Cantilever Web Design & Development

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Senior Manager of Brand + Marketing of National Children's Museum

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

National Children’s Museum sparks curiosity and ignites passion through interactive exhibits and programs that explore science, technology, engineering, arts, and math—or STEAM.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Cantilever to accomplish?

• Web development and maintenance

SOLUTION

How did you find Cantilever?

Other

Why did you select Cantilever over others?

• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned
• Other

What was the size of Cantilever’s team?

6-10 Employees

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

Cantilever provides support to National Children's Museum's website through core retainer services and planned maintenance. Within the core retainer services, Cantilever provides strategic consulting and incident response work. Within the planned maintenance services, Cantilever scopes out projects to improve website deliverability and user experience and performs web development and server maintenance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Increased website traffic
• Increased search impressions

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

They are always quick to act and respond when incident response work is needed. Before we contracted for retainer services, it was somewhat difficult to receive timely updates on projects but that has not been an issue since we've had them on retainer.

What was your primary form of communication with Cantilever?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They were really willing to meet us where we were at despite the smaller scope and challenges that our current website posed.

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

Norming on communication cadence and processes from the very beginning.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the program manager of a nonprofit healthcare organization. I oversee our company’s general operations and outreach efforts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cantilever?

We needed someone to design our website from scratch and expand upon it as we grow.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cantilever is our primary web development partner. They create landing pages for our events, such as our annual symposium and a page dedicated to our research and studies. They continue to update minor aspects of our platform as we expand our reach.

Apart from that, they’ve also implemented features like a donation functionality, links to our YouTube videos, and a section for our organization’s documentation. They mainly utilize Webflow and Notion as their primary development and management tools.

What is the team composition?

I mainly interface with the project manager and a backend developer.

How did you come to work with Cantilever?

My company was already working with Cantilever before I was hired. Moreover, they were great and helpful to us in the beginning because they gave us fantastic service discounts and support when we were just starting out.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested somewhere between $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in October 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback from members of the alliance, citing the website’s visual appeal and user-friendliness. We’ve also received unexpected donations from random people without marketing or advertising prompts.

Moreover, we've been steadily increasing our traffic, garnering more donations, and consistently maintaining the website to ensure it’s bug-free.

How did Cantilever perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very precise and communicative when it comes to meeting deadlines and keeping us informed on the project’s timelines and progress — they’re also quite proactive regarding strategic conversations and meetings.

We typically interface through Zoom and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team is amazing when it comes to communication. They respond with agility, are easy to work with, and are always willing to adjust based on our preferences.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they need to improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise being upfront as possible about your goals and what you want to achieve. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of product on the growth team for Calibrate Health, a metabolic weight loss company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cantilever?

We needed to augment our internal product team, which is focused on design and engineering.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve addressed quite a few business challenges with their assistance. Cantilever oversees everything from the first touchpoint with a potential customer to our product eligibility application. They handle the maintenance and updating of our headless CMS, Prismic, which we had purchased prior to working with them; most of their work is frontend development done in React. Cantilever has also built some of the data architecture on our marketing site. 

They do all of the engineering and QA before they release a new CMS iteration into production. We were doing some QA but have offloaded it to Cantilever as our internal work has ramped up. They manage our Google Tag Manager integration, data collection, and data aggregation. They ensure that pixels for service providers are correctly implemented and firing and that providers receive hash data.

We were focused on D2C verticals, but we’re launching a new B2B business vertical and need to set up some new data layers and data collection for that particular component of the business. Cantilever has helped us set up those containers with their expertise in Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics. The beta version is set to launch for some B2B customers in just a few days. They’re also preparing us for the transition to Google Analytics 4 later next year. 

Another major initiative Cantilever has helped with is our company’s brand evolution. They've collaborated as the engineering arm with a third-party design team. They’ve provided guidance and recommendations during the design phase based on their knowledge of our CMS — they’ve focused more on providing information about what is feasible from the engineering side than providing feedback on the design’s aesthetic. They’ve also implemented design changes on our marketing website. They’ve even provided a strategy to help us release the redesigned site without any disruption to our business. 

What is the team composition?

My primary contact is Ty (Founder) who handles the consulting, project management, and strategy; he may occasionally do some development work. Brad (Art Director & Developer) is a software engineer who leads the CMS development for the marketing website. JT (Creative Technologist) manages our Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and data collection and aggregation. We also have an additional contact who just joined the team about a month ago.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent roughly $500,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

It’s an ongoing partnership. I’ve only been working with them since May 2022, but my company started working with Cantilever around September 2021.

How did you come to work with Cantilever?

One of my colleagues had worked with Cantilever at their previous employer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There aren’t many metrics associated with my work with them, but they’ve increased the quality of traffic scores through paid social channels. We recently had an issue passing data into our Meta Pixel, which was affecting our traffic quality. Cantilever came up with a solution within 48 hours that boosted traffic by about 30%. I know my marketing colleagues have many more examples like that. On my end, I know that they are very good at QAing their own work; they almost never release a code with an error in it.

Our brand evolution went off without a hitch, in large part due to Cantilever’s guidance and execution throughout the planning, design, and implementation process.

How did the company perform from a project management standpoint?

I’d give their communication an A+. They give us visibility into their short-term and long-term plans and stay aligned with our roadmap and business goals. They’re great at communicating what they’re working on, what they’ve finished, and what’s coming up next. They collaborate well on things that we are working on. They reach out quickly if any roadblocks come up.

About 90% of our communication is through Slack and we augment that with weekly Zoom calls. They work in Asana and have been translating their work into Jira, which is what we use. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They understand how our business works, they have the skills to deliver what we need within budget, and they consistently provide high-quality deliverables. We’re able to count on them; we have confidence that they’re releasing high-quality code. I’ve worked with many agencies, and I used to work at one myself, so I know how rare this is. They’re occasionally able to provide business strategy insights since they work within many different industries. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They have really valuable, big ideas but could better connect their vision to our quarterly business goals. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

If you need to augment your team with a company that’s going to give you a lot of attention, I’d highly recommend considering Cantilever. It’s often difficult when working with an outside vendor to feel like you have their attention and really matter, but Cantilever manages to pull that off. They work hard to make us feel like they’re a part of our organization.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the managing director of an ISV called RushFiles A/S which develops a file sync and share solution for the B2B space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cantilever, and what were your goals?

RushFiles is a product designed for the B2B commercial sector and resold through various channels including Telecom Providers. Together with Cantilever, RushFiles created a new product called FileWizrd which offers fully white-labeled file sharing and storage solutions for private individuals and households.

SOLUTION

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

Cantilever came highly recommended in the RushFiles partner channel and management's private network.

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

Build FileWizrd landing page on Webflow plartform. The domain name of the website will be filewizrd.com. The page will be built in Webflow platform and include basic Stripe integration. The content of the landing page will be determined by Cantilever together with Client. Cantilever will support by providing Copywriting services. The project is set to kick off Jul 16, 2021 and include the following phases:

• User research & Interviews
• Moodboard Presentation
• Prototype
• UI Design
• Copywriting
• Implementation & QA

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

We worked with the following team member's from the vendor's side: 1 Partner 1 Project manager 1 Designer 1 Front-end developer 1 Copywriter 1 Back-end developer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Cantilever has delivered fully according to the KPI's and deliverables set in the SOW of the project. All goals pertaining to the creation and launch of a new brand have been achieved at the end of the project time-line.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had weekly meeting with all the stakeholders of the project. Team members and other relevant stakeholders communicated directly through chat and other direct means of communication, which made day to day work easy and efficient.

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

Cantilever strives to be an invested digital partner which doesn't just execute on marketing budgets, but helps companies articulate a clear business message in a human voice and high trust.

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

Nothing to say here.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for an awning company that’s a division of a larger textile manufacturer from Philadephia. We’ve been operating here for 146 years, specifically since 1874. I joined two years ago and I’m the marketing manager here. I run the marketing for all the divisions of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cantilever?

The awning company just recently went through a bit of rebranding. The website and brand were brand new and we’re rolling a number of smaller awning companies that we bought into this new branding. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started from scratch. We wanted to make our platform user-friendly. Moreover, we wanted the site to feature our products and the products that our external stakeholders were interested in. The team proposed and designed graphic products, moving product selection onto the page to keep navigation fairly simple. They also built a product configurator for our flagship.

I wrote most of the content and they integrated it into the platform. Additionally, the team created new designs for the platform. They also played a large part in helping us figure out what to do with our branding. They crafted a brand new logo and came up with slogans for that, including placeholder slogans. Now, they’re set to create another website for one of our other divisions. 

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with Ty (CEO) on the sales process. Then, once we signed on, I began to work with Raul (Project Manager).

How did you come to work with Cantilever?

I probably looked through 400–500 agencies. I was mostly looking at the portfolios of the agencies in question and I tried to find ones that produced designs that really resonated with me. I also checked if their produced websites performed really well, and Cantilever was one of those companies. They were a real stretch for us budget-wise. 

I also found a couple of other agencies on Clutch that was in the $25,000–$30,000 range for this project. Meanwhile, Cantilever quoted $55,000–$80,000. It was obviously a large change, but I really liked what I saw on their portfolio and I highly appreciated my talks with their owner. In the end, we got approval to double our budget. 

I felt a lot more comfortable that they were going to hit the budget and schedule. When they showed me their project management system, I liked the workflow that they had for their team and I appreciated it because I come from an agency background myself.  

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent just shy of $70,000. We asked them to put a hard cap on their budget for the website for $60,000, which ended up happening. However, we did a side project concerning branding and logo redesign which costs around $6,000–$7,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in July 2020, and it’s ongoing. We began our discovery phase at the beginning of August. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s a little bit early for metrics, but we do have Google Analytics and Salesforce set up within the website. We’re definitely tracking our ROI and conversion rates. However, we didn’t have a very sophisticated tracking on our previous website, so it’s hard to know how exactly things improved. 

Despite that, it looks like we got a pretty big boost in conversion rate. In fact, we’re going to be signing another contract with them to do another website. 

How did Cantilever perform from a project management standpoint?

They use Basecamp quite a bit and that has worked pretty well. We also have a lot of phone calls, and they transcribe, record, and send the summary afterward. Overall, they have a fairly thorough project management system. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

This is my first venture into working outside my local area and I really wish I started to do it a lot earlier. I really looked nationwide for a partner and they’re scattered all over the nation, but finding Cantilever didn’t prove to be a challenge at all. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t really think of any areas for improvement. It has been as smooth as you could reasonably expect a project to go.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take advantage of the discovery phase. In our case, once we got through that phase, the rest of the process just happened. That’s why it’s important to make sure that you’re on the same page as early because Cantilever moves quickly.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the product manager at a data tech solutions provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cantilever, and what were your goals?

Our current website was running on an old CMS which was cumbersome and did not support a nice transition to support responsive design. We hired Cantilever to port our existing site to CraftCMS as well as make it responsive.

SOLUTION

How did you select Cantilever and what were the deciding factors?

We selected Cantilever after talking to numerous web firms. Cantilever provided the best expertise and pricing of all the groups which we spoke with.

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

The Cantilever team installed and configured CraftCMS. Once completed templates were created for quick content entry of our existing site. Regular meetings were held to discuss progress and issues allowing for quick porting of our current site.

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

The main team consisted of project manager Raul Rovira and developer Adrienne Travis. Other individuals were also included from time to time during the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our team is very happy with the site port. CraftCMS is a streamlined CMS which provides a great interface for our marketing and web team to update our site content.

Site performance has also increased significantly with the use of S3 and other caching items. In addition we switched from a bare-metal server to a cloud server which has given us significant cost savings on hosting.

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

We had regular meetings every few weeks regarding the project. The team regularly communicated via Zoom and emails for questions/issues. Code and issue tracking was handled in GitLab

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

The team provided an impressive customized CraftCMS to fit our current website needs. This allowed us to streamline future content updates.

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

Some design elements on tables could use some additional work. Likely will reconvene with the team to address these items in a future release.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We provide a software platform for colleges and universities to help them recruit and enroll students. I’m a product manager, focused on rolling out new features and making any necessary enhancements. Typically, I’m working on UX, microcopy, and marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cantilever?

We hired them for some product design that we were initially hoping to do in-house. They’re helping us on a project-by-project basis.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We first brought them in to help us redesign how we let users create segments for email campaigns and outreach. They approached the issues from both a technical and visual angle, identifying possibilities and constraints. Our email marketing modules and product ended up needing a major overhaul, so they helped us in that effort as well. After that, they aided us in creating a new, unique feature for our product that automates manual tasks with premade content and email designs. They helped with the interface that people will use to leverage this new feature. 

Most recently, they worked on another module that allows users to review their application for the university. We have multiple products, and they’ve pitched in on design and development for many of them. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with Ty (CEO), a UX team member, and others depending on the project’s need. 

How did you come to work with Cantilever?

Our CEO had worked with them in the past, so we were already familiar with some of their work. They seemed like a good fit based on his previous engagement.  

How much have you invested with them?

Each project ranges from $5,000–$10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since January 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We just rolled out the redesign of our email marketing module and received tons of positive feedback from our clients, who say that the experience is streamlined and fresh. It’s been helping them create emails as easily as possible.  

How did Cantilever perform from a project management standpoint?

They do a great job meeting our goals and timelines while aligning with our looser schedule. Ty is great about providing us with regular weekly updates. When we have a new iteration ready, they’ll send us a video walkthrough of their progress. That’s been a huge time-saver. They can get the work done without a strict structure in place from us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their understanding of UX and the technical engineering involved in our product has helped them anticipate results. That’s been important as we strive to think ahead with our engineering resources. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve been happy with their work. They work with us to make the best decisions for our users. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be collaborative and talk through your goals with them. Respect their expertise and trust that they understand the UX market landscape. They add real value to those looking to invest in an engaging UX.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the new business director at a branding agency. We specialize in everything surrounding the execution of a brand.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cantilever?

We handle website design and social media marketing. We don’t have the in-house resources to execute web development, so we outsource that function to Cantilever.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

My team designed a new website for our third-party client and sent Cantilever wireframes, in an iterative fashion, for them to execute. They consulted with us on both design and functionality. We provided them with examples of site modules that impressed us, and they would also come up with suggestions for our “wow” factor. They then took the final design mockups and implemented them.

What is the team composition?

Ty (CEO & Founder) was my main point of contact, but I also worked with Raul (Project Manager) and Brian (Hybrid Developer & Designer). I interfaced briefly with Nikki (Director of Operations) as well.

How did you come to work with Cantilever?

We had other web developers that we’ve worked with in the years past but hadn’t found the right fit. We were given a larger project for an important client, and we wanted the site to be top-notch.

We looked at different companies, mostly in the New Jersey area, and came across Cantilever. I talked to Ty on the phone and found that we got along really well. I got the sense that they would be really easy to work with.

How much have you invested with them?

I spent somewhere around $43,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began the project in January 2020 and wrapped up in July of the same year. They’re providing adjustments and ongoing maintenance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s been a really pleasant experience working with them. They delivered an exceptionally user-friendly website. Our inhouse web expert has found the backend very easy to navigate.

Their delivery was also very well-documented, we’re able to know how everything is configured. Although the site launched, our client wanted to make a few changes, so we’re currently working on post-launch modifications.

How did Cantilever perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been super responsive and helpful. They’re doing what they can to work with us on the budget; despite the post-launch changes, they’re not billing us significantly more. They’ve worked with us to keep those costs as out-of-pocket costs, which I appreciate very much.   

We primarily communicated via email, but they would always be available to jump on a Zoom call.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The ease of working with them has been stellar. They’re willing to stretch their scope of work when necessary. They’re super helpful in mitigating costs and keeping their client happy. Compared to the past developers we’ve worked with, Cantilever has been definitively more willing to take on a collaborative role in working with us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I feel like there could’ve been a longer period of time between when the client could view the beta site and when it went live. I’ve already talked to Ty about this and how it’s not necessarily their fault. There was some miscommunication on our end, as well. Other than that, the client was very happy with the delivery.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just be very open and honest with them. They’re willing to listen and consider everything you have to say. As long as you’re honest about your expectations, they’re going to do what they can to fulfill them. That open communication is super important.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president and co-founder of a design agency. We do web and app design.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cantilever?

We were working with a major consumer electronics brand that needed a website refresh with a very fast turnaround. My company lacked the capacity to get the client what they needed in the time frame they needed, so Cantilever took over the work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cantilever handled every aspect of the project and communicated directly with the client for this project. The website refresh involved technically implementing new features, adding new products, and improving the CMS. 

What is the team composition?

Everything ran through Ty (CEO).

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from December 2019 to January 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The client needed such a short turnaround because they were preparing to present a new product lineup in January. The product layout went really well, and thanks to Cantilever’s efforts, the client was able to successfully launch the new product line and get it in front of consumers.

How did Cantilever perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated over the phone and through project management software. Ty handled all scoping. He was very detail-oriented in handling all the technical specifications and everything that needed to be done. They let us know estimates for completions, and we found them to be fairly accurate. Cantilever was pretty much on point with everything that they said they would do.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Cantilever asked the right questions to get around any issues that could come about in the future. They had a very strong technical knowledge and capability and could see problems before they arise. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not this time around; it was a pretty small project, so it went smoothly.

Any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you know what you want going into it because they’re very detail-oriented. Have a clear picture of what you need, and everything will go smoothly. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I have a new media startup that commissions timely fiction inspired by the headlines.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cantilever?

I brought them on to help me think about what the product should be and design the digital experience and concept of my site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I had an initial concept, but didn’t have any background in digital, so they helped me create the scope of work. They designed blueprints and went over the design with us. Then they built a custom site and set it up with Mailchimp and Paywall. Now, they’re building new product areas.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Ty (CEO), a product manager and a developer.

How did you come to work with Cantilever?

I worked with Cantilever while working on another project. I trusted them and knew them very well, and since I don’t have a background in web development, it was great to have someone that I trusted to figure out what pieces were missing.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2019 and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

 I’ve received many compliments on the site. My mentor said that this is the first narrative site done well. The site has an innovative design for long articles. We’ve figured out how to make the sidebars add to the content rather than distract from it. The result is very unique and it’s very impressive.

How did Cantilever perform from a project management standpoint?

Overall, it was good and I knew who to contact if there was an issue. When they did miss a deadline, I always knew beforehand. Communication was great overall, so things went smoothly. We worked well together and it went great. Aside from the great work they do, they communicated effectively, and that’s a huge reason why I went back to them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They do great work. I do recommend them to many people because they don’t jerk people around, they’re honest, and they’re forthcoming. They only take on projects they want to do, so they’re very responsive and they’re trustworthy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

This is specific to our project, but the transition from development to maintenance after the site was built was a little unclear.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be upfront about your needs and your budget. They’re straight shooters, so you’ll get the best out of them if you tell them what’s important to you and your project.