Our References
Many thanks to all our customers for placing their trust in us.
Discovery Channel / DMAX / dmax-shop.de
For the client, we developed custom software that delivers topic-specific products from the dmax-shop on dmax.de. We also operate this application for the client on a high-availability system.
Migration, support and further development of schornsteinmarkt.de
- Migration from an old server system to a modern cluster system
- Reprogramming a very old, customized xt:Commerce shop for PHP 7 compatibility, including finding and fixing existing security vulnerabilities
- Support, further development and integration of new features in the xt:Commerce shop
- Integration of extensive caching mechanisms to improve performance
- The client was so satisfied with our work on the shop system that they commissioned us with its relaunch, which is now online at cafiro.de.
A modern shop system matters not only for customers but also for the business owner. It keeps shop visitors satisfied and gives the shop operator well-organized, simpler processes.
Thanks to our good cooperation when we moved the old shop system to a redundant cluster system with us and continued to support it, we were commissioned to carry out the relaunch and migration of the old CAFIRO.de shop system.
We at HQ GmbH migrated the old xt:Commerce system to a new Shopware system (Shopware Professional Plus Edition) and developed numerous custom plugins for the client.
Our work consisted of the following steps:
Setting up a modern Shopware system with custom-developed plugins
CAFIRO.de is one of the leading online retailers for fireplaces, chimneys, grills and BBQ, and outdoor products. We set up a modern Shopware system. So that the client can use it according to its individual needs, we also developed numerous special plugins that make running the online shop much easier for visitors and the business.
Import from the old shop system
We imported all customer data, content and products into the new shop system, so the client can still access all data without any loss.
Storing data in the Shopware standard
So that the new system can work properly with all data, we extracted the product properties from the body texts, standardized spellings and extracted images from the existing product texts. This data was then transferred into the Shopware database and file system structure.
Renewing the URLs
To keep all products accessible in the new system, we identified the old URLs and stored them with the new products. Thanks to automatic redirects, both visitors and Google can still reach every product via its familiar URL.
Development of a PRG plugin
This plugin allows CAFIRO.de to mask links in order to make the best use of link equity and crawl budget.
Extending the Shopware shopping worlds
We greatly extended the shopping worlds feature of Shopware with a plugin we developed. The client can now also use shopping worlds for the product listing in categories and no longer has to add each product to the shopping worlds manually, although this is still possible.
The new listing also lets the client sort by stock level, rating, last change, delivery time, price, sales, manufacturer, title and more.
For the client, this turns the product listing into an experience for visitors, as it can be enriched with content, images, videos and promotional elements. The mix of content, images and products also improves rankings.
CSV product management
With our plugin, the client can import Excel and CSV lists and benefits from complete product management. Variants and custom product templates can be generated fully automatically, and existing products can be updated.
Performance optimization
We carried out numerous performance optimizations on Shopware for the client, from lazy loading and deferred loading of external resources, through automatic optimization and conversion of images into modern formats, to optimizing SQL queries. We also moved JavaScript into separate files so it can be cached. To increase performance further, we integrated a caching server (Redis) and Elasticsearch for fast search in the frontend and backend.
Additional extensions of the Shopware system
As part of the modernization, we also added the following extensions:
- Custom mail: Emails are sent automatically to customers whose orders meet certain criteria.
- Automatic sale assignment: Products with discount campaigns are automatically assigned to the sale category.
- FAQ: All questions and answers about a product are shown on the product detail page.
- Dynamic quick filters: For the most frequently used product property filters within a category, we developed quick filters so that shop visitors reach their goal faster.
- Shipping cost calculator: For individual products, we developed a shipping cost calculator on the product detail page that determines shipping costs automatically.
Further custom adjustments to the Shopware system
- Range filters for product dimensions
- Display of the top categories and manufacturers per main category in the menu
- Management of accessories in accessory groups, including automatic assignment
- Assignment of groups instead of individual products
- Individual calculation of the accessory price depending on the parent product
- Trusted Shops and Google reviews are only loaded when they are needed or once the order is completed
From the start, the focus was on developing a high-performance online shop that runs fast and stable despite its elaborate design, numerous extensions and various integrated external sources. Thanks to our development and extensive optimization, the finished shop reached a PageSpeed score of 100 (desktop) and 85–90 (mobile). These values refer to the time the optimizations were completed and may vary depending on the design of the shopping worlds, the number of products and images, and newly embedded external code.
Despite the many custom developments, we fully preserved Shopware’s update capability, so the client’s running costs remain minimal.
Consulting, support, and hosting for numerous TYPO3 sites on a redundant cluster system.
An up-to-date, well-functioning store finder is essential for getting customers to actually visit a store. Customers want to know which store is near them and how to get there best and fastest.
We therefore optimized the Betty Barclay store finder in many ways, giving customers more convenience.
One of the key challenges was to keep the process as simple as possible for the company. The best approach was to automate the existing process.
New stores are detected and added automatically
As soon as the client adds a new store in its ERP (enterprise resource planning) system, it is automatically added to the store finder. Time-consuming manual entry is no longer necessary.
Duplicate detection
The system automatically checks whether a new address is a duplicate. This ensures that no store is listed more than once.
Automatic detection of address changes
If an address changes, for example because a street is renamed or a store moves, the new address is also added to the store finder automatically.
Determining coordinates
So that a store can be added automatically and displayed correctly, the system determines all required coordinates and stores them.
Automatic location detection and display of a nearby store
More and more people browse the internet on mobile devices. If they are in the city center and enter a search term, they want to see the best result as quickly as possible. We integrated location detection so that users immediately see where the nearest Betty Barclay store is and can go there right away. This of course also works on a desktop computer when users search from home.
Search suggestions from the first letter
As soon as users start typing, this function shows all stores relevant to them. If they enter a number, they immediately see all matching postal codes. If they enter letters, they get all relevant results from towns and store names. Typing an “M”, for example, can show results such as “München” or “Modehaus + name”.
Improving usability on the website
User experience has become one of Google’s most important ranking factors in recent years. We therefore made targeted improvements to the user experience of the Betty Barclay store finder.
Automatic creation of landing pages
The landing page for each store is created automatically, so no manual input is needed here either.
Filters by brand and category
To help visitors reach their goal even faster and see only what they really want to see, we adapted the filters. Users can now filter by category or brand.
Display order based on a priority system
To support visitors further, we changed the display order and implemented a priority system. Betty Barclay wanted its own stores and major customers to have a higher priority, so they appear further up despite the distance-based display.
Further adjustments to the Betty Barclay store finder
To simplify internal processes even further, we also made the following adjustments:
- Grouping of stores belonging to one company
- Export function, for example for Google My Business
- Redundant hosting of the store finder and the search suggestions
For the global B2B business of the DMT Group, we at HQ GmbH developed and implemented a new online shop based on the Shopware Professional Plus Edition.
The world’s first online shop for test and reference dusts is designed to make test standards more accessible to experts and to shorten ordering processes. Our client now sells test and reference dusts online. Shop visitors can find detailed information about each dust and its use and then order directly online. The shop is available in English and German.
Finding the right dust for testing products such as vacuum cleaners or filters used to take a lot of time and patience. Manufacturers in the aviation, vacuum cleaner, automotive, pharmaceutical and filter industries test their devices with dusts according to defined standards before they can bring them to market. Until now, it took customers a long time to find the right test dust. This cost both sides a lot of time, which the new online shop now saves.
Concept of the shop system and planning of the individual processes
As part of this, we carried out the following developments, among others:
Customized registration
The registration was adjusted so that the VAT ID number is only requested for EU countries and not for Germany. We also developed a plugin for customer-specific password policies.
Quick login and logout plugin
We developed a new plugin for DMT that allows a quick login and logout.
Export plugin for importing orders into SAP
This plugin automatically creates recurring exports so that orders can be imported into SAP for further processing by the client.
PDF specifications generated from the product
Shop visitors can create the product specifications as a PDF directly from the product overview.
Import of individual products from an Excel spreadsheet
To make importing new products and updating existing ones as easy as possible for the client, we developed an import plugin that lets them simply upload Excel spreadsheets for product maintenance.
Extensive shipping rules by zone and weight for worldwide trade
Since the DMT Group ships its products worldwide and has to take numerous shipping methods, customs regulations, customs duties and shipping costs into account, we implemented extensive shipping rules. Pro forma invoices for customs clearance can also be created automatically.
Approval processes with different email templates for new customers
Another special feature is a set of personalized emails sent to customers. Customers are addressed and informed individually depending on their customer group.
Special export of orders as an Excel file
In a corporate environment, there are many requirements for statistical evaluations. We developed several export functions that go far beyond the standard Shopware export.
Further additional features
- Prices are only shown after registration and approval.
- Additional customs documents were integrated.
- The shop was built so that other business units can use it at any time via a subshop.
E-commerce support
As part of our e-commerce support, HQ GmbH provides the following services for the DMT Group:
- Checking for updates and installing them on the staging system and later on the live system
- 24/7 support
- Adding shop products provided digitally
- Adding and editing content pages provided digitally
- Monitoring Google Search Console for errors
- Conversion monitoring and, if needed, recommendations for optimizing the shop system
- Handling incoming orders
- Providing and managing the payment accounts and payment processing
Migration, support and further development of kaminofen-ersatzteil.de
- Move to dedicated Shopware servers operated by HQ GmbH
- Relaunch
- Performance optimization
- Switch to Varnish, Elasticsearch and Redis
- Integration of the HQ Advanced Search
- Integration of the HQ shopping worlds extension (HQ Einkaufswelten-Erweiterung)
- As a Shopware agency, we took over the complete support and further development of the shops for the client
Migration, support and further development of wamiso.fr
- Move to dedicated Shopware servers operated by HQ GmbH
- Relaunch
- Performance optimization
- Switch to Varnish, Elasticsearch and Redis
- Integration of the HQ Advanced Search
- Integration of the HQ shopping worlds extension (HQ Einkaufswelten-Erweiterung)
- As a Shopware agency, we took over the complete support and further development of the shops for the client
Migration, support and further development of wamiso.com
- Move to dedicated Shopware servers operated by HQ GmbH
- Relaunch
- Performance optimization
- Switch to Varnish, Elasticsearch and Redis
- Integration of the HQ Advanced Search
- Integration of the HQ shopping worlds extension (HQ Einkaufswelten-Erweiterung)
- As a Shopware agency, we took over the complete support and further development of the shops for the client
Consulting, integration and further development of cerberuskaminhaus.de
- Move to dedicated Shopware servers operated by HQ GmbH
- Performance optimization
- Switch to Varnish, Elasticsearch and Redis
- Integration of the HQ Advanced Search
- Integration of the HQ shopping worlds extension (HQ Einkaufswelten-Erweiterung)
- As a Shopware agency, we took over the complete support and further development of the shops for the client
For Hope.diamonds, a new social project by WINE.DIAMONDS and The HONourables Business and Lifestyle Network, we at HQ GmbH, as a certified Shopware agency, developed and implemented the online shop. When implementing the design, great care was taken not to interfere with the Shopware logic.
Hope.diamonds is a social project where you can buy fine wine bottles for a good cause. Each bottle is unique and was designed by an internationally successful Austrian artist. The bottles are strictly limited, and every buyer decides how much they want to pay. 60 percent of the revenue is donated to disadvantaged children and young people.
To design and build the site in a way that does the project justice, we focused on the following:
Partner management in the backend
We developed a partner management feature in the backend that makes it easier for the client to add and maintain the logos and texts of their partners.
Random display of partner logos
The partner logos and their texts are displayed at random in the shop. This adds to the shopping experience and gives the shop a more premium look.
Search by price and number
To help potential buyers find their perfect bottle faster, we developed a search function that lets them set both a price range and a range of preferred bottle numbers. The customized search forms are placed on various CMS pages. The shop then shows only the bottles that match the selected settings.
Special details
To make the site visually appealing, we carried out extensive theme customizations and designed individual content pages. Each content page features various effects, such as a bottle that scrolls along at certain scroll positions, or a one-page layout with “Easy Scroll Dots”.
Responsive design
The online shop has a responsive design, so visitors can use it without problems on any device. To further improve usability, we also optimized the page speed so that users do not face long loading times. Faster pages also have an indirect positive effect on rankings in Google search.