Needed someone to create a new site that was user friendly, reliable, and easy to change
Buckets and Spades wanted to develop a custom online store that integrated with their existing physical shop order management system. The result is profitable and successful.
From the first meeting I had with reinteractive I could tell that this company was serious and professional in its approach to tailoring a website solution for our business.
Zlata Relin from Buckets and Spades contacted reinteractive with a problem.
The existing Buckets and Spades website was restrictive, hard to update, and every product
change had to be manually entered twice - once in the site and once in the point of sale system.
Even worse, their existing website host was closing its service in mid March, and Buckets and
Spades needed someone to create a new site that was user friendly, reliable, and easy to respond
to changes in the competitive online retail space.
With 8 weeks available, reinteractive took on the challenge of building a bespoke ecommerce site
that would integrate closely with the existing point-of-sale system, and help Buckets and Spades
to expand their online business.
Designs Prototyping
The entire Buckets and Spades development process was performed remotely, which posed
some interesting challenges for such a comprehensive site redesign.
To handle this, the team worked closely with the client in a highly available, agile fashion.
This involved weekly voice conferences with firm deliverables - giving Zlata the maximum
control and input on the direction of the site.
The redesign process started with a series of design and mockup work, focusing on using the new
look and feel of the site to allow both developers and designers to explore the full requirements
of the site.
By building a basic site prototype using these mockups, the client was able to get a feel for how the site would operate,
even before there had been a significant investment in code. This then reduced the cost of changes, and allowing for a cycle
of quick feedback loops while the site design was polished to streamline the browsing experience.
Integration with social media platforms was also a key part of the requirements, and this prototyping
stage made it easy to see how best to integrate platforms like Twitter and Facebook into the site flow.
From the first meeting I had with reinteractive I could tell that this company was serious and professional in its approach to tailoring a website solution for our business. We were looking to design and build a solution within a very short time limit, and reinteractive catered to this by using a systematic approach. Given the constraints and difficulties associated with linking our point of sale to our web store, we are thrilled with the outcome.
Mikel along with personal service provided by his team on this project were very thorough in dealings, and were always responsive to any questions/suggestions and the whole process was very collaborative from all involved. There 'can do' attitude along with their flexible approach allowed us to collectively achieve the desired outcome. Their dedication cannot be questioned as I honestly believe that sometimes they don't sleep :)
Integration with the existing Point-of-Sale System
Next came the integration with the existing POS system's SOAP web-service. Within a week, reinteractive
had built the foundation of the POS synchronisation process, imported all the product data and made it
available on a site that was already looking much like the final product would.
We devised a system that would allow the Buckets and Spades team to easily upload product photos for all
their catalogue in a way that was simple, straightforward - and most importantly - didn't require a lot
of time and effort by staff when new products were available.
Refinement and Improvements
By working closely with the client in one week iterations we were able to work over the next few weeks
to tweak and change the site so that it perfectly suited the needs of their customers. This rapid review
cycle also ensured that decisions could be made quickly to ensure that the site would be ready for its
mid-March release date.
Because of careful architectural decisions made using reinteractive's considerable experience, it was
possible to make rapid refinements to the website front-end without it requiring major back-end changes.
This separation of concerns ensured that changes were possible even late into March as the deadline
approached.
These changes included tailoring the site for rich filtering and site navigation, an iPad
compatible design, and tight VIP integration with the POS system.
Deployment
In mid-March the site was successfully cut over to the new version. A combination of well-considered
architecture on Engine Yard, and integration with Amazon S3 and CDN services meant that the site
remained stable and performant despite heavy traffic from an expectant and loyal customer base.
Since then, the flexible Engine Yard environment also allowed for reinteractive administrators to
remain responsive to changing performance needs, being able to quickly and easily set up a
high-availability environment in a matter of hours in anticipation for a large sales push.
We are delighted with the result, which has transposed into increased online sales and positive feedback from our customers. We look forward to continuing to work with reinteractive on future developments and enhancements to ensure that we stay ahead of the game.
If you’re looking for a custom website solution I can highly recommend reinteractive, who I'm sure will be able to cater to your needs
reinteractive remain in constant contact with Buckets and Spades, monitoring the site for issues
and downtime under our
Ruby on Rails OpsCare.
This has also included continuing site development, adding major functionality that both Buckets
and Spades and customers long desired, with minimum disruption and downtime.
We were one week out from the biggest campaign launch of One Big Switch's year-long life, the Big Electricity Switch
We helped One Big Switch successfully launch their application to massive media coverage, rapidly rising to over 230,000 customers signing on to be part of Australia's largest electricity switch.
It was this kind of professional support and dedication that has led me to view reinteractive as of One Big Switch's most important technology partners. We now work extremely closely with them as they provide guidance on improving the code base, thought leadership on many technical decisions, and top-class manpower in extending our application.
We build stable, well-tested software, built with Ruby on Rails and Javascript. reinteractive provides a complete solution from project scoping, to UX, design, web and mobile development, through to hosting and maintenance. All driven by our seamless, agile project management processes.
We are experts at large, complex and customised solutions. Bring us your ideas, wish list, integration problem or technical need and we will solve it.
We work hard to find the right digital solution for you. Through our AppWorkshop we work with you to identify opportunities and engage in expert planning for business-critical applications. The aim is to get your application delivered and operating as fast as possible, with the viewpoint of incrementally adding features as the site matures and grows.
We help make even the most complicated web and mobile apps easy to navigate and create solutions that engage users, keeping them happy and on your page longer.
Our Visual Designers work with you to create the final look and feel of your website or application, including the strategic implementation of images, colours, fonts and other elements.
We take pride in working as your development partner to get the best bang for your development buck. Our team of Senior Ruby on Rails developers, and our Javascript and Front End Developers, combined with our agile project management ensure your project is completed rapidly, and successfully. We make your app fast, reliable and secure. We care about the ROI for our customers by ensuring we build exactly what is needed to successfully grow their business.
We will protect, monitor and scale your Ruby on Rails website or app 24/7. Hosted on AWS or Heroku. We wear the pagers, so you can concentrate on growing your business.
An application review is where reinteractive reviews your application code base for security flaws, performance issues, or anything that should be improved.
With over 200 major projects completed by reinteractive, we have a very deep understanding of best practices and ideal scenes in software development, positioning us to deliver a comprehensive report on the quality of any Ruby on Rails based code.
Our expert team have intimate knowledge of the Ruby on Rails framework, making reinteractive a fantastic choice for upgrading your application to the latest version of Rails and Ruby.
We have in-depth experience in utilising the Salesforce® API and the Heroku platform that allows us to build custom applications that sync with Salesforce, allowing you to leverage the full power of the Salesforce Cloud.
storeConnect is our 100% customisable, fully integrated Salesforce ecommerce solution based on Heroku. Your online store is managed from Sales Cloud® with all customer, product & order data sync'd with Salesforce, creating a smart, custom online shopping experience.
We work hard to find the right digital solution for you. Through our AppWorkshop we work with you to identify opportunities and engage in expert planning for business-critical applications. The aim is to get your application delivered and operating as fast as possible, with the viewpoint of incrementally adding features as the site matures and grows.
We help make even the most complicated web and mobile apps easy to navigate and create solutions that engage users, keeping them happy and on your page longer.
Our Visual Designers work with you to create the final look and feel of your website or application, including the strategic implementation of images, colours, fonts and other elements.
We take pride in working as your development partner to get the best bang for your development buck. Our team of Senior Ruby on Rails developers, and our Javascript and Front End Developers, combined with our agile project management ensure your project is completed rapidly, and successfully. We make your app fast, reliable and secure. We care about the ROI for our customers by ensuring we build exactly what is needed to successfully grow their business.
We will protect, monitor and scale your Ruby on Rails website or app 24/7. Hosted on AWS or Heroku. We wear the pagers, so you can concentrate on growing your business.
An application review is where reinteractive reviews your application code base for security flaws, performance issues, or anything that should be improved.
With over 200 major projects completed by reinteractive, we have a very deep understanding of best practices and ideal scenes in software development, positioning us to deliver a comprehensive report on the quality of any Ruby on Rails based code.
Our expert team have intimate knowledge of the Ruby on Rails framework, making reinteractive a fantastic choice for upgrading your application to the latest version of Rails and Ruby.
We have in-depth experience in utilising the Salesforce® API and the Heroku platform that allows us to build custom applications that sync with Salesforce, allowing you to leverage the full power of the Salesforce Cloud.
storeConnect is our 100% customisable, fully integrated Salesforce ecommerce solution based on Heroku. Your online store is managed from Sales Cloud® with all customer, product & order data sync'd with Salesforce, creating a smart, custom online shopping experience.
If you are not completely happy with the result of your bespoke development project when we are done, we will give you $10,000 worth of our development time, at no charge, to make it right.
Our OpsCare® and CodeCare® services also have their own simple one month refund and guarantee which you can read in our Terms of Use.