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The Donkey DairyWebsiteFarm & hospitality

A farm shop that keeps selling.

The shop moved off Wix onto WooCommerce, and farm visits confirm and remind on WhatsApp and email without anyone at the farm typing.

  • Where it standsLive, looked after monthly
  • Year2025
  • What we builtWooCommerce shop, farm-visit booking automations and monthly care

The Donkey Dairy is a working donkey farm near Magaliesburg that makes donkey-milk skincare and welcomes families for farm visits. We moved its shop off Wix onto WooCommerce, run its farm-visit booking automations and look after the site every month.

Visit thedonkeydairy.comHow it works

[01] The business before

Two businesses, one busy farm.

A working donkey farm running two businesses from the same gate: donkey-milk skincare and farm visits.

  1. Started in 2012

    The Donkey Dairy is a working donkey farm near Magaliesburg, started in 2012.

  2. Two businesses, one gate

    It runs two businesses from the same gate: donkey-milk skincare and supplements, sold online and through stockists, and farm visits for families, schools, birthdays and groups.

  3. Where we came in

    We already ran the farm's visit bookings. Its shop was still on Wix, with orders landing in a Gmail inbox and no privacy, terms or returns pages.

How it ranBefore

  • WixThe online shop and website.
  • GmailOrder notifications, in a general inbox.

What was breaking

  1. 01

    The shop had no privacy, terms or returns pages.

  2. 02

    The shop and the farm-visit bookings ran on separate systems.

[02] What we built

A shop, a calendar and someone looking after both.

A WooCommerce shop with custom sections, the farm-visit booking automations and monthly care.

  1. Shop, bookings and care

    A WooCommerce shop with custom sections, the farm-visit booking automations and monthly care.

  2. WordPress, WooCommerce, PayFast

    The shop runs on WordPress and WooCommerce with PayFast, so the farm manages products and orders in a familiar place.

Small custom pieces

Our custom header, product carousel, animal cards and reviews section are small PHP pieces kept separate from the theme.

  1. 01

    Custom header

    A live cart count

  2. 02

    Product carousel

    The skincare on the home page

  3. 03

    Animal cards

  4. 04

    Reviews section

The Donkey Dairy, screen: Featured products
Featured products. A custom product carousel brings the skincare range onto the home page.

Every farm-visit booking

Farm visits book through a calendar that only offers open days.

  • The farm manager is alerted
  • WhatsApp and email confirmation with the visitor information sheet and directions
  • WhatsApp and email reminders twelve hours before the visit
  • Follow-ups for rain, reschedules and no-shows
  • Holiday openings added as the farm decides them

01 / 03

Online shop

For skincare customersthedonkeydairy.com

A WooCommerce store with the full range, from capsules to soap, PayFast checkout and one courier rate across South Africa. The farm team has its own store-manager logins.

  • The full range with prices
  • PayFast checkout
  • A live cart count in a custom header
  • Store-manager logins for the farm team

7 real screens · tap to enlarge

  • Home

    The farm's own film opens the site, with the shop and farm-visit booking always in the header.

  • Featured products

    A custom product carousel brings the skincare range onto the home page.

  • The shop

    The full WooCommerce range, from capsules to soap, with clear prices and a quick add to cart.

  • A product

    Each product page carries the photos, the details and the add-to-cart in one view.

  • Home on a phone

    The same welcome, sized for a phone.

  • Shop on a phone

    Browsing the range on a phone.

  • Product on a phone

    Photos, price and size first, details below.

Screen 01 / 07

02 / 03

Farm visits

For families, schools and groupsBooking calendar

The Book a Farm Visit button leads to a calendar that only offers the days the farm is open. We add holiday openings as the farm decides them.

  • Open days only
  • WhatsApp and email confirmation with the visitor info sheet
  • Reminders twelve hours before the visit
  • Follow-ups for rain, reschedules and no-shows
Real screenBook a farm visit

3 real screens · tap to enlarge

  • Farm visits

    The farm-visit page explains the day out before anyone books.

  • Book a farm visit

    The booking calendar shows only the days the farm is open. Shown here before a date is picked.

  • Booking on a phone

    Most visitors book from their phone, so the calendar is built for it.

Screen 01 / 03

03 / 03

Care and reporting

For the farmEvery month

We host the site, make changes when the farm asks and send a monthly report on visitors, search and bookings.

  • Hosting and changes
  • Monthly website report
  • Calendar openings on request

[03] How it works

From the website to a day on the farm.

Farm visits book through a calendar that only offers open days, then confirmations and reminders go out on WhatsApp and email.

On the live site

Recorded on thedonkeydairy.com

  • Product carousel

    A custom product carousel brings the skincare range onto the home page.

  • The full range

    The full WooCommerce range, from capsules to soap, with clear prices and a quick add to cart.

  • Open days only, recorded on thedonkeydairy.com

    Open days only

    The booking calendar shows only the days the farm is open, before a date is picked.

  • Shop and booking, always there

    The shop and farm-visit booking are always in the header, and most visitors book from their phone.

  1. Visitor

    Tap Book a Farm Visit and pick an open day.

  2. The systemTakes over here

    The farm manager is alerted, and the visitor gets a WhatsApp and email confirmation with the info sheet and directions.

  3. The system

    WhatsApp and email reminders twelve hours before the visit.

  4. The system

    Rain, reschedules and no-shows each get their own follow-up.

  5. x Create

    When the farm opens on a holiday, we add the date and check the live calendar without making a test booking.

Real screenBook a farm visit

[04] What we changed

A shop the farm can run itself.

Put the shop on a platform the farm team can run themselves, and keep the visit bookings working without anyone typing confirmations.

  1. A shop they run

    Put the shop on a platform the farm team can run themselves.

  2. Bookings without typing

    Keep the visit bookings working without anyone at the farm typing confirmations.

Before: Wix, Gmail. Now: Live, looked after monthly.Drag, or use the arrow keys

  1. 01

    Before: A Wix shop with gaps.

    Now: A WooCommerce shop with the full range, prices and PayFast checkout.

    The Donkey Dairy, screen: The shop

  2. 02

    Before: Products tucked away from the home page.

    Now: A custom carousel brings the skincare onto the home page.

    The Donkey Dairy, screen: Featured products

  3. 03

    Before: Product details spread around the page.

    Now: Photos, details and add-to-cart in one view.

    The Donkey Dairy, screen: A product

  4. 04

    Before: Visitors unsure what a farm day involves.

    Now: The farm-visit page explains the day before anyone books.

    The Donkey Dairy, screen: Farm visits

  5. 05

    Before: Bookings confirmed one message at a time.

    Now: Bookings confirm on WhatsApp and email, with reminders before the visit.

    The Donkey Dairy, screen: Book a farm visit

[05] What changed

Selling and booking, without the babysitting.

The new shop went live on the farm's own domain on 18 November 2025, and a real order came through the same day.

The Donkey Dairy, screen: The shop
The shop. The full WooCommerce range, from capsules to soap, with clear prices and a quick add to cart.
Small custom pieces
4
From the website to a day on the farm.
5steps

Where it stands

Live, looked after monthly

Livethedonkeydairy.com

Oct 2025Sep 2026

Dates from our project records and release history.

  1. Update

    Farm-visit booking automations already running for the farm.

    The Donkey Dairy, screen: Book a farm visit
    then, +1 month
  2. Preview

    New shop previewed on the 13th, payments live on the 15th, live on the farm's domain on the 18th.

    thedonkeydairy.com

    The Donkey Dairy, screen: Home
    then, +1 month
  3. Update

    Order emails and store-manager logins sorted.

    then, +9 months
  4. Update

    Open days added into 2027.

Dates from our project records and release history.

  • The shop moved from Wix to WooCommerce and went live on the farm's own domain on 18 November 2025.

  • A real customer order came through on launch day.

  • Farm visits confirm and remind on WhatsApp and email without anyone at the farm typing a message.

  • The monthly report shows where visitors click; farm visits draw the most interest.

Who looks after what

  • Products and ordersThe Donkey Dairy, with store-manager logins
  • Hosting and changesx Create
  • Calendar openingsx Create, on request

  1. Live on launch day

    The new shop went live on the farm's own domain on 18 November 2025, and a real order came through the same day.

  2. A message to us

    When something needs to change, from a new product to an extra open day, it is a message to us.

  3. Where visitors click

    The monthly report shows the farm where visitors click. Farm visits draw the most interest, and the next goal is to help the shop catch up.

Built with

The tools behind it.

See the full toolbench
  • WordPress
  • WooCommerce
  • PayFast
  • GoHighLevel
  • Google Analytics

Also in the build: PHP

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