Hop Studios Inc.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Science Director of Greater Good Science Center

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The Greater Good Science Center shares science-backed resources for improving well-being individually, interpersonally, and society-wide with the public.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Hop Studios Inc. to accomplish?

• Build several dynamic multimedia websites
• Build several interactive programs that reliably gather data on our websites

SOLUTION

How did you find Hop Studios Inc.?

Already a client when I joined

Why did you select Hop Studios Inc. over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Hop Studios Inc. were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Hop Studios partnered to build multiple websites serving a wide range of purposed for decades. One project involved designing and building an interactive program freely available at a global scale which sent resources to registrants multiple times a day via email and SMS and gathered real time data from users that could be analyzed to advance the science of well-being.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Over 100K people registered for the Big Joy program, over 45K for the Pathway to Happiness, and 8+ academic papers have been written and/or published about the data from these programs thus far.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Hop is very organized, responsive, and timely. More often than not any delay or bottleneck in progress is a result of our slow responses on Basecamp, the project management platform that Hop uses.

What was your primary form of communication with Hop Studios Inc.?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Hop is clear, friendly, thoughtful, and thorough. I have *never* felt berated for my technological naivete working with Hop. The team is always generous and respectful and honest.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Hop Studios Inc. could have done differently?

Very infrequently, and I assume this happens in any outfit, a fix or revision or update to one function on a program or site will have downstream effects on another function, and we will learn of this from users emailing to say that the program is not working as expected. Any degree of more extensive end-to-end functionality testing to preventatively identify unexpected issues would be welcome, though I do suspect Hop would do this and it would work well if our organization could cover the cost. 

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on August 31, 2025.

Jason Marsh
Executive Director, The Greater Good Science CenterResearch

Berkeley, California

11-50

Oct 2009 - Ongoing

$1,000,000 to $9,999,999

Verified

Project summary
Hop Studios Inc. has overhauled a website for a university science center. The team has developed wireframes and page templates, rebuilt the client's site using ExpressionEngine, and provided maintenance.

Feedback summary
Hop Studios Inc. has delivered a high-quality website that has increased the client's traffic by 20 times over 15 years. The team has delivered on time and within budget and shown great problem-solving skills. Overall, they have been easy to work with, responsive, and talented, pleasing the client. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive director and editor-in-chief at Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hop Studios Inc.?

We hired Hop Studios Inc. to build our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hop Studios Inc. has completely overhauled our website. The team has rebuilt the site from scratch.

The engagement has included a discovery phase where Hop Studios Inc. has learned about our content, organization, and audience. The team has developed wireframes to get agreement on the general direction of the design. Hop Studios Inc. has designed page templates and gotten input from us.

Once we’ve agreed on the designs, Hop Studios Inc. goes into development and codes all the designs, trying to stay true to the original designs. The team has built the site on ExpressionEngine. Moreover, they have designed the content so that articles on our website are very readable and easy to navigate. The team has helped us think through the navigation and site architecture.

Hop Studios Inc. has worked on building a system where people can log into the website to access special content just for our members. The team has thought through several different levels of engagement with our content.

Overall, the engagement has included maintenance and design over the years. Hop Studios Inc. has also developed new pages when we need it.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with Hop Studios Inc. for 15 years, so the team composition has varied over the years. Originally, the founder, Travis, and the lead designer worked closely with us. Over time, we’ve worked a lot with a couple of their developers, including Gilbert.

How did you come to work with Hop Studios Inc.?

We found Hop Studios Inc. through a referral. The team had a very strong and exceptional combination of skills and knowledge that we needed. Hop Studios Inc. had both technical and design skills. The team also had a strong understanding of publishing and journalism. Moreover, the team had an editorial background and had worked in journalism and with other publishers. That combination of familiarity with our industry and the technical skills we needed was very appealing and unusual.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested more than $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement started in October 2009, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen significant and steady increases in traffic over the years after the launch. Our traffic has increased 20 times in the last 15 years. Hop Studios Inc. has also helped us build additional websites over the years. In fact, we’ve worked with the team on other sites because we like their services and feel they do such a good job on our original site.

How did Hop Studios Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

Hop Studios Inc. has delivered the work on time and within budget. The team has been easy to work with, responsive, and talented. We use Basecamp for project management. The team has been very collaborative, going back and forth on the designs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Hop Studios Inc.'s team has been very talented and deeply invested in making sure our site performs as well as possible. The team is very responsive to our questions, explains things very clearly, and is resourceful. Overall, Hop Studios Inc. is a great problem solver.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Hop Studios Inc. is a specialist in the ExpressionEngine CMS. I can’t speak to their expertise in other CMSs.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know that Hop Studios Inc. will do their best to understand your project holistically. It’s a good idea to take time upfront to walk through the project with them. The team will take real ownership over the project if you take the time upfront to explain it to them clearly and ensure they have all the information they need. From there, Hop Studios Inc. will be true partners and strong collaborators.

STAR RATINGS:
Overall rating: 5    

Quality: 5   

Cost: 5   

Schedule: 5   

Willing to refer: 5

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Oak Bay Softtrends, a custom software development company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hop Studios Inc.?

Hop Studios Inc. took over the management of my website, SEO, and all the functions related to my public-facing presence.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I had an existing website designed by someone else. That firm left the country and moved back to Australia, so I picked up with Hop Studios Inc. They took over all the management of my website. 

At present, anytime I want to add or change something, review how my website is doing in terms of SEO, or create client testimonials, Hop Studios Inc. handles these tasks. We’ve talked about what people are typing if they’re looking for me. The team has looked into Google and other platforms, and we’ve discussed which keywords need to be embedded. Overall, we work collaboratively. We’ve also done ads on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google. 

What is the team composition?

My main points of contact are Travis and Susana. They’ve used several other teammates to do various tasks, but I’ve always communicated with either Travis or Susana. 

How did you come to work with Hop Studios Inc.?

I don’t remember how I got to know them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $70,000 CAD.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the partnership in June 2006, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The relationship and results have been good from my perspective because of their ability to engage in a collaborative process. I kick around questions and ideas, and they respond. It’s an engagement as opposed to buying a product. It’s an ongoing conversation about how we can best represent my small firm.

How did Hop Studios Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve always been on top of things. When I give them a task, it gets done in a reasonably timely fashion. They’ve been communicative with me the entire time, and if there’s a delay in something, they let me know. 

We use Basecamp to track ongoing tasks. I’ve often used GoTo Meeting over the years, and we have regular video conferences. 
What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to understand my unique firm and help with writing and presenting myself is impressive. They’ve taken the time to get to know what I’m offering. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be fully engaged. Ensure there’s a great deal of information going back and forth between you and the team so they can address your specific needs.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the VP of Richard Louv, Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Writing, public speaking.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Hop Studios Inc. to accomplish?

• Website redesign and management

SOLUTION

How did you find Hop Studios Inc.?

Referral

Why did you select Hop Studios Inc. over others?

Referred to me

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Website redesign, website software update, accessibility update, ongoing analytics and functionality repairs/updates

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Regular updates from Hop, analytics reports

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Excellent, timely communication with Hop team at all times.  

What was your primary form of communication with Hop Studios Inc.?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They stand out for their kindness and commitment to high standards of customer service.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Hop Studios Inc. could have done differently?

no