E-commerce appShopify platformAgile developmentDigismoothie
We developed a custom app for a Czech company developing apps for the Shopify e-commerce platform. This helped them to implement a good business idea in a short time when their own team was focused on developing other products.
In March 2021 we were approached by Digismoothie with a request for an app that would remind online shop customers of missed payments. They normally develop similar apps themselves, but now they needed to work on other products. Since they didn't want to lose the business potential of their idea, they were looking for a reliable partner who would start development right away.
Shopify's e-commerce platform has a public API, so developers can build their apps into it. If app developers can find a solution to something that e-tailers are really seeking, they can gain up to hundreds of thousands of customers. Digismoothie came up with an idea for an app they called Payster - a payment reminder to help e-shops with non-paying customers.
They approached us because we have experience with Python and the Django framework. And we've also worked together before: we've successfully developed one of their other apps in the past. Payster was supposed to be the first project we're implementing for Digismoothie from A to Z.
Shopify is a platform for creating and managing e-stores. It powers 1.7 million e-stores in 175
countries.
E-shops can also purchase add-ons (apps) to
enhance the functioning of their
e-shop.
In total, there are over 7,000 apps on Shopify.
Founded in 2019, Digismoothie is a Czech developer company that specializes in the e-commerce field. In addition to developing apps for Shopify, they also create entire customized e-shops for customers.
Some of their successful Shopify apps include Candy Rack (enabling upselling of products), Gift Box (free gifts with purchase), Nada (sorting and hiding sold-out products), and integrations with commonly used Czech e-commerce services such as Zasilkovna, Fakturoid, and Heureka.
At the start of the project, we set up the collaboration to be as agile as possible.
In practice, it looked like this:
This kept Digismoothie's product manager up to date on their product development. Additionally, he could possibly modify certain parts of the application after seeing them in the first version at the sync calls.
We were able to consult very quickly on small ambiguities arising during development or previously unknown to us specifics of the Shopify platform. This avoided unnecessary downtime when we needed to get the app to market as soon as possible.
The MVP was created in just 3.5 months thanks to smooth communication and collaboration. The next month we were still refining it according to the first customer experiences.
First contact from the client
Start of MVP development
Launching the app in Shopify
Tuning according to first feedback
The Payster app increases conversions for e-shop. It
automatically sends reminder emails to customers who have ordered goods but not yet paid. The
frequency of these emails is set by each e-tailer.
In addition, the app can:
The e-tailer finds Payster in the list of apps and installs it. Then he sets up message templates and chooses the frequency with which payments should be reminded. The application works automatically on the e-shop without the need for major intervention and does not slow down the e-shop.
During development, we used technologies we know well, but also a special design system for Shopify:
You can find out more about the tools and technologies we use at COex on the web technologies page.
While working with Digismoothie, we took our first proper venture into the Shopify environment. We were familiar with the platform, but had no experience developing a full app. With the client being an expert in this area, we were able to learn on our own while doing so. Working together gave us the opportunity to:
E-tailers on the Shopify platform no longer have
to deal with as many issues with non-paying customers.
We also like that: