Actually, it all started in 2004. Liip, which was not called Liip at the time, developed the new website for a village carpenter's workshop in the canton of Fribourg within three working days. Ten years later, it was time for a relaunch and Liip created the new website, including custom design and based on Drupal within 12 days. In 2019, a new request for a new version of that same website arrived. As the requirements for websites had grown in the meantime, and Liip too, Drupal was no longer a suitable solution for the carpenter and his budget.
Small budgets
Therefore,we asked ourselves how to satisfy customers with a budget that was small for us but big for them. We decided to establish a new circle (team) within our organisation model (Holacracy) and to use WordPress as our Content-Management-System of choice. The purpose of the new circle is "Happy clients with their small and fast moving projects".
Small core team
For almost three years we have been on the road with projects that have budgets rarely exceeding CHF 20’000. This is possible because the core team consists of three people only and, depending on the expertise required, we include other Liipers and their expertises. We work according to the Kanban method - agile and lean, without any overhead.
Not always "fast moving”
This way we are aligned with our purpose: Our clients are happy, we have small projects, and sometimes we are "fast moving". For example, last year we needed seven days only (including a weekend where we did not work) to set up a Webshop. Seven days from the first contact with the potential customer to go-live. With a custom design, it takes a little longer and clients often underestimate the amount of work involved on their side too. Filling websites with content or waiting for internal decisions can take quite some time. “Fast moving" can thus turn into weeks and months.
Configuring instead of coding
We do very little coding and configure most parts of our websites with the site builder Elementor and the plugin suite from Crocoblock. This, and the use of WordPress themes as a basis, allow us to profit from the strength of WordPress compared to other Content-Management-Systems: most of what you need already exists, you just have to adapt it. Of course, you could also code everything, but then the projects would become more expensive and longer. You usually need custom development and APIs for big projects only.
And that’s secure?
WordPress is by far the most used Content-Management-System worldwide. Two out of three websites created with a Content-Management-System are based on WordPress. Of course, this widespread use also attracts hackers. Therefore, regular updates of WordPress itself, the theme and the plugins are mandatory. Our customers can sleep peacefully, as we work with the hoster Raidboxes. They are specialised in WordPress and offer a hosting plan with automatic, controlled updates. We also protect the backend with additional password protection.
More than 20 websites already
We created more than two dozen websites since our Speedboat service was launched. Among them small websites like immoclass but also big ones like Paneco with its sister sites Greifvogelstation and Naturzentrum Thurauen. We work for NGOs as well as for start-ups or industry. And of course for the village carpenter. By the way, we worked on their website for a total of nine days, which is less than in 2014.