COMFOR: E-shop for seriously powerful technology

E-shop Creatives

View:

Over 30 years in the market, dozens of stores across the Czech Republic: this network of computer technology shops began its journey in 1992 under the name ESCOM.

In 1998, it was renamed to the brand COMFOR, which you know today. You can buy a computer, mobile phone, or even a gaming console from it.

Delivered Services

E-shop

Creatives

Initial State

The old e-shop was running on Kentico version 9 and webform technology since 2017.
Since that year, Comfor has undergone tremendous development with us.
As it grew, Kentico became insufficient because:

Working in the administration was like waiting for a train – each operation required waiting for loading and saving changes.
The client also could not perform multiple operations at once – the administration simply did not allow it.
Moreover, Kentico changed its licensing terms, making it no longer sensible for us to maintain the e-shop on this platform for Comfor.
Thus, we began searching for a new solution – faster, with intuitive management in the administration.

In 2021, we offered the client a modern solution on the Smartstore platform.

Our Solution

We have migrated the e-shop to a modern platform Smartstore.
It can finally handle thousands of visitors at once.
We completely redesigned it, making it modern and user-friendly.
The search engine on the e-shop can search up to 10,000 items in milliseconds.
The e-shop is modular: it's a puzzle that we can expand with new parts at any time.
Within Smartstore, we separated the e-shop from the administration, so now both parts are stable and independent.
We adjusted the system to be intuitive, allowing the client to work comfortably.
Working in the administration is now fast and without waiting, which simplifies the setup and management of the e-shop.

Why We Chose Smartstore

Although we had other candidates, we recommended the Smartstore technology to the client because:

It ensures that the pages load quickly, which is essential for a client with thousands of products on their e-shop.
The entire administration is also in Czech – ideal for people who do not speak another language.
Smartstore is open-source, so you do not have to pay for its license
And it has a modular architecture. This means that we can easily add new features to the system and modify them as needed – for example, we created simple tools that allow the client to easily create pages on the website for their campaigns and events.

Developers Worked on Improving Smartstore, Designers Prepared a New Design

The client had a clear vision – to keep all the content of the website as it is, but modernize the appearance. We then set to work on the redesign. While the developers were intensively working on enhancing Smartstore's functionalities, the designers were preparing a new design. The result is an e-shop that not only looks good but also guides you through the entire purchasing process intuitively.

We have improved the basic technology in our own way

Nothing is perfect, and that applies to Smartstore – at least it did until our developers took a look at it. Although this platform is great, it had its limitations at its core.

What have we customized in Smartstore?

Czech translation that truly fits: the original translations were automatically generated, thus inaccurate. Our project manager Lukáš translated everything manually to ensure the Czech language is precise and natural.
Ready for high traffic: we configured the system to handle a large number of visitors simultaneously – the e-shop will remain fast even with increased traffic.
Easy content editing: we added our own content editing tools similar to those our clients are used to from Kentico – we simplified the transition to the new system for them.
Customized for the Czech market: Smartstore originally comes from Germany, but we adjusted the cart and other parts of the system to meet the needs of Czech customers and comply with local services like Heureka and Zboží.cz.
Better visibility in search engines (SEO): we thoroughly improved SEO – we added missing tags and other elements to enhance the e-shop's visibility in search engines.
Advanced filtering: we incorporated advanced product filtering options that were missing in the original system.

You can now edit in the admin panel faster

To enable e-shop administrators to edit content more easily and quickly, we added new features to the admin panel. Additionally, we ensured that the Czech translation is now much better than the original – it is now automatic.

The e-shop can handle thousands of visitors at once thanks to Docker containers

The e-shop is now ready to respond flexibly to a large influx of customers thanks to Docker containerization.

Imagine Docker containers as small, standalone boxes

Imagine Docker containers as small, standalone boxes that contain everything needed to run an online store. These boxes can be quickly and easily moved to more powerful servers, for example, when the holiday season approaches and we expect increased traffic. After the season ends, we can easily move the online store back to less powerful and cheaper servers. In this way, the client saves money because they do not pay for performance they do not currently need. Docker containers thus allow for flexible management of the online store's performance according to current needs.

With optimization, customers find the e-shop more easily

Now the e-shop is more visible on Google and other search engines. This means that the e-shop appears higher in search results, attracting more visitors and increasing the chance of purchase.

We have enabled easy expansion of the e-shop

Modularity – that’s what it’s all about. Thanks to it, the e-shop becomes a puzzle that we can expand with new parts at any time.

For example: if we want to offer customers new payment options or special discount features on the e-shop, we only need a few clicks to make adjustments. It’s that quick.

We have separated the e-shop and administration

“The original Smartstore had administration and user parts in one application. Any change could affect the stability of the entire system.”

And that is exactly why we separated them into two distinct parts. Data between them now exchanges quickly using a special storage – the so-called Redis cache. This allows the e-shop to run more smoothly and stably, so you can expect fast and reliable operation without unexpected outages.

The search engine scans up to 10,000 items in milliseconds

Comfor has a new champion of parametric search, and its name is Typesense. This system responds to your filters instantly. When you check parameters like "64 GB storage" in categories such as "phones," Typesense scans the entire catalog in a moment and finds exactly what you are looking for.

You will see the number of items and branches in the filtering

Fast. Clear. Our product filtering makes shopping at Comfor easier. Imagine it this way:

You select a filter,
you immediately see how many items are in stock and at which branch,
all according to the specified criteria.

No more wasting time searching; you will find everything on the first try.

We have adapted the payment method for Czech customers. Did you know that abroad the payment process when ordering goods from an e-shop is reversed? You pay first, and only then is the order created. Comfor needed a solution that would align with Czech customs – in Czech e-shops, it is common for customers to place an order but pay for it later. Therefore, we completely reversed the entire payment logic. And customers happily pay in the way they are accustomed to.

Loading products is now a breeze

Previously, you had to wait for the entire page to load to see more products. That is a thing of the past. Now products appear instantly as you scroll down. No unnecessary delays, just smooth and fast browsing through the catalog. Shopping is now a complete pleasure!

We offer reliable solutions not only for Comfor but also for your website

The transition of Comfor's e-shop to Smartstore was a challenge for us, but it was worth it! Thanks to modern technologies, we created a fast, stable, and simple e-shop for customers in the Czech Republic and across Europe.

Does your e-shop need a transformation like Comfor? Contact us and together we will find the best solution.

View the Website More References