CoSpark

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive of DeEnterprises Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Family owned cosmetic manufacturing company that offers great products and services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Help Integrate my WooCommerce Site with Netsuite
• Save Time
• Reduce data entry.

SOLUTION

How did you find CoSpark?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select CoSpark over others?

• High ratings
• The way they phrased their company information.

How many teammates from CoSpark were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Professional, talented and easy to work with. I actually get the feeling that they care about their customer and their customers success. They solved our issue and will continue to look to them as a resource for any website or woo commerce needs.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They created a custom plugin that achieved a simple solution to a relatively complex issue and it worked. They created an easy to use test site and then the go live went smooth. They also have been great when there have been any updates that required a tweak.

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

Yes. There was a short delay here or there, but they communicated why without issue. They are a relatively small group and they still got everything done within the expected deadlines.

What was your primary form of communication with CoSpark?

Email or Messaging App

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

Their level of talent and desire to actually solve the problem without gouging or trying to bloat the project.

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

No. I was pleased with their work.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Communication Manager of Pathways LA

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Provide services to families such as financial assistance paying for child care for families across Los Angeles.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Attraction to the main website
• Increase in enrollments through website
• Increase awareness of services being provided to public

SOLUTION

How did you find CoSpark?

Online Search

Why did you select CoSpark over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget

How many teammates from CoSpark were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

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

CoSpark assisted Pathways LA with the enhancement of the main website by providing in detail recommendations of having a user navigate the Pathways LA website with direct message to what our programs provide, promote the visibility of the programs and overall give a user a friendly experience of our website. Overall, summary is to have enhanced the website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Through the use of communication apps, and email. Although some of the communication may have been a bit delayed, the project got done. Feedback from our team was taken into consideration and accepted any edits as they came, without limitations.

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

yes, project was delivered within the time recommended. Although there where some delays in the back-end programming, CoSpark was able to deliver the project.

What was your primary form of communication with CoSpark?

Email or Messaging App

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

We were impressed with their ability to turn things around quickly, and high-level of professionalism.

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

none.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital marketing manager for a brokerage company that’s an intermediary between buyers and sellers of barges, push boats, and other inland marine vessels.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CoSpark?

We ran into a problem with our application. Our site and its inventory were built in WooCommerce with a Ruby on Rails layer that we didn’t maintain. It got out of date and broke, so it caused a lot of problems and things went awry. We needed someone to iron out those problems and fix our website because it was crucial to our brokerage business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CoSpark provides custom software development services. They initially recommended Kinsta as a new hosting environment, a maintenance program through WP Autopilot, and a separate company for backup to give us some sense of security. Then, CoSpark began the hand-holding process to make us comfortable with them and how they did things. We gave them access to whatever they needed from the old hosting environment so they could move it. Afterward, they got to work and kept us in the loop every step of the way.

Currently, CoSpark handles the maintenance of the website’s backend. We don’t need them all the time; sometimes we need updates or have issues, so they take a look at that.

What is the team composition?

We initially spoke with Heral (Managing Director). Carl (Project Manager) is our lead developer, but we primarily work with Grahame (Project Manager) and Martin (Backend Developer) now. They’re all familiar with our site.

How did you come to work with CoSpark?

We initially found developers that didn’t have the experience they said or were just an at-convenience project for people with other gigs. We were searching online for someone to fix the site and maintain the Ruby on Rails layer. However, this led to estimates that were over $100,000 when the project initially cost us $20,000 to build.

At some point, we came across CoSpark; they listened to us and offered a solution that could fix our issues with the added benefit of removing Ruby on Rails from the website altogether. Also, they weren’t trying to get $50,000 just to look at the problem.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent more than $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in February 2022, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site is faster and more reliable; we haven’t had bugs. We’re currently thinking about how to improve it. 

Moreover, CoSpark was the bee’s knees during the process; they stepped up and made our website workable while making it painless for us.

How did CoSpark perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very responsive and trustworthy. They lay out the plan and explain the process, so we know the steps they’ll take.

Whenever there’s an issue, the communication lines are open, and the problems are solved quickly in the staging environment. Overall, we love working with their team.

We primarily communicate via Zoom, and they use Basecamp for project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Besides their responsiveness, they take the time to learn the problem. They also stand out for their WooCommerce expertise.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t know what they could’ve improved. CoSpark was our salvation; they’re a superstar company.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Explain your problem in detail and give them time to work through it. Just turn the keys of the car over to CoSpark.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Illustrated Faith, an online artwork marketplace.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AnnexCore?

We were having issues with our site, so we needed a company that could help us resolve those issues and implement improvements to our site’s design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were having a lot of crashes on our site. We talked to various web development companies, and almost everyone advised us to migrate to a different platform, which wasn’t really an option for us. We have a lot of digital products on our platform, and it would be a lot of work for us to transfer all of our content to another platform.

Fortunately, AnnexCore was able to help answer a ton of questions that no other company was able to. They have redesigned our site and resolved all of its existing issues. Not only did they get our site up and running again, but they’ve also implemented various improvements in terms of the site’s performance.

They still provide ongoing support for the site.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked mainly with Carl (Project Manager).

How did you come to work with AnnexCore?

AnnexCore was recommended to us by our previous hosting provider. One of the reasons why we decided to go with them for this project was their responsiveness.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend $1,500 per month, so I’d say we’ve spent somewhere around $4,500 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The biggest metric that we have is that our website stopped crashing, which allows us to have more revenue. People aren't frustrated with our website anymore, and we're able to process orders more efficiently. 

Carl was also incredibly helpful not only in explaining the whole process to me but also in implementing every improvement.

How did AnnexCore perform from a project management standpoint?

AnnexCore has performed very well in terms of project management. They’re very responsive and efficient.

We primarily communicate through email, and we use an online ticketing platform for tech support.

What did you find most impressive about them?

AnnexCore is always willing to solve any problem that I bring up. Instead of telling me to talk to my hosting provider or the site’s developer, AnnexCore exhibits strong project ownership and assures me that they will fix every issue themselves and handle everything going forward. I’m very confident that whatever issue arises, they’re going to take care of it and not blame it on someone else.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CFO of a kitchen and bath remodeling company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AnnexCore?

We had an existing and outdated platform that wasn’t giving us the rate of traction we wanted, so we needed AnnexCore’s team to build an SEO-friendly website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AnnexCore has built our platform from the ground up, and we’ve only provided them with the pictures that they’ve put up on the website. Apart from making the site SEO-friendly, they’ve incorporated elaborate and user-friendly functionalities for our clients. AnnexCore also revises our blog content and keyword list regularly and runs site updates on an ad-hoc basis.

What is the team composition?

We work with 4–5 resources from their team.

How did you come to work with AnnexCore?

We hired AnnexCore because of their straightforward and solution-oriented presentation skills. Additionally, we liked their values and vision as a family-owned business.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent more than $50,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?’

Our ongoing collaboration started in February 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

AnnexCore is a one-stop shop for all our needs — they’ve given us qualified leads and a marketable website that represents our brand well. Most of our clients belong to an older age group, so they appreciate the simplicity and user-friendliness of our website’s features and functionalities.

How did AnnexCore perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly rely on Basecamp for project management. As someone with particular standards for communication, I appreciate AnnexCore’s prioritization of our needs with their prompt responses and the immediate results they deliver.

What did you find most impressive about them?

AnnexCore’s focus lies more on delivering impeccable results on time than charging us immediately without following through with deliverables.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I’ll recommend them to change, and I hope every team works as efficiently as AnnexCore — I’ll give them seven stars if I can.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Prepare your plans, expectations, and budget ahead of time and trust AnnexCore to deliver the results you need to improve your business.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of an online organic food marketplace.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AnnexCore?

We needed their skills in web development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our team has thought of making our existing website more user-friendly and customizable to expand our market reach, so we’ve engaged AnnexCore to make these site modifications for us. We’ve relayed our requirements and design preferences to their team, and they’ve suggested the best tech stack we can use to address those needs.

AnnexCore has then implemented the backend solutions via WooCommerce and some user-specific changes on our UI/UX to help make the website more accessible to our customers. They’ve also added customizable features to streamline the food ordering process.

What is the team composition?

We work with a team of 2–3 resources from their team.

How did you come to work with AnnexCore?

We reached out to them after seeing their company name on a list of WooCommerce experts, and we instantly liked their responsiveness and thorough understanding of what we wanted to achieve.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $45,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in July 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

AnnexCore has always understood our main priority from the start: our customers. They’ve built straightforward yet user-friendly solutions that have made everything easier for our customers, and they’re always quick to suggest insightful ideas to improve the quality of our website. 

I’m not an expert in web development or technology in general, and I appreciate AnnexCore’s sincere attempts to make everything more digestible for us. Overall, we've had a very easy and productive engagement — I can’t thank their team enough for that.

How did AnnexCore perform from a project management standpoint?

AnnexCore is on top of their project management game. They generate timely and precise solutions, which proves their commitment to helping us meet our goals.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re most impressed with their openness to work with a company that’s as humble and spontaneous as ours. As a customer-oriented company, we appreciate their understanding of our changing needs in our journey towards delivering the highest quality of services to our clients.

Are there any areas they could improve?

AnnexCore performs impeccably, but we’ll appreciate easier methods of communication, such as phone calls.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Relay your requirements transparently and communicate closely with their team to guarantee that they’re working towards meeting your goals.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a manager at a private medical practice; we do both alternative and traditional health care therapies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AnnexCore?

We needed someone to run our practice website with blog content. Additionally, we needed to set up an online store for our business, which we already had, but it was difficult for us to keep it going.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AnnexCore has been integrating plug-ins to our site to enable features like search functions, images display, checkout processes, PayPal, and credit card usability. We’ve also been working together on the site to block potential frauds and other issues of the same sort.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working with 4–5 people from their team, involving project managers, developers, designers, and other experts.

How did you come to work with AnnexCore?

We found them on Google. We chose them because they had a nearby office presence, which we think is helpful for our business.

How much have you invested with them?

We invest around $4,500 a month with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I can see that the sales on the website have been working much better than before — I know it’s a long project, but I’m happy so far. 

How did AnnexCore perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Basecamp and email for communication. I also get reports from their marketing department with information concerning the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their fast turnaround times are what distinguishes them the most.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’d like more feedback in terms of how we should change things to improve the project. It would be helpful to me if they provided further advice to improve my business because I’m not an expert in this field.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be aware that you have to invest money so things can work out for your business.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the creative director of the Discovery Cube Science Foundation, a children’s science museum with hands-on interactive exhibits and programs for kids to learn about science. The product I work on the most is Discovery Cube Connect, our online platform for kids to engage in STEM activities and resources.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AnnexCore?

We were trying to make a searchable database and gamified experience for kids. The resource had to be fun, educational, and meet the state’s standard of science education.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AnnexCore has been helping us develop the Discovery Cube Connect website, which is built using WordPress. We upload our resources through the backend. The team then customizes our original content to be a fun and interactive gamified experience instead of just being in a standard format. 

The project is divided into three phases. The first phase was focused on getting the database up and running, while the second phase introduced a new way of organizing and displaying material in a gamified format. We usually give them a brief of what we’re looking for and discuss the best way to implement them. Afterward, we make designs for them to execute. 

We’re now on the third phase. The team has been optimizing and improving on the previous two stages to make the platform more user-friendly. They’re also expanding the account section so that our users can have profiles that detail their information, their progress, and the lessons they’ve explored and finished. Our users can also now give reviews and ratings.

What is the team composition?

We've been working with Phil (Frontend Developer) and two other teammates.

How did you come to work with AnnexCore?

The head of our IT department found them, but I’m not entirely sure how. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in June 2020, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re happy with the website. It’s very high quality. Ever since the site launched, a total of 3,000 users have signed up for the platform. 

How did AnnexCore perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management has been excellent. AnnexCore met all of our deadlines. We use Basecamp to organize our work, create to-do lists, and send messages back and forth. Aside from that, we also interface through email and video calls. Finding a time to meet is a bit tricky because of the time zone difference, but they don’t let that hinder them. It’s easy to communicate with Phil. He’s been running a very collaborative process. They’re always available to make updates and roll them out in a timely fashion. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

AnnexCore is really enthusiastic about our vision — they like the idea of missions and gamifying our platform, which isn’t a typical WordPress functionality. We also love how responsive they are and straightforward the process has been.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I can think of that they can improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make detailed designs of how your platform should look on a desktop, tablet, and mobile. Be communicative, too.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing director of Simms Restaurant Group.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AnnexCore?

We needed help in building a custom integration with our Paytronix software and our WooCommerce website. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We signed on with Paytronix, and they are a company that provides software to run loyalty programs. They allow us to see how often a customer visits our restaurant, how much they order, and other data. Since our restaurant is a bit more upscale, so we don’t use Paytronix’s reward points system for our loyalty-program customers. Instead, we have a beer club, which is a monthly subscription done through our WooCommerce website. Our customers pay $22 a month, and each month they get a kit filled with beer from the local brewery we’re featuring for that month. 

We needed AnnexCore to integrate Paytronix with the subscriptions to the beer club. What we wanted to happen was if a customer is a loyalty-program member and they made a subscription, they should have additional benefits. Every time a subscription is purchased, it will be logged on to Paytronix. As such, our customers’ benefits will populate on their accounts, and they can see that through our app or online.

What is the team composition?

I have worked with Heral (Managing Director), who is responsible for sales and payments. He also onboarded us and helped us figure out how their billing works. I have also worked with Carl (Project Manager), and he is responsible for project management and reaching out to us if anything’s wrong during after hours. Lastly, I have worked the most with Grahame (Backend Developer), who is responsible for development. 

How did you come to work with AnnexCore?

I found AnnexCore by searching on Google for WooCommerce integration providers. I talked with 4–5 developers, and what I liked about AnnexCore was they were the most responsive. I also liked that they had worked with Paytronix in the past, and that they are listed on WooCommerce’s website as a WooCommerce expert. 

Additionally, AnnexCore gave us a competitive price, and they were in the same timezone as us. Sometimes, it’s challenging to work with teams in a different timezone since we encounter problems later in the day when our customers start to come to our restaurant.  

How much have you invested with them?

The first and second bill was around $8,000, and we have spent another $5,000–$10,000 doing updates. Our cost is a bit inflated because Paytronix didn’t tell us everything that needed to be done, so we had to engage with AnnexCore for a second time. Had we known everything at the start, AnnexCore would have been able to finish everything in one go.    

What is the status of this engagement?

We started talking with AnnexCore in March 2020, but we only started working together in September 2020 because we were also building our Paytronix app. There were many things that needed to be done from Paytronix’s side before AnnexCore can step up and conduct their integration. AnnexCore finished their integration in December 2020, and we launched the app in February 2021.

We have engaged with AnnexCore again for another sprint that involved updating and improving the app. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m happy with AnnexCore’s work. They were able to manage all our concerns, even though we often throw them a lot of random and unfamiliar tasks. In addition, they were very patient and receptive with Paytronix’s team, which was difficult to work with and only sent long how-to guides. I just set them up on an email together, and AnnexCore communicated with them. 

The integration hasn’t encountered any failures, and it is built well. AnnexCore has even added little tweaks that are out of scope but made a world of difference in improving the app. 

How did AnnexCore perform from a project management standpoint?

AnnexCore stays on top of everything. Even though there are delays from Paytronix or my side, they are good at following up. They are constantly pushing the project forward.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

AnnexCore is always willing to find a solution. We encountered a lot of uncontrollable issues, and Grahame is always ready to get on a call with me and talk through options of how we can make things work. He always went above and beyond to resolve problems. Graham has a very complex knowledge about custom integration, and when he looks at situations, he sees a lot of things that we wouldn’t have figured out. 

For example, our checkout process takes the information when someone’s checking out and sends that to Paytronix. Typically, this involves two separate steps — a user puts an item into the cart, and they’ll check out. Also, when a user creates an account, it happens on a different page. Thanks to Grahame, we got all that on one page, so it was easier to capture information. There is a lot of creative problem solving from AnnexCore. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I don’t blame this on AnnexCore, but if you’re going to work with them, make sure you have set up and built all the software and programs necessary for the integration. For us, we did them both at the same time, so what happened was AnnexCore finished their work and Paytronix haven’t. AnnexCore has a 30-day warranty after they have built their integration — within that window, customers can test for any issues, and they’ll fix them for free.

However, since Paytronix finished their work only after the 30-day warranty, we no longer have AnnexCore’s support by the time we tested the integration — which, again, is not their fault. AnnexCore works fast, and they’ll finish the project before you know it, so make sure you have everything set up.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO of a publishing company that publishes a curriculum for literacy education. We serve thousands of districts across the country and around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed a web development partner who could help us maintain our website and develop new features and applications on an on-going basis. Our challenges range from improving the shopping and product filtering process in our online shop, to developing a new application to allow teachers to assess their students digitally, and everything in between.

SOLUTION

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

I did extensive research online to find the best WooCommerce/WordPress development shops. I eventually selected Annexcore because of their responsiveness, experience, references, and genuine interest in our project. Carl is a great listener, very sharp, and most importantly, he does the work to understand the need and come up with a creative solution.

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

I had a kickoff call with Carl to walk-through the website, get them the access they needed, and develop a list of initial priorities. Carl then went back and defined the scope for each priority, attaching a project-based cost to some, and putting others under a monthly retainer. All of the work is primarily being done in WordPress and WooCommerce.

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

Carl is the main point of contact. I also interface with 3-4 developers depending on the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are continually making improvements to the website and user experience, which we hear about from customers. We are also seeing significant gains in efficiency internally by improving and introducing new tools and features to help us save time.

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

I have a monthly check-in call with Carl, and often calls in between depending on what's going on with projects. Most often the conversations are happening over email and Basecamp. The communication is fast and efficient, and I like being able to speak with the people doing the work without added layers and inefficiency.

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

So far, Annexcore has been able to handle everything I've thrown their way. They are specialists in a good way - they understand WooCommerce and Wordpress and have extensive experience with the platform, quirks, and related plug-ins, which is perfect for what we need. Carl has been a real partner in our digital expansion, and I enjoy working with him.

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

Certain projects have taken longer and/or been more expensive than I initially anticipated. There is blame to be had on both sides of the table, and it's par for the course with web development, but something to be aware of. The other thing to know is that they don't have a published phone number.

I use Calendly to schedule calls with Carl when I need them, which is efficient and makes sense, but if you're a "pick up the phone and call someone" type of person, you'll probably want to discuss that with them first.