Ankit Designs Inc.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the owner of a wood door manufacturing business. Our company has over 30 years of experience in the architectural woodwork industry, servicing builders, developers, contractors and architects throughout North America.

For what projects/services did your company hire Ankit Designs Inc., and what were your goals?

Our outdated website was created over 5 years ago and was in need of full re-design and re-development. Ankit Designs created a brand new website for us - our goals were to dive deeper into our products, showcase products better, and improve our brand.

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

We searched for many web developers, Ankit Designs was our top choice as the team was very responsive, friendly, and took the time to understand our needs and requirements. Ankit Designs created a phenomenal proposal for our new website, we were fully aligned with the team as they took significant time to learn about our products.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We started with a meeting to discuss requirements. Ankit Designs put together a proposal for us. We then proceeded with a kick-off meeting to discuss scope of the project.

We spent a significant amount of time on the Copy; Ankit Designs took the time to truly understand our products. Ankit Designs created mock-ups for us of every page before proceeding to the development phase.

The team was very easy to work with and accommodating throughout the entire process.

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

2 people from the vendor's team worked with us, Thomas (project manager), and Adam (CEO). Thomas was amazing to work with and really dived deep into every detail to ensure our new website would express everything we want it to and also be functional for the viewer. It was great to be able to contact Adam directly if any assistance was needed throughout the process.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

After launching our website, we have seen a 50% increase in traffic with no significant marketing in place. We have received double the amount of inquiries on a weekly basis. We have gained non-recurring and recurring clientele from our new website, in just a few months from launch.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The project manager (Thomas) updated us 2-3 times a week with new progress. We mainly worked with Google Docs to create the Copy of the website. We went back and forth with Thomas, making updates of our content which he would revise and review with his team. This process worked really well.

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

A team that works together and takes the time to understand your requirements. Ankit Designs will not upsell you, they will create a website that aligns with your needs and deep-dive into the small details to ensure perfect execution. Ankit Designs' process of creating beautiful websites is a game-changer in the industry.

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

No areas for improvement.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a field microbiologist but in relation to my engagement with Ankit Designs, I’m the president of a volunteer organization called Ontario Food Protection Association.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ankit Designs Inc.?

We needed support for our website. We previously worked with Ankit but then engaged another provider, which didn’t work out well.

What was the scope of their involvement?

While with a different provider, our website was hacked. We then engaged Ankit Designs which solved our problems and improved the site. They previously made website design proposals and implemented them too. We created most of the content, but they also suggested some pieces. Ankit Designs now maintains our website and supports its security.

What is the team composition?

Adam’s (CEO) my main point of contact but he also has a team that supports us.

How did you come to work with Ankit Designs Inc.?

A board member recommended Ankit Designs.

How much have you invested with them?

We’re spending on average $3,000 a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

It initially started in August 2016, and then we worked with another provider. We later re-engaged Ankit Designs and still work with them.

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

We have peace of mind working with Ankit Designs unlike with our previous provider, which was unbelievably bad. There was a lack of transparency, and their team nickeled and dimed us. That’s the complete opposite of Ankit Designs. Our relationship with them is stress-free. Their team delivers, so we never have to worry about them. We receive a lot of compliments from our board members and sponsors on our website’s design. It looks great.

How did Ankit Designs Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

Adam’s a great communicator and always picks up the phone. No matter the time, I can always reach him. He also follows up with emails on the project’s progress, so it’s a good collaboration. The cost of their services is also competitive. If I were to rate Ankit’s project management, I would give them nearly a perfect score.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Ankit Designs provides reliable communications and excellent transparency. Adam doesn’t price-gouge us too. He understands that we’re a non-for-profit.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could work on their sales process.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate with them. If you’re open and clear, everything will turn out well.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager at Hakka Ren, a Chinese restaurant in Mississauga, Ontario.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ankit Designs Inc. ?

Our website was designed very amateurishly, and a redesign was long overdue. We knew we needed a professional touch for our redesign to make the site more functional.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They handled the redesign of the website. The goals were to improve the functionality of the website and get more eyeballs on our brand. We wanted a call to action on our website — something to trigger them to come in from the website.

We entirely abandoned the old site, and they built this one from scratch. It was more design than redesign. They developed the site using WordPress.

What is the team composition?

Primarily, Adam (Founder) was our main point of contact. We also had Thomas (Manager), who was the project manager. We had two consistent points of contact.

How did you come to work with Ankit Designs Inc. ?

I actually hired a different company first. We were halfway through the project, but I wasn’t happy so we stopped. I was looking for a vendor that was more transparent and that better understood the restaurant industry, how to reach our target market, and my vision. I was Googling them, saw they had great reviews, and went with Ankit Designs.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $6,500 for the entire overhaul and redesign.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began work in January 2020 and finished in July of the same year. The site went live on July 15th.

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

It just launched, and with COVID-19 I’ve been very busy and haven’t checked the statistics. However, the site’s been well-received. We launched the site on social media, causing an uptick in business despite the COVID-19 situation.

How did Ankit Designs Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They handled everything very well — I loved it. They’re amazing to work with. They’re very transparent and kept me informed along the way. They provided weekly updates and we collaborated on a Google tool. They’re very professional.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are very candid and professional. Their timeliness is also impressive — they deliver exactly what they promise when they promise it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m very happy so far. I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Get all your assets ready, like your copywriting, images, and more. Make sure it’s ready first, and then you can sit back and let them take the reins.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an analytics consulting company, and I’m the marketing director. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Ankit Designs Inc.?

We were looking to rebrand and redo our website to better communicate what we do here.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were tasked with giving our brand and uplift through a new, completely custom WordPress website. We’re in a technical field, so the site needed to both represent us well and communicate our value to potential customers. 

What is the team composition?

I emailed weekly with our project manager and spoke with the CEO as well. 

How did you come to work with Ankit Designs Inc.?

While doing some research on web design and development companies in the area, I narrowed it down to five potential options. They stood out immediately by coming into our office to get a better feel for our services and vision. That meeting gave them the most insight, so we decided to go with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent a little over $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from November 2019–May 2020.

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

The site looks way better than we imagined and is clearly very high-quality. They executed very well to deliver what we needed.  

How did Ankit Designs Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a weekly update on their progress and answered my one-off emails in a timely manner, even during off-hours. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very knowledgeable in defining custom graphic design elements. The backend of the site was also very clean and organized, allowing us to make updates easily. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them and let them be creative. We gave them the reigns, and they delivered better results than we would’ve expected that way.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a puppy match-making service, and I’m the president.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ankit Designs Inc?

We needed help with building our website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created our website, logos, and helped with future plans. They also consulted on our social media and ideas for blogs.

What is the team composition?

Adam (Owner) is our main point of contact. We also interact with Thomas (Project Manager).

How did you come to work with Ankit Designs Inc?

I found them on Google, along with a lot of other places. Other places didn’t pick up, and if they did, they’d quote me astronomical prices. When I talked to Ankit, they were very personable and we set up a meeting the next day. We got a quote that seemed reasonable. Just by answering the phone and seeing their portfolio, I knew they would be a good fit.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested 10,000 CAD ($7,000 USD), initially. Now, we’re up to 30,000 CAD ($21,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in March 2017, and our engagement in October 2017. We’re still collaborating on other versions of the site.

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

Now, we get 4,000 visitors to the site per month, even as it’s been inactive for the past two years.

How did Ankit Designs Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve built a good relationship over the years. I know the whole team by name now.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their responsiveness is great, they always answer whenever I call.  I’ve never worked with anyone else so I don’t know who I could compare them to.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would love to see them grow and expand into a larger company. They definitely deserve it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would recommend that they go see them in person. It’s much more productive that way.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a partner at an environmental cleanup company. We handle demolition, construction, renovation, and more.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ankit Designs Inc.?

We were looking to improve our website and help with our marketing channels.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ankit Designs Inc. developed and designed two websites for us. Working in WordPress, their team created the first site for a group of environment companies and the second for just our company.

What is the team composition?

We had one main point of contact at Ankit Designs Inc., our project lead

How did you come to work with Ankit Designs Inc.?

Ankit Designs Inc. was referred to us through a friend of a friend. They provided great services from a cost-benefit perspective and are a local company, which was important to us. 

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested between $5,000–$10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Ankit Designs Inc. ran from June–October 2019.

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

Ankit Designs Inc. provided very high-quality results, everything is clean and usable. The president of the group provided positive feedback on the site and we get a lot of external compliments.

How did Ankit Designs Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

The team is super sharp on their deadlines. Their team used project management software for their team to track their progress. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Ankit Designs Inc. team is incredibly responsive and always available. They track their progress well so we always know where they’re at. Ankit Designs Inc. really understood our needs and created amazing designs. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

The prices of their work have increased after our first website was completed. We have sometimes been billed for even a half-hour of work. Their pricing model no longer makes sense for us.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a contractor for DT International, an incentive travel planner. I do all of their publishing, proposals, promotion, printed materials, and web design.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ankit Designs Inc.?

We had an old-fashioned website that needed to be more professional.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a WordPress site for us. We had a very basic idea of what we wanted, but they asked a lot of questions to help us narrow it down. They made us think about the processes we go through, and then they suggested a lot of ways they could help using a modern and interactive website. I just told them that I wanted it to be visually beautiful and I provided images for the platform.

So the first part of the website was public-facing, and it talked a lot about the company and the process of planning a trip. Then, they created a username and password-protected registration portion. Access to this part of the website is restricted to clients and those they’ve invited on trips. To do this, we sketched out flow charts so we knew what it would look like. Ankit Designs Inc. also handles all the data that we collect through registration.

How did you come to work with Ankit Designs Inc.?

I was looking online and liked their website, so I met with their founder. He was a very good communicator and was very knowledgeable. Then we had a few conversations with the staff and was assigned a service rep.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $9,000 CAD (approximately $6,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January–March 2016.

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

Our clients love the website. It was much more professional than it was before. We’re very impressed b that. Now we look like we’re moving into the 21st century. We’ve received a lot of feedback from clients or prospective clients. Now they can feel confident that we know what we’re doing.

How did Ankit Designs Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

It was perfect. They were very transparent about where they were and if they needed a little more time. There was communication daily and they asked questions if they needed additional information. Even now, we’re frequently in touch. They’re the most polite, cordial, and sympathetic people I’ve worked with.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Now we still have a relationship with them because we use them if we want to make changes and they let us know if we have a subscription that needs to be renewed. We still keep in touch. I’m a big fan of them because they helped me when I had no idea what to do.

Are there any areas they could improve?

My only frustration is that sometimes it takes a little while for them to get back to me. But we’re in different countries, so that’s probably why. There’s a bit of a time difference.  Still, I know they work hard and would recommend them to anyone.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the owner of a travel and tour company based out of Canada. Our tours take place in Grenada.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ankit Designs Inc. ?

I wanted a reliable website for customers to go on for booking and renewing options for tours within the island of Grendada.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built my website from start to finish. First, we sketched everything together and then they gave me 2-3 different versions of what the website could look like.  They did everything from the recommendations of what it should look like to the visuals and its development.  At the click of a button you can get a description of the tours, go to the homepage, make payments.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Adam (Founder) and Thomas (Designer).

How much have you invested with them?    

We invested $3,500.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in September 2019 and wrapped up in January 2020.

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

 I received several emails and accolades from people who visited my site. Someone even commented on how much they loved the website and even though she lived in Grenada, the site made her want to come on one of the tours. Someone else said my site was amazing and on par with the tourism sector in Grenada.

How did Ankit Designs Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They were absolutely fantastic. They were very diligent on the timelines and updated me on what they needed from me at what time. They adjusted the timelines as we went along and kept me informed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I loved how available both Adam and Thomas were for answering my questions. Their feedback and responses were very quick. Even when I felt like I had silly questions, they comforted me and let me know that no questions were silly. It felt like my project was the only one they were working on.

They made it feel homey,  like my website was their website. They listened to what I wanted and made sure it happened. Their customer service was amazing and they delivered a top-of-the-line website.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing I can think of.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Hans Dairy. We’re a manufacturer of dairy products including yogurt, rice pudding, and smoothies.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ankit Designs Inc.

We had a website that was quite old and stale and not being updated. We wanted it to be more active so customers could find information about our products and where to purchase them. It also had to describe what our company essence was about. We were going for a modern and relevant site that we could update monthly.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They overhauled the whole website with a fresh look, and it's exactly what we were looking for. Dairy isn’t the most exciting industry, but now we have an attractive site with great coloring that draws eyes in. They did quite a bit of coding on their own end—maybe taking 10–15% of our existing code.

They took care of how every page looked as well. We provided content that needed to be there, and they offer 3–4 options for the design and layout of each page. They took care of the rest after we chose one.

The site was built in WordPress, and they taught us how to use the backend so we can make monthly changes ourselves. We still call them for big things—creating a new page or something—but we handle minor things ourselves like updating contest information, posting blogs and recipes, or posting our quarterly whitepaper for our B2B clients.

What is the team composition?

We had a project manager we dealt with for everything. They assigned the tasks to their team, so we didn’t deal with the developers daily. The project manager would relay our feedback to them and they would bring an idea back to us.

How did you come to work with Ankit Designs Inc.

They were a referral from someone in the HR field that had done a similar website overhaul with them. Their new website was very attractive, and in a series of interviews, they understood our goals as a small family business better than anyone else.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $4,000 on the website. Now, we pay them $1,900 annually for service.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since 2016.

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

Our traffic has increased, as has the time spent on the website's pages after we put new information up.

How did Ankit Designs Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re quite excellent, always upfront on what they’re working on. They provide a weekly timeline on what they're doing, as well as if they need to extend it. Outside of what we can share on email, they’ll talk to us on the phone.

It’s a very easy system with just the project manager to go to. They took care of everything. I don’t have to see everything on the backend, only frontend.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Once our website was done, we wanted to make sure we could do small things, like change the font and change small images on our own. They showed us how to do certain things, either coming to our office or hosting us for 1–2-hour sessions. Rather than not teaching us and allowing us to charge them for the time it would take to make the updates, they helped us learn to do the small stuff ourselves.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, to be honest. I’m very happy with how they ran the project and continue to run it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Most companies don’t share timelines, but they do. Ask them for updated ones on at least a bi-weekly basis so you’re not in dark. I think they already do that but I’m not quite sure.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the President of Lumar Food Safety Services Ltd. We specialize in food safety, quality and technical support for the food industry that includes auditing, training, and consulting services. We add value and benefit to your business by streamlining processes and programs; ensuring efficient and effective business processes and compliance that results in saving time and money.

For what projects/services did your company hire Ankit Designs Inc.?

To create, develop and maintain our website.

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

We chose Ankit because of their pricing, flexibility, friendly yet business -like approach.

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

Ankit Designed my company Lumar Food Safety Services website in 2017 and it looks perfect, till today I receive compliments. They developed from start to finish checking in along the way to ensure I was happy. This was 7 and 1/2 years ago and I can not recall the specific stages. But do recall there were stages and I was updated an briefed at each one and feedback was solicited.

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

Since the start (2017) I have worked with: Aynka- CEO and Thomas- Project Manager.

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

It looks professional and very easy to navigate. The team is easy to work with and patient. They ensured I was completely satisfied with the product. I receive compliments till today on the website.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

What I like the most about the service was the prompt, friendly, businesslike approach. They handle things very efficiently and are available for any questions we have. We still have an ongoing relationship, whenever I need updates to the site for new information. They also keep us updated on monthly reports, so we know how our site is doing.

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

I was impressed at how young the owner was, his wealth of knowledge, patience and understanding. He understood that this was not my area of expertise. I felt that I could trust his suggestions and that I would not be nickel and dimed as a new and small company.

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

Nothing I can think of.