Kingsland Tour Packages
A feature-rich Elementor widget plugin for managing and displaying travel packages with real-time price calculation.
The Engineer's View
The core challenge was bridging the gap between WordPress's Custom Post Types and Elementor's dynamic widget rendering. I engineered a scalable metadata system that handles hotel ratings and discounts while remaining fully accessible through a drag-and-drop interface.
The Challenge
Travel agencies often struggle with manual price updates and inconsistent layouts across hundreds of holiday packages. The objective was to replace a fragmented manual process with a centralized management system that allows non-technical staff to update pricing, discounts, and hotel ratings across the entire site instantly.
Technical Implementation
1. Custom Post Type Architecture
I designed a specialized Tour Package post type using the WordPress Metadata API. This separates the raw package data (pricing, duration, ratings) from the presentation layer, ensuring data integrity and allowing for easy future migrations.
2. Elementor Widget Integration
To empower the marketing team, I developed a custom Elementor widget in PHP.
- Dynamic Queries: The widget fetches data directly from the custom post type with optimized SQL queries.
- Responsive Layouts: Implemented a flexible grid system within the widget that adapts to mobile, tablet, and desktop views.
- Real-Time Preview: Integrated with Elementor’s JS hooks to provide a live-editing experience.
3. Logic & Performance
- Optimization: Used WordPress transients to cache complex queries, reducing page load times for high-traffic travel portals.
- Validation: Implemented strict sanitization and validation for all custom fields to prevent data corruption.
Results & Impact
- Efficiency: Reduced package update time by 70% for the backend team.
- UX: Achieved a mobile-first responsive design that improved lead generation on mobile devices.
- Stability: Scaled to handle diverse package types (Interstate vs. International) with zero code changes required for new categories.
Technologies Used
- PHP
- WordPress
- Elementor
- JavaScript
- SQL