Project Description
Industry
Apparel & Fashion
Engagement Model
Time & Material
Duration
5 months
Effort
15 man-months
About the Project
The Client’s eCommerce store selling lingerie is powered by Magento 2 Commerce Cloud platform. The Client approached us with two
requirements they wanted to upgrade the site from Magento 2.1 to Magento 2.3 and add new options to the site to improve the functionality and deliver an engaging shopping experience.
The main reason to upgrade was to improve the site performance,keep the store up to date with the latest features and enhance the eCommerce store s security. The Client also wanted to reduce the 3-rd party integrations and other customizations on the website and
use native Magento functionality as much as possible. This was to avoid conflicts and reduce site performance issues. Thus, the latest
version, Magento 2.3, is loaded with new features to help improve the website’s performance and provide an engaging experience for both
customers and the admin.
Other areas where the Client was seeking help were Magento customizations that included the creation of new functionality and as well as ongoing support.
Delivered Solution
Web Accessibility options for people with disabilities
The objective was to make the site inclusive for people with disabilities. To make this happen the Magedia team integrated equalweb.com a solution that provides digital accessibility. This integration allowed the Client to provide an intuitive and seamless browsing experience to all visitors. The voice command, text reader option and color adjustment features have helped provide an optimum browsing experience and attract new users to the site.
Autocomplete functionality
Tracking the visitor’s journey and actions on the website we noticed that a large number of users were leaving the site at the checkout stage. To avoid this and optimize the purchase process we proposed to integrate loqate.com service with the website. The autofill functionality in loqate.com allows users to checkout faster. When the customer enters the name of the street where he/she lives the system displays all the known addresses in full with the house number, street, city and zip code and the customer can choose an address from the drop-down menu and further edit it if required. The Autofill functionality thus reduces the time required to manually enter the full address. With this feature, the Client was able to reduce data entry time by 78% and errors by 23%.
Customization of PayPal Express Checkout
The Client noticed that customers often preferred to pay for their purchases using PayPal. Making payments through PayPal is much easier and can be done faster because it allows the user to pay by card and also skip re-entering the billing and shipping information if the user is logged in. The PayPal Express Checkout comes with the Magento platform by default and since it was not very comfortable for the users the Client asked us to customize it. The Magedia team then carried out specific customization of the PayPal Express Checkout method making it more convenient for customers according to the logic set by the Client.
Adjustable associated products
The Magedia team developed a functionality that allowed the Magento system to automatically select and display associated products of a specific color based on the color of the primary product chosen by the customer. For example, if a customer decides to buy a red color shirt, then the system automatically selects and displays all products associated with the red color shirt – ie. red pants, red jacket, etc. Thus, the customer immediately gets to see other items available on the site that match the selected product by color.
Integration with klevu search
The website was integrated with Klevu, a very popular in-store search technology that allows shoppers to search and find the correct products they are looking for. However, the standard search box in Klevu was very large and not aesthetically appealing. The Magedia team customized the standard search box and stylized it so that it fits well with the rest of the site design.
Magento 2 Commerce Cloud upgrade
One of the most complex and extensive tasks in the project was upgrading the website built on Magento 2 Commerce Cloud from 2.1 to 2.3 version. The scope of work included Magento core update and upgrades of various custom Magento modules that were installed in the initial version of Magento.
Ongoing support and bugfixing
At Magedia we follow a systematic approach to ensure that a website is up and running 24/7. We first analyze the website, study the existing codes, identify problem areas and then fix them. Having worked extensively on Magento projects we are highly competent in identifying problems and fixing them quickly so that the website does not face any downtime.
Web Accessibility options for people with disabilities
The objective was to make the site inclusive for people with disabilities. To make this happen the Magedia team integrated equalweb.com a solution that provides digital accessibility. This integration allowed the Client to provide an intuitive and seamless browsing experience to all visitors. The voice command, text reader option and color adjustment features have helped provide an optimum browsing experience and attract new users to the site.Autocomplete functionality
Tracking the visitor’s journey and actions on the website we noticed that a large number of users were leaving the site at the checkout stage. To avoid this and optimize the purchase process we proposed to integrate loqate.com service with the website. The autofill functionality in loqate.com allows users to checkout faster. When the customer enters the name of the street where he/she lives the system displays all the known addresses in full with the house number, street, city and zip code and the customer can choose an address from the drop-down menu and further edit it if required. The Autofill functionality thus reduces the time required to manually enter the full address. With this feature, the Client was able to reduce data entry time by 78% and errors by 23%.Customization of PayPal Express Checkout
The Client noticed that customers often preferred to pay for their purchases using PayPal. Making payments through PayPal is much easier and can be done faster because it allows the user to pay by card and also skip re-entering the billing and shipping information if the user is logged in. The PayPal Express Checkout comes with the Magento platform by default and since it was not very comfortable for the users the Client asked us to customize it. The Magedia team then carried out specific customization of the PayPal Express Checkout method making it more convenient for customers according to the logic set by the Client.Adjustable associated products
The Magedia team developed a functionality that allowed the Magento system to automatically select and display associated products of a specific color based on the color of the primary product chosen by the customer. For example, if a customer decides to buy a red color shirt, then the system automatically selects and displays all products associated with the red color shirt – ie. red pants, red jacket, etc. Thus, the customer immediately gets to see other items available on the site that match the selected product by color.Integration with klevu search
The website was integrated with Klevu, a very popular in-store search technology that allows shoppers to search and find the correct products they are looking for. However, the standard search box in Klevu was very large and not aesthetically appealing. The Magedia team customized the standard search box and stylized it so that it fits well with the rest of the site design.Magento 2 Commerce Cloud upgrade
One of the most complex and extensive tasks in the project was upgrading the website built on Magento 2 Commerce Cloud from 2.1 to 2.3 version. The scope of work included Magento core update and upgrades of various custom Magento modules that were installed in the initial version of Magento.Ongoing support and bugfixing
At Magedia we follow a systematic approach to ensure that a website is up and running 24/7. We first analyze the website, study the existing codes, identify problem areas and then fix them. Having worked extensively on Magento projects we are highly competent in identifying problems and fixing them quickly so that the website does not face any downtime.Project Process and Methodology
Magedia team consisting of Project Manager and Developers was assigned to work on this project from Magedia. Once the project scope was defined the team decided to adopt the Kanban methodology for planning the various tasks at hand and keeping track of deliverables. The flexibility provided by the Kanban methodology helped shorten iterations and the team was able to deliver quick results on various tasks in the initial phase itself.
In order to put in place an effective communication process, the teams decided to convene daily meetings. These meetings helped the teams understand each other better, make clear the deliverable expected and set realistic timeframes for each task. Regular interactions via Slack and Skype and the effective use of project management tools like Jira ensured that all team members were aligned throughout the project development and implementation phase. All customizations and site improvements undertaken were carefully tested by the Magedia team to ensure proper quality before it was handed over to the Client.
Project Results
- The browsing experience has been enhanced to best meet the website user needs.
- The checkout page conversions have improved, thanks to the implementation of a user friendly address autofill option.
- An adjustable associated products feature has been created that allows shoppers to identify related products and shop more quickly and conveniently.
- The Client has increased the sales and customer loyalty through improved user experience.
- A new integration has been added to make the website user friendly for people with disabilities.
- Site performance has increased.
- Failed deliveries have been reduced thanks to the integration with loqate.com service that offers automatic verification of addresses.
- The conversion and completion rates have improved.
- A complete upgrade and customization of Magento have been done.
- Bugs have been identified and fixed as part of the ongoing support and bug fixing process.
Project Conclusion
As a result of the work done the Client was able to expand his target audience and customer base to include people
with disabilities. The optimized check out process has helped improve the user experience, enhance customer loyalty and increase orders and profits for the Client by 22,8%. Additionally, the site improvement and optimization steps undertaken by Magedia team helped the Client to drastically reduce the cost of maintaining their website by 67%.
Technology Stack
Platform Debian GNU/Linux
Programming Languages PHP, HTML5, CSS3 (LESS pre processor), JavaScript
Framework Zend Framework, Symfony, JQuery, RequireJS
Application servers Apache, Nginx, MySql
Development Environment PhpStorm
Javascript library Knockout JS
Other Technologies Composer, PSR standards, Gulp, Twig
