Schibsted Tech Polska is a young company. It is barely three years since our first employees started. Now we are more than 150 colleagues in Krakow and Gdansk.
The first version of our company web site came about in the spring of 2012. We were extremely busy recruiting the first programmers at the time and also to establish all kinds of routines and structure that is necessary to run a new company. And of course we also needed a web site. Dedicated employees spent some days to make a first version so that at least we had a presence out there.
The plan was to upgrade the site as soon as we would have the capacity to do so. Unfortunately that took some time – three years to be exact.
But now we are here! The Schibsted.pl web site is completely new – in a fresher and more modern design.
Yes, we know. Not everything is perfect. You might find some bugs (contact us to report). Some pages may not look good on all devices and screens. Features could be lacking. And we still have a long backlog of tasks to do.
Yet it is time to launch – and then improve, step by step.
What we try to achieve
Our company web page is our face to the outside world.
Therefore a redesign process must start with reflecting on how we want to be perceived by our main target group: Programmers in Poland.
First of all: We are part of Schibsted Media Group, with a set of core values that should be reflected in all the daughter companies. Values such as integrity, innovation, team building and a culture of winning are not only buzz words, but a clear obligation for how we should conduct our business.
Secondly: We have our own unique company culture that we want to be visible in our communication.
In short we like to see ourselves as:
- An open company. We share our knowledge and how we work. It is easy to contact us.
- A company of people. Our employees are our most important asset and we are proud of them.
- An innovative company. We encourage creativity and dare to fail. We work with some of the most innovative media houses in the world.
- A thought-leader. We have some of the best programmers in Krakow and Gdansk and hope through them to be respected in the tech communities where we are located.
Glossy words from a marketing guy? Maybe 🙂
But nevertheless these principles have practical consequences for how this web site has been designed and what we have chosen to include and emphasize.
Let me only give you one example now. We say we are a company of people. So what?, you may ask. But take a look around Schibsted.pl and you will find employees all over. There are photos, interviews, videos, and the new Developers´blog. It is a website full of people.
This is no coincidence, but a result of a clear choice.
Many other companies, for instance one of the largest IT companies in Krakow, choose not to show their employees at all. We think differently.
What is in the new Schibsted.pl
So let´s get down to the more specifics with the new site.
We have chosen a very simple menu structure, focusing on a few elements of the site and what we see that our visitors come to Schibsted.pl for.
The design is responsive and make good use of attractive images. We want you to focus on the main content, and have there skipped sidebars and many other distracting elements.
Here are the main sections:
- The front page. Many come to the front page because they are curious about our company. We want the front page to give you a super-quick impression of Schibsted Tech Polska and at the same time lead to the main content of the site.
- About us. Many visitors to Schibsted.pl are looking for information about the company. This is the best starting point.
- News. We write stories about the work in our company regularly, often by interviewing employees about their projects. Stories are accompanied by photographs and videos.
- Career. Here you find all the open job positions as well as information about what we offer. This has been the single most visited page on our web site.
- Contact. Our address, phone number, mail address, maps to offices, etc.
- Blog. A new feature. Developers share their knowledge with other developers. Read more below.
NEW: Developers´Blog
We have some of the best developers in Krakow and Gdansk in our company – and also a great culture of sharing knowledge with each other. Regularly some of the programmers present at tech conferences in Poland.
Now we are launching Developers´Blog, where our programmers will write about technical issues for fellow developers. The idea is to share knowledge and experiences. You will find articles about use of specific technologies, how we solved challenges in projects, experiments with new technologies and much more.
The blog is the developers´own space on our web site to communicate with fellow programmers outside our company.
Each writer will have his/her own page where all his/her articles are gathered. You find this page by clicking on the byline photo of the writer. As an example: Here is the writer page for software engineer Artur Skowronski.
We are very excited about the Developers´Blog and eager to see where it will lead.
The team behind
Launching a new web site for a company is no small effort – and many employees have been involved throughout the process. I could easily name at least 20-30 employees who have played a role at some stage, either as part of a project group, planning the tech blog, helping out with bits and pieces, and doing the actual development.
But let me at least present the core development team:
Iwona Leszczynska has been the main person responsible for the design of the new site.
She is a UX designer working with the Norwegian media house VG.
The design of Schibsted.pl is based on the visual branding principles of Schibsted Media Group, but with adaptation for our use.
Iwona has been very dedicated to this project, and actively involved the other UX designers in Schibsted Tech Polska in finding the best solutions.
Mateusz Derks has done practically all the front-end development work.
He is part of the SEALs team in Gdansk, a team that helps Schibsted companies with short-term development projects.
For the last weeks it has been all Schibsted.pl for Mateusz, solving task after task to finalize the new site on time and with high quality. The project would have been impossible without him.
Karol Sójko is responsible for all back-end work and has also been the scrum master.
He is the team leader for the SEALs team in Gdansk.
In the development project his “no bullshit” approach ensured that we all focused on clear priorities and always did the most important tasks first.
Arkadiusz Janeczko helped with the initial design ideas for the site and with many tasks afterwards.
He is a UX designer in the SEALs team in Gdansk and loves prototyping new products.
In the development process he has given valuable input, especially about user experience, and also assisted in solving many tasks along the way.
Next steps
We have many plans for new features on the site, and also a list of improvements and adjustments. The most immediate is to allow commenting on the articles. That will come soon.
But first we would love your feedback.
You are welcome to mail me with any feedback and comments. Criticism, praise and suggestions. All is welcome! Also tell us about bugs you might find.
We hope you like our new web site!
Chief Communications Officer, Schibsted Tech Polska