Bejamas

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work at Finanzchef24, Germany's largest internet business insurance broker, as the CTO. We assist entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals in obtaining coverage for business or professional liability, property damage, industrial property, and other risks.

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

We moved to hire Bejamas' developers to assist us on a regular basis as added support to our in-house team. Initially, the first project was focused on the migration of content pages from Drupal to Contentful.

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

At Finanzchef24, we were already using the Jamstack architecture which was aligned completely with Bejamas' expertise. We knew we needed an agency with developers that were diligent and experienced migrating from Drupal and finding ways to handle huge content structures.

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

Core Web Vitals: One of the biggest refinements made was to the performance of the Homepage app -- and it now passes the Core Web Vitals assessment for both desktop and mobile. Homepage app: Many changes to Contentful and the codebase have been implemented to facilitate the migration of hundreds of pages from Drupal to the homepage app and add/improve features and functionality. Global package changes The Bejamas developers refined global packages by making small changes to our design system and adding the React Context API to our custom cookie banner implementation. Widget: Custom React app The Bejamas team implemented a widget that our partners can place on their sites to send their users into Finanzchef24's digital interview funnel. The staging and production are hosted on Vercel and we used a GitHub pages site for the documentation showing how to add the widget to a site.

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

We had one frontend-focused developer supporting us all the time, while a second joined for another six months.

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

One of the most notable results was the significant enhancement in our page performance which now meets the requirements to pass Google's Core Web Vitals – we saw a huge jump from 30% to the 70%+

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

We used GitHub, Slack/MS Teams and JIRA to communicate with the team. While following Scrum, we had dailies in which the communication and participation from Bejamas' developers was exemplary, always being transparent in setting the right expectations, committing to their work and delivering on time.

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

They have a highly qualified team that can identify the finest solution for any need. They are great communicators and deliver quality work.

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

Despite the fantastic support they have provided thus far, I believe they could offer more choices for future market researches aimed at certain profiles we may require.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're a company that offers pet insurance plans to manage pet health costs in the US and Canada. I started as the Director of Product Development and transitioned to Head of Product and I lead the development side of the business.

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

We wanted a super-fast eCommerce site for our US and Canada markets and we also needed help with the integration of our CMS, as well as some personalization functionalities.

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

We got a couple of proposals from a few different agencies, and some of the main reasons why we went with Bejamas were related to the pricing you gave us and how we really liked your website and the case studies we read.

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

We were migrating from WordPress to React, and we knew that we wanted to get a static site with either Next or Gatsby to get the most performance, so we consulted and got help choosing Gatsby as a platform. We built a project very quickly. We're a startup so as we were stepping up internally, Bejamas helped to augment that and now we have a retainer agreement with them.

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

There were 3 people. 1 PM and 2 developers

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

We've had great successes, we launched in two markets within 3 months, we migrated our WordPress site onto the Jamstack, we have the fastest site with the highest Core Web Vitals in our industry.

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

The workflow has been good, communication through Slack has been easy and overall it has been a seamless process.

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

Being a Jamstack shop was really hard to find, so the Bejamas niche is already unique and all the Jamstack knowledge really makes them stand out.

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

There were some hiccups in the beginning but it's pretty normal when starting a consulting project as we figured out workflows and the velocity that we needed. That was solved and that's about it. Everything else has been great, so no complaints.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I lead product marketing at a cybersecurity company that helps organizations communicate more securely over email.

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

Our lean marketing team was looking for a web development agency that could build a JAMstack website and quickly iterate on new feature requests and QA items from our side. Being a Silicon Valley technology company, things move fast for us, and we wanted an agency that could move fast alongside without any drop in quality.

How did you select Bejamas and what were the deciding factors?

We were looking for agencies that were comfortable with JAMstack websites, had the required expertise to help us on an ongoing basis, and fit our budgetary needs. Honestly, one of the biggest reasons for choosing Bejamas was their own website! They have built in on JAMstack beautifully with fast loading times, concise information, and overall it conveys a picture of a unique company that is serious about their work but also fun to work with.

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

The project I will focus on here was a full website refresh we conducted in Jan-Feb 2020. The scope of the project was to take designed wireframes, develop them, conduct QA, and push them to production within 4-5 weeks. The total number of webpages were ~10-15. Technologies used: Zeplin, Netlify, Storyblok, Jira

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

We had a dedicated project manager and a few full-stack developers for the duration of the project. We also had the support of the CEO, who is on our shared Slack channel and was always receptive to feedback, additional ad-hoc requests.

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

The refreshed website got done on time and received mostly positive feedback from visitors and attendees at a technology conference that our company attended right after the website launch. The site loading times continued to be fast and metric tracking with Google Analytics continued to be strong.

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

Bejamas were open and frequent in their communication. We had a shared Slack channel for ongoing communication, a Google Sheet to track project line items, and a Jira Service Desk interface to file tickets that fell outside the scope of the main project.

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

Their speed of work without impacting the quality is very impressive.

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

Since the project mentioned in this review was the first big project with them, there were a few communication teething problems that we went through together (missed messages, faulty assumptions etc.). These happen with every project for every agency, so it was not a huge issue. We have also seen these things improve in follow-up projects we have done with Bejamas.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Tapendium is a hospitality solution that enables digital experiences for a guest within a luxury hotel. The guests can order room service, guest services, and get all the information they require from a tablet application or PWA.

As a product manager, I work with the CEO, CTO, head of marketing and sales to build a product roadmap in line with business goals. I also oversee and manage a team of designers, engineers, and support engineers.

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

We needed a tech company to help us build an app with modern tooling for both clients and hotel management. Our project had two phases. The first phase was about making a simple and fast PWA for guests in hotels that would allow them to easily check info about the hotel.

The second phase is about giving users the opportunity to order food/beverages to their rooms without the need to call the reception, i.e. incorporating new functionalities to an existing solution.

How did you select Bejamas and what were the deciding factors?

We wanted to use modern web-based technology with a fresh look and interface for both clients and their users. While researching possible solutions Bejamas came up more than once on our radar. In summary: They offer good pricing for their high-quality work, they have great English and offer great advice that outlasts any project.

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

The app was built with Next.js for the front-end architecture and Storyblok as a headless CMS. We added TypeScript, Emotion, TailwindCSS, and React Spring. Multilingual app with two themes (light and dark) and an ability to offer the app with the same codebase to other clients as well.

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

A project manager and two developers worked on the project from the start. Most of the communication was with the PM via a dedicated Slack channel. The PM was fantastic. Great communication, very proactive, great english, and always asked great questions to help improve the product based on our knowledge of the market.

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

First and foremost the app looks even better than we envisioned it. The team produced a very high-quality product. The UI/UX was fantastic and so was the layout of the CMS. We have put the app out both internally and externally (to current clients and potential future ones) and got great feedback.

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

I am happy to say that the guys are very responsive and they’ve hit every milestone on time. We used slack for day to day messages. Used Zeplin to annotate and communicate any design elements and used Zoom to have a weekly catch up call.

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

They are one of the few companies that really care about what they do and how they do it. I think this is what sets them apart. The quality of questions, the proactiveness, the communication, the price, the quality of their work - it ticked all the boxes.

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

Nothing.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an investment firm, and I’m the head of communications.

What challenge were you trying to address with Bejamas?

They helped us build our web presence, a project that has evolved.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re mainly a development shop. I handled most of the design on my side. I’d bring them the design from sketch files, they’d scope it, and we’d agree on the functionality of the project. They’d then go off and built it.

They’re extremely collaborative and excellent communicators, so the project started with the website but it has evolved into them working on the next version of the website and other standalone projects. They work in JavaScript, Markdown, different APIs, Gatsby, HTML5, and other plugins.

What is the team composition?

There is a primary project manager who helps scope projects and the time it’ll take. Then, there’s a team of developers behind him. I work with two of those people too. Then, there’s a team behind them. Their CEO also checks in on me and the success of the project.

How did you come to work with Bejamas?

I found them because I wanted a shop specialized in this technology. They were one of the first firms that I found with a track record of building static site generators with blazing fast delivery. We sat down, and then we’ve been working together ever since.

How much have you invested with them?

Somewhere between $25,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in February 2019, and the work is ongoing.

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

Their virtue that I find most compelling is that they’re right. They’ll give you something and prioritize speed over quality. Then, they’ll get feedback and make it perfect. I love their process because it doesn’t spin wheels nor waste resources. That process works very well for web design and web development. This creates a better customer service experience, building a better relationship because they’re good at taking and implementing feedback.

How did Bejamas perform from a project management standpoint?

They perform well, meeting all deadlines and budgets.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their responsiveness distinguishes them. Their entire team engages me as a client, no matter the time of day. Their loyalty to me as a client is why I continue to work with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The first iteration had noticeable issues, but they responded excellently to feedback, hired and trained new people, and implemented solutions. If I was building an application, I’d be more critical of making the code perfect, but because I’m not they are exactly what I’m looking for at the price point I’m looking to buy at.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know your goals and what you want to accomplish and come in with that. Tell them what you want and how it should be done. I’ve been quite successful with them being quite specific about the experience I’m trying to create and they have a keen ability to translate that.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the UX & Creative Director at Argent

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

We needed a website to showcase our core product (a mobile crypto wallet) and provide educational content about digital money / decentralised finance etc. We are a tech company, with in-house software engineers, and we wanted a website where we own the codebase and can deploy our own changes.

At the same time, our website is not our core product, so we wanted the bulk of the work done by an agency. We also wanted a decouple Javascript frontend, rather than a serverside-heavy CMS like Drupal or Wordpress.

How did you select Bejamas and what were the deciding factors?

Bejamas were willing and able to work with us to provide a codebase which we control, and which we collaborate on regularly. They built the bulk of argent.xyz, with our in-house engineers jumping in and contributing code as needed too. It's made for a successful partnership, and we are very happy with the result.

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

- Website, using a mix of React / Gatsby / Prismic - Modular, reusable components from which we can build new pages - SEO optimisation (performance, tag management, metadata and structured data)

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

3 - 4 at various times. One PM and various engineers.

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

Our site speed score has doubled, and we are now able to produce far more content than before. This has improved our inbound links and search engine result page rankings, leading to significant growth in traffic.

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

Very lightweight, which we like. There is little project management overhead, making Bejamas cost efficient. Direct communication with developers, with the PM leaving us to resolve issues. Tools are shared Slack spaces, Atlassian Service Desk and Github!

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

Bejamas have been like an extension of our own engineering team, without ever having met us and despite rather light communication with them. For the most part, they get what we want easily, and deliver quickly.

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

Check some of the details before implementing if there is any doubt. They mostly do this though. Sometimes different engineers work differently, and this can make the codebase inconsistent / harder to navigate for someone new.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Swedish lifestyle brand within accessories. We design, manufacture and ship products globally to our customers. A true DNVB company. I am the Founder of the company. Responsible for customer experience, product development and creative department.

For what projects/services did your company hire Bejamas?

Building a gatsby based E-commerce platform. Using Amplify, Sanity CMS and Brink Commerce order engine. We have a need for a blazing fast platform since 89% of our customers visit us thru mobile devices.

What were your goals for this project?

Build our new platform with an experienced partner. That also could deliver on future development on a fixed pricing agreement. They brought a lot of knowledge possibilities that helped to develop our goal even further.

How did you select this vendor?

I found 2 recommendations about Bejamas. One in a forum, and one review thru a Jamstack website. We needed a partner in the same time-zone, since we aim to work long-term with all partners we include in our growth. I talked to 5 different companies before choosing Bejamas. The CEO of the Bejamas made a very good impression with both me and my business partners.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Build a Gatsby based E-commerce website with Sanity CMS and Amplify. 80% of the website was explained in our design brief. 20% we needed help to design. A design service provided by Bejamas. The most important thing for us was the flexibility and freedom to change and test everything with very short notice. Everything was built in stand alone blocks/widgets.

What was the team composition?

Project Manager - Bejamas, Lead Developer - Bejamas ,Designer - Bejamas

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

We aimed for speed, and gatsby built right is extremely fast. Impressive technology.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We had weekly status updates and progress reports. All along the way we had a steady communication and great flow of ideas. Google hangouts was used, also github and Slack. No language barriers what so ever. Bejamas team english is excellent.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Solving problems and being flexible with short notice. Always a smile and great spirit. These guys work for long term relationships. It is my third E-commerce company. And I will be coming back to work with Bejamas in the future. Bejamas are very fair and balanced in all aspects. They always aim to create a great product. It is clear that they set their goal high with growing their business.

Are there any areas for improvement?

During my experience working with Bejamas I think that sometimes we could have slowed down the decision making a little. But, to be honest, I am more detailed than the average customer.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior marketing manager for Newfront Insurance, an insurance brokerage that uses modern technology and processes in a very old industry.

What challenge were you trying to address with Bejamas?

We were building a website for the company from scratch. We wanted it to be a platform that could develop, change, and improve over time.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bejamas used Typescript, Next.js, and JAMstack to build the website. Our website previously was static, and we wanted enhancements to the presentation layer. They also integrated Prismic as a headless CMS so that I can make changes to the website. We already had a design and web hosting option beforehand: Bejamas just did the development. 

Since we launched the site, their team also built out a blogging platform through Prismic. They also created an area for calendar events on the site.

What is the team composition?

We mainly worked with three engineers. My main point of contact was Ralph (Project Manager, Bejamas). I never had to worry much about what engineers were on the project with him as a PM. I also worked with Thom (Co-Founder, Bejamas) quite bit for the first few weeks of the project. 

How did you come to work with Bejamas?

We had a comprehensive process: we interviewed individual contractor candidates as well as 5–6 development agencies. We had lots of phone calls and a lot of different quotes. Based on the timeline that they proposed along with the work they’d done before, Bejamas impressed us from day one. Also, from their website, we could tell that they were passionate about the technology that they use and that they specialized in the technology that we were looking for. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in September 2019 and wrapped up in December of the same year. We still work with them on an ongoing basis. 

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

Our most critical and detailed-oriented employees — including our co-founders — were very happy with the website from day one. That was a success for me.

The website is more of a marketing site. We’re looking to get across information more than convert our visitors or drive a lot of traffic. Our main metric is that it works across browsers and devices. We could tell from the first staging environment links that they sent us that Bejamas knows how to build a good website. It had a good baseline infrastructure just from how well it works. 

How did Bejamas perform from a project management standpoint?

Every client works with a PM as a primary point of contact. We always know what they’re working on when it came to planned sprints. They were very strong in estimating hours; they put a higher upper limit and almost always came in under their estimate. They also tracked the hours of every employee that worked on our project down to 20-minute chunks in our invoices. It was very transparent. We communicate over a shared Slack channel. Even though we were in different time zones, the communication was always strong. I knew I could always reach out to them whenever I needed something.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of the work impressed us the most. When we were selecting a vendor, the thing we cared most about was building a quality website that we could expand on over the next few years. And I feel like Bejamas delivered on that front.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Bejamas asked me that, too. That was another cool thing about working with them: they were always asking for feedback and showing that they wanted to improve. I could never give them any criticism. I’ve just had a lot of terrible experiences with different teams and contractors. It’s hard to point to anything that Bejamas didn’t do well.

Any advice for potential customers?

We had our designer hand off our designs using Zeplin. That seemed like a great tool to make the handoff of prepared assets as smooth as possible. We also allotted hours for our designer to work with the engineers to create specs for the project and answer questions as needed.

Please describe your company and your position there.

LINK Marketing Services is the Swiss market leader when it comes to market research. Our job is to collect precise, reliable and meaningful fundamentals to support clients’ decision-making. I act as the head of the IT department in the company.

For what projects/services did your company hire Bejamas?

We were replacing an application and opted for an innovative way to build a modern web application. In order to complement our inhouse skillset, we were looking for a company with experience in modern-day tooling, React focused, most specifically those with experience in native application design and development.

What were your goals for this project?

We basically wanted a fast React-based native app with the ability to save data on top of the presentation layer.

How did you select this vendor?

We have been working with Bejamas in the past. When looking for external development resources that meet our quality expectations, Bejamas was an obvious choice. Fast availability and the relevant skills for this specific project sealed the deal.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We were building a modern and easily scalable app. Umi.js, a pluggable enterprise-level React application framework was used for building processes as well as for routing of application. ANT Design was our framework for the visible parts of the app.

What was the team composition?

We’ve had a dedicated senior dev and project manager working with us full time.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The app has recently been completed so we are still getting feedback from the users. However, internally we are happy with the way the app works ie fast, reliable and secure.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Dedicated Slack channel and Jira tasks. Transparent time tracking. Communication with them was clear, easy and on time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They clearly have the technical know-how, are transparent with their work, and have good communication. discipline which eases the integration of remote devs into local teams.

Are there any areas for improvement?

More dev flexibility regarding the adjustment to our office hours when it comes to availability in the mornings. We were able to solve it with a workaround and it didn't affect the actual project performance.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Co-owner of Widelab Design Agency.

For what projects/services did your company hire Bejamas?

Bejamas prepared highly-performant website built with static site generator (GatsbyJS) for one of our clients based on the designs they’ve been provide. They’ve been also responsible for creating the content types and integration of the website with a headless CMS (Contentful).

What were your goals for this project?

To build highly efficient website and reflect 1:1 designs prepared by us.

How did you select this vendor?

Bejamas was our partner before, we prepared some designs for their websites and they were great when it comes to contact, transparency, flexibility, that's why we chose them as partners in our projects.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Bejamas prepared highly-performant website built with static site generator (GatsbyJS) for one of our clients based on the designs they’ve been provide. They’ve been also responsible for creating the content types and integration of the website with a headless CMS (Contentful). On our side, we prepared high fidelity designs, which were shared in zeplin and based on that dev team prepared the whole development process.

What was the team composition?

There was a Project Manager, Front-end developer + some resources for testing on some stages.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

After redesigning, the portal work a few times quicker than before with same amount of data. The quality of their work was definitely a factor in the project's success.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Most of the communication was covered by Slack and weekly calls with a team. For deliverables we used Zeplin. For task management Jira.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Flexibility, quick feedback and iterations. We had an agreement, but the team was flexible and when a call was needed - they were always available.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No