Staylime

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a PR partner at Bulba Ventures, a startup investment company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Staylime?

We needed help building our corporate website. We were one of the first venture companies launching in Belarus. We needed our website to stand out, speak boldly about what we do, and translate our mission.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were responsible for developing the design concept for the website and then developed the actual website. They did everything from scratch. They provided wireframes and sketches. We’re constantly having them do minor edits to the website and adding new features. The team has been very helpful to continue to help us design and build those features.

What is the team composition?

I communicated with the manager on their side. There were 4-5 people working on the project.

How did you come to work with Staylime?

They were recommended to us by one of our partners from the business network. They had worked on a website for them. We liked it and we felt that it would be a good fit for us well.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $50,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2018, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The work was really thorough, delivered on time, and everything we needed was delivered. Since the website went live, it's attracted a lot of traffic. We’ve received a lot of great feedback between the design community in Belarus. We have more than 1,500 unique visitors to our website for a month, which is a very good number for us.

How did Staylime perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is great. Their communication is really structured and on point. Whenever we needed something or had any questions, they were always very helpful in delivering the right answers and providing us with the information we needed. I like to keep it simple. We communicate mostly via email. I was given access to Figma to see any sketches I needed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're very flexible when it comes to the speed of the process. We needed the project to be delivered really fast. The team was really on point in taking into account everything we wanted to have on the website. They were really open to take our vision and build a great product that works super well for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The process was really smooth, so there’s nothing I would change. All our team is very happy about it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I suggest going for it. They are a very creative and collaborative team. They’re young and very talented professionals. We’re a happy customer.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Paralect, a digital product engineering company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Staylime?

We needed someone to design and develop our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Coding in HTML, their team designed our website as well as other marketing materials. They established an effective aesthetic for our website, which is adaptable to all screen sizes. It adheres to our branding guidelines. It’s functional and feels very fresh.

Their key deliverable was a product that we could utilize in our marketing campaigns, and they produced it from scratch. We’ve kept them on board for content creation as we continue to expand our operations.

What is the team composition?

We work with a team of at least 6 people. Their team is comprised of developers, designers, and illustrators. We also worked with their director.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2018, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They professionally executed our website. The team delivered a complete solution: designs, animations, and transitions, all of which culminate in something that feels like a truly complete product. They did an excellent job, and we’re still using the design for our newer pages.

The key metrics for us are the number of closed leads, and conversions have doubled or tripled for us. I also think that we receive more requests for design services. While it’s a completely different area for us, the website has helped us explore the idea of offering design services, as well.

How did Staylime perform from a project management standpoint?

They were exceedingly professional. They ensured that we were consistently updated on project progress. We knew the status of each task. They also offered suggestions and solutions that were outside of our direct ask, which we appreciated. They were very proactive in that way.

What did you find most impressive about them?

While we’ve worked with several other companies, Staylime stands out due to the quality of their work. They deliver top-notch results.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I’d have them improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them enough freedom so that they can come up with ideas that are the best for you. They operate optimally when they have a bit of a free rein, and you can trust their decisions.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Green Aqua is one of the leading retail services in the aquarium industry. It is founded back in 2009. Our company provides retail service, wholesale, manufacturing, client on-site services, and media solutions. I am one of the founders and managing director of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Staylime?

We've been using Magento for our e-commerce site. To be up to date with the latest technology we needed to upgrade our Magento website and in connection with that many other services as well. Our ERP integration, custom developments, the frontend as well as many backend custom functions. Needed a performance upgrade, SEO services, and Staylime was the best partner for that.

What were your goals for this project?

In the past 10 years, we heavily customized our website. This had many advantages, but since the new Magento 2 engine had a completely different data structure the biggest problem and challenge was to port over all the existing data, match the old functionality or replace them with a better one. Rewrite the ERP synchronization between our website and the ERP system from the ground up.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We've been working with Staylime and Mageworx for a couple of years now. Finding a reliable Magento developer partner is always a challenge. Especially if you're thinking about a long-term partnership. We've been lucky enough to find them a few years ago and they proved their excellent service in many cases. They have skilled staff, specialists who really help to solve your issues.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Initially, we upgraded the core functionality of our website with many of their Magento extensions. Since they were compatible with each other this was the best decision we made. Magento data migration from version 1 to the latest version 2 was the next project. Here we needed not only the code data of the past 10 years but all additional data too like a reward system, gift card data, and other existing customizations.

One of the most important parts was ERP synchronization. This is a core thing for our team and was crucial to solving the data sync between the systems to save time on order processing and eliminate the extra manual work. Unfortunately, Magento's earlier edition is completely different. So they had to build the sync tool from the ground up and do all internal testings, QC for this project before the launch.

With the change not only the data needed to be moved, but the whole front end replaced. To be familiar to our existing users/customers they had to customize the theme. Since all challenges, compatibility issues and other technical problems solved professionally, they helped to optimize our site, tweak everything to perform better for search engines. And they implemented an advanced cache technology.

What was the team composition?

We've been in contact with 2 project managers on the project and they helped to keep everything on track on the full scope. We've used a project management system and with this everything was smooth and transparent. The communication was really quick in between us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site is launched a few weeks ago, but with the upgrade, we're able to process orders much quicker. Product management and administration are now needed 30% less effort on our side. The site performs much better so the manual task can be done faster. With this, we saved a lot of time.

Clients are happy that with such a big change they have all the existing information, rewards etc in hand and no need long learning curves to operate the site. The new platform opens up new gates for us to use more advanced services from now.

We're more secured thanks to all the implemented functions. And since we had just a very little downtime with the change we've not lost any business in the crucial upgrade time. I am sure the numbers will prove that we made a good decision with the change in the upcoming high season.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We had 2 project managers and if any of them was not available the other project manager helped out with all of our upcoming questions and issues. We've used Trello boards for quick communication and management. Every single task, a request was checked out and made the whole process transparent between the developers and our staff.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

All the development work went through the project managers so we not needed to work with developers at all. The whole work was done on a staging environment and ported only to the live site when they were done. With this, we minimized the downtime. With such a big change, I was really surprised how smooth the launch was. Enjoyed the whole process.

Are there any areas for improvement?

It is not easy to tell anything. Of course, as a client would be ideal to have things ready in a very short time, but we frequently underestimate the required work and effort that is needed for such a change. I do not have anything that I would change. Only can hope we will have a chance to work in the future too.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the website and digital marketing manager for HI Vis Heroes and Gorilla Workwear. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Staylime?

We hired Staylime for a range of development tasks that improve our website's customer journey and usability. Each of these tasks involves a lot of prior discussion, planning, and specification. They have mainly helped us duplicate and launch our site under a new branding scheme.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to improve the overall look and feel of our site while increasing its usability, functionality, and performance.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected Staylime because they were Magento experts. We reached out to see if they were interested in this project, then discussed it through emails and phone calls. We decided that Staylime was an ideal partner for our full-cycle project.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We carefully itemize and document tasks, and they develop the best solution for our requirements. They have successfully built many custom frontend development solutions that improve the user journey and functionality of the site.

Some of these changes are small design adjustments, such as color schemes and fonts. Other projects involve in-depth research and custom solutions, such as setting up a matrix order pricing system for configurable products.

What was the team composition?

Two Staylime developers act as our main points of contact.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work is fantastic. They create, implement, and test each task to deliver a more responsive, easy-to-use, and navigable website. They have helped us prepare a new site and dramatically improve our existing site. In-house testing shows that the site is significantly more usable and user-friendly.

When the website launches in the next two weeks, these improvements will become more apparent. Their changes have improved the UX of our site. If the customer has a pleasant shopping experience, they're likely to return and spend more. 

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They manage the project through various communication methods. They initially used phone calls and emails, then transitioned to Skype chat, a day-to-day Trello board, and a weekly email update. This is fairly effective. It keeps everyone in the loop with their progress, queries, and task outlines.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I'm impressed by their ability to understand our problems. Then, they can interpret them and develop solutions in a timely manner.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Our only suggestion would be to ask questions and eliminate assumptions when we don't fully understand the problem. At one point, we asked to select multiple sizes of one product. They implemented the fix on simple products, but our product was configurable, so the fix was unusable and redundant. If they had asked more questions at first, we would have realized that the suggested fix wasn't viable.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a shop that builds and delivers high-end greenhouses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Staylime?

We needed them to manage and execute changes to our layout, integrate our advanced products options, and improve our site’s performance and its conversion rate.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to improve the site’s overall performance both technically and commercially.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We researched extensively and decided to go with Staylime because of the quality of their services.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They overhauled the project and category pages, widened the site to enhance visibility on bigger screens, and implemented and migrated old product options to the new advanced configurable options. They also fixed numerous bugs and enhanced the site’s overall performance, including improvements to caching. They prepared us for a transition from Magento 1 to Magento 2.

What was the team composition?

Besides the project manager, we had between three and five Staylime team members working on different aspects of the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen a clear improvement in our analytics with regard to page visits and time spent per page. Our turnover has improved by about 10%.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They used the Staylime project management tool, along with our frontend bug reporting tool, Bugherd. We appreciated their flexibility in adapting their tools to our needs.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their quick replies to inquiries and professional handling of technical challenges stood out. Their capable attitude and responsiveness to our wishes and planning made a difference.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The only thing I can think of would be translating technical language into terms we understand more easily. Non-technical shopkeepers can find the information overwhelming and might not see a direct connection between functional wishes and technical challenges.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior project manager for Solar Jet Productions LLC. We’re a small web and print marketing company that concentrates on e-commerce clients in the foodservice industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Staylime?

One of our clients needed to transition from Magento 1 to Magento 2. The project was difficult because we had done substantial custom code for the client’s Magento 1 website. This code needed to work with the major updates in the Magento 2 platform. We hired Staylime to execute the migration.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Although Magento is natively a B2C platform, the client uses the solution for its B2B distribution company. The client’s sales representatives switch between dozens of accounts to place orders that appear on behalf of each end customer. However, each order is tied to the specific representative.

Staylime built custom modules for the Magento 2 platform. These modules enabled the client to operate forced user logins; the client’s sales representatives leverage this feature to process orders as different users. Our team did custom work on a module to the customer’s needs.

How did you come to work with Staylime?

Staylime is a certified developer of Magento modules and we had used their extensions for a different customer. We hired the team because they could execute custom development in addition to extensions.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $20,000 via an upfront payment.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from May–August 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Staylime sent us periodic releases, which functioned well. The team then met the goals and objectives we set with minimal oversight. We had one minor misunderstanding, but, that’s to be expected with such a complex project. We did not encounter any major flaws or problems.

How did Staylime perform from a project management standpoint?

The project was relaxed because we did not require significant back and forth. Consequently, we didn’t integrate Staylime into our project management system.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They hit the ground running and delivered good value. We appreciated the high-quality result.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Since we had to recalibrate this project slightly, I would advise clients to define goals clearly. When writing the scope, ask whether a third party could readily follow the requirements.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the director of Jaydee Living. We’re an e-commerce specialist that provides products to the B2B sector.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Staylime?

We hired Staylime/MageWorx to develop custom themes and do SEO audits for four Magento websites.

What were your goals for this project?

The goals were to maintain, if not improve, our websites' organic rankings while providing a more user-friendly and seamless way for clients to purchase products.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Staylime/MageWorx had already developed a few extensions for another of our Magento sites. The support and expertise they demonstrated in those instances, coupled with the can-do attitude of their proposal for the current project, swung the decision their way.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They’re developing four custom themes, each with slight variations, and will deploy them on our sites. They’re also responsible for an SEO audit to ensure all settings, URLs, redirects, meta titles, and descriptions are consistent between websites. Occasionally, we'll also ask them to produce extensions and make site modifications.  

What was the team composition?

I work with Andrew (Project Manager, Staylime/MageWorx) and Arthur (Client Relations Manager, Staylime/MageWorx). Andrew has been my main point of contact. I find him to be extremely knowledgeable and friendly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve only completed two of the four websites so far, but I expect to see statistical improvement in the next few months. 

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Arthur initially handled project management, but he handed that responsibility over to Andrew. Despite stepping back, Arthur is still available via Skype and email. Andrew has been so capable that we’ve only had to speak with Arthur a few times.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Everyone I’ve worked with has been friendly and consistent with their communication. They’ve gone out of their way to make me happy, which helps me trust that they’ll deliver.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, not that I can think of. If I do have a problem though, our open communication will make it easy to solve.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO and co-founder of Luicellas Premium Ice Cream GmbH, an organic ice cream company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Staylime?

We needed a relocation to the Magento 2 platform with a new design, including UI/UX, and improved overall functionality.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed transfer all of our data to Magento 2. We also wanted a visually attractive and highly functional website with custom features integrated, all before our deadline for commercial presentation.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We chose Staylime based on a recommendation from our trusted investment partner. They proved their communication skills, they understood our needs, and they could meet our deadline.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They were responsible for our full Magento 2 database migration, including the installation of third-party extensions, creating custom extensions, and managing payment integration. They also did design, created a custom theme, and did conflict testing. They continue to upgrade the site and do additional design and development.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a project manager, who had contact with several specialists.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Staylime completed the site on deadline, which sent our sales figures skyrocketing.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We communicated through Asana and email. Our contact partner managed the project, and we received timely feedback during the week together with plans and reports.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They suggested creative yet useful solutions to challenging issues. I treat them as a development partner that can take care of the technical matters surrounding my business, enabling me to focus on the strategic part of it.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They could improve their billing policy and response times.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We manufacture herbs and spices, and have been in business since 2013. Our main distribution channel is our onlnie shop, and we attribute our success to our product design and our corporate identity. I am a product manager and am responsible for our shop relaunch and its ongoing optimization. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Staylime?

We created our old online shop when we founded the company, so we needed to relaunch and add new, relevant functionalities. One of the main challenges of this project was the database interface between our shop system and our ERP. We had no programmers or IT specialists in-house, and needed an agency with a full service approach.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to increase the usability of the website and shop for our customers. The shop needed to be more experiential, while upholding our high design standards. We also hoped to improve the process and reduce our handling efforts and costs. 

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

An investor we trust recommended them. They had a previous relationship with them and was very satisfied with their work. 

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They constructed our entire technical infrastructure based on drafts from our art director. They integrated all our extensions, supported the launch process, and continue to optimize the site and act as a consultancy.

What was the team composition?

We had direct contact with two consultants. They answered our questions quickly and explained complex matters in an understandable way.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have no metrics so far to demonstrate any improvement, but this is our most successful cooperation with an outside agency. We're pleased with their ability to complete such a complex project as quickly as they did. 

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We used Google Docs to house documents and spreadsheets and exchange comments. We communicated through email, and they executed tasks in a timely manner with very few followup questions. They worked well with the agency that monitors our ERP, and the whole project ran very smoothly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We were impressed by the speed of their responses. Even if there was no immediate solution to a problem, they always completed tasks within our deadlines. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

We cannot think of anything they should improve; they did a very good job.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the owner of Todd Lininger Design, LLC, a web design and development firm that services small and mid-sized business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Staylime?

We were developing a new commercial extension for Magento 2 and wanted to hire the best extension developer.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted an extremely stable e-commerce extension that performed well and was easy to customize.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Staylime was recently acquired by MageWorx Magento, who I’ve used ever since Magento 1 was first released. I was excited to take advantage of their expertise again.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

I provided a working prototype of the extension as well as project requirements and goals. Their development team successfully dissected my materials and built the extension to my specifications.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a client services manager, a project manager, and a senior developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Unfortunately, no data is available at this time.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

It was great. They provided weekly reports detailing what they’d accomplished, along with their plans for the next week. They communicated questions and concerns quickly and resolved them just as fast. They were also transparent regarding hours worked, including both holidays and sick days.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their team’s professionalism struck me the most. They were excellent communicators and focused on building a great product and making their customers happy.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I would’ve appreciated a more accurate quote in the beginning, but we've discussed why it didn’t turn out to be realistic based on project constraints.