ABOUT PROJECT
At Roobykon Software, every project we take on carries its own story and purpose, but working on Book Holistic was truly an extraordinary experience. This platform, created by founders Tirza Shatz and Noa Sade, is a unique online wellbeing marketplace dedicated to connecting seekers and practitioners of holistic practices. Designed to inspire personal growth and well-being, the marketplace offers a diverse range of services, including yoga, meditation, psychotherapy, dance therapy, sound therapy, tarot card readings, astrological predictions, massages, and more. What makes Book Holistic unique is its focus on connection. It’s a vibrant network where practitioners can showcase their expertise, and clients can explore practices they’ve never experienced before.
Book Holistic was already live when it came to us, its foundation laid by the passionate founders. Every improvement we released aimed to make the platform more intuitive, efficient, and user-friendly. Roobykon worked closely with Tirza to ensure the wellness marketplace becomes more convenient and intuitive, enabling users to find exactly what they need with ease—whether that’s a virtual meditation session or an in-person Reiki treatment. For us, knowing that our work is helping people find wellness and balance is immensely rewarding.
Key Challenges
From the beginning of health and wellness marketplace development, the tasks we faced were clear. Each feature had a purpose, and the technical path to achieve it was well-defined. We knew how to execute the required features and improvements, but as anyone in the world of software development knows, it’s not always about knowing how to do something—it’s about managing everything else that comes with it. The biggest challenge we faced was adapting to the evolving needs of the platform. Holistic practices thrive on flexibility and balance, and we mirrored that approach in our work. As the project progressed, priorities naturally shifted, and new opportunities emerged, which required us to pivot and fine-tune our plans. While this required agility, it also gave us the chance to explore creative solutions and ensure the digital wellness platform remained aligned with its core purpose.
It felt like juggling—except with tasks that constantly changed in weight and importance. A significant test emerged when the production server began to experience intermittent crashes. Initially, the root cause was unclear, prompting a swift and coordinated effort from the development team. Through rigorous investigation, we identified a logic flaw in the platform’s filtering functionality that was causing excessive server load. Our methodical approach confirmed the source of the problem and ensured the platform’s stability after implementing the fix.
TECHNOLOGY STACK
Solution Highlights
With Stripe Connect, BookHolistic guarantees secure and efficient payment processing, ensuring a smooth financial flow between customers and service providers. For a frictionless user experience, Facebook and Google authentication have been integrated, allowing quick and hassle-free sign-ups and logins, reducing barriers to entry while enhancing security.
To refine the search experience, Google Maps API has been incorporated, enabling users to explore wellness services based on location with an interactive map view. Additionally, Voucherify has been utilized to facilitate the creation and management of promo codes, empowering users to offer personalized discounts and drive customer engagement.
The process
01
Initial assessment and plan: The project began with our team proposing a detailed work plan that outlined the steps for addressing the existing issues and introducing new features. The client approved the plan, but as soon as we began working, the priorities shifted. The client, Tirza, a professional designer with a clear vision for the platform, took the lead in setting and reprioritizing tasks on the go. This required us to pivot frequently, addressing urgent needs while still progressing on our long-term roadmap.
02
Development and task execution: From the start, our efforts were twofold. On the one hand, we focused on cleaning up the inherited codebase, fixing bugs, and eliminating hardcoded elements that hindered scalability and flexibility. On the other hand, we worked on new functionality to enhance this online wellness platform, such as improving profile listings, refining the search page, optimizing checkout, and updating the home page.
03
Collaboration and design: The design side of the project remained in the hands of Tirza, who brought her expertise as a professional designer to the table. Our role was to seamlessly translate her designs into functional and visually appealing features. Most of the development tasks revolved around the front-end, though we occasionally handled back-end integration tasks, such as incorporating third-party applications to expand the platform’s capabilities.
04
Communication and coordination: Daily communication via Slack was a cornerstone of this project. Regular correspondence allowed for quick decisions, idea exchanges, and alignment on priorities. Weekly meetings provided a space for discussing plans, refining the sprint backlog, and exploring alternative solutions to technical challenges.
05
Timeline and outcome: We worked on the platform intensively from the second half of August to the first half of December 2024, rolling out improvements and features incrementally. Although the project is now on hold, those months of collaboration laid the groundwork for a more stable and feature-rich platform, ready to grow further when development resumes.
Main Features
Practitioner profile (public profile)
We fundamentally transformed the practitioner profile page, making it much more versatile. Previously, it was a static and limited provider page, but now it functions as a customizable listing. This flexibility allows practitioners to tailor their profiles to highlight their unique offerings and expertise, creating a more engaging and informative experience for potential clients.
Search page
We developed a fully custom search page designed to enhance user navigation and discovery. The page features tailored filters and a keyword search functionality that extends to every word on a provider’s page and listings. This ensures users can find exactly what they’re looking for, no matter how specific or niche their needs may be.
Profile picture crop option
To improve the visual appeal and professionalism of practitioner profiles, we implemented and customized a library for cropping profile images. This feature extends to images used in listings, enabling users to upload and adjust their photos effortlessly for a polished presentation.
Global availability for practitioners
The default logic for availability was tied to individual listings, but this posed a challenge since practitioners often manage multiple offerings and cannot conduct simultaneous sessions. We developed a global availability system that synchronizes all of a practitioner’s listings. If a session is booked for one offering, the corresponding time is automatically blocked for all other offerings, ensuring seamless scheduling.
Session duration and cost customization
The default booking system was based on hourly rates, which didn’t align with the diverse session lengths offered by practitioners (e.g., 1.5 hours, half a day). To address this, we implemented a feature that allows practitioners to set specific durations for their sessions. The cost is calculated per session rather than per hour, providing a more accurate and user-friendly pricing structure.
RESULTS
The collaboration between Roobykon and Book Holistic was a journey of transformation, creativity, and shared ambition. From the outset, this partnership was not just about fixing a partially developed B2C marketplace—it was about breathing new life into a vision that blended technology with holistic practices to create a vibrant online marketplace. Book Holistic was a bridge connecting practitioners and individuals seeking wellness, mindfulness, and personal growth. Our role was to ensure that the technology powering this bridge was as strong and seamless as the connections it was fostering. The workflow we followed was methodical: tasks were defined, discussed in detail, estimated for effort and feasibility, approved, prioritized, executed, tested, and implemented. While we aimed to maintain weekly sprints, the nature of the project required us to remain flexible. As new priorities and opportunities arose during the week, we adapted our workflow to ensure that urgent needs were met without losing focus on the overall goals. Nonetheless, we maintained a steady release schedule, deploying updates once or twice a week.
One of the most rewarding aspects of the collaboration was witnessing the platform’s evolution. What started as a site with limitations gradually transformed into a dynamic and robust marketplace, capable of meeting the needs of both practitioners and clients. We can call this transformation a product of open communication, problem-solving, and a persistent commitment to the platform’s success.
Lessons from Book Holistic
Working on the Book Holistic marketplace was an experience that challenged us, taught us, and ultimately made us a stronger and more adaptable team. From the very beginning, we knew this project would demand resilience, flexibility, and a willingness to learn and grow with every step we took. One of the most valuable lessons we learned was the importance of remaining flexible and responsive. When we first joined the project, we had a plan to guide our work. As we collaborated more closely, new opportunities for improvement arose, and our focus naturally adjusted to align with the evolving goals of the platform. Instead of clinging to the initial roadmap, we embraced the active nature of the project. Each adjustment taught us how to pivot effectively, communicate clearly, and ensure that no detail was overlooked.
Through the challenges, we also learned the value of balancing speed with quality. While some tasks demanded immediate action, we never compromised on the integrity of the work. Striking this balance was a delicate process, but it reinforced our understanding of when to push for faster results and when to take a step back and ensure everything was done to the highest standard. Today, we approach new projects with a deeper sense of confidence, knowing that the challenges we overcame have shaped us into a team that thrives under pressure, learns from every experience, and delivers with passion and precision.
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