Inverse Paradox

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the email, web, and subscriptions coordinator for RRY Publications. We run a portal called Orthopedics This Week, with articles on the orthopedic industry. I maintain the email and subscriptions database for both marketing and personal communications; I also maintain the website in terms of ads and content.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Inverse Paradox?

They were in charge of our redesign 7 years ago when we underwent a complete structure change. We have an in-house graphic designer for site images but we’re not a tech-savvy company when it comes to ongoing technology changes. We wanted to give the site a more appealing presence and drive up its traffic. We had a custom website at the time that had been built by a webmaster; she provided in-house maintenance to its backend but she left the company, and it was time for a redesign.

We had a choice between adopting a standard platform like WordPress or keep using our existing company. There was a significant difference in price when it came to redesigning a new custom site down the road or maintaining a WordPress site. Neil Harner [Director of Business Development, Inverse Paradox] offered us a very good price.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Inverse Paradox was instrumental in providing ideas for our initial redesign and setting up the WordPress backend. They have continued to maintain it for us and apply changes to its design.

We’ve been in business since 2006. The site is content-heavy and needed to have a number of articles migrated to it. It also isn’t mobile responsive, which started the talk about a new redesign. However, it’s also old in other areas in terms of technology, so a complete rebuild would be beneficial. We have been working on this new project for the last 6 months.

We work remotely, but we had a recent meeting at our corporate office with Matt Cherepanya, their sales director, Neil, and one of the developers, as well as my boss and I. Neil brought all the points on the benefits of making certain changes based on the budget we had. He is very conscientious with us, and I would assume he is the same with all his client companies.

My boss expressed what he wanted to do and Inverse Paradox gave us a proposal. They could make our current site responsive but we were encouraged to have a full redesign since we would be going through a lot of work anyway. Also, there are certain components of the site which don’t shrink well regardless, like tables and so on.

We deal with Neil on a consistent basis, but I’ve worked with several others from Inverse Paradox’s team on our website. I don’t know who will take over the project once we sign the new contract.

How did you come to work with Inverse Paradox?

Neil was referred to us by another company we were working with in a completely different area. We respected that company, and Inverse Paradox came highly recommended as a choice for web design; they haven’t failed us yet.

We did receive other quotes and we looked at other big companies in the business, but they were more expensive — I also found them to be cold and impersonal. I rely on first impressions and Neil was personable, answered all my questions, didn’t talk down to me or over my head, and my boss liked the company.

How much have you invested with Inverse Paradox?

I don’t handle contracts, but monthly invoices do come through me. We have an hourly agreement for special requests, like setting up a new ad space for a particular advertiser on our site. Even so, if it only takes the team 15 minutes to do something, that’s all we’ll be charged. Support and new development costs $125 per hour. Our expenditure varies from month to month. We may see a $2,000 charge at one time, but it can be much lower than that.

The complete initial redevelopment of our website was an $18,000 job.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Inverse Paradox in 2010. There was an initial 4–6-month process for the website redesign. We’re in the process of negotiating a new redesign with Inverse Paradox.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We have been very successful and the web traffic has only gone up. Neil has made significant suggestions on what we can do to increase our online presence. We publish an electronic newsletter which goes out 42 times per year. It’s a large HTML document featuring all the updates on our website, from breaking news to small articles. Inverse Paradox helped me establish how it would interact with the website and how it could accommodate up to 40 ads, which we didn’t think was possible.

Inverse Paradox has also been a large source of ideas and information which has helped us raise our traffic percentage and rate. They also provided ideas for our redesign in terms of increasing our database and traffic numbers for advertisers, which I’m looking forward to.

How did Inverse Paradox perform from a project management standpoint?

The initial website was launched on time and we had a 1-week test period during which we could run it and ensure that the payment gateway worked and that everything else was acting properly.

During large projects, we have daily interactions with the team. For site maintenance, we will contact them 2–3 times a week when one of our salespeople wants to know if we can do something in particular for an advertiser or if the graphic designer is having an issue with how something looks. Inverse Paradox usually responds promptly, but it can take them a couple of days to look at what we’re asking and see how it can be applied to the website.

The collaboration is done mainly through email, which is currently the most efficient way to get a hold of someone, but we also have calls if I ask for it. Inverse Paradox gets in touch with us if there is a question or they need my input.

What did you find most impressive about Inverse Paradox?

I have all the admiration in the world for Neil and his company; if I have a question, they always take the time to spell everything out for me. This web redesign was a good example of that: he told my boss in a nice way that everything needed to be done at once, given that we’d end up spending more money if we did it a piece at a time.

When we started working with Inverse Paradox, they only had a few employees, but the company has grown significantly. This is because they’re a good developer to work with and they take care of their customers. Neil and everyone else in the team I’ve worked with has held my hand throughout the whole process.

They’re easy to work with, and as a non-tech-savvy company, we trust them to do the job we need them to do.

Are there any areas Inverse Paradox could improve?

On the development side, I wish that I was given instructions on how to maintain simple elements. Inverse Paradox probably would have supplied this if I asked for it, but I wish that they’d taken the initiative. Other than this, I have no negative comments. Inverse Paradox is wonderful to work with, and I wouldn’t change them for anyone. Their prices are right and they do a wonderful job.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Inverse Paradox?

Once you give them a perfect picture or outline of what you want, they will lay it out exactly. You have to do the groundwork though since Inverse Paradox can’t read your mind.