History

In 2005, two best friends got together with the intention of creating the most advanced e-commerce website in SA. One of the friends would focus on the front-end interface, the other on the back-end database. Making slower progress than anticipated due to very different design principles and priorities, the two friends eventually decided to split and work on separate projects. Maintaining an open relationship about their work has helped the friends to benefit from the experience and expertise of each other in a working synergy. Continually bouncing ideas off each other, the friends strive and push each other to deliver only the best!

The first e-commerce project was started in ASP, with a Microsoft SQL 2000 back-end running on an IIS server, because that was what the friends knew best. But, after the project was started, as they were looking for adequate hosting of the project, very few hosts offered affordable hosting on Microsoft platforms, or as affordable as the open-source based hosts. Most required additional costs for licensing fees for either the operating system or database. And thus, when BlueSting was registered in late 2005, it was decided that it would be built on open-source platforms because they would bring the hosting costs for the project down.

BlueSting continued to be developed as an e-commerce system until January 2006. Because the friends were continually studying the international Comparison Shopping websites for ideas for their own e-commerce websites, one of the friends decided to change direction and do a Comparison Shopping website. As an e-commerce system, BlueSting was far from ready in January 2006. Even as a Comparison Shopping website it was far from ready, but it was decided that it would be relatively quick and easy to adapt what was already finished in the system to a basic Comparison Shopping website. And so, in just a few weeks later on the 7th February 2006, the first version of BlueSting.co.za was loaded online for the first time. Unfortunately and admittedly, the version that was loaded still had a lot of code from it's e-commerce ancestry and was not yet well suited for Comparison Shopping. But that didn't stop the vision!

During the year of 2006, the number of visitors to the website grew and new merchants signed up. Along with that, the database size grew, and slowly but surely this database started to change and evolve. Most of the e-commerce roots have been lifted now, and new tables and structures have been added almost every month. BlueSting has been almost like an apple with a rotten core, but over time the core has actually healed itself, ready to deliver the fruit which is this wonderful new interface.

Enjoy the ride with us ;)