fjorge

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Safer Plate; we’re a food service company.

What challenge were you trying to address with fjorge?

Our website wasn't operating the way it was supposed to, so we wanted to improve it to sell our meal kits online.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fjorge is redesigning and redeveloping our website on WordPress. They’ve also provided some great training to create our own platform.

Currently, we’re working on our mobile platform with them.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with Bryan (Managed Services Developer), Taylor (Managed Services Director), and Joe (Director of Business Development).

How did you come to work with fjorge?

My partner found them through a Google search.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent around $30,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

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

Thanks to their work, our site is now operable, which is what we wanted. Overall, we’ve had great experiences with their involvement; they’ve been hands-on to get us where we needed to be and worked quickly and efficiently while keeping us in the loop with every step.

How did fjorge perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is wonderful; they’ve provided good communication and stayed within the established deadlines and budgets. In terms of tools, we use Jura, phone calls, emails, Google Meets, and Zoom meetings to ensure that everything’s going according to plan.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their willingness to explain everything clearly to us is outstanding; a lot of this is new to use, but they’ve provided great training tools and videos to help us become more independent and update things by ourselves, which is very helpful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The mobile platform’s development has been a bit slower than what we expected, but other than that, I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — I’m happy with everything they’ve done.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Utilizing Jira is very helpful for the project because you can document issues and progress. Also, be mindful that they’re willing to train, help, and explore different options to get the most out of the project.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the lead digital strategist at a creative agency called Tom, Dick, & Harry Creative.

What challenge were you trying to address with fjorge?

We were trying to create an in-browser game for a marketing campaign we were working on.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Beforehand, we presented a recruiting campaign to our client, to help get young entry-level and internship jobs coming into their company. It was COVID-19 times so they had to cancel a lot of their tradeshows and things of that nature, so they wanted something that was interactive that students and entry-level position people could really get into and have some fun with.

They are a trading company so there is a standard you have to hit in order to even be in their application process. They needed something to weed some people out that maybe weren’t qualified or weren’t ready to join the team. We created a game that had a lot of different math-based and logic problems to help do that and presented it in a way that was visually appealing and kind of fun for users to do as well as prizes. We created this page and designed it, and we needed a team to develop it. It was kind of a unique challenge because it wasn’t just about developing the game; it was about being able to update the questions on our end manually when it came up because if the questions are too difficult or too easy, we would have to adjust them on the fly. Also, another challenge was tracking. We really needed pretty strong analytics to see where people were tripping up, how many questions they got right, how many they got wrong, how long it took them to take the quiz as there was a time limit aspect, so fjorge had their work cut out for them in creating this game pretty much from scratch. There were no templates to work from. We presented designs, but there was nothing pre-built that they could really pull from. So pretty much from scratch, they created this game with a WordPress backend that was really easy to use and that our team and the client were able to use. They also created ways for the team to export all the analytics and information that we could report on weekly. Because there were prizes involved, they had to be able to export this information with emails, first name, and last name, to then reach out to people to be able to send them their prizes. All of that was done really, really well, and really simple.

The goal of the game was to escape the classroom and the way you did that was by entering the classroom again with different items that were clickable. Those items would highlight when you hovered over them. When you click the item, it opened up and you were given a logic or math probability, statistics; one of those types of questions. As you solved the question, if you got it right, you would get a key and if you got it wrong, you wouldn’t get a key. One of the caveats was that you didn’t know if you got it right or wrong, and you have to go through the entire quiz to know how many keys you really got. At the end of the quiz, the key is animated up and if you got 10 keys, you escaped the classroom, and the time was recorded. If you are one of the top three times that week during that “season”, you would get a prize. If you completed it in general and finished within the time limits, you were reached out to by the company about setting up an application and internship interview. There were two tiers of rewards and some swag that the company would give and also that email directly from the company to set up an interview for an internship.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Mary (Director, Account Services), Patrick (Solutions Architect), and Erica (Project Management Lead). There were other people involved, but they were the main leads on the project. Erica was the main account person and project manager that ran the project.

How did you come to work with fjorge?

I have worked with them for five or six years now throughout my career. It just so happens that Tom, Dick & Harry, when I started there, also had a relationship with fjorge. Because we both had that relationship, it made the most sense and I know they are fairly sophisticated when it comes to development. This game was so custom and there really wasn’t much to pull from, from an inspiration standpoint, so I knew they were the best ones to bring in because they have those technical skills that are somewhat rare in development.

How much have you invested in them?

It was around $32,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project initially started in July 2020, and it went live in October 2020.

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

To date, we are pushing nearly 1,000 completed gameplays, and for a game that takes a minimum of 10 minutes to finish, I believe that is pretty good. On top of that, we have had well over that; at least double that, who have actually gone to the game. Going in, we really didn’t have any success metrics. We had never done anything like this. Most of the acquisition actually came from referrals, which means people played the game and enjoyed it, and then referred it to friends which I think is a good metric for the success of the overall experience of the game itself because if it was frustrating or designed and developed poorly, I don’t think people would be recommending it to friends.

We haven’t reached out for direct feedback, but I can say that 60% of the people who played the game, replayed the game multiple times. Most likely they were going for the reward, but they still came back for more which is a pretty good metric to show that it is pretty sticky, and people are coming back to it to keep playing.

We have had zero issues at launch which is pretty shocking as usually there are some bugs or some things going on, but fjorge took us through a really strong QA process before we launched, got everything ironed out, and then had a really smooth launch. We are in week six or seven and still have had no issues. No one has contacted us about any issues on the user side. Overall, it has been fantastic to work with their team.

How did fjorge perform from a project management standpoint?

Basecamp was the main project management tool and the main form of communication and that worked well. For QA we also used a program called Bugherd, and then we used Lucid for empathy mapping. We used email for some communication stuff. We also used InVision for passing off a lot of the design between our team and their team. We used it to send to them, and they were accommodating and used it which we appreciated.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The overall process that they follow is the most impressive. I was most impressed that everyone involved strictly followed the process and it functioned well. A lot of times one person doesn’t know what another person knows and there can be some wires crossed here and there. For the most part, we cruised through this thing and everyone knew where we were with the project. Everyone followed the same process, so when we were going through, everyone understood and there was a group understanding of where we were in the project, what we were doing, and what everyone else was doing. It kept everyone on track.

We kind of had a pretty aggressive deadline for this, even though we started in July and finished in October, for something of this nature, that is pretty quick. We had a phased approach, so we didn’t launch everything at once and the following phases didn’t let up and they didn’t put the B team on it. It was still the same development team and we were able to knock it out at the standard that we originally launched with when we added music and a lot of animation stuff. The process was by far the best.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only thing I sent their team some feedback on because I hate saying everything was perfect was that maybe would have helped us a little bit on Bugherd for QA. It is a relatively technical program. For people who maybe aren’t as tech-savvy, they had a bit of an issue navigating it. It is nitpicking for sure because we did get through it and it wasn’t a huge pain point.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Let them do their thing. Follow their process, have confidence in them because if you trust the process and go through it with them, you will have a successful product. That was the biggest thing. At points, we would wonder why we are doing certain things and then realized that is exactly why we did that because it paid off big time once things start to get stressful in the decision-making process, the things we did upfront really helped that. If I were to give advice it would be to simply trust the process.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the contract development director for AMIN Worldwide, a global network/association of 50+ independently owned advertising agencies across the globe.

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

We hired Fjorge to provide updates and fixes to our network website. The goal was to make it functional since the development work had been done by three different members and we preferred to work with a firm that was not a member of the network.

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

Fjorge, and specifically Joe Barsness, came recommended by someone in the network that had hired them previously. We received competitive bids from 2 members plus Fjorge and the leadership elected to proceed with Fjorge because they knew Wordpress and understand how to work with advertising agencies.

The other factor was that they were based in Minneapolis, where I'm based, and the work would be done in the same time zone. Work being done in differing time zones can be an issue, especially if there is something urgent that needs to be addressed. Location, experience, ease of working with them.

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

We had an in-person kick-off meeting and then addressed the issues listed below. Fjorge created a dev environment and showed the functionality. We also moved the hosting to Fjorge. Add log-in requirement for these pages: Who is Who Update Tool Who is Who Update Tool (simple)

Edit Agency Edit Agency (simple) Agency Export Briefng Tool Fix log-in page to allow password resets by users Fix roles and permissions Allow multiple users per agency Create three role levels Site administrator (full access) Agency administrator (able to add and edit agencies/content, able to add agency users) Agency user (able to add and edit agencies/content)

Fix searchable membership directory to allow using the below criteria: Client name Client category Industries Name/position/title/email/bio Peer groups Ensure agencies can be set up to receive online briefing form requests to multiple email addresses

Changes to questions and question order on membership request form Create how-to videos How to add a new agency administrator (intended audience: site administrator) How to delete old posts (intended audience: site administrator) How to set up an agency (intended audience: agency administrator)

How to add agency users (intended audience: agency administrator) How to edit agency content (intended audience: agency administrator/agency user) How to add briefing form email recipients (intended audience: agency administrator)

Ensure GDPR (EU General Data Protection Regulation) compliance with a cookie prompt for site visitors is in place and functioning correctly Update Wordpress version to 5.2.2 Remove unused site plugins Update or replace out-of-date site plugins Prevent pages from attempting to display missing image Clean up site templates to ease future development

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

Initial project scope and definition by Joe Barsness (sales) and Kevin Riste (Development). Once that was approved, the project was managed by PM Keely Canerno with additional PM support by Taylor Ganser.

They used Jira software for individual requests/priorities, and they used Harvest Reporting Web Application to track time. Development work was initially done by Erica Qualheim, then Daniel Brakke. An additional proposal was developed by Joe Barsness and Tom Hart. We opted not to proceed with the second proposal since we found an off the shelf tool.

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

Fjorge fixed the list of items that were fixable. And they have been understanding of our position as a network of advertising agencies. (Which is complex as there are regional boards making decisions.)

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

Listed above, they used a CMS Managed Services software I referred to as Jira. They also use a time tracking software for the monthly work they addressed. Project management style friendly and structured. The team members communicated via the software (which also works in email). I found communication was easy.

They pleasantly adhered to the start and stop timelines we foisted on them. We were never sure how long a specific fix would take so it was nice they were good about guestimating the time and keeping the work within the monthly allocated budget.

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

They know advertising agencies. They are exceptionally personable and approachable.

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

I wish they could have stopped the spread of Covid 19 :) No, they are responsive and accountable.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Digital Strategy Director. We are a creative agency in NYC.

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

We hired fjorge to develop a sexual health resource site for a major US health department. The goal was to create a site that was easy to manage and adaptable for the client to add more content.

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

Fjorge is our development partner for most of our clients across industry and scale of need. Because we didn't have a development department, we need a partner who understood how creative agencies work, especially small, independents.

We found Fjorge while searching for development partners + agency relationship. Fjorge had an article that described how they specifically work with agencies and understand our needs.

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

We had a kickoff meeting with Fjorge to discuss project details and to identify any technology or development hurdles/specs. From there, we collaborated regularly with them.

Fjorge identified the technology needs for the client, reviewed our creative strategy/designs, and then developed the site with rounds of review.

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

We were in contact with three members of their team. One was a group account director who made certain that we service was excellent. Second was an internal project manager who managed the department assigned for our work. Third was a developer who built the site to spec.

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

The client loved the site, and we've been able to develop and add more pages to it. Our media launch for the site went smoothly, and people were able to load it across different devices and engage with it.

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

Fjorge is very responsive. They primarily use email for day-to-day communication along with Basecamp for project management. They use Slack too.

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

Two things. First, they develop solutions specific to the client, and they staff up in order to do so too. Based on the client's specs, we know that we can collaborate to find the best technical solution for them.

Second, they are open, responsive, and friendly. One evening, we were running into errors, and suddenly discovered that the CEO jumped on the project to work with the team to get it done on time and to spec. It feels like a partnership.

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

Like anything else, we work through any communication issues as we develop SOWs and streamline projects.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Friendlies Debt Relief. We’re in the business of helping good people get out of bad debt.

What challenge were you trying to address with fjorge?

We want to create a digital platform for consumers as an alternative to traditional “phone bullies” that dominate the debt collection industry.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We did two 4-hour workshops together. We gave them our basic concepts, consumer information about the digital experience we wanted, and more. The team at fjorge helped with product design and gave us wireframe drawings & designs to show how the platform would look and work.

They also provided a cost estimate that can be presented to potential investors. It will be a progressive web app that works on a website, and it looks like an app on a phone. It will be a digital guide for consumers to work themselves out of debt.

The goal is to eliminate debt collectors, giving consumers control.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager, developer, designer, and the VP of the company.

How did you come to work with fjorge?

James (President) is a friend of mine. I called him to ask for recommendations, and he told me that’s what his company does. They have a good reputation in the technology field, and I wanted them as my partner.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent less than $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2020.

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

We’re in the early stages of the project. There are two phases. We’re seeking investment capital to develop the product. Out of roughly 100 workshops I’ve participated in, this was the best experience I’ve had. They didn’t just repeat our ideas back to us, but they listened and made valid recommendations based on our desires and goals.

How did fjorge perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, they’re excellent.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re great listeners that have the ability to give honest and receivable feedback. Their trustworthy team makes suggestions and recommendations that help us achieve our goals effectively.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Try to match the explanation of price proposal to the technical competency of the client, if possible.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Send them as much information about your core business as possible, and explain the problem you’re trying to solve.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a CBD wellness company.

What challenge were you trying to address with fjorge?

We needed help developing a direct-to-consumer website for our pet brand.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did some strategic consulting on the website features and recommendations. The team also did the development of our Shopify platform itself and all of the ongoing enhancements.

What is the team composition?

We work with a project manager, a lead developer, a business development person, a head of maintenance, and a maintenance account person.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2019, and we wrapped up the site development in May 2020. Their work is ongoing with maintenance.

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

We’re very pleased with their quality of service.

How did fjorge perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Basecamp and Jira for project management. They were great at managing deadlines, too.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team is very proactive in anticipating my needs. They bring solutions, not just questions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to strongly consider fjorge. I’ve worked at a number of different companies and I’d work with them again if I went somewhere else.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work in digital production at Broadhead, an integrated marketing and media agency.

What challenge were you trying to address with fjorge?

A client contracted us to take over management of their website and go through a rebuild. We needed a development partner to rebuild the backend of the site and do the ongoing maintenance from a development perspective.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project had three phases. In the first phase, a solutions architect from fjorge partnered with us to go through in detail and define the requirements of the new build. We outlined any new features and functionalities. That also included walking through the existing site to figure out what we could keep and what was important to the client to maintain.

From there, we moved into development, where our team handed off designs and specs to fjorge. The team went through a four-week development process where they built out the site on WordPress.

The final phase was content entry and QA. We had about 200 pages we needed to migrate onto the new site, so we spent a few weeks doing that as well as troubleshooting the CMS, working with the team to make updates to the CMS, and going through necessary updates before the launch. 

What is the team composition?

We had a project manager who followed the whole project, as well as an account manager to help manage budget. We also worked with two solutions architect, as well as a development team of about two or three.

How did you come to work with fjorge?

Our company had partnered with fjorge in the past, and one of the reasons I continued to work with them is their proximity to our office. Having a face-to-face relationship with them made our projects go really smoothly. I’ve also found that everyone there is very kind and easy to work with. They’re very flexible, adaptable, and solutions-oriented, and they make great partners.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost was just under $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in May 2020, and launched the site in early September.

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

The team is very focused on making their CMS very usable for authors who will maintain the site going forward. For the client, that was really important, because they do all their content management in-house. Everything on the site is editable, easy to find, and easy to learn. 

Also, fjorge was a really cost-effective option for our client, who didn’t necessarily have a massive marketing budget.  

How did fjorge perform from a project management standpoint?

They mapped out a timeline from day one, and fjorge hit every deadline. We were actually able to launch a day early. Throughout the development phase, we had weekly check-ins with the development team to see the status of the site, using project management tools like Basecamp to ask questions and communicate. We used BugHerd for QA nad bug tracking throughout the site review. 

We always had easy access to our project manager. She was very prompt to respond to questions or changes, and we were always able to communicate with her.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their price point and flexibility with projects stand out. They don’t come in with a cookie cutter approach. While fjorge uses a clear, repeatable process, they really take time to understand the needs of each individual development project, and build their process around that. Also, the personality of the company sets them apart. They treat their clients well and treat them as experts in their field. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We have an ongoing maintenance contract with them, as they’re currently hosting the site. One area for improvement is a better handoff between the teams who do the builds and the teams who do the maintenance. Sometimes things get a little lost in translation, and we have to bring developers up to speed.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work up front to make sure everyone does their due diligence to define what the build is and what the requirements are. If that’s done, everything will be more likely to stay on time and on budget. With that being said, don’t be afraid of curveballs that come along, because fjorge is really skilled at reworking scope or changing requirements as they appear. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Lawrence & Schiller is a full-service marketing agency based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We handle everything from graphic design, media strategy, and digital, which is my focus. I’m the senior digital strategist and marketing technologist.  I lead all of the agency’s web projects, mobile apps, and more.

What challenge were you trying to address with fjorge?

We had a previous hosting partner who handled our AWS environment, managing, hosting, and maintaining between 30–40 client websites. We were transitioning away from our old partner and were seeking a new cloud hosting management partner, as well as somebody that we could call upon to create new web site design and development that would live in the same environment.

What was the scope of their involvement?

It’s an incredibly complicated project. There’s a lot of technical infrastructures involved, requiring architects, programmers, developers, and more. It’s wide-ranging. There were five main pillars of the project.

First, we had to migrate our cloud hosting environment and virtual datasets to move over without any downtime with our clients’ sites. We needed to successfully transition who are network administrators are and transition all of our virtual hardware, such as operating systems, applications, and all the other technical stuff. They transitioned all the day to day management. Finally, they managed and deployed any code for the development versions of the sites, as well as their production sites.

What is the team composition?

There were probably close to ten members on the team between the sales team, who we worked with first, to the development team, who we worked with digging into all the data during the virtual migrations.

How did you come to work with fjorge?

We put out an official RFP. We recently launched a second office in Minneapolis, Minnesota, so we were looking for partners in that area. We set up a series of meet and greets, created a requirement document, and tried to outline with as much documentation as possible through a series of pitches and meetings.

Fjorge was the winner by far because of a couple of reasons. Their technical knowledge impressed. Fjorge also works specifically with marketing and advertising agencies so they understood our business and how we work. We have end clients, so we needed someone flexible in that manner. That was really appealing. They knew exactly what we wanted before we even had our first conversation with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We reached out to them around November 2019, and picked them in December 2019. They worked until March 2020, when the transition project was completed. Since then, they’ve become our tech company of record. We do steady work with them still, although their heavy lifting finished in March 2020.

What is the status of this engagement?

The one-time transition was around $9,000. They also quoted us at $1,700 a month for maintenance. Our total spent with them is likely north of $25,000 right now. Although that’s several thousand dollars more than we signed on for, it wasn’t an issue at all because we expanded the scope and agreed to all costs.

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

The biggest success metric was that there was no downtime of any sites. The transition was so seamless that none of the clients experienced any downtime. Time on site improved, as did our response time to tickets. It used to take weeks, now it takes hours. Our efficiency is through the roof now and our clients have been very happy with the quality of their work. It always feels like we have an expert working on the project.

How did fjorge perform from a project management standpoint?

While we had multiple project managers from their team, the transitions were seamless. We never had a drop off of information or a roadblock — they always supported us. They had more resources available for support than we could take advantage of, which is a great place to be in as a client.

Most of the project was completed with Base Camp. Now, we’re using a ticket management system to communicate with them. Regardless of the platform, they’re communicative.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their technical knowledge, expertise, and knowledge of our business all are very impressive and rare. They know marketing and advertising agencies. They check the boxes of managing cloud hosting and being network administrators — lots of agencies can do that. But being able to call them constantly at all hours and have them pick up the phone and provide tailored expertise to our business because they understand us and our business — that’s extremely valuable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I thought the project was going to take much more time and be much more expensive it wound up being. I have no constructive criticism — they exceeded all expectations.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you don’t box them in, they’ll come up with unique solutions. If we loosened the parameters a bit and asked for more advice, we might’ve been able to be even more successful.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I own a small design consultancy called BARSUHN. We’re a B2B brand agency that helps smaller, privately-held companies manage their entire user experience. That means putting together their websites, printed materials, interiors, tradeshows, and more. 

What challenge were you trying to address with fjorge?

fjorge is our development partner, handling whatever development projects we need to be done. They create WordPress sites for our clients.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

To date, fjorge has created five WordPress sites for our clients. Our office designs and manages content while fjorge builds the sites based on our specs. 

One of the more notable projects was an interactive website that allowed citizens to tell their legislators where to spend money on infrastructure. Then, there were three websites for a development company and real estate developer. Currently, we’re working on a website for a nonprofit medical research organization.

In each cases, the client wanted to be able to manage their content on their own. That meant that part of the design scope involved building a backend in a way that was relatively easy to use for people who weren’t well-versed on the technical side.

What is the team composition? 

We’ve interacted with 6–8 people, including account managers, developers project managers, and system managers. There’s also a team of people who do follow-up and maintenance work.

How did you come to work with fjorge?

Our offices were in the same building, so I got to know the owner of the company. What made them appealing to me was that our skill sets complemented each other. Before, we would work with development partners who would bill themselves as design partners, which meant that they were essentially a competitor.

fjorge was different. They didn’t have designers or brand consultants on staff, so they acted on any vision that was provided to them. They’d also constantly suggest different ways to think about the solution rather than pushing on creative changes later on in the project.

How much have you invested with them?

Between the five sites, we’ve spent around $63,000–$65,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our first project started in 2018, and we’re still working with them now.

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

These sites are more about getting the clients’ messaging across, so we measure success by our clients’ feedback. So far, all of them have been pleased that they can manage their sites well and have gotten great feedback from their customers.

How did fjorge perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is their strong suit. They use Basecamp, which is a task tracking software that both I and my clients can log into to check on the project status. There are records of all of our communications, and it’s easy to find files shared on the solution. That helps me an awful lot because I don’t need to take as many notes on what’s being done. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed with their attention to detail followed by their reasonable prices.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have any criticisms. I would hire them again for the next project we get.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Rely on their expertise because they know what they’re doing. I’ve worked with a lot of their peers in the office at different times, and they’re dead-set on being team players. They’ll listen to everyone’s advice while still giving great input. I really think that fjorge brings a lot to the table. They generally make any project better.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Digital Marketing Manager of a B2B platform where companies can find on-site IT technicians to contract.

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

Since we're a software company, we previously had web development for our marketing site in-house. This worked for several years, but internally it became difficult to prioritize our marketing site versus our (much more complex) software.

Not to mention, most of our internal developers create large complex tools– they don't have much expertise when it comes to a (comparatively simple) WordPress site. We needed a party, be it an agency or freelancer, to be able to keep our WordPress site up-to-date and also work on new development projects.

Although our site is configured through WordPress, our previous in-house developer created a custom drag-and-drop site builder for our site using custom fields. So, compared to the needs of most WordPress marketing sites, we needed strong technical expertise.

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

I reached out to an area networking group, and several people highly recommended fjorge for web development. In addition, I interviewed two other agencies and one freelancer. Our criteria were as follows- Development Capabilities- Based on their portfolio, can this resource develop custom WordPress modules and complex tools?

Maintenance Capabilities- Will this resource be able to maintain our site with security enhancements, plugin updates, and emergency response? Price- Is this vendor priced competitively based on the level of service they provide? Fjorge won by a landslide.

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

Fjorge first started with a site audit and provided recommendations to improve performance (site speed, primarily) and technical SEO.

We're currently on a month-to-month plan with 12 development hours per month, however we will likely increase this plan dramatically. We realized several months in that continuing to host the site ourselves was not going to work for a myriad of reasons, so we moved the site over to fjorge servers.

The process was a little lengthy (as a software company, our own hosting was over-engineered IMHO) but we have had no performance issues since migrating to fjorge servers. For the last several months, fjorge has been working on relatively small tickets I submit and prioritize on a monthly basis.

Projects have included modifying the colors on the site, and modifications to a hard-coded section of our careers page.

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

We've primarily worked with ~4 engineers/developers, a project manager, and the director of managed services.

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

We've only been working on the front-end of our site for about 2 months since we recently completed the server migration and before that the site audit. No outcomes to report yet!

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

Fjorge uses JIRA, which I selfishly love since that's what my company uses internally too. All communications are reflected within the tickets I submit for development. Fjorge has a tool for tracking CMS time (it's fjorge branded, so I'm unsure what it is) which I appreciate for transparency.

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

The level of communication is really impressive, especially from engineers.

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

Based on my understanding, fjorge has been overwhelmed with the volume of work they've been getting as a result of the pandemic (it turns out most companies need websites!). A few recent tickets haven't been completed on time, but the team has been great about keeping us in-the-loop.