Scalable website for Sparkx: eFlavours builds, Combell hosts

The digital experts at Antwerp-based web agency eFlavours build websites, webshops and web applications. The team focuses on future-proof solutions that are visually appealing, technically robust and deliver conversions to the right target audience. They worked their magic on the website of Sparkx, the sportainment park. Combell hosting keeps this top project online at all times.

“Being able to say that you work with Combell is a major asset.” Paul Verbist, co-founder of eFlavours and enthusiastic Project Manager, and Bram Jacobs, partner and Lead Web Developer, get straight to the point when we meet them in Antwerp.

With great passion, they walk us through the story of eFlavours and its sister company Avalanche. Along the way, they highlight the crucial role of hosting partner Combell in their entrepreneurial journey.

With Combell, you know for sure that your data is hosted on Belgian servers - that quality is crucial for us.

Bram Jacobs, Lead Web Developer at eFlavours

From cosy kitchen table to successful web agency

As is often the case, the story of eFlavours started at home around the kitchen table. Paul explains: “After my studies, family and friends asked if I could build websites for them.

It went so well that my former business partner and I decided to start a small company: eFlavours. Several great collaborations with well-known organisations turned out to be our springboard.

Initially, we started as a Drupal agency. But after a first acquisition, Bram joined the team, bringing extensive expertise in WordPress. Being able to offer both CMSs is a major asset.

WordPress and Drupal remain our frontrunners, but of course we are not blind to alternatives, evolutions or tailor-made approaches built on existing solutions.”

“Delivering a strong digital story”

It soon went beyond simply developing websites. Paul: “Ten years ago, we were purely a web agency. Back then, simply putting a website online was - so to speak - enough.

That’s no longer the case. Your website needs to perform. Think about marketing strategy, Google Ads, Meta and LinkedIn ads, marketing automation …

To focus on this, Avalanche was founded as a sister company, led by our other partner Tom Buelens. This allowed us to grow into a one-stop shop for delivering a strong digital story.”

Ready for tomorrow with Bendr

Today, eFlavours is shifting up another gear. They are blending the services of eFlavours and Avalanche under one single label: Bendr.

Paul explains: “Web development and digital marketing no longer operate side by side, they are completely intertwined. A strong digital strategy is a blend of both.

With Bendr, our team is ready for tomorrow. We can now guide our clients with a strong story that guarantees knowledge and expertise in the latest trends. The opportunities - but also the challenges - that AI brings are immense.”

Through our intelligent data capture tools, you discover who your customers are, how often they land on your website and which products they are looking for.

Paul Verbist, Project Manager at eFlavours

User data as the key to success

When it comes to digital marketing, the team strongly focuses on user data. They see data as the heart of a strong digital marketing strategy for any company.

“We work for A-brands, large enterprises, as well as smaller companies and associations. But we consider the data story of each of our clients extremely important,” Paul explains.

“That is why our developers and marketers form a tandem. Thanks to data capture, we know who your customers are and how they behave on your website.

This makes our approach much more efficient and keeps overhead low.

We measure all traffic and create profiling reports of captured customers. AI insights and our Bendr story act as a driving force for each of our clients. I see it as a challenging but inspiring shift.”

Don’t lose sleep over your hosting. Period. Choose a reliable and transparent partner like Combell that you can sit down with around the table.

Bram Jacobs, Lead Web Developer at eFlavours

“Clients are loyal and grow along with us”

Because eFlavours relies on Combell, guarantees strong solutions and offers strong personal 24/7 service, Bram and Paul’s team can focus on both their expertise and their greatest hallmark.

“Our personal approach is perhaps our biggest asset,” says Paul. “We feel a great deal of trust from our clients. They are loyal and grow alongside our agency. I find it very important that we create a personal connection.

Clients are anything but just a number. If you ask me, we could easily go and have a beer with any of our clients.”

Bram: “We also keep things as clear as possible for our clients. We simply tell it like it is. They know we are very transparent and never make things unnecessarily complex.”

In-house expertise

“Paul handles communication with clients and leads the sales conversations,” says Bram. As a true all-rounder, he switches between sales and project management, while continuously monitoring our clients’ growth.

“But,” Paul adds, “Bram is my go-to guy, he has a solution for everything. We are a strong duo. We believe in our in-house expertise. With us, you get the opportunity to excel within your area of responsibility. That conviction fits perfectly with our collaboration with Combell as hosting partner.”

Combell as an approachable partner

“We need to be able to let go of our hosting,” Bram explains. “You have to rely on a strong partner. In the past, I had to manage all my dedicated hosting environments myself, but that took up far too much time.

You simply shouldn’t lose sleep over your hosting. Period. Choose a reliable and transparent partner like Combell that you can sit down with.”

“That’s why from the very beginning we looked for a partner with expertise who could take most of that work off our hands,” Paul adds. “The always-on guarantees and Combell’s uptime are important, but I’m especially glad that you are a reliable and approachable partner.

Over the years, several cheaper foreign providers have passed by, but you can’t communicate with them - it’s a disaster.

With Combell, you can actually talk. That’s something you don’t get just anywhere. No way. That’s why we have been both a customer and a Combell partner for ten years. We know the difference all too well!”

Bram: “Your control panel is also very important. Just like my dedicated account manager who advises me when setting up complex environments or thinks along about tailor-made solutions - you rarely find that elsewhere.”

The personal approach of eFlavours is our greatest asset.

Paul Verbist, Project Manager at eFlavours

Building Sparkx together

One of eFlavours’ great projects is the website of Sparkx, the sportainment park in Hasselt that recently opened a new location in Ghent. eFlavours has been on board from the very beginning and had the opportunity to further develop the website. Combell provides ultra-fast and local hosting.

“Our personal approach also proved very valuable for Sparkx,” says Paul. “They came to us when they were still a startup.

While they still had a construction site in Hasselt, we had already started working on their WordPress website. We were there - figuratively speaking - helping out with our construction helmets on.” (laughs)

“Because we were able to bring quite a bit of experience to the table, eFlavours was allowed to help build their project. I even recommended the ticketing system that Sparkx still uses today,” Bram adds.

For the hosting of Sparkx, we collaborated with Combell. In those ten years as a partner, we have never had any issues.

Bram Jacobs, Lead Web Developer at eFlavours

Fast and secure online

After eFlavours delivered a great project for Sparkx, Bram and Paul were also involved in the digital plans for the Ghent location, and soon Antwerp as well.

Bram: “Sparkx now has a multisite that is highly scalable. They can adjust enough building blocks themselves without anything going wrong. As the websites of our clients grow, the hosting must of course scale along with them.

We received Sparkx’s trust to work with Combell for this, as we always have. At the moment, Combell’s current hosting solution is sufficient to handle the (peak) traffic of their website. If needed, we can always scale up.

Thanks to the quality of your hosting, our clients’ projects go online smoothly and everything runs fast and securely.

In those ten years as a Combell partner, we have never experienced any problems. That may sound obvious, hosting seems like water coming from the tap, but clients often don’t realise how much work goes into it.”

“Data securely hosted on Belgian servers”

Other eFlavours clients such as Vandemoortele, BOS+ and AZ Klina, also benefit from Combell hosting. Local hosting of your data is more important than ever. Something they clearly notice at eFlavours as well.

Bram: “Clients increasingly ask us where their data is hosted. They want to be certain that their data is handled safely and responsibly.

Clients want to avoid their data being stored in Paris, America or who-knows-where. With Combell, you know for sure that your data is hosted on Belgian servers.

You can provide guarantees and back them up with the right certificates. That quality is a crucial point for us, allowing us to offer the trust our clients are looking for.”

Being able to say that you work with a fully-fledged partner like Combell is a major asset in retaining our clients.

Paul Verbist, Project Manager at eFlavours

Combell as a great asset

“I even had the opportunity to visit one of your data centres,” Paul adds. “Combell is very transparent, which allows us to be transparent towards our clients as well. That’s why we always and only use the Combell prices listed on your website. We pass them on one-to-one to our clients. No backdoors with us.

We never have to say that we work with an inferior hosting partner. Clients know that we have Belgium’s number one hosting provider as our partner. That creates a lot of trust. Being able to say that you work with a fully-fledged partner like Combell is a major asset in client retention.”

Would you also like to position Combell as a key asset in your own entrepreneurial story? Let our experts guide you and stop worrying about your hosting.