ePageCity

BACKGROUND

Could you give some background information on your company?

We are a small manufacturing company. We make heavy-duty electrical connectors that are usually used in tunnels for lighting or power source. We also make mini connectors, more for [use] in factories. We have about 25 people in our factory. We’re in La Grange, Ill.

What is your role?

I’m in marketing. Actually, I’m the secretary for the company. That’s my official title. But, I do the marketing. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

When you approached ePageCity, what was the business challenge that you were trying to address? What was the problem that you were trying to solve?

The problem is that we had a very old website, and we needed a complete renovation to be able to show what we have. We needed a complete working website [with] a catalog of all of our products. We had professional photography taken of our products, and we wanted to show them off. That was it: A whole new complete website.

Did you have any specific business goals for the project? Did you want more traffic or was it mostly just that you wanted the quality to improve?

We wanted the quality to improve. We did want more traffic. We have seen that considerably since we went live in September. We do one thing in our factory, but we have products. We have different values that can be added onto cable and wire. Our last website looked as though we only served one type of electrical connector. So, [with] this new website, we wanted to be able to show our products, give a description, and people could shop online, but not really order. 

SOLUTION

Can you talk about the scope of the project and what it included? Was it design, development, training, support?

All of the above. We started from the very beginning with design, not necessarily concrete design, but ePageCity wanted to know if we had designs in mind, what look we wanted. They wanted us to give them samples of other websites that were out there, so they could get a feel of what we liked. The content, of course, they set that up at their part. We then submitted the content.

The website was great because we learned how to do the content management system. That was done in such an effective way. It was [set up] meeting, go to meeting, and then they would have slides that would give us the step by step on how to do the content management.

How long did the project take?

We contacted ePageCity on the 1st of May [in 2013]. That’s when we were doing our shopping around for different Web design companies. We started with ePageCity after the contract and everything was signed. It was around the 1st of June. We went live 1st of September.

I’m a neophyte on building a website. I guess some building of websites goes faster than [ours] did. We were very pleased with the length it took to do this. There were many times where I had to go back to them and ask them many times, “What am I doing again? I tried this; it didn’t work.” So, there was a lot of back and forth emails. Just helping on a day-to-day basis.

What was your process for selecting them to work with? Did you have some other candidates that you were looking at? What criteria were you using to decide?

We did have other companies. Price was a definite plus. ePageCity had a comprehensive package for the price. The other Web design companies we looked at gave you so much and then everything else was $100 an hour after that. But, ePageCity was comprehensive from A to Z, whereas with other [companies], we would have had to add on. I kept going to [ePageCity], “Are you sure that’s part of this?” Because we couldn’t find any other Web designers that had a comprehensive program like ePageCity’s.

Could you give a sense of the size of the initiative, in terms of dollars or personnel work hours?

It was $10,000. [ePageCity] worked with us on that in regard to, “You’re going to put a $3,000 website up there. It’s going to look like one.” His motto was, “I’ll always make you look bigger and better than you are.” It did happen that way.

As far as personnel time, how ePageCity sets it up is they met with all of us, grabbed all of our ideas, everybody’s input, which we also had ahead of time before they came in. But, they only wanted one person of contact, which was me, which was excellent because the training that went along with it was very difficult. If they had to bring in another person, they didn’t want to have to do it again. So, it was a lot of hours on my part.

Another thing that was hard, we did have our professional photographer take pictures of our products, but our product is used mostly in the ground. No tunnel builders wanted to take pictures of plugs. So, that was a very difficult thing for us to get across to viewers of our website: Yes, this is what we do. We’d never had that before. So, our slides on the homepage were difficult, but ePageCity helped me tremendously making it look as though everybody sends us pictures all the time of their plugs in the ground.

The photographer was someone that you hired separately, and then you submitted the photos to ePageCity?

Yes. They did have [photography services] to offer. But, we had already had someone come in because we knew we were going to do new brochures and a new website. They would’ve offered it, but we had it done. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of the project? Are there any metrics that you can share?

I’m trying to run through all the things that have happened. Everyone was just floored by the results. We get a grid, and it shows the traffic since September until now and it’s just climbing with the newsletter. You can sign up for our newsletter. It just climbs every week.

Because we work with contractors and distributors, we have seen an increase of independent people that are looking for electrical connectors. They go to our website, and they just send me the submission form, and I’m with them all the way until either they buy something or they need a quote. That has increased measurably.

Another thing is that we are so proud to tell everyone. Look us up; check out our website.

Do you feel like the platform is easy to use? Do you feel like it was the right type of technology for what you wanted to accomplish?

Absolutely. We have a few competitors but most of them, what our product is to them is more just a very small portion. Our competitors are worldwide. I look on their websites, and I don’t even know where to go. [With] ours, it’s clean and clear cut.

How did the company perform in terms of scope and responsiveness?

Responsiveness was within five minutes. Then, there were times when I just wasn’t getting it because terminology was difficult or new to me as far as website development. Then, they would call me if, through email, we were not understanding each other. In fact, someone just called me last week to see how I was doing with the content management.

[In terms of scope], right on target. Actually we ended up adding more in the end, not because ePageCity suggested it. It’s just we wanted to enhance it, just up a slightly bit more. It was very attainable.

When you were working with ePageCity, was there anything unique or special about them compared to other companies with which you may have worked?

What I liked, and we figured this out when we were looking at different companies, is that with ePageCity, we just didn’t work with one person. We worked with a content management specialist, we worked with a design specialist, we worked with the salesperson, and the overall manager. Then, there was someone [who] just did the education. They went to the point of showing me the slides, and [how to do the] next step. 

The reason why we like that is because, with other companies, there was only going to be one contact that we would meet with, and that person would do everything. We just felt these people were specialized in those areas at ePageCity.

Is there any area that you think they could have improved on or that you would do differently?

They were so professional, almost to a fault, but it’s not a negative aspect. But, let’s put it this way. I just retired as a teacher, and then came here to work. So, I was the boss in my classroom. Now I was working with other professional business people, and it was different from when I was working in a school. So, it was more for me to see that change and work with such professional people as the ones at ePageCity.

There was one other aspect. They, of course, asked me these questions, too, when we were finished. When we first walked through the whole process of what it was going to take, what the steps were. I had asked them if those slides would stay up for me to be able to retrieve them when I got confused about something. They agreed that they should leave those up on their training website so that people can go back and look and see what’s the next step, what do I have to provide for them, and they agreed.

So, the overview of what was going to be expected from your end?

Absolutely.

It would have been nice to reference later on.

Correct. But we also had a URL to go to, to help me walk through most of the content management system. That’s still available to me. But, I wish [I’d had the training documents to reference] while I was going through it. Because by the time I had finished developing this website with ePageCity, I then knew how to do it. But, [at the time], it really didn’t feel like I could. Everything was so new to me.

BACKGROUND

Can you give a brief description of your company and your role?

We are a nonprofit genealogy society. We have 1,000 members. That’s international. We’re based out at Cicero, Ill. I’m a board member. I’m the recording secretary. I’m also the Web chairperson.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

When you approached ePageCity, what was the business challenge that you were trying to address?

We needed our website totally updated. It was actually the first genealogy society to have a website. It goes back to the early to mid-‘90s. The person who was the webmaster [at that time] left our organization. Because it was so old, it was a little cumbersome to work with.

Do you feel like there was any time lost due to that or any challenges that you had with not having an updated website?

Definitely. First of all because we are all volunteers. You take what you can get. When the webmaster got really busy, things on the site weren’t even updated. It was not always user friendly [that], of course, is something you need, especially nowadays because so many people use websites to find out information. You need something that’s both attractive and easy to use. That’s why we needed to update it.

What were your company’s business goals for the project?

We needed something that was not overly expensive even though we know there’s certainly a good cause to doing this sort of thing. We needed a company that would be easy to work with because we’re all volunteers. You’ve got to understand most of the people that I deal with on the board and committee are not computer savvy. We needed a company that was very easy to work with and would understand that there’s also a lag in getting information they may want or need right away because we are dealing with volunteers. 

SOLUTION

Can you discuss the scope of the project in terms of what it included, such as design, development, training, and support?

Everything. They did the design. They did the development. They host our website. There was training. To this day, we have maintenance, too. We have this court agreement besides, but they certainly were always easy to talk to.

How long did it take to complete the project?

From the time the contract was signed about a year. Again because, on our part, we were slow in getting information to them. We only have quarterly board meetings. Things that might need to be voted on had a hold off. The timeframe would have been way faster had this been an actual corporation dealing with them.

What was the process for selecting ePageCity with which to work?

We formed a committee that then interviewed three or four different organizations. ePageCity had been recommended by someone else that had a volunteer, nonprofit organization. When ePageCity made their presentation, although not the cheapest, they were the best to fit our needs.

What we needed was someone that would be able to work with us knowing the limitations of our people. We needed someone who could do everything: Design it, develop it, and host it for us and help us out.

Could you give us a sense of the size of this initiative in monetary terms or personnel hours?

It was $11,000 and something.

When was the project completed?

We launched live on August 31 of 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Are there any metrics that you can share that indicate the success of the project?

Again, we don’t have always computer savvy people that are going on the site. Now, they’re finding it much easier to use. It’s a work in progress because of stuff that we need to put up there. We have generally 1,000 hits a month on the site. It’s so much cleaner and brighter. It’s much nicer to use.

Do you have any idea what the traffic was before?

Unfortunately, that’s the webmaster that left. It was nowhere near a thousand. A lot of that was because of the staleness of our information. We did not get it updated very often.

How would you describe the performance of ePageCity?

They were absolutely wonderful to deal with. Besides the training that they provided as part of our contract, whenever I have any kind of question, they answer it within hours if not minutes. Now, you’ve got to understand I’m not a needy person. I would put in there, “This isn’t a rush. Get back to me whenever,” and they would still get back to me in less than 24 hours.

What about in terms of the agreed schedule and budget?

That all went according to plan.

Do you feel like you’ve selected the right company here?

Definitely. I have dealt with other companies because I used to run the website for YMCA in our area. So, I’m familiar with it and the process. They were very good to deal with.

Looking back on the project, are there any areas that they could have improved or that you might have done differently?

I can’t necessarily blame them. There were features I would have added or made sure that we checked into more, but that I believe is more on our committee’s problem than dealing with ePageCity. We could have done something different than we did, but our committee chose not to.

So, there are features on the site that you think looking back might have been useful to add?

Right. We were limited by our budget. That had certainly a lot to do with it.

Did that have a negative impact on the overall project?

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Contract manufacturing and I am the Sales & Marketing Manager

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire ePageCity?

Update company website to be mobile friendly and give the website an updated face lift

What were your goals for this project?

Improved web presence for marketing

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Worked with them in the past

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Updated website to mobile-friendly

What was the team composition?

I don't know.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I love to work with team at ePageCity. They deliver wonderful and professional results that are better than expected.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Greatly effective

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Outcome provided

Are there any areas for improvement?

Non so far

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the HR coordinator for a small property management firm that deals primarily with multi-family properties.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire ePageCity?

We engaged ePageCity to downsize our multipage website.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted the website to be a one-page form.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We've worked with ePageCity in the past

Describe the project in detail.

They redesigned our website according to our specifications and budget.

What was the team composition?

I worked directly with the production manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The redesign meets our needs, and we're very happy with it.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Since our project was smaller, the production manager was able to handle the scope capably by himself.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They worked quickly, efficiently, and effectively to meet our needs.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, I can’t think of anything.