Crafton

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the board member of a Video Production company, that handles artists, organizes film production, film sets, and manages locations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed a web-based Internal IT system to manage our projects, services and teams.

SOLUTION

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

We have worked with Crafton on multiple projects for our artists and did not hesitate to reach out to them for a project of this scale.

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

We needed something that would help us with efficiency, scalability and most notably with the integration of all the services and tools that we use. We kicked off our project with a workshop, where they analyzed our situation and what areas of our operations could be integrated and improved through a one window solution.

After that, they defined the scope and allocated their resources to kick-start the project. They worked together with our graphic designers to develop the designs and later started with the coding and implementation. After this, testing was done and our system was deployed. Throughout the project, their communication was amazing, they made sure all our views and requirements were heard. They were very attentive to our needs.

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

The efforts were co-led by a Project Manager and Business Analyst. Both were extremely competent people. We had one person on the design side and three developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Crafton succeeded in developing exactly what we wanted. This project has enabled us to scale our operations and allowed us to effectively manage and take in more work. My team's productivity has increased, and I am able to keep an overview of all the tasks more effectively.

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

Crafton’s communication was on point. Throughout the phases of development, they included us in meetings when needed and always met up with us when asked. The team assigned was very cautious with the timeline and everything was done with great attention to detail.

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

Crafton is not a service partner. They are your partner, and this surprised us initially because it was impressive how quickly and swiftly. They understood our needs and goals, along with what approach would bring the best results for our company.

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

Every company has areas to improve, but at this moment I can’t really put my finger on anything. They did an excellent job!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work as a web strategist for an e-commerce company that deals with office supplies, and we’re located in Poznan, Poland.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Crafton?

We were trying to revamp our website and we hired Crafton to help us modernize our platform. We also wanted to have a better UI/UX.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They conducted a market analysis and analyzed the strong and weak points of our current website. Based on that, they created an improved and user-friendly platform, which involved developing our site’s front- and backend. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with six different people on the different stages of the project such as their UX designers, researchers, and developers.

 How did you come to work with Crafton?

We got in touch with different companies and compared them against each other. After a thorough analysis, we chose Crafton because they worked in our interest.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $600,000.

What is the status of the engagement?

We worked together from July 2019–January 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They introduced us to a new market of B2C customers. In addition, our team was happy with the final design of our e-commerce website.

How did Crafton perform from a project management standpoint?

They had good communication skills, and they were open to taking care of our needs. We talked with Crafton weekly on average and our communication happened mostly through emails and Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The UX research they did was really good.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only setback was when they changed the project manager, which slowed down the process a little on our side. Otherwise, they did great work.

Any advice for potential?

Ensure you are honest with Crafton right from the start and trust them to take you where you need to be.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the head of tech at a leading manufacturing agency supplying gas cylinders across various parts of the globe.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

The existing system of our website was not stable and as a company we were not able to retain our customers. In order to increase the traffic and generate revenue we wanted to hire a web development agency who could guide us into the latest trends of websites. We wanted to glorify the user-experience of the website and create a credible image of the company.

SOLUTION

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

We began looking for web development agencies through various sources. A few recommendations and google search gave us a few company names. We went ahead and spoke to Crafton because of their resemblance with our business needs. After understanding their expertise we decided to work with Crafton for their rich resources.

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

The project work began by scrapping all the unnecessary elements of the website. The test engineers verified the functioning to detect bugs and errors. After fixing the issues, the design team sat with our company and came up with a new theme for the website. The build up included a payment gateway that was faster and a contact us page that was quick. The entire content on the website was proofread and edited to align with the quality of the theme. A testing team was handling the process of analysing the website performance. Overall, the work was carried out in a scheduled manner.

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

We were always addressed by the project manager for meetings and follow-ups. A team of web development experts, head of designing and test engineers executed the revamp of our website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new look of the website has changed the personality of our business. We have increased the number of impressions on search engines by 24% and the customers are also having a smooth experience with the website. The web responsiveness has been optimized and now all the webpages have a quick loading time. With the new custom theme, we feel the website is making more impact than before. Overall, the customer satisfaction has increased and the company is building a brand name.

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

The entire project was managed by the project leader. From communication of meeting schedules to progress of the project, the leader was there. All the meetings took place on Slack once a week. Whenever there were any follow ups on the theme of the website, the design team contacted us via the project leader. All other documentation was recorded and transferred via email.

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

The industry experience of Crafton reflected in their deliverables. Every team member followed a professional approach. The most impressive factor was their communication. All the meetings had an agenda to discuss the applied and on-going activities before discussing the future plan of action. We were surrounded by experts and a polite team of developers. This made our web development experience fruitful.

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

No, everything was executed as per the plan.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Poznań Airport built in 1913, is one of the oldest airports in Poland. It is located 5km west of Poznań - one of the biggest cities in Poland. Yearly we help around 2,5 million people to travel comfortably and quickly. That number is steadily growing as well. In 2019 alone we recorded more than 30000 different air operations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Crafton to create an updating in real time flight schedule connected with our own internal databases and an affiliate platform for flights, hotel and rent’a‘car bookings that makes it easier for our passengers to plan their travels. The goal was to create a real time flight schedule that would be as fast and responsive as possible while being easy to use by an average passenger.

SOLUTION

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

Their services they provided were complex, from UX analysis and design to programming. The back and forth on the design on the platform went smoothly and we agreed to a project we are content with. Great care was put into a well designed User Experience.

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

For the duration of the development we had one dedicated Project Manager. The team consisted of 2 designers and a developer. Later the size of the team was expanded to include one more developer. In the later stages of the project we also worked closely with a person responsible for maintenance and support of the platforms.

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

Main contact - project manager, WebDesigner, UX designer and developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The work with Crafton resulted in creation of a beautiful and functional platform that millions of our passengers use.

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

It's been a professional journey - as effective as it can get. We always received the feedback on time making it easy to reach the set milestones for the project easily.

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

What we found impressive was the great working relationship we were able to establish very soon after starting the project. The flow of information has been smooth and we've always known we could trust them with the project.

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

I can see no areas for improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I run an education firm that helps students master various local languages.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed a dynamic website with eCommerce features so our students can easily purchase our products right from the website. Our main objective was to keep things as simple as possible. Most of our students aren’t tech-savvy and hence, we wanted to keep the website easy to navigate and user-friendly. We also wanted to ensure the site would be safe to carry out financial transactions. So the website should have a firewall, 2FA, and other advanced security measures.

SOLUTION

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

Our old technology partner couldn’t complete the website in the prescribed timeline and hence he recommended Crafton for this project. We assessed their capabilities by looking through their previous projects and clientele. They had built a good number of websites just like the ones we were seeking to develop - so we chose them.

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

We explained our whole idea - what we needed of them. Based on their understanding, they came up with a few design concepts - one of which was really good, and thus we went ahead with it. They then added the custom features to the site and also helped us integrate a few third-party apps that we needed to manage our operations.

Having them integrated with the website made a lot of things easier (it was their idea, thanks for the suggestion). Finally, they integrated payment gateway(s) to the site and as of now are testing all the functionalities of the website. Once the testing is complete, they will deploy it to the live environment.

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

We worked with the project manager directly. Additionally, we were also assigned a team of senior developers, UI specialists, and QA experts who helped us along the way.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

While the website is yet to be deployed, it has been developed exactly how we wanted. The bespoke design, and simple navigation makes the website stand out. They have also taken care of the security by adding advanced security features that make it almost unbreachable. Overall, we enjoyed working with them.

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

It was all very systematic. We relied on tools like Jira, and Zoom for project management and communication. They kept things transparent and notified us from time to time about the progress.

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

Their ability to quickly comprehend our requirements and come up with amazing ideas was impressive. They were punctual, and committed. I remember there were times when I got a little late for meetings, but they patiently waited and greeted me warmly. They don’t only work for money, their ultimate aim was to satisfy us.

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

They are really easy to work with and took the time to understand what exactly we were looking for and tailored their services based on our needs. So we’re happy.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

cpg company looking to build a stand-alone tech stack. I was the project lead / business owner for the new tech.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

- WooCommerce + custom integration experience - previous developers did a poor job building techstack and it needed refinement

SOLUTION

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

experienced developers and quick lead times on onboarding

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

build a subscription techstack on WooCommerce and launch it across multiple markets. this includes custom integrations with various operational tools.

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

1 business manage 1 senior dev 1 PM (but was not needed) 2-3 engineers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Very happy working with Crafton to stabilize and refine/ enhance our tech stack for a new product launch. Their development team is very attentive and seems to be able to understand our business needs quite well.

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

Crafton assigned a PM to the project- but this role was not needed. We brought various tools to the project (JIRA, Pantheon, etc), but they recommended a few enhancements (e.g. Gitlab for safer code deploy). Thus far timelines have been met.

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

Very responsive. High performing developers- who are very communicative.

Are there any areas for improvement?

more structure around estimates and KPIs for dev work (we are adding these in now, but moved quickly at the outset of your projects). also having devs who advise on best practice (e.g. a Technical Lead) would have helped in the beginning (we are also adding this role to the team).

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Saysimple is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company, revolutionizing the way companies get and stay in touch with their customers through new and emerging channels. Our Customer Contact Management platform provides customer contact professionals with the technology they need to manage inbound- and outbound customer conversations.

I work at Saysimple as Marketing Lead. I play a vital role in driving demand for Saysimple’s customer contact platform. My main goal is to grow our business by planning, designing and executing successful B2B lead generation campaigns to fuel the inbound marketing funnel and achieve our business objectives.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Crafton to develop a highly converting Wordpress website. The goal was to create a site that was both suitable on the front- and back-end of the website. We've provide Crafton with KPI's in terms of website speed, and together with the Saysimple Design team, they also Crafton in website conversion.

SOLUTION

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

We've made a list of Wordpress agencies in Europe. We've looked at hourly fee's, international presence, the clients they work for and the company website because we believed this was the place where a web agency should really show-off.

Crafton fee's are very respectable, they have offices around the world, have some good quality clients in their portfolio and we liked the website design; they showed-off in just the right places and it wasn't drawing the attention form what you were looking for.

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

Back in 2017 we've started out with a video call with our PM and main developer on Crafton side. We told them what the aim was with our website.

From there, we started the design phase. We did the design in-house and checked with the Crafton dev to see if what we wanted design-wise was convertable to a website.

Once the designs were ready, I created a planning together with Crafton PM. Every two weeks we had a stand-up with Saysimple design, myself, Crafton PM and Crafton Dev. This went on until Crafton delivered on time.

For me, this was a very pleasant way of working because we could truly provide Crafton with our vision, and it helped us to truly get the best and result.

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

Over the years I worked with three different PM's, and three different developers. One by one, they delivered fantastic and the working relationship was (and is) still great.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The main KPI was site speed and therefor we've used Google Pagespeed Insights. De desktop version need to score between 90 and 100 points and at delivery we scored 96. We were pleased with this result.

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

I communicate with Crafton PM via Slack and email. But I guess you can ask them to use your preferred channel. Slack and email happend to be my preferred channels, so it was fine by me. Other tools are GitLab, Trello and Google Suite. These were also choses based on my preference.

I've been working together with the Crafton team on our new pricing page. Due to vacation time in the Netherlands I was really depending on Crafton development to turn like a sketch I've made (with a pencil on a paper and photographed it) into the page we currently have. Crafton delivered to the occasion.

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

They handle questions in an efficient and flexible way. If I ask something in the Slack channel I get a reply within minutes. It is not that we agreed on a SLA or something so this shows me they ar willing to go the extra mile.

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

The only thing I can think of is that I've worked with 3 different PM's. But every hand-over went smoothly because I never felt like I had to explain what I wanted with the site.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a co-founder of Pragmatic Brains, the IT consulting company which helps its clients to deliver excellent software products.

Pragmatic Brains is based in the Netherlands and hires 30+ high skilled developers. Our clients are based in the EU, e.g. Norway, UK, the Netherlands.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Crafton?

We are prepering to launch our new product on a market, therefore we need a new website. As well as new ui/ux designs for the product. We already worked with a desging agency but we were not satisfied with them.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to introduce our product to our clients and help us sell the product. From the other site we wanted the website to be easy to update on our end.

As for the ui/ux design for the product we needed our old designs to be fix and we also needed new designs for new features and cproduct components.

SOLUTION

How did you select Crafton?

We were not happy with the creative agency we were working with that's why we were looking for a new one. Crafton has been recomended by another vendor we worked with. We described our problems and needs to Crafton, they prepared solution which we accepted.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we selected Crafton, we had video call meeting to discuss our goals and needs. We received first mockup of the home page shortly. After 2 or 3 iteration we accepted the design and we moved to designing next subpages.

The whole process went very smooth. We had a status meeting once a week and we were constantly in touch via Slack. As for the ui/ux design for our product we were and are constantly in touch with Crafton designer. We have video calls with him 2- 3 times a week to discus new features and changes to designs.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned a Project Manager to support us and serve as a main point of contact throughout the projec. The were also ui/ux designer and 2 developers involved in the project. We were able to talk to all of the to beter claryfy of mission and goals.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our new web site is almost done and will be lounched when the product is ready. We are very happy with new ui/ux designs of our product. They are user-friendly, modern and definitly not dull. Now you know you are dealing with a first class product.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project manager organized status meeting with us and their team once a week. We were also communicating via Slack. Once we had questions it was no problem to organise meeting more often.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was in awe of the knowledge that Crafton had about web design, user experience and optimalization. Thanks to Crafton we have created a beautiful and interactive website. Also organization of the project was great.

At every moment, everyone knew what to do and what the next step would be. We are still working with Crafton on our product's ui/ux design.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can't come up with anything right now.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are one of the largest insurance companies in Poland. We are represented by 3,000 employees, more than 3.6 million individual customers and companies representing small and medium business, as well as major corporations. We insure every second largest company in Poland.

Our dynamic growth is reflected by the fact that every 13 seconds we issue a new insurance policy. Every year we bring help to 480 thousands of damages - every minute we make a decision to pay compensation.

Non-life insurance are offered under three brands. I am responsilble for e-commerce activties of mtu24.pl and youcandrive.pl (direct insurance sales).

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our primary goal for all the projects we created with the help of Crafton was creating new websites based on Wordpress which are more suitable for our business model (direct sales with mtu24.pl and You Can Drive).

SOLUTION

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

Crafton won the tender we organized, in which they presented a very good offer and the most interesting vision.

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

While working with Crafton we ad hoc requested many projects from which all of were completed on time, with a satisfactory amount of feedback and communication. They delivered to us several web services, applications, and online solutions.

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

The team composition was highly dependent on the kind of project we had in mind but we always could rely on a trustworthy Project Manager who stayed on top of the whole process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our work with Crafton resulted in many different projects that satisfied us. Every other project was making us more visible and known on the internet.

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

Flexilble with great understanding. They adjust their workflow to our goals.

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

Crafton's designs, knowledge on new technologies, and cooperation are all impressive.

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

None that I could think of.

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on March 25, 2019.

Marketing Specialist, Insurance E-Commerce Platform

Insurance

501-1000 Employees

Sopot, Poland

$200,000 to $999,999

July 2014 - Ongoing

Project summary: 

Crafton developed an e-commerce platform from scratch using React, WordPress, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Feedback summary: 

Customer satisfaction is high, the platform works well, and conversions are strong. Crafton’s effective project management and communication have built a strong partnership.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a marketing specialist for an insurance e-commerce platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Crafton?

We wanted to develop an e-commerce platform to showcase our different types of products. We needed something that was visually appealing at a decent price.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Crafton built our e-commerce platform from scratch. They’ve used React, WordPress, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. They helped us understand the business objectives and user needs to turn our idea into a product. They managed UI/UX elements, design, development, and testing. We’ve launched and they now maintain it while developing additional functionality.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with around 10 people over the years including project managers, designers, and developers.

How did you come to work with Crafton?

They were recommended by our internal team, which was already working with them on other projects.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2014, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Customer satisfaction with the platform is high, and it works very well. Users can navigate easily, and conversions are high.  

How did Crafton perform from a project management standpoint?

The whole product was well managed. They’re a trusted, “go-to” partner for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their effective communication is most impressive. I don't have to worry about the project. We've been working together for many years and they know how to work well with us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think so. At the very beginning, we gave them feedback about what could be improved. We’re satisfied with the whole process.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them and give them a detailed vision of your product so that they know what kind of benchmarks you want to use.

Star Ratings

Overall rating: 5

Quality: 5

Schedule: 5

Cost: 5

Willing to refer: 5

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a brand activation company, seeking to attract customers to our website. I am working here as a Strategy specialist.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Crafton?

We already had a website, but not good enough to attract the brands and various customers. However, we believe our website was as generic as we can find any other brand activation website and was majorly missing on the customer engagement and user experience part. Hence, we hired Crafton to enhance our website with a focus on user experience.

What were your goals for this project?

To generate leads, to attract new customers, and retain the current ones.

SOLUTION

How did you select Crafton?

One of my friends had a great customer experience with Crafton who recommended us to opt. for this if we are genuinely seeking to see timely and amazing results.

Describe the project in detail.

Revisiting our brand website, enhancing customer/user experience, and keep maintaining the website as an on-going process

What was the team composition?

Project Manager Web designing team Customer Experience Experts Customer Support SEO team

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

we have generated good orders from our website for various highlighted brand activation (customer experience) services that we are offering.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Everything was pre-planned and aligned and it was smooth going and an amazing experience

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Every contact person is easily available and each progress of the activity was reported and transparent

Are there any areas for improvement?

Everything was more than perfect as our focus was to have timely results and we did it