The problem

Zyber is a Shopify Plus agency that has built a strong reputation for creating exceptional e-commerce experiences. As they evolved from building small business websites to becoming a dedicated Shopify house in 2017, they found themselves facing a common challenge in the Shopify ecosystem: the high threshold for building custom apps.

"We always try to solve problems with out-of-the-box solutions first," explained David Visser, COO at Zyber. "But there's always something unique to a client that can't be done in any easy way. The threshold to getting a private app has always been quite high."

Every time the team would build a custom solution, they found the return on investment for their Shopify development was often too low, due to the amount of work involved. Projects were either too expensive or too complicated. Clients were left choosing to compromise between a solution that fell within their budget, or paying for the extensive development time it took to build a project to their specifications. 

Like most developers in the Shopify ecosystem, the team was stuck setting up all the necessary infrastructure, managing the hosting and database setup, and dealing with the headache of the Shopify integration and OAuth. Naturally, the expense of all the setup and hosting costs would affect client budgets. There were often times when the Zyber team would regrettably need to call clients and explain that since Shopify had made an update, they would need to spend more time on maintenance for an app that seemed to be running just fine. Clients, of course, were less than happy. 

Overall, Zyber found themselves in a position where they couldn't justify the cost of custom development for many of their clients’ unique needs, but they knew there had to be a better way.

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The solution

David ran into one of his contacts at Elephant Room, another Shopify agency that had been running into similar problems. They had begun using a new platform called Gadget to build Shopify apps, and it had been a complete game changer. Intrigued by the potential, David began to explore the platform and quickly realized that Gadget could potentially solve all of Zyber’s problems with custom app development.

"I played around with it, and all I could think was, this is incredible. This is exactly the avenue that we're gonna go down," recalls David.

The team kicked off their first project in Gadget by building a custom integration with a client’s ERP system, something that was originally expected to take more than 80 hours. But with Gadget, they didn’t need to deal with the time-intensive infrastructure setup and Shopify connection. In minutes, they had the backend, custom CRUD API, and an app embedded in the Shopify admin.

All that was left was to set up the connection to the ERP. Gadget provided a relational database, along with a node.js environment with the ability to react to events in real time. That meant that all the Zyber team simply focused their time on mutating the data to their liking, and sending it off to the target ERP with one API call. 

Because Gadget provided the team with built-in tooling like logs and API playgrounds for easy debugging, the Zyber developers were able to easily create simulations that tested the integration, and quickly ensure that data was behaving as expected. Gadget’s fully programmable development environments allowed them to control exactly how data would be changed, and build projects without compromising on client needs, unlike with many low-code integration solutions.

With Gadget, Zyber could now approach custom app development with a new level of efficiency and affordability.

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The results

Dramatically reduced development time and costs

Before discovering Gadget, the project would have been extremely expensive and time consuming. Originally, Zyber estimated that it would take at least 80 hours to build the integration with the ERP, but with Gadget, it only took 40. For the client, that also meant saving more than $6,000USD on a fully custom ERP integration.

"With Gadget, we were able to cut the scope down by more than half. So the client was very happy," the Zyber team shared, explaining how clients no longer needed to absorb the costly setup and hosting fees.

Gadget has significantly lowered the barrier to entry for custom app development at Zyber. Because Gadget gives the team the ability to work with backend best practices baked-in and skip all the setup, projects that were once considered too complex or expensive are now viable options for their clients.

"Gadget has made the threshold for us much lower to build an app," David says. "My team has the skill and experience to build anything, but merchants don’t always have the time or money it would take. Gadget allows us to provide those skills at a cost and timeline that works for our clients. We can get more done in a day."

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Reduced maintenance burden and client costs

One of the most significant benefits for Zyber has been the reduction in ongoing maintenance work, particularly around Shopify API updates. Gadget provided a stateful Shopify sync out of the box, which includes nightly reconciliations, ensuring 100% data fidelity and keeping customer data reliable.

David is no stranger to the uncomfortable conversation of charging for new work on old projects. "My least favorite thing in life is to call a merchant and go, 'Hey guys, about your app. We have to rebuild that and it's like 20 hours of work just becauseShopify made any changes to their API. By the way, you have no commercial benefit from this whatsoever, but if you can just sign this check, that'll be great.'"

Luckily for the Zyber team, Gadget gives them an easy way to upgrade all their clients to the latest Shopify API version. For any client apps powered by Gadget, all they need to do is use the one-click button to upgrade. Gadget highlights any important changes, so the team can quickly test to ensure everything continues running smoothly. Instead of charging more money for projects that are running smoothly, Zyber can focus on delivering new value to their clients.

For David, it’s a massive relief. “With Gadget, we’re able to build solutions, without billing for undifferentiated work that has zero impact.”

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Expanded service offerings

After launching the ERP integration, Gadget's efficiency allowed Zyber to take on projects they previously couldn't justify due to cost or complexity. They've now built seven apps using Gadget, including a custom size calculator for a power tool company, as well as a complex gift card integration for a major furniture retailer.

The gift card project is particularly noteworthy, as it gave Zyber the opportunity to partner with Tranxactor and expand their existing partner strategy. The company specializes in physical and digital gift cards, so Zyber set out to create a Shopify app that seamlessly integrates their service with Shopify. This not only solved a pain point for their existing client that was using Tranxactor, but also opened up new partnership opportunities.

"Instead of us building a one-to-one app for our client to be able to accept gift cards, and then having to figure it out all over again on the next project, we actually approached Tranxactor and offered to build them an app. That way they could onboard their own customers to Shopify," David explained.

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Taking on more business

The efficiency and capabilities provided by Gadget have given Zyber a significant edge in the market. They can now offer more comprehensive solutions to their clients, take on a wider range of projects, and deliver results faster and more cost-effectively than ever before.

"We now experience the freedom to focus purely on coding with Gadget, where server maintenance, load balancing, and scaling are all taken care of for you. We get to code more, and manage less." Jericho Gimiros, a backend developer at Zyber shared. "By partnering with Gadget, we've enhanced our ability to deliver custom development projects in half the time, giving our team a competitive edge over other agencies while providing faster, high-quality results for our clients."

Zyber has made building apps on Gadget one of their top priorities for the year, recognizing its potential to drive their business forward. The team is eager to continue expanding their custom app offerings, with a focus on more complex and innovative projects. Their hope is with Gadget saving them time and unlocking potential for new projects, they will continue to strengthen their partnerships with other companies in the Shopify ecosystem, but most importantly, their relationships with clients.

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By leveraging Gadget's capabilities, Zyber is well-positioned to continue growing their business and delivering exceptional value to their Shopify clients. Gadget has allowed the team to save their clients thousands in unnecessary costs, while still providing value and delivering high-quality custom solutions.