Afteractive

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Marketing Coordinator for Andrew General Contractors. We are a commercial general contractor based out of Orlando, FL.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Afteractive?

We started with hosting and basic maintenance updates; however, after an in-depth site review, we also updated the website.

SOLUTION

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

Initially, I looked at 5-6 web designers in the Orlando area, reviewing their portfolio and reviews. Once I narrowed it down to 3 web designers, I arranged a conference call to discuss the project further. Afteractive had created websites that I really liked, and Matt was the person I spoke to who also provided me with the most information and ideas from the start.

It was important to work with a designer who would bring ideas to the table; since this is their area of expertise, I rely heavily on the knowledge they have regarding what makes a good website.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Initially, this project was just hosting the site and performing maintenance and basic assistance with maintaining the site's look. However, we wanted a different look to the site, and it turned out we needed an overhaul behind the scenes to fix the site's structure.

The project entailed writing new copy, finding new photos, and changing the whole format of the site. Each step of the way, Afteractive provided industry knowledge and concise directions.

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

We worked with Matt, the business owner.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Requests for information were detailed so that we clearly understood what was needed. The whole process was collaborative, and Matt made sure we were kept informed as new milestones were reached.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was extremely effective.

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

I was impressed with Matt for bringing reasons to update the site to my attention and providing the data to show why this was important. He did not just ask me what I wanted; he showed me options to help decide the direction we should go.

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

I was pleased with the whole process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Web Systems Administrator at the City of Winter Park, a local government agency located in Winter Park, Florida.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website is continuously evolving, and we needed to make it more accessible to a wide range of visitors, especially visitors with disabilities. With a big challenge ahead of us, we decided to seek Afteractive's help developing, designing and modernizing our website. By doing this, we were hoping to make our tool inclusive and reaching compliance.

SOLUTION

How did you select Afteractive and what were the deciding factors?

Over the years, we have worked with many different vendors. However, when we first started working with Afteractive, it was clear that we would have a long-lasting relationship that has been ongoing since 2014. They understand our needs, support the products we chose to use, and possess the right skills and budget that works for us.

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

Integrating accessibility for websites can be challenging, especially to achieve the specific ADA requirements following WCAG 2.1 guidelines and standards to ensure the website is designed and built for Section 508 compliance.

We had several meetings to discuss the discovery phase, our strategy and design, and development & quality assurance. Since we were implementing accessibility and modernizing an existing WordPress website, this was a little extra challenging.

We had to preserve certain functionalities and migrate them over, integrating into the new website. We also revised and worked on ARIA attributes, HTML structure, links, images, alt texts, scripts, forms, and color contrasts to reach ADA compliance.

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

The Afteractive CEO, Designer & Developer, was our main point of contact throughout the process. We also had minor interaction with a Content Strategist that worked mostly behind the scenes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I believe inclusion and accessibility are the most significant benefit of this project, which was a lengthy and detailed task. We also benefited from clean and comprehensive design, making the information we provide on our website more intuitive.

And finally, achieving our goal in making our agency's most comprehensive communication tool more inclusive, which is primordial to support an open government.

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

Afteractive utilized various tools to maintain a comprehensive organization of all steps and monitor the progress in collaboration with the Web Systems Administrator. We used Asana and Basecamp to coordinate and organize tasks for each phase.

We also used InVision to assist in the design discussions and decision making and used BitBucket as our Git repository, which all worked perfectly among our teams. Afteractive demonstrated an incredible capacity to maintain the planned schedule and continuity throughout the phases of our project.

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

Afteractive is an outstanding company. Their unparalleled attention to detail and integrity is very admirable. The time and dedication they devote to your project are immeasurable and challenging to find nowadays.

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

Afteractive has web design, WordPress website design, development, and maintenance down to a science. While revising every step of the process, I still can't find anything to suggest for improvement. They have always gone beyond what we requested to deliver a professional quality product.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Co-Executive Director of a small advocacy based nonprofit organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Afteractive to redesign our website after multiple failed attempts with other developers. We need a modern, engaging website. We also needed a major project component built into the main website.

SOLUTION

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

We spoke with and got quotes from multiple developers. I felt a connection to Matt during our first conversation. He was willing to listen and show a genuine interest in understanding our organization. The deciding factors were a combination of communication and cost.

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

Afteractive was contracted to redesign our WordPress website from the ground up. We also needed a major program website integrated into our main website. We needed the website developed within a limited timeframe. We were also launching a membership management platform, Your Membership, that needed to be linked seamlessly into both areas of our website.

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

We worked with Matt, the owner of Afteractive.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website has only been launched for 24 hours and we have received so many compliments on the design, the user friendliness and engaging qualities of the website. Members would often be confused with the sign up process on the old site.

In this short time we have new members sign up without any issues. We are now better able to communicate what our organization does and provide the resources that our population needs.

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

The project management style is exemplary. We had a timeline and Matt made sure we were on track. The project communications were done through Basecamp. We had weekly meetings throughout the entire project and communicated in between as needed. Even when we added the major program component we were still able to stay within a reasonable timeline.

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

Many developers can build a website. The thing that impressed me most about Afteractive and Matt is the level of knowledge he absorbed about our company and the way that he used that to guide us in creating the website that we need to reach our target audience.

Sometimes I felt like I was working with an colleague who had been with the organization for years. In the final few days when I was feeling overwhelmed, I felt like he was able to drag me over the finish line just based on how much he had internalized our mission and bought into our vision for the website.

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

I have thought about what could have made this a better experience and can think of nothing. We got far more in value than we paid for.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a nonprofit membership association for amateur tennis in Florida.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Afteractive?

We originally hired Afteractive in 2013 to create a microsite for a niche program we were launching. In 2014, we contracted them to build a new website for the organization. This year, we needed to enhance the website we launched back in 2015.

What were your goals for this project?

With our latest project, we wanted to enhance and improve some features on our website, create a new look and feel, better organize content, and better integrate video throughout the website.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We originally found Afteractive in 2013 via LinkedIn. They’ve been a wonderful company to work with.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

Afteractive met with us on a discovery call in this latest iteration of our website and worked through the scope to decide what would fit within our budget. They provided a detailed document so we knew what to expect and set up Basecamp space to collaborate during the project. Furthermore, they provided wireframes for the design, set up WordPress on our server, built the theme and functionality of the website, and migrated the content from our existing website.

We will be doing the changeover of our DNS for our domain in November when we go live. In other projects, they have created content for us but as of now, we’re handling this aspect.

What was the team composition?

We worked with Matthew (CEO & Full-Stack Web Designer, Afteractive), their client services manager, and another tech specialist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

We’re now meeting the demands of our customers a lot better by providing the various audiences we serve with an easy-to-use website across all devices. The improvements Afteractive made have streamlined our processes for maintaining the website, freeing up time for us.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We primarily used Basecamp to collaborate and stay informed during the build. Matthew listened and often exceeded our expectations. He’s responsive and a real pleasure to work with.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

First and foremost, they listen to the needs of their customer and place a huge emphasis on taking care of them. They put their effort into making sure that the customer is able to not only have a great presence online but also a website that provides valuable services.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

There’s nothing that I can think of at the moment.