Elevation

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Editor of Poet Lore / The Writer's Center

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We publish Poet Lore, a twice-yearly poetry publication featuring the finest in contemporary writing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Elevation to accomplish?

• to refresh our website to better match our print journal
• to increase functionality and user pathways on our site
• to launch a functional blog page to feature new work online

SOLUTION

How did you find Elevation?

Referral

Why did you select Elevation over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

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

We enlisted Elevation to redesign our existing website. We worked with them to reconfigure our UX pathways and interfaces, optimizing the user experience and the necessary information on the site. They created a completely new and beautiful homepage for us, complete with a new newsletter sign up form that inputs directly into constant contact as well as a live blog feed. 
In addition, Elevation reconfigured the available design features in our page blocks and supplied 2 functional templates for new pages. We also worked to get our purchasing platform DonorPerfect integrated onto the web pages. Lastly, Elevation now hosts the site on its hosting platform, transitioning from our old web host.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Increased web traffic
• Increase in newsletter sign ups (which we are already seeing!)
• User responses that signify visual changes and user ability within the site

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

Everything was entirely on schedule (even early at some points); Elevation was so communicative during the entire process, always available to provide support and answer questions. I really felt that they completely understood our goals and it showed in the final product.

What was your primary form of communication with Elevation?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

I really appreciated how it felt so personalized to work with the team at Elevation. I never felt like I was just another project in their queue. Maga and team were so attentive and generous with their time throughout the whole project.

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

Everything was wonderful! Even when we had a delay on our end at the final transition of the site, Elevation was so understanding and allowed us the time to fix the issue properly on our end.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Adminstrator of a legal company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and promote justice for all.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Elevation to accomplish?

• Design and launch a new website

SOLUTION

How did you find Elevation?

Online Search

Why did you select Elevation over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

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

1. creation, design, development, and launching an entirely new website; 
2. WordPress training.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Use and understanding of SEO; 
• creating posts that are viewed by users; 
• a modern, clean looking website design; 
• directory tools that provide a user access our vast library of documents; 
• it's just a great looking website.

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

Our project manager, Agustin, always responded to our needs with kindness and extreme patience as we're not an easy group to deal with. Agustin has exceptional problem solving skills as he would always try and find a solution if he didn't have an immediate one. 

We value his technical expertise that made understanding the backend of website much easier at our end. He's a patient teacher in that he went above and beyond to explain WordPress and other very basic backend website techniques. We would not have finished this project without Agustin's encouragement, support and patience!

What was your primary form of communication with Elevation?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Patience - it took over two years to complete this project. Like I said, we're not an easy bunch to please, but Elevation and Agustin were willing to stick with us and get us over the finish line! Thank you, Elevation!

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

Maybe in the initial stages - we completed a bunch of paperwork that took up a bunch of our time that we felt no one at Elevation really looked at.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Chief Science Officer of Myositis Support & Understanding

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a Patient Organization helping the Myositis Community, driven by volunteers and providing support and patient-centered research in Myositis.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Elevation to accomplish?

• Launch a Webiste for the Dermatomyositis EL-PFDD Session in front of the FDA

SOLUTION

How did you find Elevation?

Referral

Why did you select Elevation over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Elevation were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Before the PFDD Session: 
  • Create a landing page for the PFD, including pages about the meeting, registration, testimonials and social media links. 
  • In the website, patients can learn about the PFDD, and what it is. Why is it important? Participate in Surveys and learn how to register for them and ways to submit testimonies to participate in them. Eventually, we will have a day counter to the session. At this stage, we want to inform, educate, and activate patients to participate in the meeting.
• After the PFDD session: 
  • Provide access to documents related to the PFDD session, including the the recorded 4-hour session in the spring, the executive summary, and also allow patients and stakeholders to download the Voice of the Patient Report, once it becomes available 60 days after the meeting.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Time of Deliverables 
• UX/IX interphases 
• Quality of Work 
• Training and content

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

They responded in less than 12 hours to all our requests and provided reminders for all time lines with open workstreams for the different parts of the project, our PM kept us in check and updated the timeline according to our progress.

What was your primary form of communication with Elevation?

Email or Messaging App

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

We like that they work with nonprofits and especially with patient organizations like us many times do not have an IT department and are run by volunteers, they were able to adapt to our needs and help us with the learning curve in order to deliver the product in time and without major obstacles

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

I think they communicated enough with us, but maybe an expanded introduction to the different tools used during the project can be useful. I think I would have benefited from learning early about WordPress, fortunately, my team quickly caught up to make the necessary changes on time. But sometimes that phase was a bit hurried since it was the end of the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Communications & PR Manager of Camphill Village Copake

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We serve adults with developmental disabilities through a unique and inclusive lifesharing model.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Elevation to accomplish?

• Identify audiences visiting our website
• make our site more navigable and attractive
• empower our organization to make attractive new pages following construction of the site

SOLUTION

How did you find Elevation?

Online Search

Why did you select Elevation over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned
• experience with nonprofits

How many teammates from Elevation were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

We needed Elevation to not just design an attractive site, but to consider our place as a nonprofit organization that needs donations and audience engagement, but also wants to improve the way we serve families of loved ones who are pursuing admissions.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It's still too early to say, but we expect to have a real increase in volunteer applications when we make an announcement very soon.

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

The Elevation team was amazing. They were efficient, always on track with deadlines, and always in communication. Each person on the team was knowledgeable about their particular area, and the team was so intuitive. We were so impressed throughout the process.

What was your primary form of communication with Elevation?

Email or Messaging App

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

Really how capable everyone was. There was never a moment where we doubted the expertise or guidance of anyone on the team. It was clear we were in very good hands at every stage.

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

Not at all

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am a Project Manager of PNQIN 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

PNQIN is an organization of providers and quality improvement (QI) experts that seeks to achieve measurable improvements in perinatal health outcomes and eliminate perinatal health inequities among Massachusetts families.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Elevation to accomplish?

• Design a new website

SOLUTION

How did you find Elevation?

Online Search

Why did you select Elevation over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Elevation were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Created a shared vision and a sense of unity between PNQIN and Elevation teams through a series of strategic consultations. Received initial mockups for all custom theme templates and collaborated toward a finished product. Worked with a dedicated Content Manager to assist with writing, polishing, and migrating site content into the new design. 

Previewed and tested a beta link for final revisions and resolving functional bugs. PNQIN staff received a training on Wordpress for how to administer our new site and perform common updates prior to launch.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have received 13 comments so far since launch from our target audience that our new website is beautiful, easy to navigate, and informative!

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

The Elevation team was timely with deliverables and incredibly responsive to our questions and concerns; we are very satisfied with their customer service!

What was your primary form of communication with Elevation?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Not only is the website they created for us exactly what we wanted, but every Elevation staff member we interacted with was very kind, knowledgeable, and professional. As a team, they are cohesive and worked together seamlessly.

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

Not that I can think of at this time!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the webmaster for a nonprofit organization that supports the grand juries that are empaneled each year throughout California.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Elevation?

We had an existing website that used old software. We needed help updating the software and redesigning the website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Elevation asked me to describe the work I needed, and then we reviewed and accepted their quote. Once we signed the contract, they began working. They updated the software and redesigned our website in WordPress.

What is the team composition?

I first talked to a sales representative. Once the project began, I worked with a program manager the entire time. I was also in contact with a developer.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $20,500.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Elevation around September 2022, and the project was completed in June 2023.

How did you come to work with Elevation?

We’d previously worked with them; Elevation also redesigned our website in 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Elevation’s designs made our website much more user-friendly; they improved the navigation and graphic design. They exceeded my expectations.

How did the company perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything was on budget; Elevation met the original quote exactly. The project manager was on time and always met all his commitments. He communicated very well, and we had an excellent working relationship.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

I’d like to shout out Elevation’s program manager and their developer. The developer reviewed the details and cleared up questions along the way.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They accommodated the time difference between the US — where I was based — and Argentina and Spain — where their development team was based — extremely well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I’d highly recommend Elevation. They’ll always meet the customer’s needs, even if there’s a time difference.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Communications Manager of State Employees' Association

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a member-driven labor organization. We negotiate fair contracts for our members and advocate for working people and their families in New Hampshire.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Elevation to accomplish?

• website redesign
• addition of a Member Only Portal
• easily navigated website

SOLUTION

How did you find Elevation?

Elevation built our original site and provided us with the best options for this project

Why did you select Elevation over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Elevation were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

This job included a website re-design to be more visually appealing as well as easily navigated. Our original site is difficult to navigate, confusing, includes pages that scrolled and scrolled it also was information heavy. We needed to break the site into two essentially a public facing website and a separate "member only" portal. Elevation has helped us do both and also provides support.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Completing the initiatives on the timeline- seeing the sample designs and delivering the appropriate pieces and components.

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

Everyone has been really great, Maga our PM has been especially patient and understanding as our organization went through a few set backs facing challenges and a reduction in staff. She is always willing to hop on a call and worked really hard with me to keep this project on track, literally walking me through every step and taking the time to research our current site to see how she could assist me - without her, this project would have been put on hold. 

Alejandra, as well has been very responsive with design and changes/updates as we got further along in the project. Everyone has worked really hard to keep this project moving for us.

What was your primary form of communication with Elevation?

Virtual Meeting

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

I feel that Elevation staff have been very understanding - they have let me take the time I needed to get the project back on track. They are responsive and dedicated.

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

The one concern I did have was this, our current site was built and managed/supported by Elevation but when initially starting this project with them for a redesign and portal we thought it would be a good fit because they could take the current information from the site they were supporting and managing and move that to a new site and enhance it. 

That was not the case - in the end, my project manager assisted me with the things I did not understand or was unfamiliar with but knowing that they had access to the current site and would not use it for reference was frustrating.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Executive Director of Just One More Foundation

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

A non-profit foundation focused on giving second chances.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Elevation to accomplish?

• Design a website from scratch
• Code the new website
• Train the staff

SOLUTION

How did you find Elevation?

Online Search

Why did you select Elevation over others?

• High ratings
• Company values aligned
• nonprofit web experience

How many teammates from Elevation were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Elevation had took on the challenge of designing and developing a new website from scratch for a new nonprofit with a unique mission: giving grants for second chances. We had very few ideas of the look of the website. Elevation helped us figure that out and delivered on our unique functionality requests. They also did this in half the time they usually allot for a new website project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered a website design beyond what we could have imagined ourselves. They beat the ambitious deadline, delivering the website a week early.

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

Project manager Pablo Rosas was the secret sauce who kept us and this project moving forward through our ambitious timeline somehow making it possible that they delivered a week early at Christmas time.

What was your primary form of communication with Elevation?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

We love that they understand the nonprofit world and needs. They seemed to gather the best of the best employees and made them available no matter where they lived in the world.

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

The price point is high compared to other website design options out there. That might be an impediment for some nonprofits to work with them. That being said, we feel Elevation completely delivered on value. The two months of support post-delivery were very much appreciated. It would be nice to have one more month that could be cashed in at a later date, since it takes a minute or two to really use a new website and check out all the functionality.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the coordinator of community and coalition initiatives for a government initiative. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Elevation?

We were creating a workshop for a project we were working on. After gathering input from actual people through focus groups, we concluded that creating a website for easy access to information would be the most effective approach. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Elevation provided end-to-end services, including designing the user interface, creating wireframes, and managing the entire process from pre-production to launch using WordPress. We chose WordPress because our team members with web development knowledge were already familiar with it, making it an easy choice.

The Elevation team clarified the terminology and created a timeline based on our funding. They started from scratch, ensuring that we understood everything. They also gave us some benchmarks regarding what we needed to do to move the process forward.

With the help of the project manager at Elevation, we identified what we didn't want, and determined the appropriate color scheme and text style for our project.

The team at Elevation provided recommendations and listened to our input. They were responsive and were good at making suggestions based on their experience, some of which we took to heart because that isn't our scope of work. They made some suggestions that we weren't interested in, but overall, it was a productive exchange from my point of view.

Based on the overall vision and design of the web page, we knew that much of the information would be static and wouldn't require a lot of updating. The website had some specific content related to our state. Still, as we were developing the project, we knew that there was a potential for it to go national, or at least have potential national implications and impact. 

We asked that Elevation design the website so that we could quickly pivot from resources for one state to information on all 50 states. At the very end, when we were getting ready to launch, they walked us through how to add those drop-down views and the other 49 states.

We entered into a maintenance contract with them for three months, and everything went smoothly. There were a few minor bugs, but nothing significant. Furthermore, we had another two-month contract with them for a discreet add-on. During this time, we sought their guidance in determining the best design.

What is the team composition?

Agustin (Project Manager Team Lead) was our main point of contact. Additionally, we interfaced with 2–3 other people with design specialties. Some additional people worked on our project. 

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

As our group's primary point of contact and a facilitator, I frequently interacted with Agustin during the project. From my experience, he was always responsive and willing to assist with any inquiries. He was very patient with us and good at explaining different options in a way that made sense and allowed the project to proceed. 

How did you come to work with Elevation?

Our project manager aided us in selecting web developers by narrowing down our options, and we conducted interviews to make our final decision. Based on our vision of the website and the interview, we chose Elevation.  

How much have you invested in them?

We spent between $10,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement lasted from March 2021–April 2022. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We've been using Google Analytics, and they helped us think through that aspect. Some folks on our internal team have developed a marketing campaign. We aren't getting the traffic we hoped, but we aren't surprised because we don't have the funds for marketing campaigns. Our ability to promote this relies on our network of connections, as we don't have a specific budget for advertising. 

We have been analyzing bounce rates, duration of stay, video views, and specific pages visited by our website visitors. We have been using this information to refine our content or marketing strategy as much as possible.

How did Elevation perform from a project management standpoint?

They used Basecamp for project management. From the start, they created a timeline and consistently provided updates on our progress along the timeline. They also informed us whenever we were falling behind, which proved to be helpful.

The people handling this work on our team had other responsibilities, and sometimes they fell behind; any delays were due to our team. The Elevation team was consistently punctual with their obligations. I can't recall a time when Elevation failed to fulfill a commitment.

Our internal work group had a standing meeting every Friday, and we invited Agustin to that when we first executed the contract with Elevation. Due to financial reasons, we quickly decided only to ask Elevation into our calls if necessary. Most of the coordination took place through either Basecamp or email communication.

The Elevation team preferred to have only one or two designated points of contact, which is understandable since communicating with 15 team members can be difficult. I was the primary decision maker; I had to approve various project elements. We clearly defined the process and knew the rules of engagement, which made the project smoother. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We have a website that we all feel good about. The Elevation team guided us on how to use WordPress, enabling us to perform updates independently. We wanted a website that was sustainable and adaptable to growth, and they provided us with the necessary resources.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything that Elevation needs to improve on. Some team members on our side were frustrated by Basecamp as a resource, but that wasn't my experience, as I was comfortable using it. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Our team found it beneficial to identify our strengths and weaknesses. In this case, we needed them to guide us into asking the right questions to help realize our vision of designing the website. 

When hiring someone for website design, it is important to trust their experience and guidance throughout the process. Allow them to do their job. Conflicts can occur if there are team members who have strong personalities and tend to micromanage.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Information Coordinator of Bolsa Chica Conservancy

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The Bolsa Chica Conservancy is a private, non-profit organization, providing services that connect through community involvement and leadership in hands-on restoration and education in wetland science, watersheds, coastal ecology and environmental sustainability.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Elevation to accomplish?

• To develop a new website for our non-profit

SOLUTION

How did you find Elevation?

Online Search

Why did you select Elevation over others?

Referred to me

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

Developed a brand new WordPress website for the conservancy. Connected our email and additional service applications to it. Provide technical service for our website and provide updates. Established various webpages and web page templates for us to use with our new platform.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Establishment of webpages and content management for the website. Each feature and component for the website was monitored in a series of checklist steps, and each week we would have a check in between our team at the conservancy and Elevation to determine progress and needs.

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

Elevation delivered each of their items on the expected timeframe that was delivered to us, and are quick to respond to acknowledge changes in our needs and address any difficulties encountered during development.

What was your primary form of communication with Elevation?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Each member of the Elevation team was pleasant to work with. They listen well, ask appropriate questions to understand your needs, and are accommodating when requesting assistance from them

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

When a setback or issue is encountered, the agent that works with you is an excellent communicator, but there can be delays in getting the full scope of the situation as the technical team at Elevation isn't always part of the conversation with the client when these are encountered.