The Story Web Design

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Director of Babysitting Connection

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Babysitting Connection helps busy parents find reliable and trust-worthy babysitters.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Story Web Design to accomplish?

• We needed a website that looked better and functioned better than our existing one. Our previous provided had a very expensive monthly cost and we wanted a website we could edit ourselves. Our website needed to look great and work really well on mobile.

SOLUTION

How did you find The Story Web Design?

Clutch Site

Why did you select The Story Web Design over others?

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

What was the size of The Story Web Design’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

The Story provided the following services:

• Strategy – helping us to understand things we could do to make our website better in SEO and generation of leads.
• Web design – Designing the website so it’s easy to navigate and easy to read
• Web Development – making sure it functions well on desktop and mobile

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• We got a beautiful website that’s organized and it’s exactly what we need. We can grow with this website and we can manage it on our own.

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

We had weekly meetings and progress was made every week. We were kept up to date on every step of the process. Emails helped us understand the tasks, so that we knew exactly what we needed to do.

What was your primary form of communication with The Story Web Design?

Virtual Meeting

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

The Story Web Design provided excellent knowledge transfer. They were very interested in helping us understand what we could do to be more successful with our digital marketing. It was much more than just designing a website.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Story Web Design could have done differently?

We got more than we asked for. Thanks The Story!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the General Manager of Clearview Nursery Ltd.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

For more than 25 years, the Clearview Nursery family has been focused on providing quality plant material and landscape supplies, consistently growing to meet both the wholesale and retail needs of the Southern Georgian Bay market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Story Web Design to accomplish?

• Create an e-commerce portal for our customers to find products
• Provide dynamic pricing to different types of clients
• Redesign the website look and feel

SOLUTION

How did you find The Story Web Design?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select The Story Web Design over others?

Other

What was the size of The Story Web Design’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

The Story helped us to understand how we could display our product information in a way that made it easy for our clients to find the information they needed. Our website now has a dynamic pricing structure that allows us to provide pricing based on the type of customer we have.

We love the bulk material calculator since we get so many calls from people trying to figure out how much soil or mulch or gravel they need. This should eliminate a lot of calls and make it easy for our clients to get the information they need.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• We love how our website looks
• Our website provides a very effective way for our clients to find product information
• We have a dynamic pricing model that shows the right pricing to the right type of client
• We now have a bulk material calculator that's easy to use for our clients and saves us a lot of time answering questions

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

Weekly meetings and follow-up emails made it easy for us to know where the project was at and what we needed to do. The Story was also very understanding of our need to focus on our business during our busy season and was able to pick up the project right away when we were able to focus on our website project in the fall.

What was your primary form of communication with The Story Web Design?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email
• Messaging App

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

The Story really helped us understand what was possible and made changes quickly and efficiently. They continue to provide excellent support after the launch.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Story Web Design could have done differently?

The Story has been excellent to work with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

300 Cybersecurity provides an all-in-one cybersecurity platform that enables medium-sized businesses to get premier cybersecurity protection for their organizations. I am the founder of 300 Cybersecurity.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Story Web Design?

I contracted The Story to create a website for my company.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

When I spoke with The Story, I felt they understood what I needed, and I liked that they understood Storybrand marketing too. Their portfolio was very strong, and their cost was reasonable.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The Story worked with me to understand the needs of our target market and my vision for the website. Copywriting was created for the home page, and then multiple design concepts were presented to me. I selected the design concept I wanted, and we refined the look and feel to meet exactly what I wanted. Then over a series of weeks, the remainder of the website was created for me.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I worked with the project manager, Trevor, and he managed the design and development resources.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The design and development work was excellent.  It delivered on my vision. It’s clean and pleasing to the eye.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Weekly meetings and email communication was professional and efficient.

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

The design work is very pleasing to the eye.

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

If there had been some more significant input on strategy from The Story, we likely could have saved some time and money.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Catch the Fire Kansas City is a Church plant. We are a family of Jesus-followers desiring to help others grow in Christ-centered maturity and intimacy, equipping them to know God’s Word and Spirit within a context of loving community and authentic fellowship. I am one of the pastors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Story Web Design?

We hired The Story to create a website for our church.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We needed a website that is informative for visitors. It has to be professionally designed to present our church in a professional way. It also needed to be created in a way that it fulfills our needs for today and positions us to fulfill future needs.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The Story walked through what was needed for the website. They made sure that all our needs were covered off, including what we need now and what we could need in the future. Then design concepts were created and after we selected the design concept we wanted, The Story designed and developed the website for us. The process was professional and our needs were heard throughout the project.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We only worked with the owner, however we know there were multiple people involved in the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The design and development work is excellent. It delivered on my vision. It’s clean and pleasing to the eye.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was smooth and effective. We had weekly meetings and thorough summaries about our discussions and the project status.

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

The Story made sure that we were satisfied and gave extra effort to make sure we got exactly what we wanted.

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

If we had provided The Story with our pictures sooner, we could have been done much faster.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

KIVLaw Criminal Defence Lawyers is a criminal defence law firm which defends criminal offences, including DUI, assault, sexual assault and other violent offences and civil claims for wrongful arrest. He also defends white-collar crimes, including civil litigation, securities act offences and defences, regulatory act offences and defences. I am the lead council and founder of KIVLaw.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Story Web Design?

Web design, logo design, web development, copywriting, search engine optimization, and hosting and maintenance.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

My assistant did a search online and found The Story. I met with Trevor Hamilton and he understood what I needed and I really liked the design work of The Story.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The team at the Story took care of the project from start to finish. They did an in depth interview with me and created the copywriting for the website and then the designs. There were weekly meetings which helped keep things on track. More importantly, though, The Story did most of the work, leaving me to approve designs and copy. I’m busy so it made it easy and the project finished on time.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Trevor took personal lead from start to finish. I always felt like I was his most important client. He was organized, personable, and a pleasure to deal with from start to finish. Indeed, he and I have since formed a friendship and he has become an integral part of my business.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website is great. I didn’t have to invest too much time in the project. And I’m busier than ever.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Trevor made it easy. Well organized meetings and summaries of our project meetings made sure I understood where I stood on everything.

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

We website’s great. Organization is great and my rankings are coming up nicely.

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

I have zero complaints regarding Trevor or Story Webs Marketing. They're professional, personable, and always have my firm's best interests in mind when suggesting strategies.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am one of the partners in ATeam Condos. We provide pre-construction real estate to individuals and investors. We are specialized only in pre-construction real estate, which includes condos, townhouses and homes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Story Web Design?

Initially The Story provided some break fix work on our website. Then they redesigned our website. They have also helped with various other areas involved of digital marketing. My website has to work well on desktop and especially on smartphones, since most of my clients find me when searching on their phone. I wanted my website to rank well on Google and generate lots of traffic for my website.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

I searched online and found The Story through Clutch. The references were strong. The Story appeared to me to understand my issue and be able to solve my problem. I have continued to work with The Story, because when we come with a requirement, they have a solution and get it done.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

There have been many different things that The Story has done, but I will describe the website. We described what we wanted and gave some direction on how we wanted it to look. The Story provided multiple concepts and refined the look to give us exactly what we needed. It was then developed for us and tested to ensure everything worked fine. The Story has continued to be there to make sure everything is working great on the website.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

There have been multiple people who have worked on the project, but primarily, we worked with the project manager to managed everything and made things happen.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our website design is very professional. It’s easy to navigate and makes it easy for our prospective customers to see our offering and get in touch with us.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The communication is excellent. The summaries of our conversations help us to keep track of the project. The language used is easily understood by us.

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

The Story is thoughtful, responsive and they want to get it right and will put the time in to make sure it’s done right.

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

We love working with The Story Web Design.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Nasser Allan LLP in a law firm located in Vancouver, BC specializing in divorce and family law.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Story Web Design & Marketing?

We needed a new website and we hired Story Wed Design to build a new website for us.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We looked for web designers on google. We had consultation with few web design companies and Story web design came across to us as most honest and least hidden fees.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

First Story wen design provided us with several design options in accordance with our specification. We selected the design and then they proceeded with implementation. If we wanted to make any changes, they were happy to accommodate and also to provide guidance as how the change may impact the usability of our website.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We mostly worked with Trevor.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We needed a new user friendly and easy to navigate website and the Story Web design delivered exactly just what were looking for.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective and very easy to communicate to address our needs

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

We used Story Web Design to design and build our website. Trevor’s team came up with so various designs to help us better organize our content and attract the right clients. Although we were in different time zones, they were great at communicating with us every step of the way. We also had meetings to stay on track. We are very happy with our website design and recommend using Story Web Design to anyone looking for a website. Trevor made the whole process pleasant, stress free, and we felt that we were really taken care of.

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

Nothing that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Eddy Solutions is a market leading IoT-enabled Hardware, Network and Service Provider specializing in water monitoring and leak detection. I am a Marketing Specialist.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Story Web Design & Marketing?

Web design, web development, animation. We wanted a new exciting design to help us keep our brand current as a leading technology vendor. Our new website had to reflect the nature of our business in monitoring water and water protection.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We have worked successfully with The Story in the past for multiple projects. This is our third website that has been created by The Story.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The project was a redesign of the existing website. We wanted a unique animation that fit our brand of water protection. We brainstormed ideas and then concepts were created for the animation. Concurrently, the home page was designed. Multiple concepts were considered. We selected the one we liked the best and minor modifications were made. The inside pages were then designed.

While we were finishing the designs, the website was developed. The Story managed many changes to the designed and developed pages and were very fast in their response to our requirements. Weekly meetings were held throughout the project to move the project from start to completion in a short time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The executive team loves the design. We needed a designed that aligned with our brand. We needed The Story to manage many different tasks and manage them to completion in a timely manner. The project was well managed and organized. We have pleased to see that page views and average time on website has increased more than 10%.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Regular team meetings and documentation helped make sure things didn’t slip through the cracks. It was perfect.

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

The Story impressed us with how quickly they could get things done. Fantastic turnaround times and achieving deadlines.

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

The team at The Story are pros 😊

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the Chief Operating Officer and VP of the North York Knights Hockey Association.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Story Web Design & Marketing?

We had a very basic website that we wanted to modernize. In addition to allowing for more efficient and timely distribution of information, we wanted the new site to support our league's registration process.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

To start the engagement, I provided a broad outline of what I wanted from the project. From there, they delivered a complete site rebuild. They put together a full suite of design elements for the site, including logos, banners, banding, sidebars, and page links. The content was pretty much where we wanted it to be, but we still had them help update some of the informational aspects of the site to clearly differentiate our offerings.

The revamped solution was an all-encompassing website that was both informative and interactive. Our overall goal was to ensure that a new hockey participant in Toronto could simply navigate to our website and easily understand their membership options. We wanted our audience to be able to make informed decisions based on who we are, what products we offer, and what the program would look like for them. We also wanted to make sure that the site would allow people to register immediately while conveying a clear understanding of the rules and regulations of our organization. These included participant photo regulation as well as inclusion and diversity conditions. As the project has gone on, the design has evolved to include a place to locate standings and performance measures for the different teams. The site also includes messaging functionality, allowing our organizaiton to easily communicate with and receive feedback from our members.

They implemented SEO best practices into the new site, but this was more of a secondary aspect of the project. We have a strong brand awareness in our area, but we definitely wanted to ensure that registrants wouldn't be confused by Google search results. Their team made sure to keep this goal in mind throughout the design process.

What is the team composition?

Trevor (President) was the project lead. There may have been two or three other design professionals from their team working in the background, but I'm not sure of an exact number.

How did you come to work with The Story Web Design & Marketing?

A colleague of mine at another hockey organization provided me with a couple potential firms for the project. We decided to go with them after speaking with them on the phone and reviewing their previous work.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent about $21,000 on the intial site redesign project. Since then, we've spent an average of $4,000 per year on their ongoing services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working together since July 2014. The site launched int 2016, but they've contiued to provide us with hosting and maintenance services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our website was honored as a bronze winner of the Horizon Interactive Award. I'm pretty proud of this external recognition. Additionally, as a volunteer organization we usually only receive complaints as opposed to positive feedback. However, we have never received a complaint about our website since the beginning of our engagement, which is pretty amazing. Their team delivered an informational, easy-to-navigate solution that meets all our participants' needs. Any questions, whether they're related to equipment, registration, or other issues, are easy to answer through the site. We've also never had any issues with the site's registration functionality. Despite thousands of parents trying to register their children during the same yearly window, we've never seen any crashes or lapses in responsiveness.

How did The Story Web Design & Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They did well. They had never worked with a hockey organization, so they had to adjust their processes to the needs of our end users. From a project management perspective, this led to a lot of back-and-forth between us early on in the engagement. I taught them a lot about the necessary content for this type of site, and they taught me a lot about how our audience's needs would translate into site features. This process went really well on both sides thanks to their team's flexibility.

We mostly communicate through email. Our teams also collaborated on the site mock-ups they would create during the initial portion of the project. Trevor would share these with me and then alter them based on my feedback. When an issue needing an urgent response arises, I'll let them know that I need it within 24 hours. They've always met my needs in this regard.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're flexible with their processes but have stood firm in ensuring that the site is easy to navigate. Since I have more knowledge of the site's content than they do, I'm often tempted to overload pages with information. However, they make sure that the content on the site is implemented in a manner that allows visitors to find what they need quickly. We've worked together so that all necessary information is showcased properly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only area that could use improvement is how thoroughly they proofread the changes they make to the site. They sometimes publish updates too quickly rather than taking the time to properly review everything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be comfortable serving as the expert on your site's content. While they are prepared to do research on your business, they won't be able to come into the project with a deep understanding of all aspects of your industry. It's not fair to hold a designer accountable for this knowledge, even if they do their own research. Rather, your team should be responsible for shaping the content focus of the project. I would definitely give them control of how the content is presented on the site, though. They have a great understanding of this area, regardless of industry.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Piper and Company is a consulting firm that works with professional associations, trade associations, unions, government, and public-private partnerships to develop strategic plans and conduct organizational reviews, among other services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Story Web Design & Marketing?

We hired The Story Web Design & Marketing to design and develop a website for us.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a website that showcased our work and would help prospective clients understand what kind of services we provided and for whom.

SOLUTION

How did you select The Story Web Design & Marketing?

I found The Story online. They have great reviews, the past work they showcase is excellent and their price point aligned with our budget.

Describe the project in detail.

Our previous website was dated and no longer accurately showcased who we were and what we were about. While we didn’t know exactly what what we needed in a new website, we had a concept and a general sense of the feel we wanted our website to project.

The consultative process was thorough and the design concepts that The Story submitted to us were great and captured everything we wanted to show off about our company.

What was the team composition?

We worked closely with The Story team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We got a great looking website that we really like.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had a great working relationship. Through weekly meetings we were able to consistently provide input and receive updates about the project. We felt like were on the same page through the entire process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We trusted their guidance and advice and they effectively incorporated all of our requests. They are excellent, professional web designers.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The Story is an excellent web design company. We are very pleased we selected them for our website.