter by destination without confusion. • Structure must be extensible so additional cities can be added by an admin without developer involvement. Phase 3: Accommodation Listings • All property content (descriptions, photography, pricing, room types, amenities) will be supplied in a structured template. • Freelancer enters listings in the Traveler backend, configuring availability calendars, room types, seasonal pricing, and amenity tagging for visual and structural consistency across all properties. • Connect the accommodation module to a channel manager via iCal sync. Configure import and export URLs for each property, test thoroughly, and confirm two-way accuracy before handover. • Channel manager will be confirmed at engagement; freelancer must verify compatibility before this phase begins. Phase 4: Tour Listings • Tour details, photography, pricing, and inclusions provided upon engagement. • Freelancer configures per-person pricing, date availability, group size, and any extras. • Tours filterable by destination city. Phase 5: Payment Gateway Integration • Integrate the agreed Tanzanian payment gateway as primary checkout, supporting major card networks and the principal mobile money providers used in the local market. • Merchant credentials provided upon engagement. • Full functional testing of the payment flow across both service types required before go-live, with documented results shared for sign-off. • Any additional plugin or custom work required to make the gateway function correctly within Traveler's booking flow must be flagged before work begins, with no extra cost incurred without prior approval. Phase 6: UX and UI Design Refinement • The finished site must feel premium, warm, and distinctive. It must not read as an out-of-the-box template install. • Homepage communicates both service types clearly above the fold. • Persistent, intuitive search or hero section for guests to express intent immediately. • Fast-loading listing and detail pages with strong gallery presentation. • Streamlined checkout requesting only necessary information. • Mobile experience is the priority, including strong performance on mid-range Android devices over 3G connections. Phase 7: SEO Foundation • Install and configure RankMath or Yoast SEO. • Meta titles and descriptions for all key pages. • XML sitemap configured. • Correct structured data markup on listing pages. • Technical foundation only, no ongoing SEO campaign work required. Phase 8: Testing, Documentation, and Handover • Full cross-browser testing on Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, desktop and mobile. • Complete booking flow testing for both service types, search through confirmation. • iCal sync verification for a minimum of three properties. • Google PageSpeed Insights minimum scores: 70 mobile, 85 desktop. • Recorded video walkthrough of routine backend admin tasks. • Written documentation covering routine admin tasks. • 14-day post-launch window for bug fixes. What Will Be Provided • Traveler theme license. • Structured content templates for all listings. • Photography and written content for properties and tours. • Brand assets including logo and colour palette. • Channel manager account access for iCal configuration. • Payment gateway merchant credentials. • Hosting account access. • A dedicated point of contact throughout the project. Required Skills and Experience • Demonstrated experience building on the Traveler theme by shinetheme is strongly preferred. Candidates without specific Traveler experience must show comparable multi-service-type WordPress builds. • Confirmed experience integrating a Tanzanian or East African mobile-money-capable payment gateway into WordPress. • Strong UX and UI sensibility with a hospitality or travel portfolio. • Proven iCal sync experience between WordPress booking systems and OTA platforms. • Comfort with channel managers such as Beds24, Smoobu, or Lodgify is an advantage. • Advanced Elementor or WPBakery proficiency. • Reliable communication and milestone-based reporting. Milestone Deliverable 1 Setup, theme install, configuration, destination architecture live on staging 2 All accommodation listings entered, calendars configured, iCal sync verified 3 All tour listings entered and functional 4 Payment gateway integrated and tested, both booking flows confirmed working 5 UX refinement, SEO foundation, PageSpeed targets met 6 Final testing, documentation, video walkthrough, handover How to Apply • At least two portfolio examples of travel or hospitality WordPress websites you have built, with a brief description of each. • A short paragraph on your experience integrating East African payment gateways, and your Traveler theme experience or directly comparable work. • Your proposed timeline broken into the phases above. • Your fixed price for the full scope, broken down by phase. • Your availability to start. Proposals without relevant portfolio examples will not be considered. We are looking for a developer who takes pride in hospitality experiences, not someone who installs a demo and calls it done.