Drupal Partners

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I only have a couple of months from our Google Analytics, but two of our best product lines, with the highest sales, have done remarkably well. I don't have the stats on me, but I could look it up. We're still working on SEO [search engine optimization] and whatnot. We just finished the final site a couple months ago. This has been a yearlong project. These sites are a huge improvement over the previous ones.

How did Drupal Partners perform from a project management standpoint?

They have been consistently able to deliver their milestones on time, within budget, and without any major defects. For example, when we decided we were going to have an e-commerce site for our Marwin line, I went to them and said, "This is what we want to do." They came back and said, "This is how many hours we're estimating, and this is the timeline for the project." Usually, if I just have a quick little thing, a tweak, they will just do that right away. If I have a full project, they'll come back with the hours, estimated cost, and the timeline, which is awesome. I like how organized and methodical their approach is.

What distinguishes Drupal Partners from other providers?

Drupal Partners is very quick to respond. If I have an idea, sometimes they'll come back and say, 'Have you thought about doing it this way?' which I always like, because you don't know what you don't know. That's super handy, when they have a better suggestion. They're well suited to working with clients like us, who have an idea of what they want but don't have the functional requirements nailed down.

They really went above and beyond. When we had to move the website to our server, they had to get involved, because our IT [information technology] department didn't really know how to do it. They did go above and beyond by even working with our server.

Is there anything Drupal Partners could have improved or done differently?

I haven't run into anything yet. Everything's going great, and I can be really demanding.

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their work?

User feedback has been great on the new features that we’ve implemented so far, and the fixes that we’ve made on the back-end. We are currently looking to do more enhancements to improve some of the other things users have found through constant use of the site, so we are in the process of that now. A lot of it has to do with the architecture of the site, so we’re making some long-term fixes with these tasks. Users have really enjoyed all the new features now available to them. Previously, users had a more difficult time finding resources or submitting certain information. We’re satisfied in all areas. If they feel they can’t reach a deadline, they’re always reaching out ahead of time with a status report. They inform us of things upfront, so there’s no guesswork with anything. They made tremendous use of their time. We’ve never had an issue with quality control and assurance.

When working with Drupal Partners, is there anything you would consider unique or special about their approach or development methodology that distinguishes them from other vendors?

They are committed to getting the job done the right way. If they feel the project is too large for the team that they have spec’d out, they don’t mind adding resources to get the job done. They're flexible like that. They come to the table with ideas and recommendations concerning process improvements and how to best use the system going forward.

In retrospect, are there areas in which you think they could improve as a service provider?

Sometimes, they estimate something can get done by a certain time, but after they get into it, they need to adjust the deadline. This is really rare and, for the most part after they estimate it, it’s done on-time. It’s hard to get 100 percent of your estimates correct but, as the client, we’re always looking for as close as possible because we have end-users, too, relying on us.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

Let them know what you want and always be up front. Transparency and clear communication are keys to any digital project’s success.