WordPress Design & Integration for Golf Organization
- Web Design
- $50,000 to $199,999
- Aug. 2017 - Jan. 2018
- Quality
- 5.0
- Schedule
- 5.0
- Cost
- 5.0
- Willing to Refer
- 5.0
"They stood out because of the solutions they devised for unique problems."
- Other industries
- Norton, Massachusetts
- 11-50 Employees
- Phone Interview
- Verified
RainCastle designed and developed a WordPress website, then integrated it with an existing CMS. They also created an overlay page for a login portal and performed site architecture and SEO analysis.
The website presented no technical issues and received enthusiastic feedback from members and industry sponsors. RainCastle collaborated effectively with another design team and unified several complex platforms under one seamless aesthetic. Their helpful, creative approach saved time and money.
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
BACKGROUND
Introduce your business and what you do there.
Mass Golf, which is technically known as Women’s Golf Association Massachusetts, is a 501(c)(3) organization focused on supporting amateur golf through handicap computation services, event organization, and overall services for member clubs and individual golfers in Massachusetts. I am the director of communication for the organization.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
What challenge were you trying to address with RainCastle?
We were undergoing a complete website redesign. We wanted to create a more user-friendly version of a very complex site.
SOLUTION
What was the scope of their involvement?
RainCastle redesigned our website and integrated its backend CMS. They had also created our first website, which used HTML.
We worked with another company for the rebranding effort. The company we’ve used for the rebranding has more experience in the golfing industry. We went to them because we needed to finish the site on an aggressive timeline. We connected RainCastle with that team to ensure that they would be comfortable working together. This was an essential consideration for the project.
The next step was involving RainCastle in the rebranding process. They were not responsible for the logo creation and other branding activities, but they participated in all our calls and provided insights into our brand positioning and design elements. The rebranding agency came up with a logo suite and style guide. Based on those, RainCastle quickly came up with website design concepts for us to review. Once we decided on a specific design, they built our WordPress platform.
We also went through a website architecture review process. They outlined all the variations for our site’s pages, and came up with unique solutions for our problems. One of those was managing a huge volume of archived data from the previous site.
They also came up with a solution for our backend member login portal, which is managed by another company. Their work elevated the aesthetic of that website, which had been quite poor before. A data management company is not a design company, so their product was not very appealing. RainCastle created an overlay page for that company’s system. They came up with the design and functionalities of that page, and integrated it into a subdomain to eliminate any technical issues. Now users don’t realize that they’re going from one website to another.
We have a “Find a Club” link that takes users out of our main mask-all server and into a subdomain run by a third party. RainCastle designed all those pages and gave the partner company everything they needed.
They also designed an icon section for registered members, which replaced the previous text version. RainCastle invented an extensive suite of unique icons for all layers of data provided by our organization.
We did not request advertising services from them, but we did ask for a complete SEO analysis. We had never done that before, so their team educated us. Given the old-school nature of our site, we hadn't used SEO for many years. They emphasized the importance of SEO, explained why and how we should implement it, and created a sitemap. We analyzed that document page by page and added the suggestions to the site.
They also worked on the redirect links from our old site, making sure that there wouldn’t be any dead links.
The company we’ve used for the rebranding has more experience in the golfing industry. We went to them because we needed to finish the site on an aggressive timeline.
RainCastle did work on our “Brand Story” page. We had an idea of how we wanted it to look, but they helped us integrate a video and generally make it more interactive.
What is the team composition?
I’ve worked with RainCastle’s vice president and their owner for many years. Both were present for every call we’ve had from the start of the project. John was in charge of helping with site architecture and backend solution, while Paul was involved with the branding and overall design layout.
Once we got into the development phase, I worked closely with their senior web developer from November until launch. I also worked with two SEO specialists from their team.
How did you come to work with RainCastle?
We had an existing relationship with them, which was a key factor in the decision. We didn’t want that to be the only reason for our choice, so we went through an extensive vetting process. Our original goal was to find one company for the rebranding and website development, as that seemed most efficient. However, RainCastle convinced us that they would have no problem working with another company. They had a good history of working with other groups bring projects together. They were willing to serve as project managers and alter their original proposal. That, along with their proposed solutions for our technology platforms, set them apart.
They also had a good knowledge of how we operate. John has taken a lot of interest over the years in learning what our business is all about. The fact that he could hit the ground running and understand our method of working with golf clubs and individual golfers—along with the structure of our backend data—was a huge benefit.
We looked at different companies, with the original goal of selecting a single partner. The rebranding company could have done the job of the web developer, but RainCastle established itself as our web development partner since they could work with another group and stick to an extremely aggressive timeline around the holiday season.
How much have you invested with them?
The cost of their work was $35,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
The rebranding process started in May 2017, but we onboarded RainCastle in August and began development in November. The site was launched in January 2018.
We brought them in later because we first needed to come up with a new name, mission, and logo for our organization. We had to do a lot of work before RainCastle could start developing the site.
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Anecdotally, the website has been well received. We’ve launched it successfully and there’ve been no issues or complaints. We have received outside compliments and calls from different organizations in and outside of our industry, congratulating us on producing such a great site and product. We are currently creating benchmark reports to track the website.
We attribute this to a combination of the new brand and website. Its user experience is completely seamless. Our golf clubs are thrilled with the new visual benefits of the site. We will be tracking traffic to the site, but the overall response—among everyone from our board of directors to individual golfers and sponsors—has been overwhelmingly positive.
Even though they weren’t contracted for our rebranding, RainCastle was hugely helpful throughout the process. Their solution saved us countless hours of data input during the migration from a static website to a CMS.
Our member login page is currently hosted on a subdomain run and managed by a third party. RainCastle developed it to solve our previous browser and cache issues. They created a frame with CSS files for the other company to use and place on our subdomain.
The design style, icons, and colors match each other fully on our member page. The experience is truly seamless. It’s a more complex site than it immediately appears, but RainCastle gave its frontend a smooth and simple appearance.
The templates they created helped us save money and hone in on what we wanted to post on the site. Creating pages ourselves saved us money on web development. We have actually posted most of those pages. RainCastle reviewed our work and made sure that all the secondary pages we needed were in place.
How did RainCastle perform from a project management standpoint?
Our rebranding was necessary because of a merger, which was going to become legally official on January 1. We needed to have the site live and fully functional on that date. RainCastle delivered, despite getting some information from our end later than originally planned. We hit all our deadlines and they remained totally available, even during the holidays. We needed and appreciated that.
During the rebranding phase, we got in touch once or twice per week. Once we began website design and development, we spoke numerous times per week, including after work hours.
What they did in a short time was incredible. Much of that was attributable to RainCastle’s ability to come up with three design concepts that lined up with our thinking. Even though we made a lot of changes, we didn’t have to go back to the drawing board. Their knowledge and involvement sped up the development process and allowed us to keep to our timetable.
They delivered everything they said they would. I had a lot of pushback from my board, saying that they didn’t think that two companies could work together. RainCastle provided exceptional web development services while managing another company's team alongside their own.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They stood out because of the solutions they devised for unique problems. Not too many companies have the same technical setup as ours, so I was impressed with their ability to come up with solutions and work with other companies. RainCastle also had a good knowledge of our space and a willingness to learn more about it. They understood our audience and our goals.
They helped us in areas that they weren’t asked to focus on and told us when messages didn’t seem right from an outside perspective. This input was very helpful as we developed our new brand. I can’t imagine a company delivering as well as RainCastle on this type of project. For a client looking to work on multiple projects, their company is a good choice.
Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?
Everyone has different needs, so there aren’t any one-company-fits-all solutions, but I would definitely encourage anyone looking for a rebranding partner to listen to RainCastle. They should be allowed to provide solutions, or at least be in the consideration. They were the perfect fit for us, and I would imagine that would be the same for many other groups.
We made the conscious decision to have a very simple site for many years. RainCastle understood that we didn’t have a large budget. They came up with economical solutions that allowed us to keep the previous site running until the rebranding. I truly appreciated their ability to scale down their offer. Once we could invest in a new brand, they stepped up and delivered a tremendous product. That shows the scale of their offerings.
RATINGS
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Quality
5.0Service & Deliverables
"They delivered nearly everything we asked for."
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Schedule
5.0On time / deadlines
"They had a point person for scheduling, who eliminated delays and maintained follow-ups."
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Cost
5.0Value / within estimates
"They were affordable, both given the scope of work and compared to the other vendors we considered."
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Willing to Refer
5.0NPS
"I would recommend them to any company, small or large, looking for any kind of web development.