Wide Company
About the client
Founded in 2020 by Mat de Sousa, The WideCompany is a French Shopify app studio making waves in eCommerce products. With two popular apps, WideBundle and WideReview, serving over 2,400 users, they've quickly scaled to $60,000 in monthly revenue. The WideCompany's innovative tools are designed to directly increase merchants' revenue, making them a go-to resource for Shopify store owners aiming to maximize their profits.
Service provided: Shopify App Development and Support
Business Challenge
Development capacity shortage. WideCompany reached a turning point with their successful WideBundle application and upcoming WideReview application launch. Despite a clear expansion vision, they lacked the internal development capacity to build WideReview within time and budget.
Customer support overload. With WideBundle's rising popularity, support requests overwhelmed their system, causing delays and reputational risks. To sustain growth and satisfaction, they needed extra support to streamline their application and handle new features.
Architecture refinement. Additionally, the products' existing architecture and code quality needed to be enhanced to meet Shopify's stringent moderation standards.
Ecosystem integration partner. Facing these challenges, WideCompany sought a technology partner with deep expertise to tackle their immediate challenges and support their long-term growth within the Shopify ecosystem.
The Solution
Multi-Dimensional Consulting
After careful evaluation, the client partnered with Grodas, starting with a team of two developers (frontend and backend) and a manager coordinating resources on our side. Critically to the client, the developers remained the primary points of contact.
The client’s initial goal was to finalize and release the WideReview app. Following a technical audit, it was decided to improve the application's structure and architecture and completely rewrite the code using the PHP Laravel framework and the existing custom dashboard design to improve performance and reduce future support costs.
Before code refactoring began, a detailed roadmap and estimate were developed. This laid the groundwork for creating an MVP, followed by incremental feature additions.
The client managed the project’s backlog, planning, task prioritization, task acceptance, testing, and production releases, while Grodas brought in the technical expertise. As the projects progressed, additional resources were added, including dedicated backend and frontend developers supported by Team Leads to accelerate development and achieve the desired results.
To manage the budget effectively, monthly limits were established, balancing development and marketing resources. This approach, overseen by Team Leads, ensured activities stayed within budget.
Following the successful release of WideReview, the client decided to apply a similar process to the WideBundle application, which had been experiencing numerous support requests.
As a result, WideCompany now benefits from a streamlined development process with predictable timelines and budgets, significantly optimizing their applications.
Development Benchmarks: Quality and Scale
Our main goal was to enhance and optimize public Shopify apps to meet the platform's highest standards. To achieve this, we streamlined our development processes and implemented industry-leading Shopify practices.
Using our skilled Shopify front-end and back-end developers, we delivered top-tier app development with a focus on exceptional user experience. Our apps incorporate the latest verified tech trends and meet strict security requirements, resulting in modern, functional, and high-performance applications.
We improved existing apps through:
Code refactoring:
- Restructured PHP codebase using Laravel framework for improved maintainability
- Optimized database queries and implemented caching strategies
- Refactored JavaScript for better performance and readability
Adding new features:
- Integrated advanced Shopify API endpoints for enhanced functionality
- Developed custom Shopify Liquid templates for seamless store integration
- Implemented responsive designs using modern CSS techniques
Performance optimization
- Utilized Gulp for task automation, minification, and asset optimization
- Implemented lazy loading and code splitting in JavaScript
- Optimized API calls to reduce server load and improve response times
Ensuring compatibility with the latest Shopify versions
- Regularly updated our tech stack to align with Shopify's latest requirements
- Conducted thorough testing across multiple Shopify themes and versions
- Implemented version control using GitHub and GitLab for smooth updates and rollbacks
Technologies and tools we used
- Back-end: PHP, Laravel, Shopify API
- Front-end: JavaScript, Shopify Liquid, HTML, CSS, Gulp
- Deployment: AWS, GitHub, GitLab
- Project Management: Notion, Slack, Google Workspace
Our development process leveraged AWS for scalable and reliable hosting while our team collaborated effectively using Notion for project tracking, Slack for communication, and Google Workspace for document management and sharing.
The project resulted in improved apps, enhanced the client's competitive position, reduced support costs, and created new eCommerce growth opportunities. The WideReview and WideBundle updates demonstrate the impact of innovation and technical skills in online retail. These efforts helped our client maintain a competitive edge in the Shopify market and earn the coveted "Built for Shopify" badge.
What Our Client Says
Incredible developers!
"They are skilled and have great communication; they explain what they do and what they are working on. They gave me advice, I loved it!"
Mat De Sousa,
Founder Of The Wide Company