QualDev Inc.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the creative director for an e-commerce women’s clothing site.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Qualdev Inc.?

Nine years ago, we had a very basic Yahoo shopping cart, but we wanted our own online store that would give us a unique and robust online presence.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Qualdev built the entire online store. We gave them PSC files for the design, because we wanted the site to be in sync with our brand, and they coded it and built it out. That was nine years ago, so we have a great working relationship with them now, and we still follow the same procedure. Sometimes they get it right on the first try, and other times it takes a few more iterations.

We have an in-house graphic designer, so Qualdev just does the coding. Our site is responsive and has a fully functioning backend and dashboard.

What is the team dynamic?

I don’t know how many people work on our account, but I usually interface with Neelesh [Bhansali, CTO] or his general staff.

How did you come to work with Qualdev Inc.?

A friend recommended them and, after looking at a few providers, we chose Qualdev because of their pricing.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, we’ve spent over $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We hired them in February 2010, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Just having our own site that’s sleek and functional is great. The features Qualdev has built in have helped our business grow. Plus, we haven’t had any bugs or major issues, so that’s been fantastic.

How did Qualdev Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

A week doesn’t go by that we don't talk to Qualdev. They’re responsive, kind, understanding, smart, and experienced. It never takes them more than 12 hours to get back to us. They have a project management tool, but we don’t use it; we mostly communicate via email and phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I've heard of other people having massive issues and headaches with their dev team, but we’ve never experienced that. I couldn’t ever imagine switching from Qualdev; I’m that pleased with their work. The fact we’ve been with them for nine years speaks for itself.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everything has been great.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a flooring retailer and wholesaler.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with QualDev, Inc.?

Our website has been around since 1999 and when I first came, it was a huge HTML website. We had 2,000 indexed pages of pure HTML with no way to manage the data. We needed QualDev to build a site that was run off of spreadsheets and data and make it much easier to manage. Our main goal was to add and remove products and have a much more seamless user experience for our customers, with better images, etc.

There was a previous employee here that was working with an SEO firm that had been using defunct websites. We got flagged by Google and QualDev helped us with that as well.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

QualDev rebuilt our website for us. We wanted to be one of the first companies to have e-commerce set up for rolled goods. Everyone can sell things in boxes easily, but QualDev set us up to sell rolled goods, which involved some pretty in-depth changes due to setting up units and shipping to multiple shippers. Carpet has to be shipped out with freight companies, so they had to synchronize our data stream with 5 different shipping companies, and then it chooses the lowest rate. We’re one of the few websites that is e-commerce ready for rolled goods. That’s been a big benefit for us.

Having a live sync to all of our freight carriers was another specific coding requirement we needed from them. We’re able to customize their data to the way we work. For example, if a box is 22 square feet, they set that up as a basic unit. The site went live in 2013 with 20,000 SKUs. We’re up to about 100,000 SKUs now, and the site works fine. Last year, we moved to a completely responsive site and they redesigned the site at the same time. That process took a month, but it was handled very well. There was someone acting as account manager for us. They assembled the team for the projects we’ve done.

To clear up the SEO problem, they analyzed our backlinks and resubmitted our proposals to Google.

How did you come to work with QualDev, Inc.?

We had talked to some companies around the area. One company that I had known about was very expensive. We searched on Google for development companies and came across QualDev, saw their work, and was pretty impressed with them. The price was extremely competitive, and I think we got a better site than if we had paid somebody local, and it was at a fraction of the cost. We had our list of requirements and they showed us sites they had already created that had some of the same requirements. They assured us they could handle the other requirements, and they followed through on that.

How much have you invested with QualDev, Inc.?

We spent $17,000 on the initial website. With other maintenance, we spend $2,000 to $3,000 per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in the fall of 2012, and the site went live in June 2013. We still use them to make updates or changes to the site.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Since the site went live, we have been very pleased with it. In July 2013, we had 13,000 unique visits per month. In June 2017, we were at 40,000. A lot of this is tied to their SEO work as well. We use them for that since they know the structure of the website. They’ve also recently taken on an advisory role in paid search.

How did QualDev, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They are usually the ones pushing us. We come up with an idea and need to pull together that idea, so they’re usually waiting on us. They’re very prompt.

They have a project management tool, but usually we use email to communicate. There’s a catch-all email address that we use to communicate with several different people from the team. They’re very well-spoken and we’ve had no trouble talking on the phone, but there have been times that we were patched over and have some communication issues. We’ve never had an issue using email. We communicate 2-3 times a week. They delivered on budget, which was surprising.

What did you find most impressive about QualDev, Inc.?

They were very competitive price-wise, especially knowing what web development companies charge around here for an e-commerce site. The price has always been surprisingly low to me considering all the functions it has.

Are there any areas QualDev, Inc. could improve?

Sometimes there’s a bit of a communication issue if we’re talking on the phone or if there’s a complicated update we’re working on. It’s not been too big of a problem, just certain people on the marketing side. It’s really not something they can change. We just use email and they understand instructions from there very well.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with QualDev, Inc.?

Not really. Their business owner is very helpful and very frank. He’s not a salesman. I would highly recommend talking to him if they’re wanting to move forward. He’s a very personable, but no-nonsense guy. We don’t use all of their services, but all the modern things you need on a website, they offer those new things as well. They invest in themselves and stay current.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO and a co-founder of HitchSwitch. We’re the nation’s leading online name-change service for newlyweds. We streamline the complicated process of changing your name after getting married. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with QualDev?

We wanted to simplify our entire backend in order to process orders faster and more efficiently. We’d built the first version of the site ourselves on WordPress, but orders were still labor-intensive. We needed to write down every order by hand and mail various forms (e.g. DMV applications, social security, passport, credit cards). We then “upgraded” to a PDF writer, so we were at least able to send digital forms. But, we still needed a better solution.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we first had our business idea, we were introduced to Neelesh (CTO, QualDev) and the rest of the team. They built our backend software from the bottom up. We’re now able to process hundreds or even thousands of orders per day in a fast and efficient manner.

Our first site was not mobile-responsive, and the whole UX was monotonous. QualDev not only provided the whole backend but also did the frontend implementation. We’re in the process of doing the fourth iteration, and QualDev is leading that effort.

Our initial site was simply a fillable form and a checkout page. It didn’t work with credit cards, so people either had to use their PayPal accounts or use the external PayPal credit card page. This required more clicks, so people were more likely to leave before purchasing. QualDev took that labor-intensive page and turned it into a functional site.

We have a form pre-population functionality now. How, the site displays a form which, in the past, had to be filled out either by hand or through a PDF writer with information like social security numbers, passport data, and driver’s license information. Now, with one click, all of that information is pre-populated into all of our forms and sent to clients.

We’d never thought about the security of the website. I take it as a compliment that people have tried to hack us, but QualDev has been on top of the situation constantly. I can’t speak about what they do on a technical level, but their monitoring is always ahead of the curve.

QualDev continued to reevaluate the UX as far as getting people through the funnel and to the checkout page. They’ve come to know our business and are able to give helpful suggestions.

We work directly with an account manager (or project lead), who has been our only point of contact. He is in charge of directing the team and making implementations, but there are 10 or so people behind him. Whenever we’ve needed to update or change something, QualDev has been there for us 24/7. I’ve never had to worry about my developers or tech.

How did you come to work with QualDev?

We realized that we needed a solution beyond our ability and looked for a real developer. My co-founder had a friend who’d used QualDev to build a clothing site. We met with their principal on Long Island. We did our due diligence and took calls from other companies referred by our friends, but we had a great feeling about Neelesh and his company.

How much have you invested with QualDev?

The cost has been reasonable, but I don’t have an exact number offhand.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with QualDev around September 2012. Everything is still ongoing. People have solicited us by offering CTO-like services, but QualDev is a part of our business just as much as we’re a part of theirs. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement?

Our business is based on 1-time purchases. We don’t have repeat customers, even in cases of divorce. The coding, design, and checkout experience put in place by QualDev has doubled or tripled our business every year. Before we met them, we were considering ending the business, but this is no longer something we have to do.

How did QualDev perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate with our account manager daily by phone, email, or chat. We communicate constantly, even on Sunday afternoons. We had an issue with an expired SSL certificate on a weekend, but I was able to call Neelesh and fix it within 15 minutes. QualDev has always delivered ahead of schedule and within or under budget. From a business and personal standpoint, their performance has been outstanding.

What did you find most impressive about QualDev?

We spoke to a number of developers before going to QualDev, and other firms told us certain things couldn’t be done. QualDev always gave us explanations and figured out solutions from there. The team has shown the highest integrity in terms of delivering exactly what clients need. I still rely on them to be honest and trustworthy and have never questioned them.

QualDev can take any idea I give them and make it into a reality. They give us the ability to focus on growing the business while supporting all the nuts and bolts that run an e-commerce website.

Are there any areas QualDev could improve?

I have nothing negative to say. Having a partner who cares about our product made everything work beautifully. We wouldn’t have a business without QualDev.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with QualDev?

You’d have to be crazy not to use QualDev. They deliver for clients, don’t oversell, and are the most honest shop I’ve ever encountered. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.
I am the director for digital marketing and e-commerce of a manufacturer and direct retailer of van and truck accessories and equipment. We have been around for almost 30 years, and we have been doing e-commerce for almost 15 years. All other companies are either distributors, third-party retailers, or manufacturing websites that get your information and then have a third-party call you to sell you a product. We ship only to the United States.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with QualDev?
QualDev came on board and ran an assessment on our website and SEO activity. At that time, we were using an older version of Magento, version 1.7.1. After doing an analysis, QualDev suggested upgrading to Magento 1.9.1 responsive, because we found out that 30% of our traffic came from mobile devices. QualDev predicted that our traffic from mobile devices could be 40% to 45% in one or two years, so we wanted to make sure we had a responsive design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?
I asked QualDev if they could run an assessment test on our website. They ran the assessment, and they did the analysis in terms of our SEO, social media management activity, website traffic, everything. When we started working with QualDev, we were using Magento version 1.7.1, which was an older version, and by 2015, Magento had already rolled out their 1.9 series. We had a lot of patches and customization was needed. At the same time, we were one of the first ones to adopt Amazon Pay and it took us almost four months. The website also wasn’t responsive. We had limitations on its performance, and we needed to upgrade it. A lot of people suggested we have a mobile website, which was a short-term solution. The long-term solution was a responsive design, so we changed the whole website and changed the frontend. When you switch to a new version of Magento, you don't need a lot of patching. You just need the ones that are critical and released by Magento. That has saved us time and maintenance going forward.

How did you come to work with QualDev?
I was the director of another company, and I worked with QualDev then. I liked the way they delivered projects in a complex environment. When I switched to my current company and saw that our e-commerce was all over the place, I thought QualDev could help us.

How much have you invested with QualDev?
It’s been a few years and we were also looking at other quotes at the time, but I think QualDev’s quote was the most competitive. Their turnaround time was 90 days, which we thought was pretty good. There have been other fees for maintenance because we’ve done a lot since then on the backend of the website. Recently we also redid our ERP integration, and we made changes in how we sell on third-party marketplaces. QualDev is also doing our SEO and their SEM analyst validates our SEM campaigns, and those are separate charges. They also provide server administration for our website, which is an ongoing, monthly charge. Whenever I do a comparative analysis with other companies, QualDev’s quote is way better than any other company I can find. All in all, it’s been pretty good.

What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in April 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?
We are a B2B website with pretty good traffic — about 80,000 visitors a month and almost 1 million a year — and our conversion is what it’s supposed to be. In fact, we are beating the market conversion ratio in our category. Since 2015, our competition has risen 200%, but our traffic has doubled and our conversion ratio hasn't dropped even 1%. It’s great when you see your website run the way it’s supposed to and with good conversion rates, which is any business’s dream. We also enjoy the work from our web support team who makes sure all of the servers are running fine and that they’re patched and up-to-date. We know QualDev is watching them to make sure everything is fine. All in all, it’s pretty good service.

How did QualDev perform from a project management standpoint?
QualDev’s project management is pretty good. One good thing is they have an almost 24/7 support team available. They have support on Saturdays and critical support on Sundays when they have team members who are looking at emails to see if companies need their support. They also have a decent team when it comes to Magento and PHP developers. Right now, we’re running a complex backend in Magento. We have a lot of customization and a lot of extensions, and we have a complex ERP integration. These guys take care of all of it single-handedly. Our ERP platform is NetSuite, then Celigo is the extension, then Magento. We do not charge the customer when they place an order; we charge them when we ship, which is how it’s supposed to be. Sometimes we reauthorize the form of payment based on the payment gateway the customer has used — PayPal, Amazon Pay, or credit card. Reauth is one of the projects QualDev is taking care of brilliantly. Amazon Pay did not have a team to support reauth; they had PHP developers for extension support. Authorize.net, which is the market leader in payment gateways or credit cards, didn't have a clue on reauthorization. But QualDev figured out everything based on the available resources, and we implemented their solution. Right now, we are with PayPal level four support, and we are currently testing it on our staging server.

What did you find most impressive about QualDev?
One thing I really like about QualDev is that they’re not afraid of anything. If I throw something at them, they’ll take it, and they’ll make sure they get the job done and in a timely fashion. That’s what makes them different. I never hear them say, “No, we can't do it,” or “You did it; it’s your mistake.” We have given them multiple projects, and whatever we have thrown at them, they have handled.

Are there any areas QualDev could improve?
There’s always room to improve. So far, I think they’re doing fine. I don't have any suggestions. What they’re offering right now works out fine for me.