IT Monks Agency

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Storia Technologies PTY LTD

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Storia Technologies creates custom software solutions and provides IT support to meet each business' unique needs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire IT Monks Agency to accomplish?

• To develop a new website

SOLUTION

How did you find IT Monks Agency?

They reached out to us on LinkedIn

Why did you select IT Monks Agency over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Their previous work was all completed to a high standard

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

We needed a website redesign. The key deliverables were: 

• new logo 
• new website with interactive elements 
• better SEO than our existing site

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• We have a new logo which was based on our one but conveys our business better 
• Our new website has better SEO scores than our original website 
• The new web design ticked all the boxes from our scoping and planning sessions.

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

Yes, the team at IT Monks delivered everything as we expected and on time, there were a couple of delays on our end and they were flexible with us. Everything we asked was always followed up. IT Monks addressed all our needs before, during and after the project's completion.

What was your primary form of communication with IT Monks Agency?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Attention to detail and willingness to support us even after the project was finalised.

Are there any areas for improvement or something IT Monks Agency could have done differently?

Nothing to note for us.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Web Designer | UI/UX Designer | Digital Marketeer of a forklift manufacturer

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our company is the largest global manufacturer of multi-directional forklifts and an acknowledged leader in long load handling solutions. Innovation, Flexibility and Service is the ethos on which ur success is built and has seen us become the world’s fastest-growing forklift manufacturer, exporting to more than 85 countries and with more than 75,000 trucks in use worldwide

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire IT Monks to accomplish?

• Wordpress API Integration

SOLUTION

How did you find IT Monks?

Online Search

Why did you select IT Monks over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

What was the size of IT Monks’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

Development and API Integration for online services for customers for ease of access to specific information, processing and usability for an all round better user experience of our online services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• We have had amazing response from our new features. These features have been developed with great expertise and we and our customers are very happy with the outcome. ITMonks has gone above and beyond to make sure our end product surpassed our expectations.

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

ITMonks delivered all we required and more in less time than we had anticipated. This gave us more time for testing and amendments. Their response time was amazing. Always on hand to make changes once requested with no delays. They worked alongside our schedule and project timeline to deliver an amazing end result. We look forward to working with them in the near future.

What was your primary form of communication with IT Monks?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

ITMonks problem solving abilities are second to none. For each problem we threw at them, they came back with a solid solution. We were also impressed with their professionalism. As the project evolved, so did our requirements. ITMonks adjusted to those requirements with ease and provided amazing results.

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

No, we are extremely happy with the outcome of our project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the director of a marketing consultancy. We offer SEO, Google Ads, and website services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were looking for a partner to offer on-demand website services for our clients. With more and more technical requests coming in, the moment came when we needed to adjust quickly and fulfill the needs of our clients. Hiring a web developer was not an option, as we needed the full range of services such as design, UX, back-end experts, QA, and project management.

We spoke with other web development agencies around the time we started our collaboration. The option to speak with an account manager and go through lengthy onboarding processes didn’t really meet our needs. By working with a team of web professionals, we aimed to simplify our internal processes and strengthen our own client relationships.

SOLUTION

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

I received a recommendation from my network to work with IT Monks. From there, it went fast. We had our first call, and they could provide us with estimates and explain what they would do. I had a good feeling about their pragmatic approach. It was also okay that our feedback loops might be a bit longer as we are not the decision-makers here but our clients.

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

We had a kick-off meeting to discuss our goals and objectives. Their design team provided a website draft in Figma. For project management, we have been using Active Collab. Revisions were done in Figma, so we could see the page before coding. And when more input was needed, their COO was always available via e-mail. Later, during our ongoing collaboration, we were assigned a project manager and moved to Slack.

This simplified our communication and helped us to deliver tasks faster. Even though the main scope of work continues to be website maintenance and development, we also had some more complex projects that involved back-end expertise. Their CEO advised us on making a good choice about a server move for one of our clients and took care of the complete transition process.

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

The COO and the project manager were our main points of contact. There were also website developers, designers, and a dedicated QA specialist. The CEO was involved in more technical issues. We have been working together since 2020, so I am not sure about the exact number. It was the ideal team setup to cover all our requests.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

IT Monk's tech stack provided a great foundation to see results from SEO. Shortly after a video page was indexed by Google, our client ranked on page 1 in video search results. And this is just one out of many examples where an individual client project turned into an ongoing retainer.

Our clients appreciate the fast service when there is a small request because these things can often be fixed on the same day. Even when I am on holiday, the work continues on their end. It also simplifies my job as I know that once I submit a task to them, it’s no longer a problem; it’s a job done.

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

Our main POCs were the COO and the project manager. We arranged calls as needed to clarify tasks and discuss the best options for our clients. The main communication tool was Slack, and we used Active Collab to assign tasks. Their designer was fast and quickly came up with new ideas. Some tasks took longer than initially expected, so it was great to catch up via Slack to receive the updated timelines. The guys know what they do, so weekly calls were not even needed for us.

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

They understand our business model and have a great mindset. All of them are a pleasure to work with. They also offer guidance for managing clients’ expectations, which is very helpful for everyone who is not web-tech savvy.

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

Overall, the service is great, and our clients are satisfied. Being more involved in the creative work and receiving more UX guidance would be a plus.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a startup that offers an application for booking and managing company car park and parking spaces.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IT Monks?

We were trying to increase the conversion of our acquisition channel.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

IT Monks created a website that would work well with Google regarding SEO and converting people who visit the site. We initially researched our competitors and their approaches and compared what we had with the industry standards. Then, they created the concept and design and implemented it. They used WordPress and some frontend technologies.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people, including Alex (CEO), Pavel (UI/UX Designer), and a developer.

How did you come to work with IT Monks?

I looked at their website; it was compelling and out of the box. That was enough for me to start working with them. Afterward, the additional steps we took only proved my decision more.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $5,000–$10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2022, and they delivered the website in June 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We look at people’s reviews and impressions, our SEO position, and the long-term conversion. During the project, we consulted the design with a group of friendly customers that were early adopters of our product. Now, we’ll wait for the long-term evaluation and the results in the Google search console. However, we saw that the page instantly increased by a few positions after deployment, which was a kind of success.

How did IT Monks perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything was on time. Once we specified what we needed to do, they delivered quickly. We used Slack, Google Meet for online calls, and phone calls to interact between us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

First of all, their productivity was outstanding. We didn’t specify what had to be done; we only had an outline of the project. During the work, they found out that our logo didn’t match the design they were proposing, so they suggested doing a rebrand for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have anything specific in mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

For a small or medium-sized project, it’s useful to give them some freedom and specify a slightly higher budget. Add some extra 20% or so to the budget so you can have a margin for improvements they might suggest.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of a software company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IT Monks?

We needed help to develop our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially had a kickoff call with IT Monks to discuss our requirements. After that, they provided us with wireframes. Once the wireframes we approved, they designed the site. Finally, they developed our website on WordPress and installed all the required plug-ins and custom functionality. The development took place on a development server before pushing to production. Vert professional!

They also assisted with the branding of the site, including colors, styles, call to action banners, etc.

Currently. they continue to provide maintenance.

What is the team composition?

We've worked with three members of their team, including a developer, a project manager, and someone in charge of bug-fixing.

How did you come to work with IT Monks?

They were referred to us by a recruiter.

How much have you invested in them?

We've spent about $10,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2021, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They're a great team and lead an organized process with good quality work — I've already recommended them to my friends.

How did IT Monks perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management has been perfect; they are a responsive team! Regarding tools and communication, we use Teamwork, email, and Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their knowledge and expertise are outstanding.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't come up with anything that they need improvement on. They have done an excellent job and we are very happy.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you decide to work with IT Monks, you won't have any regrets, guaranteed!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of an internet services company located in Switzerland. We’re a web development company, but we also offer SEO and other digital services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IT Monks?

We outsourced some work to IT Monks. We had a lead developer and designer in-house, but we needed some extra force. We needed a partner who would bring ideas, participate in the project leadership, and provide solutions.

The project was pretty big. We had to merge eight websites into one — there were over 20,000 pages and eight databases that needed to go into a custom solution.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

IT Monks has developed our complex WordPress website. Their CEO is very involved in the project; he initially helped us with the architecture and worked on the custom database structure. Their senior developer has built a custom back office that we’ve integrated into WordPress, and the selected frontend developer is basically an interface in the back office. They haven’t worked on the frontend for the final user, but they’ve worked on the backend for the users to edit the content and the mechanics for storing and retrieving the data.

WordPress is always in PHP, so that’s the development language. The environment is regular WordPress, but we’ve had to do other things that WordPress isn’t set up to do. So far, IT Monks has done 900 hours on this project, so it’s a lot of work.

What is the team composition?

The lead technical developer on our side coordinates with IT Monks’ CEO, and they have two other developers on the project.

How did you come to work with IT Monks?

I spent more than one month looking for a company that could help us on a complex project. I was running out of time because we had a hard deadline, and they found me on LinkedIn. At that point, I had tried three companies in India, but things had failed in terms of communication and proactivity. Those companies wouldn’t do anything on their side if they weren’t told exactly what to do.

On the other hand, IT Monks was a great company. I had a call with the owner, and in the first hour of talking to him, I just understood they were on a different level. He understood what we needed and invested himself in helping us set the overall architecture, which was very helpful.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent between $40,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2021, and the project is almost finished.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team has a high mastery of WordPress, so what they’ve done is top-notch.

How did IT Monks perform from a project management standpoint?

One of the reasons that development projects fail is communication. IT Monks agreed to use our tools for project management, which are Monday and Google Drive. We’ve established a chat on Telegram and have regular calls with the CEO and senior developer, so it’s quite easy to communicate with them.

All in all, communication is good. Like all developers, we have to ask if we want information about what they’re doing, but their communication is generally great. Additionally, the owner speaks English very well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They care about making it work and delivering a good solution. Team members invest themselves in the relationship more than most of the people we’ve outsourced to. Although IT Monks is a small agency, they have the management aspect and do quality control before delivering the work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As a business owner, I think the management part could be improved. The team could be more proactive in communication — they come from the development world, so most agencies lack that. Over the years, my experience has been that we have to ask the developers what they’re doing, or they won’t tell us themselves. If IT Monks grows as a company, maybe they’ll get someone to ensure that the progress is shared regularly.

Also, they underestimated some parts of the development. They were about one month late on an essential part of the development, which created some difficulties for us because we had to reorganize things with the client. It wasn’t only their fault — the project was very complex, and we had to wait for some feedback from the client.

Nonetheless, the project has been good, and there hasn’t been anything really negative.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

For them, it’s more interesting to do complex and more extensive projects because it’s where they can differentiate themselves. They can do a simple WordPress website, but they’re certainly one of the best agencies to do a complex project with. Even though we had a budget and had to stick to specific prices, we spent more than one month looking for an agency to help us out because it wasn’t easy to find this kind of quality.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of a marketing and advertising firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IT Monks?

I needed high-quality WordPress website development for a client who is an SEO specialist; it had to be delivered to a precise technical specification.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

IT Mooks designed and built my client’s website using all their code. We gave them precise instructions about what our client wanted to achieve; the site had to reach 90+ brackets green ranking on Google PageSpeed Insights on mobile and desktop.

Their team is now providing cloud-based hosting, which has proven to be reliable. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with the CEO, a project manager, a designer, and another member of their team.

How did you come to work with IT Monks?

I found them in a Google search.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent £4,000 (approximately $5,400 USD) with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June-November 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our client was highly impressed because they did exactly what he needed them to do; they even gave feedback on the best way to make his requirements come true.

Additionally, I was delighted with how they flexed and worked with the client and produced an excellent design — they’re helpful and friendly and have a great designer.

How did IT Monks perform from a project management standpoint?

They were perfect at communicating informally. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They seem to be highly knowledgeable technically; many people sling things together in the WordPress development space but don’t have that robust technical understanding of what they’re doing. With WordPress, though it’s free to use, if you don’t develop well in it, it causes all sorts of problems where one plugin interfaces with another, or you end up with page load issues because themes are being used and they’re very slow to load. They circumvented all of that because they were very knowledgeable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could have more formal project planning.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We were very clear about what we wanted and needed when we started our project. We tried to be as transparent as possible all the way through. That’s important when working with a client that may not be in your country.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of be.voy, a one-stop-shop holistic beauty, health, and well-being marketplace. We’re located in Germany.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IT Monks?

We hired IT Monks to help us with web development and in creating parts of our software architecture.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started developing our website from scratch. We gave them the designs they needed to implement and we gave them our recommendations while they were building the platform. Their goal was to create a marketplace for B2B and B2C consumers to have access to our beauty, health, and well-being sectors.

Our website has a hybrid system so IT Monks is in charge of the WordPress side, but we also use Laravel and React for our platform. The team is fully in charge of the site’s functionalities, content, and more, and they’re now maintaining our website.

What is the team composition?

We’re working with three people from IT Monks, including Alex (CEO) and Dima (Lead Project Manager). We’re also collaborating with a software developer.

How did you come to work with IT Monks?

I saw IT Monks on Clutch’s site. When we reached out to them, we discussed the scope and other details of the project. Overall, everything fit perfectly so we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $10,000–$15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in July 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their team is integrated into our development process, and they always deliver quality work in a timely manner. We also receive good feedback from our customers. In fact, we haven’t experienced any downtime on our platform and if we have issues, they resolve them immediately. As a result, I recommend them to people in my network.

How did IT Monks perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a structured project management process. We also appreciate that they’re willing to work during weekends when needed, which shows that we have a very good partnership. We use Slack as our communication tool. Additionally, even if they’re fully booked with other projects, they always integrate what we need in their workflow.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to find solutions even in critical situations has been impressive. Furthermore, they don’t just deliver what we want right away. Instead, they suggest helpful ideas to make our ideas even better, and they raise issues that might be a roadblock in our future plans. Overall, they’re always looking to deliver the best working product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have anything that I can point out as room for improvement. In fact, our partnership will keep going for a long time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of an e-commerce company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IT Monks?

They created a new store for us to help us expand our business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They basically did everything. They suggested that we use WooCommerce, and they built the website from scratch. I provided a database and they designed and developed the store. They created everything, including the logo and look and feel.

They continue to maintain the platform, update inventories weekly, and take care of our news feed.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with two people — Alex (CEO) and Dima (Web Developer), and they delegated as needed.

How did you come to work with IT Monks?

A friend of mine recommended them. They’re based in Europe, so I flew out to meet them, see their offices, and discuss my needs.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent about $12,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I met them in August 2019 and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site works well and we’re starting to earn sales from the site. We didn’t advertise when the site first launched because of COVID-19, but we’re excited about how things look going into the holiday season.  I was really satisfied, and we plan to work with them on another website.

How did IT Monks perform from a project management standpoint?

Any time I have a problem or a question, they get back to me very quickly. They were there whenever I needed them, and if something popped up unexpectedly, they took care of it immediately. We communicated largely over Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed with their communication skills. I expected there to be a language barrier, but their English was superb. It was easy to understand them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m totally satisfied.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would highly recommend them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Valorx. We are a startup that builds productivity software.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IT Monks?

We were looking for a full-service company to build a website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

IT Monks built our website from scratch. They did design, development, API integration, testing, and feedback; everything from start to finish. The team used InVision and Sigma for the design and integrated them into WordPress development. They currently maintain the website.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 3–4 people, and Alex (CEO) is our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with IT Monks?

They responded to our ad on Upwork. We liked their profile and decided to move forward after speaking to them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $10,000–$15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around September 2019, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

IT Monks created a beautiful, responsive WordPress website that has received rave reviews. I’ve had several people ask to be introduced to the website designer.

How did IT Monks perform from a project management standpoint?

We used ActiveCollab for feedback and Slack for communication. They are responsive and do a good job of meeting deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Alex quickly understood what we wanted to do and made sure communication was good throughout the process. They are a good offshore team. I never had to call twice to get a task done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there are no areas of improvement. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Document your requirements and have a design ready as a starting point. The team can work with that and produce your website rather quickly.