Designer Websites Ltd.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am managing director of Travel Booker, a niche travel company specializing in organizing flexible ski holidays to Andorra.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Designer Websites?

We were looking to bring together multiple systems into one. We had some legacy systems that had been developed over time, but we needed to start again and rebuild from the ground up.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They rebuilt our booking system from scratch, handling the development of both the frontend for customers to book on and the backend CMS [content management system] and booking management systems. They used .NET to build the CMS. The frontend was designed elsewhere.

What is the team dynamic?

Designer Websites has a central point of contact, Jenna, and all communication went through her; she was fantastic and really helpful. It was great to have just one point of contact to go to for any queries. They also were happy to have a meeting any time we requested one, bringing in their relevant developers or directors to it.

How did you come to work with Designer Websites?

We looked at various companies and were eventually referred to Designer Websites by someone we had a meeting with about business development. They had a good team that was only a 10-minute drive away from our office. It was good to be able to have a local company do the work. They were competitive on the price and we were confident in what they could do.

How much have you invested with them?

The initial cost was $50,000. We have ongoing costs because we’re currently doing some extra work with them, which an added $10,000–$12,000. The overall system will cost in the region of $70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2016 and the project lasted until August 2016. They provide ongoing support, however. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There were a few bugs initially, but they were very quick to sort them out and did it free of charge. We’ve been really pleased with their ongoing support and have no complaints at all. They were brilliant and really good to work with, answering any questions we had promptly. They were also quick to implement any additional work that we requested.

How did Designer Websites perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything was delivered on time. They are really good at communication; everything comes through one person.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We see it as more of a partnership than just a development job. They’ve been really keen to work with us and attentive to my input while making sure the solution works and that it is suitable from a business point of view. They’ve been really good to us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re in the middle of testing the beta version that they just finished. Within 2 or three days, there won’t be much on the site that we’re not happy with. They just spent the last few weeks rectifying any issues.