WEBii

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're a nonprofit that serves our local community by providing access to higher education. I'm the senior communications officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WEBii?

Our relationship has been fairly consistent over the past few years, and we've worked on multiple projects together. Originally, we needed a developer to support a rebranding effort by rebuilding our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a complete design, with a wireframe and all the elements built before they came in. They translated all those designs into the website, and they currently host our site.

They built the frontend and user backend in WordPress, and we can update and make additions with templates. There is some additional functionality surrounding a career directory.

The year after the rebranding effort, we added an applicant portal that leads users through a series of informational videos. WEBii built the steps that direct a user through all four videos before accessing the dashboard.

There are other instructions and functions as well, and the dashboard is integrated with Dropbox, SignUpGenius, and other links. We also added some email automation.

What is the team composition?

I have two points of contact. We worked with one team member from the very beginning, and she's always been very easy to contact.

How did you come to work with WEBii?

We contracted designers to work on our website, and they brought on WEBii as the developer on a subcontract. We spoke with them and asked about their WordPress expertise.

The most significant deciding factor was their ability to offer ongoing support. As a one-person shop, it's helpful to have an external vendor, so we’ve hired them for subsequent projects.

How much have you invested with them?

We've had several contracts with them, and I believe our costs fall between $25,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

My first direct contract with them started in September 2016. Our relationship with them is ongoing, but we don't have any active projects at the time. I can utilize them whenever I need, and we have plans for more development projects in the future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The rebrand was a big deal for us, and we got great feedback on the site overall. The dashboard for online applicants was entirely their work. We launched in October 2018, and we've had at least 2,000 users go through the online dashboard.

The numbers are constant, and feedback from applicants is excellent. The process is understandable and easy to navigate. We've brought in 120 new students entirely through that online dashboard.

How did WEBii perform from a project management standpoint?

Our deadlines moved, but they never dropped the ball. They were very flexible with my needs, and they were easy to communicate with. We used Basecamp, and I got weekly updates and notices for each new item. I knew when everything would go live, and we had a comprehensive testing process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

As a host, they were less expensive than other vendors. They are local to Austin, and I can meet with them in person to discuss projects and solutions. They're right here when I need them, and I work with the same people all the time.

They understand our organization, projects, and goals, and they align with us to get our projects done. Beyond being just a company that offers tech support, they provide ideas, guidance, and leadership on our projects.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Basecamp was a little disorganized, but we didn't have any major problems. The tiny snags we faced would have happened with any provider, and they work quickly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a designer on your team. They do a great job with development, but if you have a look and a theme in mind, have someone with a strong design sense to help with your projects.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the owner of a bakery. We have two locations and we specialize in custom cakes and cookies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WEBii?

We do a lot of e-commerce business, so we were looking for a vendor to help us develop an e-commerce website and a custom application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built a WordPress website with WooCommerce for us. It's a custom-made website and has many features. They also developed a web application. The app helps us with operational workflow and tracking. We have a large volume of orders that come through the web every day, and we track the whole process.

What is the team composition?

We have two main points of contact.

How did you come to work with WEBii?

We checked different web resources, looking for a web development team in Austin. WEBii had very high ratings, so we reached out to them. They were very responsive and knew exactly what we were talking about, so we decided they'd do a great job.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent between $20,000–$30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with WEBii in 2017, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It's become much easier for us to monitor our sales. We've been very happy with the quality of their work.

How did WEBii perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very professional and great communicators. If there is an issue, they address it immediately.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're very versatile and have a broad range of talent. Many things I've asked them to do were outside their scope of work (for example, data storage), but they've always been able to handle them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm vice president of Safety Pays. We've been in business since 1992. I'm one of the owners and an officer of the corporation. We help other companies reduce their accident loss rates. We have between 2,000–3,000 customers. We have two employees and are located in Cashiers, North Carolina.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WEBii?

We desperately needed to update our website and store. Rather than working with what we had already, we decided to start over.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The platform we use is WordPress and the store is WooCommerce.

What is the team dynamic?

We worked with Jackie [Managing Director, WEBii] and the whole crew. We're really not very tech-savvy when it comes to this kind of work. It was good to work with someone who not only had the technical skills, but also the demeanor and patience to explain things to us whenever we had a question. Our questions were pretty basic for somebody in her position. She has always been just very helpful and easy to work with.

How did you come to work with WEBii?

I've been working with Jackie for possibly 10 years, since we had our second website built by a colleague of hers and of ours. That’s how I got connected to WEBii.

Our previous website was developed by another developer. He forwarded our website to WEBii for hosting purposes. WEBii has just always been very helpful. Their prices were reasonable. When we went to them, we made a decision to basically redo everything. We spoke to another company in the Los Angeles area who was quoting us more than twice as much for the work. The fact that I had experience with WEBii in the past and their prices were good meant that it made sense for them to do all of the work.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, including having them set us up for SEO, around $7,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

It started about 10 years ago, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

None of our clients have said to us, "Gosh, we really like your new website.” That’s not a reflection on the work at all. It's updated. It's mobile friendly. It's what we needed. We just finished the website about 2 months ago. We are very pleased with it.

How did WEBii perform from a project management standpoint?

They used a project management system with us. It was an efficient way to do something like that. My partner, who's in his mid-60s, wasn't great at using it. Part of the reason is that he has so much on his plate, and having to work with a project management system just sort of annoyed him. However, it was a really efficient way to bring us and all of the development people into the loop at the same time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Overall, it was a pleasant experience. Jackie was an all-around professional web developer. She was never ruffled by anything and always treated our concerns with care and respect. I never got any attitude from her or anybody else. In the past that's happened with other companies.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No company is perfect. We've been in business long enough to understand that, you know, one person might have more experience and training than another person. That would be the only area of any concern: That not everybody is equally trained (which is an impossible thing, anyway). So I’d say not really.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there

I'm the owner of a football technology playbook business called First Down Technologies with a product called First Down Playbook.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WeBii?

We are a small business. I was a 30-year football coach with 9 years in the NFL and the rest at a major college, so my whole life had been devoted to football and now I'm also in the business.

One aspect that I quickly found out I had to focus on solving was how to get the word out about your company and about your products without a mega budget. Jackie [Managing Director at WeBii] was instrumental in helping us understand and she taught me so much about social media and how to utilize our website to get the word out about our product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When I talk WeBii, I talk Jackie and I don't know how many people get this treatment or not. I don't know that will always be possible for everybody but it has been for us. It's a people-person job. The way she treats everything like it's her problem is something that makes me happy.

How did you come to work with WeBii?

Word of mouth. I started the business and then went back into coaching for a year at the University of Tennessee. I hired somebody to work for me for one year and that person knew Jackie. When I got out of coaching next year, I went back and worked with her.

How much have you invested with WeBii?

Around $10,000. Which was not a lot. They're very affordable. You know when you start looking at what other people charge to do what they do.

What is the status of this engagement?

I’ve been working with WeBii for 5 years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve got two websites. We sell digital football plays to everybody from people in the NFL, all the way down flag football. We’ve got 30,000 plays on it and it’s what we call our Spartan Web sites. 

We have another website that over the years we've converged into a coaches’ community, so it's free. We give coaching help over a period of the last two years. We’ve pivoted with that website which has around 600,000 visits. That’s been excellent for us. Everything she's done from the help with the website, to help with social media, to just general advice about anything. They have been a lifesaver for First Down Playbook.

How did WeBii perform from a project management standpoint?

They use a tool that reports like Trello. She reports on the project, so I can go in and keep up. You know but for the most part, she knows our company and website so well that we don't even have to screen share. Every time I'm back in Austin I try to make sure to get to see her. I like them very much.

What did you find most impressive about WeBii?

To me, it's still a people person world. If I call up and I can't talk to anybody for two days, then that's a problem. And that's never the case with them. That’s what they do better than anybody else. I think that the other part is that they get people like me.

And then a lot of times we can be in a situation like “Charlie, you think you want to do that, but here's what you probably want to do.” Those are the things that are important to me in this small business and that's what I've gotten there.

This is no exaggeration. I emailed Jackie this morning at 3:00. My guess is she's probably answered it already.

Are there any areas WeBii could improve?

Always room for improvement in communication and the ability to understand exactly what you're trying to get done. There's some disconnect between me and the people that work under Jackie.