Devfortress

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and founder of Cansulta, a consulting firm and website.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devfortress?

I wanted to outsource my web development work, so I hired Devfortress.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Devfortress provides maintenance and improvements for our existing custom-built website. The team manages the site, handling ongoing updates and new feature development. The site is a custom WordPress site, and Devfortress uses WooCommerce and PHP. The team also has good knowledge of Google Analytics and SEO.

We already had a well-defined scope, so onboarding Devfortress has been straightforward. We've had a screenshare with Devfortress to review the state of things, and we've discussed a high-level scope to delve into detail later.

Devfortress hasn't started with the SEO tasks yet because they want to ensure all plug-ins work and everything functions as expected.

What is the team composition?

We work with around five people, including two primary developers, Shao, the founder of Devfortress, who oversees everything, and a QA specialist.

How did you come to work with Devfortress?

I had a relationship with Shao, the founder of Devfortress, in another business context. He knows we prefer to do our work in-house. However, we sought to outsource these tasks.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent just under $10,000 CAD.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2024, and the engagement is ongoing. They've been flexible with the proposal because we don't want a fixed price.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We've seen an increase in traffic, although other factors are also at play. Devfortress has done a great job making the site faster. Our website was experiencing significant slowdowns, resulting in a substantial loss of visitors. Now, we have more visitors, and people are staying on the site longer. Devfortress's work has met our expectations, and we plan to continue working with them.

How did Devfortress perform from a project management standpoint?

We've been delighted with their process. Devfortress delivers on time and within budget. The team is very accountable. We use Nifty for project management and a QA tool similar to Jira.

We've had occasions where they've gone over time, but they've absorbed the overage and adjusted their processes so we can work more efficiently together.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We plan to keep working with them. Devfortress is very flexible and has been able to accommodate our needs. The team is reachable, helpful, and responsive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

After we voiced our concerns regarding time, Devfortress has addressed them, primarily because we're a startup with a limited budget.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take advantage of their expertise, primarily in website development from scratch, and use a design agency for all the copy and creative work. From a development perspective, Devfortress is robust and excels in execution.

The team is also flexible in adapting to your needs; they have competent and intelligent developers and leaders, so they can assist a customer in creating a plan if they don't have a clear direction.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the co-founder of Agence Ricochet, a Montreal-based creative agency. We build websites for our clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devfortress?

We needed to develop a Shopify e-commerce store for one of our clients. However, we needed to make some modifications to the theme options. The main theme had some issues that were only solvable through code, so we hired Devfortress because our frontend development team was unable to go to the backend and make those changes.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired Devfortress to develop some custom sections on our client's website. We had a section that had, for example, three collections. Using the theme natively, this section showed the first two sections in one-quarter of the screen each, while showing the third section in half the screen. This was complicated to fix and not something our client wanted.

Therefore, Devfortress simplified the way the collections appeared so that they looked great and consistent. Basically, they added a language switcher, which we were unable to do ourselves. Moreover, they implemented a custom order confirmation feature by custom-coding the backend on HTML. Other technologies included CSS and Liquid.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two teammates from Devfortress: the president and a developer.

How did you come to work with Devfortress?

We met them at Collision, a technology conference held in Toronto, Canada, for everything related to the Internet, AI, and Web3. Devfortress was friendly and seemed confident in their work. Additionally, they were based in the same city as us, Montreal, so there was proximity between us. Moreover, their price fit our budget.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $1,200.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together on this project from July–August 2024. However, our relationship is ongoing. Although we're looking to hire internally, if we ever need something, we'll definitely hire them again.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The main result was that the customizations built by Devfortress worked well. We asked them to make some changes and adjustments, and what they did worked.

How did Devfortress perform from a project management standpoint?

Devfortress was able to stay on budget. At some point, we had a small misunderstanding, and their team continued working on something for longer than they were supposed to, causing them to invest more hours than the ones they ended up billing. They fixed this issue by precisely billing just two hours instead of eight. Our collaboration was virtual, so we mostly used Slack and Zoom to communicate.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

I would like to give a shout-out to Devfortress' president.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Devfortress was really quick to be able to work on our project. When we first approached them, we had a deadline of 48 hours. Still, they were able to deliver within 24 hours. That turnaround speed was very important and noteworthy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Devfortress' responsiveness could have been improved. Sometimes, it was hard for us to know what was going on at a particular moment. However, they always ended up responding within 24 hours. Whenever we asked them something, we expected a response in the next two hours.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Be clear in what you ask and define the budget beforehand.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm an executive at Cloquia. We've created an online web application that simplifies the process for academics, researchers, and professors. It allows them to establish their online profiles and connect their personal websites to a shared platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devfortress?

I thought of creating a web app but didn't have the necessary technical skills. I was looking for a company to work with me as a full-stack software development partner. Additionally, after launching the web app, I needed someone to do the server deployment and maintenance of that web app. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

I presented the team with a design mock-up, which they then used as a basis for their execution of the idea. The team utilized React, Node.js, and MongoDB for the development. 

What is the team composition?

I've been working directly with Shao Hang (Owner).

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

I like working with Shao Hang because he is a problem solver. He takes ownership of the project and sees it as a team effort we're building together. He actively considers alternative solutions instead of simply carrying out my proposed solution. 

How did you come to work with Devfortress?

I came across Shao Hang on an online platform and reached out to him. We began conversing from there. 

How much have you invested in them?

I've spent $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in April 2021, and it's ongoing. I reach out to them for any more minor changes that need to be made.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The web app has been launched and is earning revenue now. They made continual improvements during the process, resulting in a final product that exceeded my expectations. 

How did Devfortress perform from a project management standpoint?

Our team had regular weekly meetings to establish clear goals and deliverables for the following week. 

It is a pleasure working with Devfortress as they keep to the agreed schedule without any delays, making the process seamless. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

As a professor myself, I'm currently using the web app. I'm incredibly pleased with the outcome.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Unfortunately, we never met in person due to the pandemic. In online conversations, minor details may be overlooked or forgotten. To improve communication in remote situations, I suggest recording the conversations. This way, both parties can refer to the meeting and ensure nothing important is missed. We began implementing that a year into working together, significantly improving efficiency and clarity.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

To ensure a smooth project flow, it's best to have a detailed set of tasks that clearly specify the deliverables. It's better to err on the side of overexplaining to avoid any ambiguity. With precise tasks, the project can progress quickly as there is no room for vague instructions; things are executed really well. To ensure a fair and collaborative process, it is important to involve the team in the early stages of task creation.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a Communications Advisor at a world class university, managing communications projects for a variety of topics and audiences, including student health and wellness.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Devfortress, and what were your goals?

Our on-campus clinic is limited in its offerings and can't meet the health and wellness needs of all our students. Since many come from other cities and countries, we needed a streamlined and simple way for our students to find off-campus health and wellness supports available to them, with detailed information and filters so they could easily filter results based on what their needs were, what their insurance covered, etc.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Not applicable

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

All aspects of building, hosting, and publishing an online map tool were handled, from domain creation to migration to creating/managing filters to building an administrative intervace. 

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked only with one team member (the business owner). 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

All project components were created and launched exactly as requested. Business owner was very accessible and communicative throughout the process. 

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We had regular meetings to check in on the project, and frequent email communication to ensure our requests and needs were clear. 

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They were always quick to deliver and respond and were extremely reliable and pleasant to work with. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Not to my recollection. We had no complaints. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO and founder of Social Shopper Inc. Social Shopper enables friends and family to shop together online. By using a single CoCard, everyone can add a product, vote on what to buy, and make a purchase.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devfortress?

We needed someone to help improve our website’s search functionality and API integration.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our website was custom-made, but the team that I had previously worked with wasn’t able to complete its development. As a result, our search functionality was all over the place — the website would show completely unrelated results for every product search. 

Shao Hang (Software Consultant) stepped in to help me finish that specific aspect of the site with UX and user-friendliness in mind. The Devfortress team made improvements to the search feature’s keyword recognition feature and integrated APIs from Walmart and AWIN, since our revenue model comes from affiliate marketing.

What is the team composition?

There were multiple people that worked on the project, but Shao Hang was our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Devfortress?

I found them online by searching on Google and LinkedIn.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent under $5,000; Devfortress was very generous.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around February–March 2022. They have finished the first project, but I intend to continue working with them because I like their team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Devfortress has understood what I wanted to accomplish in terms of functionality and design. They’ve done an awesome job at making our website more user-friendly.

How did Devfortress perform from a project management standpoint?

Our communications have been really excellent. I don’t have to wait very long every time I reach out to Devfortress — they respond very quickly. It also helps that they’re not overseas or in a different timezone.

We use Trello for project management and Slack for quick messaging. We also have bi-weekly Zoom meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Devfortress is very good when it comes to advising their clients on the development of the whole website. They are very trustworthy, and working with them has saved me a lot of money.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any constructive feedback, but I really wish I had met them earlier. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I personally gained a lot from communicating with Devfortress over Zoom, so I think you will benefit a lot from doing the same. Those meetings have helped us understand each other’s needs more quickly as well as openly exchange advice.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a startup marketplace looking to support local economies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devfortress?

We initially started developing our platform on a different code, but it wasn’t going very well. Thus, I hired Devfortress to redevelop the code and build a new structure for our platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Devfortress has helped us develop our platform’s MVP. It is coded in JavaScript and uses the React.js framework on the frontend, as well as MongoDB on the backend for the database. We’ve also used InDesign to create the UI.

Initially, we provided them with a wireframe structure so that they knew what pages and features they needed to build. We’ve tested the platform as they’ve been building it to provide feedback about what was working and what wasn’t. Currently, it has no bugs, and we’re almost done with the project.

The premise of our platform is to serve as a marketplace for local retailers. Instead of having enormous warehouses like the important e-commerce industry leaders, we would aggregate the inventory of local stores into one master inventory, allowing local businesses to compete with these big companies. The platform, based on location, aggregates local store inventories so that people looking for certain products can find who sells them in their community at the best price. It offers the same shopping experience as the big brands, so people can shop with the same level of comfort while supporting their local businesses.

What is the team composition?

Shao (Software Consultant) has been our main point of contact, acting as the project manager.

How did you come to work with Devfortress?

I met Devfortress on YCombinator, a startup accelerator that helps startups network with professionals. Initially, I was looking for a technical co-founder and found Shao. Although he didn’t become a co-founder, we decided to sign a service agreement with his company for the development project.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent around $17,000 CAD (approximately $13,500 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2021, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

So far, the project has gone really well. When I started working on this project, I had a very clear vision of the platform and the functionalities I wanted on it. So far, Devfortress has demonstrated a great ability to deliver on every single one of my requirements; that’s how I’ve measured success.

How did Devfortress perform from a project management standpoint?

Devfortress has stuck to budget wonderfully, and their communication is perfect. I communicate with Shao regularly, and he’s always available, returning my calls and emails within minutes and attending our weekly Google Meet meetings on time. In addition to calls and emails, we use GitHub as the repository, a Trello board to manage the project, and Slack to communicate.

Regarding scheduling, I first thought that the project would be faster. However, there have been a lot of iterations and corrections, so it has taken longer than expected. Still, this situation is normal in development projects.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Devfortress genuinely cares about their client’s projects. They’ve gone above and beyond for my project, doing things they’re not supposed to do. For example, they’ve actually helped me find the first customer who is going to test the platform. Shao proactively reached out to one of his friends who owns a couple of retail stores focused on locally sourced products and talked to them about being our beta tester once we deployed the platform. Additionally, although I already paid Shao the total amount for the development work, he still attends our weekly meetings to answer questions from our team and help them finalize certain functionalities.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if Devfortress’s communication with non-technical people were more detailed. Initially, I told them what I needed, they gave me an estimate, and we agreed on the price. However, what I requested included certain other elements in my mind.

I’ve read that it is a common mistake for non-technical people to expect an MVP with a lot more functionality than what an MVP actually has, which is just the core of the product. Thus, Devfortress could improve their communication when setting expectations for other non-technical clients, detailing what their project would encompass and what would be unnecessary to develop at that point.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Devfortress is very engaging, so have a collaborative relationship with them and ask for what you want in detail. The more detailed you are with your requirements, the better you can align your expectations with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Co-Founder, COO, and former Co-CEO of a software solutions company. We provide brands and retailers with a sales-boosting solution for sales associates to improve their in-store sales.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devfortress?

We were in the early stages of building a marketing and storytelling website. We were building this site on Webflow because it enabled us to implement drag and drop customization. However, we wanted to build the site further to improve and evolve our program, for which we required web developers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Devfortress helped us improve our website by adding blogs and new pages, incorporating some of our marketing and storytelling features into it, building a great automation process, and helping us with our dual language setup. In general terms, they worked with us on several frontend development projects to help this Webflow project become a highly functional website.

Among other changes that Devfortress made to our website were adding carousels to help with logos and our value proposition storytelling. These carousels were implemented one on our retailers’ page, another one on our brand page, and two different ones on our home page. They also restructured the website so that it had a better flow and added different effects to the buttons and dropdown menus. Additionally, they provided us with maintenance services for a little while afterward.

What is the team composition?

Shao (Founder) was our main point of contact, and he had a team of 2–3 people behind him working on the project.

How did you come to work with Devfortress?

I posted a job offer on a Facebook technology startup community group, asking for web designers and developers, and Shao responded very quickly. We connected, met for a coffee, and took it from there. What made me decide to work with them was that Shao was very responsive.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent less than $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May–September 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Devfortress delivered on time and within budget, helping us launch when we wanted to launch; that was how we measured their success. Initially, we went into the project thinking that they would help us with small Webflow changes, but ultimately, they helped us improve our site more than we thought. We were very satisfied with their work, and they exceeded our expectations.

How did Devfortress perform from a project management standpoint?

Devfortress was prompt, affordable, communicative, honest, and timely. Throughout the project, we had regular phone calls and occasional meetings. Additionally, we communicated via email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Devfortress was impressively responsive and adaptive. They had never worked with Webflow before, although they knew the basics. Still, they were very keen to learn it and quickly adapt to our needs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only challenge we faced was the language barrier. We had issues with our communication, but they didn’t cause problems when working together. The challenge was that we didn’t understand clearly during our phone calls, but we resolved it by switching to sending emails to have everything written down.

I’ve known that Devfortress’ English domain has improved drastically over the last couple of years; it would have been great if they had improved their English back then.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Meet with them and ensure that your requirements are clearly laid down. Devfortress does a great job at following instructions, so they’ll definitely help you build what you need.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the president of an organization whose goal was to market and develop software that could help lawyers manage their transactions. I coordinated with the sales and marketing teams to sign clients. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devfortress?

Devfortress helped us build our legal software. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Devfortress team helped us with everything tech-related. They developed the web app and created our web page, working on both the front- and backend of everything. They mainly used Java and HTML to do these. We had input in everything they did for the project, including the colors and shades of the app and website. The team simply executed ideas for us.

In terms of core functionalities, the app helped users track their deadlines and make them transparent. We knew that lawyers would use a lot of agenda tools to keep track of their transactions. They’d had a period of negotiation, a period for drafting documents, a period for finalizing documents, a period for transferring funds, and more. As a result, we wanted to streamline that process and give everyone involved in the deal the same view of the timeline. We wanted to give them whatever could help them visualize the dates and objectives of the transaction. 

What is the team composition?

Our main points of contact were Tom (COO) and Shao (Software Consultant). We met with them 4–5 times throughout the project to keep track of what had been accomplished and what we still needed to do. Tom and Shao also liaised between us and the developers, helping us know what was and wasn’t possible in the project. There were also 2–3 other teammates working on the project almost full-time. 

How did you come to work with Devfortress?

I met Shao back in the university while I was studying economics a long time ago. He had since been in my network, and he was a truly straightforward person. He worked well, so when I came up with the idea of this web app, I called him. One thing led to another, and we started working together. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $20,000–$50,000 CAD (approximately $16,000–$40,000 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from September 2018–February 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Unfortunately, the project was discontinued. In any case, our co-founders — including me — were happy with what Devfortress delivered to us. There was never any issue with our budget or timing, and we were truly satisfied with the quality of their work. 

In fact, we used the beta version of the software to do demonstrations in our network. We asked people to criticize it and give us ideas on what we could do better. Yet, everyone was surprised with the time that Devfortress took to deliver such great results. Overall, the app did everything we asked for, and all functionalities we requested were working. 

How did Devfortress perform from a project management standpoint?

We spent nights together to go over the project so we could explain to Devfortress how lawyers worked. The team was truly receptive to our comments, and they responded well. For instance,  we told them that many lawyers weren’t tech-savvy, so the app shouldn’t take more than a minute to understand; it should be self-explanatory. Given that, they created the app in a straightforward way. There’s weren’t many useless buttons. Overall, they adapted quickly to our needs, and we were truly happy about that. 

To communicate, we used essentially everything. We exchanged emails and had a Facebook group chat at some point. As a result, we ensured that everyone was on the same page. We also used phone calls and text messages, where Shao and I bounced ideas off of each other. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The closeness and transparency of the engagement were impressive. Every step of the way, we knew exactly what to expect. Other developers would confidently take our project, but they’d come back 1–2 months later with something completely different from what we wanted. By contrast, Devfortress continuously followed up with us to ensure that what they were doing was essential to us. They understood the task perfectly, and that was their most important quality. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t any. Everything they did was good; the project was discontinued for business reasons that had nothing to do with the web app. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open about your needs and explain them to the Devfortress team continually. Needs evolve, so you should talk to developers regularly and give them feedback. If you don’t give them feedback, they won’t know if they’re in the right direction or not. It takes two to tango — in order for them to do a good job, you must give them specific instructions all the time. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Manager of Transparent Labs

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We create clean, science-backed supplements.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Devfortress to accomplish?

• Create a landing page for subscribe & save information

SOLUTION

How did you find Devfortress?

Referral

Why did you select Devfortress over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Devfortress were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

They helped us develop a subscribe & save landing page that we designed. The sections included a header, shoppable carousel, how to subscribe, benefits of subscribing, shop bestsellers, and more.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Useability, accuracy to the design.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Yes, they were timely in the revisions required.

What was your primary form of communication with Devfortress?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They were quick to respond and explained their decisions well. They were willing to provide documentation for simple tasks when asked.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Devfortress could have done differently?

Better QA process.