Yacht Charter Search: Boosting Efficiency with Refactoring

Boost your yacht charter search speed by 50% with efficient database restructuring and Laravel optimisation. Improve performance without scaling up.

When it comes to improving website performance, most people think the solution lies in scaling up — more servers, larger databases, and expensive infrastructure. But sometimes, the greatest gains come from a simpler approach. We recently restructured our yacht charter search platform — without changing the design, upgrading hardware, or adding any flashy frontend gimmicks. The result? A 50% increase in search speed.

So, what actually made the difference? It had nothing to do with the usual suspects.

The Same Yacht Platform, Rebuilt Differently

We manage two versions of the same yacht charter site. One was originally built on FuelPHP with manually written raw SQL queries, while the other was rebuilt on Laravel using structured application logic and modern tools. The data, filters, and user interface were the same, but the new version was much faster — even while displaying over 100 live yacht listings on the same page, without pagination. Search speed improved significantly.

What Changed Behind the Scenes?

The old system provided full control over the database with raw SQL queries. It worked, but as time went on, it became hard to maintain, prone to inefficient joins, and sluggish as the yacht count and filters grew.

With the Laravel rebuild, we focused on structured relationships, modern PHP practices, and smart data-loading techniques. It wasn’t just about rewriting code; it was about rethinking how the site fetched and managed data.

What Actually Made It So Much Faster

Instead of writing dozens of individual queries for each yacht and its related info (images, availability, pricing), we utilised eager loading to fetch everything in fewer calls. Laravel made this process seamless.

We restructured how yachts, companies, and seasonal availability were linked, leading to cleaner filters, leaner results, and no duplicate data being processed on the fly. Laravel’s built-in caching tools allowed us to cache filtered results and API responses more effectively. This meant when users searched for yachts in Greece or Croatia, those results were ready in milliseconds, rather than being regenerated from scratch each time.

FuelPHP required more manual management of filters and joins, but in Laravel, reusable filters and scopes made the logic easier to understand, debug, and improve — naturally leading to faster response times.

The Real-World Result

With over 100 yachts displayed live on a single page and third-party APIs integrated in real-time, the load time was reduced by more than half. No additional hardware was required to handle the increased performance. The impact was immediate: lower bounce rates, faster bookings, and an improved user experience.

So, What’s the Takeaway?

Speed improvements don’t always require scaling up. Sometimes, it’s more about how intelligently your application handles data — not how much muscle you throw at it. By rethinking our structure and employing modern, well-designed tools, we made our yacht search dramatically faster, leaner, and easier to maintain.

Thinking of Rebuilding or Optimising Your Own Platform?

If your current system feels slower than it should — especially under the weight of large datasets or API calls — the solution might not be to add more resources. It could be about rethinking how the system works beneath the surface.

Ready to optimise your platform for better performance? Contact us now to learn how we can help improve efficiency and enhance your user experience.