Case Study: Zoopy

built on the Shopsys Framework by a mostly unexperienced team

1280h of Back-End Programming
220h UX / Design Prototyping
100h Workshops & Communication
Introduction

In this case study we take a look at how one of Czech’s biggest – yet newest – ecommerce sites for parent was built by using the Shopsys Framework. Despite having long-standing experience building ecommerce sites, the company building the website decided to put together a development team with mostly no prior experience using Shopsys Framework to work on this project. Despite this, they were able to build Zoopy with relative ease thanks to the intuitive code and easy adoption of Shopsys Framework.

 

About Zoopy

Zoopy is a modern B2C e-shop and one of the Czech leading e-commerce sites for parenting with creative aspirations for future growth and expansion. At Zoopy, they believe the best thing parents can do for their children is to be with them – and this is the rationale behind their organization.

What’s it Like to Build an Ecommerce Project Using Shopsys Framework?

The team that was developing Zoopy.cz consisted of 4 back-end developers and 1 front-end developer, headed by a project manager. It was being according to the method of agile development and more than 1000 man-hours throughout 7 months were invested into development of this project.

Back-end developers:

“Automated tests, high coding standards, and intuitive code helped with an easy adoption of SSFW even for unexperienced developers.”

The team responsible for the back-end development consisted of a senior PHP developer (who already had experience with SSFW), one standard PHP developer, and two junior PHP developers (ie. new to the company, basic knowledge of PHP, but no previous experience with SSFW). Despite the majority of the team having had no previous experience operating or using Shopsys Framework, they were able to build Zoopy with relative ease thanks to the intuitive code and easy adoption of Shopsys Framework.

 

Petr Kadlec (Senior PHP Developer):

“Since I had already had experience with the Shopsys Framework, I was the one responsible for the development. But I have to praise my co-developers who, even though they had little hands-on experience (either with Shopsys Framework, or with the development of big e-commerce sites), were able to adapt to the Shopsys Framework quickly, allowing us to build a great site! I believe that with the experience gained during this project, they would be able to build an ecommerce project on Shopsys Framework on their own.”

Peter Turek (Junior PHP Developer):

“Specific, yet simple structure, strict coding standards, and an architecture that was easy to use – these are the biggest advantages of Shopsys Framework from my point of view. After I spent a little time on learning and understanding the Symfony framework and MVC architecture, it became quite easy for me to develop on the Shopsys Framework. A very useful feature of Shopsys Framework for me, as a junior developer, were the automated tests, that helped me to stay on the track of whether something was broken or not.”

Tomáš Gottwald (Front-End Developer):

“What helped us the most, when working on Zoopy’s front-end, was probably the default stable version of the web design. Despite the fact that Shopsys Framework aims to help mainly back-end developers, I found some of its features truly helpful and useful for front-end as well – for example, macros for forms or LESS, that makes maintaining CSS much easier.”

What Benefits Does Shopsys Framework Bring to the Owner of the Ecommerce Site?

Shopsys Framework is a technology you and your e-commerce site can rely on.

 High customizability

The fact that the Shopsys Framework keeps an open door for further improvements and innovation provides you with the freedom of customization, which is necessary if you want to be successful in today’s highly competitive online environment. Shopsys Framework makes it easy to develop any specific functions you would like to have, all without having to remove unnecessary features. The lean platform allows also for a solid SEO optimalization.

Long-term Sustainability

Shopsys Framework is built so it could further grow with your business, while at the same time keeping the site’s complexity low. A new e-commerce site is not something you can build every year. The fact that an e-commerce site runs on Shopsys Framework assures the owner of the site that he or she will not need to build a new e-commerce site for several years.

No Vendor-lock

Last but not least, the fact that the framework is open-source and the e-commerce site owns the code prevents them from the vendor-lock.

Developers Team

They make it happen

Petr Kadlec

Senior PHP Developer, 12 years of experience with PHP, 8 years in Shopsys agency

Pavel Jurečka

Standard PHP developer, 3 years of experience with PHP, 3 years in Shopsys agency

Peter Turek

Junior PHP Developer, 2 years of experience with PHP, 2 months in Shopsys agency

Tomáš Gottvald

Front-End Developer