The Free Website Guys

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I founded Statement Entertainment which is a resource platform for Artists. We provide artists with the knowledge, resources and networks they require to get from point a to point b in their career.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Free Website Guys, and what were your goals?

I required a new website, a revamp, something more professional for my clients to access.

SOLUTION

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

My friend recommended them to me and so I looked into them. I thought they sounded like an interesting company to work with, and I was on the lookout for a cost-effective solution to rebuilding my website. I put in an enquiry and then they got back to me. Once things began moving along smoothly, I didn't see why I shouldn't proceed.

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

We had a kick-off meeting to set out the key deliverables and for them to familiarise themselves with my company and me with theirs. From there, a scope of work was laid out including the time estimate and key deliverables. The team worked with me to develop my website 'skeleton' and helped me to choose the design I would like to work with. From there, they integrated Google Analytics and helped get the site set up.

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

It was mostly just Sven, who was a developer. In the beginning conversation I also spoke with the manager and she gave me some insight into the Free Website Guys and what they were all about.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

No

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

Most of the communication was done over email, but everything was communicated clearly and thoroughly, and updates were provided in detail at the end of each stage.

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

I thought the personable interactions and ease of process were the best aspects of the whole thing. They get the job done in an effective way. They were also very helpful, and make you feel valued as a customer.

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

Maybe more follow-up on the result of the site itself and how it is going, if anything is faulty or not working properly, etc.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of a Creative Writing Agency for businesses; DSLX. We offer various writing services for all types of businesses, from emails to landing pages to blog articles.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Free Website Guys, and what were your goals?

I challenged the Free Website Guys to build my company website from the ground up. I had nothing prior to working with them.

SOLUTION

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

I found the free website guys through a friend that had used them before. They select businesses to build for and I had no clue if they were real or not. You have to apply to be accepted.

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

They had to build the entire workshop on Wordpress. This included selecting a theme, adding my templates, plug-ins, and any tweajs and changes I wanted to the original theme. We used the Divi theme builder and Bluehost for the domain.

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

I worked just with one, Sven. He acted as my main liaison for the entire project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I now have a completed, personalized website for my business.

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

Sven was exceptionally efficient when it came to responding to my emails, guiding me through actions I needed to do myself and making any changes I requested.

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

I was waiting for the catch. I still can't believe I got an incredible website for free

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

Some of the explainer videos shared with me were a couple of years old and so the information was not exactly where they said it was in the video. However, with a bit of common sense it was never far off.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder of a nonprofit organisation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Free Website Guys, and what were your goals?

Although my organisation has a website, I needed a personal website to document and curate my own professional experience inside and outside of the organisation. I'd had a blog for several years and added some pages to it showcase my work, but I knew that having a professional website would increase visibility for my work and an increase in speaking engagements and consultancy offers. The Free Website Guys built a website to meet my needs.

SOLUTION

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

I heard about them via a Facebook group that I'm a member of.

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

The Free Website Guys asked for a lot of information about my goals for the website via an email exchange. They laid out the timeline and provided clear guidance on what information they needed from me.

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

I worked primarily with 1 person - Sven, the Lead Developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I just launched the website a week ago, but so far there have been additional subscriptions to my mailing list.

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

We used email to communicate and Sven would send videos and very detailed emails with the next steps and what action they needed from me. They were extremely timely in their responses and next step actions.

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

They provided a totally free and extremely beautiful website. They also provide a lot of information on how to update the website.

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

I think that even with all the video tutorials and other information provided, some people who are less confident with technology, might have a difficult time loading their content on the website. However, this was not a problem for me.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am and owner of an agency. We primarily provide online reputation management services among other digital marketing services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Free Website Guys?

As an entrepreneur focused on launching and rapidly growing a digital agency, all my time is spent on crucial elements of the business like cultivating clients, refining our marketing strategy and executing best-in-class service, so there is no bandwidth for learning how to build —and then actually building -my own Wordpress website. I hired The Free Website Guys to do that for me.

SOLUTION

How did you select The Free Website Guys and what were the deciding factors?

I looked at a number of vendors for help in building my website and The Free Website guys were my first choice. They had numerous happy clients, stellar reviews and a team I felt confident in.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

After completing their onboarding questionnaire, they were helpful in guiding me through selecting a theme for my Wordpress site. After the selection was made, I provided some additional design requests which they incorporated without issue. They went above and beyond by instituting security and other measures that will ensure a successful website and long-term success.

How many resources from The Free Website Guys team worked with you, and what were their positions?

A few people worked on my project, but my main contact was Sven, their Lead Developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This project was just finished so I don't have any progress or success measures to share yet.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow and communication was all effective and efficient.

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

What I have found the most impressive is their overall expertise and professionalism in the workflow. I needed a team who could jump right in and take that project off my plate. Their team did that and more. Not only were they communicative and streamlined, but they created a website with best-in-class operational and security features to ensure long-term success. They are consummate professionals.

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

I cannot think of anything they could have done differently. They even sent instructional videos, when they needed me to complete part of the process/some of the steps to progress to the next phase. Those were very helpful and kept the project on schedule.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a solo startup. I do primarily freelance writing, cyber safety education and digital media.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Free Website Guys, and what were your goals?

I allowed them to create the framework for my business website. I added the content on my own, with their guidance.

SOLUTION

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

They offered to create the site for free. That's a pretty unique offer, so I decided to give them a shot.

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

They created a WordPress site for my business. They walked me through setting up hosting and analytics. They also provided guidance about SEO.

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

I only talked to one person, Sven, the Lead Developer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site looks great. They did exactly what I asked with regard to adding and removing elements from the theme.

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

Sven kept me apprised of the progress of the site and provided frequent status updates. For the few things he needed my participation in, like setting up web hosting, he provided detailed instructions and videos that made things so much easier. He was responsive to emails and answered all of my questions concisely, using layman's terms.

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

They proactively reached out to me and offered to build me a website for free. That alone is really unique. I also found Sven to be extremely approachable and helpful, which seems to be uncommon for developers.

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

Nothing that I can think of. They did a great job.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a self employed working actor and member of the Screen Actors Guild living in New York City.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Free Website Guys, and what were your goals?

I have been in need of a website for some time and had no clue how to go about finding the right person, what I should expect for knowledge, experience, or pricing. I had no idea at all on any level of what it takes to build a successful, easy-to-navigate website. I wanted my website to be a reflection of the professional that I am so that casting directors/agents would have a sense of who they're potentially hiring.

SOLUTION

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

I selected them after being introduced to their website on Facebook. I visited their website and was totally impressed with what I saw. I was also impressed by their use of WordPress as it has become most popular. When we finally touched base one on one I was almost certain that I was in the right place. Their business acumen was definitely on a par with what I expect regarding professionalism, skill, knowledge, and flexibility.

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

From our initial conversation via email I was kept informed of every single step necessary; whether it included my input or not. They provided simple step-by-step instructions when my involvement was necessary.

Those steps were accompanied by detailed videos to ensure that I understood clearly what the process needed to be. I cannot speak to the technologies they used because that information is well above my pay grade. All I knew was that I personally did not have the capability to build my own website; in spite of being told how easy it was.

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

My main contact was Sven Nielsen, the Lead Developer. Our email feed before the hand-off of my website was well into the 50's.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

My website was just handed off to me two days ago. I now am taking the time to load content so that I'm able to go live. I have no doubt, however, that the responses to my website will be measurable, and will be more than happy to do another review once I'm live.

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

At all times professional focused and informative through each and every aspect. If there were any delays I was made aware of what they were and what was necessary to resolve the issue.

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

As such a young company they already have in place a social commitment to making a difference in the communities they serve. For them, while they want or need more business, the bottom line is not about money; it is customer service and customer satisfaction they're after.

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

The ONLY thing I did not care for was one of the teams who provided the voiceover for several of the videos. He used too many filler words in his videos which ultimately took him longer to get to the point. That said, that's an easy problem to amend. Would I use them again and again? Absolutely Yes!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the owner of a freelance editing company. I offer editing services to academics/postgraduate students and to fiction/non-fiction writers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Free Website Guys, and what were your goals?

I hired The Free Website Guys to build a website for my new business. I'm not very technically savvy so it was imperative that I find experts who know exactly how to create a visually appealing website that was also easily to navigate and find on search engines.

SOLUTION

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

I found them through a Facebook group for online entrepreneurs. After looking up some of their reviews, I decided to contact them to see if they could help me with my website.

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

We started by discussing my vision for my website and then The Free Website Guys took me through a series of steps necessary for bringing this vision to fruition. Each part of the process that required my input was broken down for me in plain English so it was easy to know what to do. Once the website was finished, they supplied handover documents to help me to customise and maintain my website going forward.

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

My main contact was Sven, the Lead Developer. He was in regular contact with me to let me know how my website was progressing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Free Website Guys set up my website in a matter of weeks and helped walk me through each step that required my involvement. It's a real weight off my shoulders to know that all of the complicated backend and visibility aspects of my website have been taken care of by practised professionals. Would definitely recommend them!

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

The Free Website Guys were in regular contact with me and always happy to answer any questions I may have. They were also very quick at building my website, which I found very impressive.

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

Their regular contact, quick turnaround, and streamlined process make everything easier, especially for a (largely) technically illiterate person like me.

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

None

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner and founder of Ecotone Digital Solutions, a small digital consulting business located in Chicago and celebrating our 20th year in business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Free Website Guys, and what were your goals?

I hired the Free Website Guys to develop my new website for 2021. I needed a fast site that used a new and lightweight WP theme that would showcase our capabilities to the new client base we wanted to attract.

SOLUTION

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

I was contacted by this FWG by email - cold contact- but the offering and personal tone of the email really reflected the kind of vendor I was looking for. Their no-nonsense approach to fast, effective web development was exactly what I was looking for. It was an easy choice.

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

I offer digital project management services so I understand the often laborious steps website development takes. I was happy to see the FWG cut through a lot of that and get right to work on the site. We worked from a start-up template and I was able to start migrating my content almost immediately.

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

I'm not sure how many people worked on the site but I assume there was at least 2 - lead developer and developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site was completed professionally (which is something I didn't want to tackle) and I was given a lot of supporting assistance, documentation, screenshots and videos.

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

Although I could tell they were juggling a number of projects I never got the feeling they forgot about me or had too much to handle. They were very professional from start to finish.

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

I think the 2 models they have chosen are perfect for my relationship with them. The Free Website model and the White Label model. Also, although I am not a video-oriented person I really thought the video they asked me to make that described what I was looking for was unique and helpful.

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

When I work with them next I mentioned to them that I was going to "automate" a few things so our process goes smoothly. If this works they may incorporate some of these things. I think the input process could be done a bit better. A novice might be overwhelmed and that might cause them to spend too much time on that one person.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Director of a Consulting firm. We work in the area of protocol and events.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Free Website Guys?

We needed to create the company's first website. We have limited design skills so approached The Free Website Guys to find out more about their service and to see if they could design our site

SOLUTION

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

We had been researching web designers for quite some time, as needed to find a professional organisation with an affordable price.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Communication was clear every step of the way. They walked me through the website build process, providing simple guidelines and videos to follow, and answered any questions I had in a timely and efficient manner. It took one month in total to complete.

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

I worked directly with one account manager and know that at least one or two other designers were involved in the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Free Website Guys were very thorough with their documentation and detail required which resulted in a successful website design.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication was clear every step of the way and The Free Website Guys were very thorough with their documentation and detail required which resulted in the site It was a user friendly service and our account manager, Sven, was very efficient and professional. We were also prompt with our responses which helped the work flow.

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

We were impressed at the efficiency and professionalism of The Free Website Guys. They went through every step, provided videos, and created the website in a timely manner. They also answered any questions (which were few, as most elements were covered to a good level of detail from the outset).

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

No areas for improvement - we cannot fault their service.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of Mindful Experience, a design and consulting firm on wellbeing in physical, digital and residential environment of urban and major events

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Free Website Guys?

Our new launch is warriors 4 elements, impact circles for spiritual entrepreneurs.

SOLUTION

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

I see an add and liked their types and speed of response.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Our new website, from scratch, theme, back end, google analytics, woocommerse etc.

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

I am not sure. I was in contact with 1 responsible person which made the process much easier for me.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The free website guys were excellent in their service! Super professional and structured, they guided me clearly through all steps and options to build my website according to my needs. Their service includes setting up back and front end, google analytics, google search, and woocommerse features if needed so you have a fully operational website. The style and theme depend on what you want, they guide you through the best options though to make it easier to choose and install.

They never forced any purchase nor added any hidden charges to their services, which was something I was initially afraid of. Our communication was personal, fast and clear and I would totally recommend them for anybody who wishes to have a professionally built website. Totally recommended!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very fluent and effective

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

The understandable and clear steps that reduced the times of live calls to the minimum and maximised the efficiency for both parts

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

I loved their process. Nothing to change, really!