Full-stack development
Digital Classifieds: From legacy tangle to modern stack with plug-and-play devs
Too much to build, no room to gamble
When the time came to modernize their frontend, their in-house team was tasked with a new digital product launch. The business prioritized new urgent features, and newly hired in-house developers focused on delivery—while technical debt quietly piled up in the background. Apparently, they were looking for a crew who could own problems, integrate fast, and stay consistent.
“I needed a group that would take full responsibility for the work. With freelancers, you’re always at risk — someone gets sick, someone leaves. With koitechs, the devs might rotate, but the commitment doesn’t.” — Mammad Mammadov, CIO at Digital Classifieds
The challenge: Move fast, don’t break the backend
Their products were originally built on Native JS and Ruby on Rails — stable, but outdated. The team decided to modernize the frontend using React and move toward a single codebase that could power both desktop and mobile apps. They also needed a new internal product (codenamed “Bridge”) to manage how their React apps integrate with mobile.
Hiring in-house was slow. Local talent was hard to find. And time was definitely not on their side.
“Finding good developers takes months, sometimes a year. We didn’t have that luxury — business needed to move.” — Mammad
What our devs shipped
Over 3+ years (and counting), koitechs developers helped:
- Migrate the frontend to React across multiple marketplaces
No more legacy HTML and jQuery. Now, Digital Classifieds has modern, responsive SPAs that feel like real apps, rather than clunky old websites.
- Deliver the entire mobile version
Our team handled the complete mobile web experience, implementing complex logic and optimizing it for seamless performance across devices.
- Build “Bridge” from the ground up
What started as a PoC inside Turbo.az (embedding Bina.az in a mobile app) evolved into a key internal tool that syncs mobile and desktop React apps. It started small and with lots of skepticism. And it turned into a core part of their cross-platform strategy.
- Launch a new product (“BOSS”) from scratch
A once-abandoned product got a new life. BOSS had been shelved for a while. We helped rewrite its entire frontend from scratch—with a clean React build and collaboration across in-house backend teams.
The hiring and onboarding pains no one talks about (but we will) No long-term project is without bumps. Here’s what dev integration looked like on the ground.
During the first year, we cycled through several developers across key tracks. One React Native dev delivered well but showed signs of toxic behavior, so we proactively handled the replacement before the client even raised a red flag.
Later, two strong candidates were turned down by the client post-interview. We stood behind their technical skills but respected the fit concerns and sourced new profiles fast. All without slowing delivery on the live product.
This is where our in-house model proved its value: every replacement came from people already aligned with our processes and culture.
Also, Digital Classifieds expected to see contractor-style accountability with full-cycle collaboration. So we tailored our engagement.
→ Our devs joined product reviews, design cycles, and QA, while still staying outside their payroll and org structure. → We co-designed a unique reporting model: the koitechs devs worked closely with client-side mentors but delivered in a semi-autonomous flow.
Overall, the ownership was shared, but responsibility never blurred.
What is the outcome of your work? Show that your work is result-focused.
The real wins of Digital Classifieds
Organic traffic is up
The investment in migration was totally worth it. The new React frontend improved page load speed and responsiveness, leading to higher engagement and better monetization.
Development speed got a serious boost
Legacy code was obviously slowing them down. Moving to React gave users a snappier experience and devs a faster, more flexible environment. Feature delivery finally moved at the pace the business needed.
“Bridge” reduced dev overhead across mobile apps
Originally just a proof of concept, this internal tool became a critical part of their workflow. The tool streamlined how React apps work across platforms and cut out repetitive dev work.
Mindset shift across the team
At first, their team didn’t know how to work with an external partner. Over time, processes were built, trust was earned, and delegation became second nature. Even the internal team started mirroring the professionalism and ownership modeled by koitechs engineers—especially Artem.
“I realized how valuable it is to have real partners. Not just people looking to get paid—but people who get your problems and help solve them. That was new for me. And I’m glad I found it.” — Mammad
