Graffino

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the CEO and owner of a company called Travel Keys.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Graffino?

We were trying to rebuild the front- and backend of our website. We needed to make improvements to the frontend to keep pace with the challenges within search engine marketing. Our backend system was dated and had tech problems.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They rebuilt the backend entirely and did a lot of frontend coding in PHP. They designed the backend interface, which was a heavy UX type of project. We collaborated on a lot of the development. We started with sketches and they helped with the wireframing process.

We had a lot of database needs. We wanted to give users the ability to search in a friendly UI with a variety of functions, including map, video upload, review, and rates and booking interfaces.

What is the team composition?

We interfaced with about three people. We could connect directly to the developers who were working on the project.

How did you come to work with Graffino?

They were a referral. We looked at a few other companies, but they were very efficient and we felt they’d be a good fit.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000 and $75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from early 2015 to early 2017. They provided maintenance and support after we launched the site.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our conversion rate went up dramatically after their involvement. I don’t remember the exact increase, but it was substantial. I’ve since sold the company and we’ve merged into a fairly large entity.

How did Graffino perform from a project management standpoint?

They did well overall. Most of our communication was through video calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

This was one of the better experiences I’ve had. I’ve done a lot of web projects before and this one was the easiest. They offered a really good value. They were affordable, delivered in a reasonably timely manner, and we didn’t have to deal with many bugs. They worked with myself and our COO and made the process pretty painless.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any net negative feedback for them. There were a few mild scoping and project management issues on both sides. It was a complex project and there were occasional delivery delays. Given the nature of the project, it was never a problem. They operated within one standard deviation of normal.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and Design Director at Design, Deux, Inc. We were founded in 2013 and tackle mostly visual design problems for clients worldwide.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Graffino?

I wanted to try out their firm so stated by asking them to do my personal website. It was an experimental project to see how it would flow. I wanted to see how they would listen to my problem and identify challenges, and if they could do something revolutionary on the frontend development. After they did a great job with my personal website, I needed their help on a bigger project for which our in-house developers weren’t performing well. I needed my designs to be pixel perfect.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They have redesigned multiple websites for me, starting with my personal website. For that one, we had a couple of meetings during which we went through a scenario of how my website should perform.

After that trial, I brought them on board for a bigger project. They’ve now developed several projects and become my go-to agency when I’m starting a new project for which the client has enough financial resources.

What is the team composition?

We work with the co-founder.

How did you come to work with Graffino?

I came to know one of the cofounders when I was living in Romania. His knowledge of programming and frontend development is really good. At the time, I knew he wanted to do high-end work for high-end clients and was struggling to get the right team in place. When he was able to get some of the people that he wanted on his team, I wanted to give them a try.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2012 or 2013. Our work ended in 2016, though I’m trying to bring them onto a couple of new projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When we started on my personal website, the number of questions I got from them was overwhelming. They were passionate about the project and wanted to get it done fast.

How did Graffino perform from a project management standpoint?

Their philosophy is that it’s not about what you’re working on, it’s about who you’re working with. They’re very picky about who they work with. They choose projects based on who is bringing the project to the table. They want to engage in long-term relationships. They're not the kind of agency that will just do a website and move on. They're looking for three-, six-, or nine-month long projects that are more than just a regular website.

They take pride in how the code is written. They put quality above money and timelines. They don’t develop from one day to another, and they don’t take on projects that have very tight timelines because they can’t guarantee that their code will be 100% correct. They don’t work towards hard or shifting deadlines because then they’re not able to meet their own quality standards.

We email when we need to share notes or documents but we mostly communicate by phone and Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Fairness. I think that describes them. They're also eager to do quality work rather than quantity. They're my number one choice simply because they can actually deliver what I want them to deliver.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could work at a faster pace. There are probably certain things that they’re taking a bit longer on than they should be.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be transparent with the people at Graffino because they'll do their very best to help you. If you don’t give them the right information, they’ll make assumptions which lead to mistakes. The more transparent you are, the greater the chances that the solution will be developed faster than initially thought.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the head of the business unit for a company that offers nearshore IT services for customers in Germany.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Graffino?

We needed to migrate an existing web app from DotNetNuke to WordPress. The web app manages electronic documents for notary offices and lawyers.

What were your goals for this project?

Our main goal was to undertake a platform migration. The WordPress application was supposed to be deployed onsite at the notary office, therefore it needed to be highly customizable and easily deployable.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I had collaborated with their owner previously before he founded Graffino.

Describe the project in detail.

Graffino took over the analysis, design, implementation, and quality assurance of the project. They were in permanent direct contact with the main beneficiary of the application.

What was the team composition?

They assigned two resources for this project. Both were involved in the same areas, however, one of them took the leading role and was the main point of contact for our client.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What outcomes or results can you share that demonstrate progress and/or success?

Our customer is happy with the delivered solution. The project remained within scope and budget and all the main challenges were tackled. The web app had dependencies to different web services developed by our client; these web services needed adjustments based on our input, but through a tight collaboration and communication we managed to get them to work with our web app.

How effective was the project management?

Project management was easy. The client communicated regularly via Skype with the involved resources and all tasks were managed via Collab. We also handled source code tracking via Github. Graffino came with different suggestions about tools to better organize the work.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are highly focused on quality; their code was well written and well documented. Their team expects all details about the functionalities to be implemented beforehand and have a critical-thinking approach, which helped us clear out some inconsistencies in the user stories up front.

What tips or recommendations do you have?

They should keep up doing great work!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a content marketing strategist. I educate people through long-form content and high-quality articles on a variety of topics related to marketing, social media, and online advertising.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Graffino?

I wanted to create a website where people could easily find my content and connect with me. It was difficult to create a personalized website that allowed for the freedom to create a landing page that would convert readers into subscribers.  I hired Graffino to develop my new website.

What were your goals for this project?

My goal was to create a personalized Wordpress blog. I needed a flexible and professional development team that could make custom integrations.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

The deciding factor in my decision to work with Graffino was their professionalism. When I discussed my website with Zeno (Co-Founder, Graffino), he clearly understood my needs, which was what I was looking for.

Describe the project in detail.

They developed, configured and integrated my Wordpress dashboard solution. We had a web designer start the project by creating wireframes which were sent to the Graffino team. The functional version was ready in a few weeks. Honestly, it would have been completed faster, but I was not able to answer all of their questions quickly enough, which delayed the development.

What was the team composition?

The project team had four people, but every individual had their own responsibility. I mostly talked with the account manager, who created a workflow scenario to help me understand the work going on behind the scenes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What outcomes or results can you share that demonstrate progress and/or success?

After Graffino finished the website, we asked them to continue helping us with maintenance work.

How effective was the project management?

The project management was very good. Every 2 or 3 days, I received feedback on how the website was going, what they needed, what should I think about creating, etc. We also had a weekly call set up. We communicated via Skype, e-mail, and Slack.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The project manager was easy to contact and, as a whole, they were very responsive. When they showed me their process, I felt comfortable and confident in them. They also contributed some great ideas as to how to make the site better.

What tips or recommendations do you have?

I don’t have any recommendation for them. They met my needs perfectly and understood how to talk with their client, send feedback, and work on different tasks.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a marketing manager for a food supply company; we provide fresh produce to restaurants. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Graffino?

We’ve hired Graffino for website development. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We use Graffino for all website development services; they are also responsible for maintenance. 

What is the team composition?

We work with Daniel (Full Stack Developer), Roxana (Frontend Developer), and the co-founders of Graffino. 

How did you come to work with Graffino?

I had worked with Graffino previously. They’d done a great job before, so we decided to work with them again. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2020, and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since engaging with Graffino, the look of our website has improved, and it performs much better. Graffino’s team has great recommendations and is on top of maintenance. We’ve also seen increases in website traffic, and our analytics have gone up. 

How did Graffino perform from a project management standpoint?

Graffino has excellent project management across the board. Our project manager is fantastic and always ensures everything is delivered on time. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We can’t recommend them highly enough; we think they’re all brilliant. Everyone we work with supplies value, and they’re wonderful to collaborate with. We’ve recommended them to many people because our partnership has been so successful. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing we can come up with. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear on the brief and let them in on your goals. I guarantee they will be able to deliver what you’re looking for as long as you’re clear.