Absolute Web

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a residential builder specializing in new home constructions. We build single-family residential houses in the Florida area.

What is your position?

I am the marketing manager of the company. I am in charge of our digital work in terms of social media and website advertising, in addition to print advertising, production, and events management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Absolute Web Services?

Our website was outdated. We needed it to reflect the quality of the homes built by our company.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Absolute Web Services was assigned with improving the look and responsiveness of our website, as well as taking care of its SEO [search engine optimization].

How did you come to work with Absolute Web Services?

We considered a number of companies, many of them at a national level, but found that Absolute Web Services provided the same level of quality at a more affordable price. They came with the benefit of being a local company that we could visit face-to-face, instead of only communicating through phone.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total cost with Absolute Web Services, including website development and branding, has been between $30,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Absolute Web Services one year ago. We have an ongoing relationship. Our website was recently completed, but we're working out some additions for it, as well as having Absolute Web Services create branding material for our company. We plan on using Absolute Web Services for additional services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We were very impressed with the speed and efficiency shown by Absolute Web Services. We've received praise in terms of how the new website looks and performs from internal staff as well as external clients and business partners. Generally speaking, we're thrilled with how the project turned out. We haven't tracked the site's metrics yet.

How did Absolute Web Services perform from a project management standpoint?

Absolute Web Services was very efficient in this sense. Their project manager was very good at maintaining client relations and staying on top of our needs and questions. We always received fast responses from Absolute Web Services.

What distinguishes Absolute Web Services from other providers?

I don't have a lot of experience in working with other web developers, but I was very impressed by the amount of work accomplished by Absolute Web Services through working with a team of different people on our end.

Is there anything Absolute Web Services could have improved or done differently?

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are an online company for beauty products and supplements.

What is your role or position at the company?

I am the owner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Absolute Web Services?

We were trying to find someone to manage our Magento website at an affordable price.

What were your company's specific goals for the project, especially as it pertains to your industry?

We wanted to optimize between good prices and good service quality.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

Our tasks included taking care of our Magento website, graphic design, and other affiliate services.

How did you come to work with Absolute Web Services?

We selected AWS because they offered us trustworthy work and good prices. Plus, they made us feel comfortable.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

We sometimes have one-time jobs, but we also have fixed invoices of $5,000 to $6,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Yes. It is still an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

It is more of maintenance and optimization, although they have helped us achieve $30,000 in sales in our affiliate programs.

How did Absolute Web Services perform from a project management standpoint?

Very well – Absolute Web Services is amazing to work with.

What distinguishes Absolute Web Services from other providers?

They're always there 24/7 whenever we need them.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve or things you might do differently?

Not at the moment.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Our company offers wine and liquor gifts. Our website is called spiritedgifts.com.

What is your position?

I am the owner of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Absolute Web Services?

We wanted to improve the functionality of our customized checkout. We have the ability to ship to multiple recipients, which most stores don't offer. We also wanted to have a more polished design. I had worked with other developers, but I never actually got the look-and-feel that we achieved with Absolute Web Services.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Absolute Web Services offered e-commerce development for our site. I wanted very specific functionalities with which they helped us out. We developed our shop on a Magento platform. Previously, we were using Pinnacle Cart and 3dCart.

They also provided basic SEO functionality. We have brand pages for different manufacturers and wanted to direct customers to them.

We're currently building a second site with Absolute Web Services, which will be a more standardized liquor store, not aimed at gifting.

How did you come to work with Absolute Web Services?

I wanted to work with someone in the US, preferably local. It seemed more difficult to get ideas across when working remotely. Absolute Web Services is close enough to my location that I can visit them if I need to. When launching a bigger functionality, I can talk to them in person without barriers.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total cost of my two websites, plus improvements and fixes, will be in the $10,000-$50,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February of 2014. The site was launched in June. Our most recent project was started a couple of weeks ago and is expected to launch in June of 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

They have done a great job. I continue to work with them because of their results. Our business has doubled year after year since launching the site built by Absolute Web Services. Every single person I've talked to about the site has mentioned how beautiful it looks. Their team has been very good in getting the correct look-and-feel of the shopping experience for my kind of site.

How did AWS perform from a project management standpoint?

They've always made themselves available. With web development, there are always unforeseen issues. For instance, someone tried to hack our site during the last holiday season. Absolute Web Services gave a lot of dedication to my project.

What distinguishes Absolute Web Services from other providers?

I like the fact that they have design and development capabilities under one roof. There are separate resources for each of these elements.

I thought about outsourcing the design of my second site to another company, given that Absolute Web Services had only offered development up until this point, but they insisted that they could handle it. They've stepped up and improved that department. Most places usually offer either design or development, but Absolute Web Services is good on both fronts. It means that I don't have to work back-and-forth with multiple people.

Is there anything Absolute Web Services could have improved or done differently?

They've acknowledged the areas in which they have problems, and they've gotten better as a company since starting our collaboration. Absolute Web Services has grown its team, and whenever there is a weakness in their operations, it will be filled out. I don't have any specific complaints right now.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We sell e-cigarette and vaporizer products worldwide through our website.

What is your position?

I am the owner of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Absolute Web Services?

We had been ripped off by three different web developers in the past. The project scope was monumental, involving 100% custom coding on a Magento site. We are competing with the best in the world in a very aggressive environment, while also lacking the ability to advertise using Google Ad Words or any other avenue. We've turned a small company into a national one, and needed the resources that go along with this. My competitors have massive websites. I can guarantee that some of them are million-dollar projects.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Absolute Web Services [AWS] is handling server, website, and crisis maintenance for my site. They're constantly working on speed improvements as well. At first glance, the site looks very simple, but it's humongous in the backend and it keeps getting bigger.

On our site, hovering over the e-juice field will let the user see a "Create your own e-juice" option. This entailed allowing customers to create their own variations from 80 flavors. It had to be made simple, while still allowing the mix of up to five flavors.

I worked with a separate SEO [search engine optimization] company in designing the site and putting canonical and non-canonical links where appropriate, as well as no-follow and follow links. It was an incredible undertaking which involved restructuring the whole site, once it had been completed. We're a small company that will be competing with behemoths, so we had to look the part.

We're also reworking our front page. The SEO content is being hidden from view, based on our learnings from working with the SEO firm.

We've created a referral program through which users can share our page on Facebook or Twitter, receiving X-amount of points in the process. It entailed two solid weeks of programming in order to make the Magento app do what we wanted it to do.

We're now working on the Thank You page which can be shared by customers in order for them to receive $20 credit. They can also send out email blasts to their Google contacts through one click. Given that we can't advertise, we have to be as creative as we can in funneling clients.

We spent $15,000 in redesigning our checkout page in order for it to signal drop-off clients. Based on the analytics received through this functionality, we're figuring out what can be done in order to offset this problem.

AWS supplied me with three programmers during our whole collaboration.

How did you come to work with AWS?

I found them through a web portal. They were a Russian team based in Miami. I decided to meet them face-to-face, given that every developer can talk the talk without actually doing the work. Instead of contracting to someone else, AWS had a real office full of programmers and designers. Their prices were also fair compared to their competition.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The original site had a development cost of $20,000. It worked, but everything had to be customized. The total cost has now reached north of $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November of 2015. The work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Our sales have tripled since working with Absolute Web Services. Currently, there are over 40 programs integrated into our Magento platform, each of them custom-built by their team. These include a Yotpo review service, which required a lot of coding. Instead of pulling the data from Yotpo servers, which was the default method and made Google not identify it as our own content, AWS worked together with Yotpo in developing a different encoding API [application program interface]. The content actually sits on our page at this moment and is seen by Google as such.

Everything done with AWS has been done in bursts. After working with us, they can handle any client.

How did AWS perform from a project management standpoint?

They handled this aspect very well. Everything was done in writing, not using Basecamp or any other similar software. I don't like that approach and would much rather just pick up a phone and talk to someone. I can call AWS and ask them for anything. There are days in which they don't work on anything for me, while on others I may send them 8 different emails with requests for the site. They've adapted to my way of working, which is unusual.

What distinguishes AWS from other providers?

I actually get the results I pay for. Over 90% of developers will rip their client off in one way or another, from my experience. I have check-balancing sessions with AWS in which I detail the number of hours they charged me for each item. Many times, their total time spent includes their people learning how to do a task, so that is trimmed off. I don't pay for their education.

I've had three bad experiences in the past. One company charged me $26,000 before even getting to the site build.

Is there anything AWS could have improved or done differently?

I hate the word "transparency", but AWS could give more accurate quotes when handling something. Things can get tangled up, so to speak. I will often find that a job will take more hours to complete, which is tough to assess in any situation. The environment is fluid.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of e-commerce company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

E-commerce retail of bed and bath products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Absolute Web to accomplish?

• Fully Functional E-commerce Website
• Photo and Video Production
• Wordpress Informational Site

SOLUTION

How did you find Absolute Web?

• Online Search

Why did you select Absolute Web over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Communication Style

How many teammates from Absolute Web were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Shopify Site according to my design, wordpress site according to my design, photos and videos for both sites.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

High quality photos and videos, and fully-functioning fast sites.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

I wouldn't say that they were on time every step of the way, but they did work mostly according to the pace of my project, which was determined by the manufacturing time needed for my products. Andres managed the process and the people involved very well.

What was your primary form of communication with Absolute Web?

• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

My project manager, Andres, was a very pleasant surprise. He communicated promptly and thoroughly via e-mail, which I told him upfront was my preference. He was able to answer all of my questions, which probably was in the hundreds. And most importantly, he kept my project on track. I also like how Absolute is a one-stop-shop for my needs - both e-commerce and photography services.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Absolute Web could have done differently?

The design phase of the site did not correlate to a straightforward build of the site. It would've helped if the same person that designed the wireframe pages was also the person who built the actual site. I think this would result in a much quicker build of the site. But overall, I am pleased with the process and the results.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the President of RDA Consulting Engineers

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Engineering Firm

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Absolute Web to accomplish?

• Webpage

SOLUTION

How did you find Absolute Web?

Online Search

Why did you select Absolute Web over others?

Company values aligned

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

New Webpage

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Time and Quality

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Our timeline expectations were met.

What was your primary form of communication with Absolute Web?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The attention to detail that Andres has, and also his professionalism.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Absolute Web could have done differently?

Only have Positive feedback.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive of Ayizan LLC

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

My company is an multivendor ecommerce website.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Absolute Web to accomplish?

• Develop and design a culturally specific ecommerce multivendor website

SOLUTION

How did you find Absolute Web?

Online Search

Why did you select Absolute Web over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location

How many teammates from Absolute Web were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Absolute Web was hired to help me build a multi vendor website servicing an international community.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

I received delivery of my website along with all the needed functionalities.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

All items were delivered in a timely manner. My needs were responded to very professionally.

What was your primary form of communication with Absolute Web?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The level of care and attention to my specific needs is impressive. As a business owner, the best thing you can hope for is to find people around you that just "get" it. Andres understood my vision, the direction we wanted to go and on multiple occasions, put himself in my shoes to anticipate my needs. I couldn't have asked for a better person to lead the development of my site.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Absolute Web could have done differently?

Can't think of any.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Chief Experience Officer of a beauty & cosmetics company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

E-commerce D2C beauty company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Absolute Web to accomplish?

• Website rebuild & maintenance

SOLUTION

How did you find Absolute Web?

• Referral

Why did you select Absolute Web over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Absolute Web were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We hired Absolute Web to assist with rebuilding our website and ongoing development work to simplify the buying process, increase sales, and increase satisfaction.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Almost immediately our customers noticed the changes being made, gave unsolicited positive feedback, and had fewer questions when purchasing. Friction points seemed to be smoothed and continuous improvements were made, always striving to meet the goals set forth.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The project manager was exemplary in working through codifying our myriad of ideas and helping us to build a plan to achieve our goals. They were incredibly responsive, communicative, and helpful at all times.

What was your primary form of communication with Absolute Web?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The project manager became virtually embedded into our business and culture. The time spent understanding our customer problems was truly impressive and showed in the suggestions being made. We would often shuffle priorities when new things would come about and they adapted well to our many changes.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Absolute Web could have done differently?

No, they are truly amazing partners.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the director of operations for an online martial arts supply store.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Absolute Web, and what were your goals?

We hired Absolute Web for to design and launch a new website to replace our old outdated site.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Using word of mouth as well as online recommendations, Absolute Web fulfilled all of our needs from the start. Their support options, design skills and knowledge of the new platform were all deciding factors.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We had an initial meeting to review our wants and needs. They developed a scope of work that outlined the basics and incorporated all of the new features we wished for. Timelines were established, however being short staffed due to covid we ran well beyond that timeframe. Their team was both understanding and supportive and worked with us when we were able to focus on the project to get it done, ensuring everything was as we wanted it along the way.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

2 people- a project manager and a developer. There were other staff available if either of them were unavailable as well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Customers love the new site as it's much easier to navigate and there are different payment options available.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We had a weekly check in meeting to keep everyone informed on progress as well as emails in between with any questions that came up outside of meetings.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They were very patient, understanding, flexible and thorough throughout the entire process.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

No, nothing at all. They did an amazing job.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am one of the co-founders of Auvere. I am also the designer and am responsible for the creative direction of the brand.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Absolute Web, and what were your goals?

Several back end development projects as well as redoing the website, which we completed in stages.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We looked for several developers on Clutch, interviewed them and settled with Absolute Web.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We prepared a list of projects we wanted accomplished. We worked with AW to prioritize the list. AW provided a detail scope of work for each task. Then AW provided mock ups for our approval. Once approved, AW implemented the work in accordance with our development parameters and processes.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

A project manager, a designer and a 2 developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Clients appear to enjoy the updated design.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We used Slack, GitHub, Invision and we had weekly phone calls.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

We went through a few hiccups in the beginning because we did not have a great project manager at first. Then AW provided us with a new project manager and things were smooth sailing after that. The success of anything depends on having the right people. That was certainly the case here.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Not so much after we got a new project manager. Our new project manager is very direct and so am I so we sorted out any miscommunications or issues pretty immediately. Many of their developers are in the Ukraine and I was impressed that they continued to work efficiently and timely during the war.