Lform Design

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am a Department Manager of PABCO Gypsum

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We manufacture drywall.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Lform Design to accomplish?

• Seamlessly integrate our QuietRock brand within the PABCO Gypsum site
• Modernize website
• Make it more user friendly and robust

SOLUTION

How did you find Lform Design?

• Online Search

Why did you select Lform Design over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

What was the size of Lform Design’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

Lform developed a new website for us integrating two separate websites into one. They came up with a good solution for integrating the two sites so as not to lose the visitors to the site retired. They also developed the design for the site and did all of the coding for the new site.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our management is please with the new site. We have gotten some good feedback from our customers. One of the key objectives is to make sure that the analytics are equal to or better than the combined analytics for the two separate sites. Since the site was just launched it is too early to see how wit has performed with that objective.

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

Very responsive. Deliverables were completed on time for the most part with a few unforseen delays along the way.

What was your primary form of communication with Lform Design?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their willingness to address each of our requests and do their best to accommodate them. Their willingness to travel across the country to present their proposal in person. They are great to work with and very responsive to our needs.

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

Not at this time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a department manager for an IT company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lform Design?

We had an outdated WordPress website and started seeing a number of problems with it. The biggest problem was that the site was very slow because it had 30 plug-ins, which were too many and very hard to maintain. We also experienced failures on the backend of our site and saw that its design wasn’t ideal, so we needed someone to develop a new website for us.

For this project, we had four goals. Firstly, we required a faster website; secondly, the new site needed to be built for SEO; thirdly, the new site needed to have very few plug-ins to reduce the chances of failure; and finally, we required an improved UX.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Lform Design designed and developed our new website from scratch using WordPress. The project included several different stages. Initially, Lform Design evaluated our old website to see what was working and what wasn’t. From there, they started working on the new site. They migrated a lot of the content from our previous website but redesigned how it would be laid out.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Lform Design’s owner, a couple of project managers, one designer, one developer, and a couple of secretaries.

How did you come to work with Lform Design?

I researched online for about three months for a web development partner. During my research, I saw a site that I really liked, and it had been developed by Lform Design, so I called them. We had an extensive list of questions for them, so the interview was a lengthy process.

During said process, Lform Design looked at our current website, and we told them what we wanted. Then, they submitted a quote, which we compared to other quotes from other companies. Ultimately, Lform Design was the best candidate for the project.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $80,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2020–February 2023.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Lform Design achieved the goals we asked for. The new site has a faster loading time and appears quicker when being searched for, so it has an improved SEO. Moreover, it has a better design with a more modern look and feel, as well as a more robust and modern homepage. Finally, the site has fewer plug-ins — we went from 30 plug-ins to two.

How did Lform Design perform from a project management standpoint?

Lform Design’s communication was excellent. We had Zoom meetings scheduled on a regular basis. Still, we had some hiccups throughout the project, and they had some staffing issues that caused delays.

It seems as if Lform Design had taken three years to develop the site, but that wasn’t exactly the case. The project encompassed various different stages, and they first made a deep dive into our website to see how much revamping it would cost and provide us with an accurate quote.

A year into the engagement, the price increased significantly because Lform Design realized they hadn’t migrated some of the data contained in the plug-ins. Still, the price rise was due to two factors. Firstly, the overall prices increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondly, Lform Design was developing a very robust website, which required a lot of staffing and development work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Ultimately, we received a really well-built and functional website, which was outstanding.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Throughout the project, we had a discussion with Lform Design’s president, which took longer than we would have liked. Still, they told us about this all along. We also experienced delays throughout the project, but we weren’t in a hurry to launch the new one. Instead, we were patient and gave them time to build the site right.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Designplan Lighting, Inc is a US manufacturer of LED lighting, as well as in importer of European lighting that is then fitted for the North American market. We are business to business. Our reps work with architects, lighting designers and contractors on large commercial and residential projects. I am the Marketing Manager covering everything to the website, social media, marketing and trade show materials for the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website was created close to 15 years ago. It has an outdated look and the functionality was waning. Our plan was to update it before COVID, but we had to wait until this year to get back on track. We hired LForm for the development and recoding of the website since we do not have an in-house team. We liked that they were a local New Jersey company in Montclair - since our last web service company was in North Carolina. We needed a CMS system with high functionality in the search category to help our reps across the country, and needed an updated more modern look to go with our products.

SOLUTION

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

After talking with Ian extensively, we liked that LForm is a small New Jersey company with a wealth of experience and expertise in B2B website development. They also used the newest technologies in creating a CMS/Wordpress system that is easy to use and update our multitude of products.

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

We had a kick-off meeting, and then a design and wireframe meeting. After that we had various benchmarks to meet in the content delivery section of development on our end, then the development on their end. We were always provided with a deck after the meetings to review - as well as ample time to review the design and make changes as necessary based on our vision. There was CMS training provided on the Wordpress dashboard and overall the communication was always present with questions or concerns we had. All concerns or changes were addressed in a timely and organized manner.

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

Ian - Owner of the company Brandon - Operations and lead engineer Jeff - Art director Molly - Administrative Assistant

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have gotten very positive feedback from our reps on the updated website. They love it. Also, I felt that the launch was extremely successful, with a seamless transition between old and new site.

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

We used emails and meetings as communication and it worked well. Everyone knew the dates and deliverables expected on the time line. When there was a shift on either end - the rescheduling happened and things quickly got updated and back on track.

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

They delivered a professional website with an updates modern look that we wanted. It provides all the functionality that we wanted and can be updated and added onto in the future. I found their timeline and organizational style to be very helpful since the website is only part of my duties at the company. I appreciate that. We also appreciated the payment plan - making the payments more manageable for a small company.

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

There is probably no way to improve on it - but the hardest part for me was collecting all the content as we have a multitude of products and information that needed to be transferred over to the new site. If there was anyway to improve that collection it would save a lot of time on the end of a small company like ours with limited staff.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a transportation management company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lform Design?

We wanted to create a website to go along with our rebranding process.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Lform Design developed our website from scratch using WordPress. We started by doing research through a couple of interviews to figure out exactly what we wanted to get out of the website. After that, they established a timeline. Their team went from fact-finding to wireframe development, design, and the coding of the final product.

Regarding functionalities, we mainly wanted to have a web presence for our organization, so they implemented an interactive, user-friendly map to enable users to identify locations of interest like parks, bike parking, human services transportation, and things of that nature.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four members of their team, including Ian (CEO), Brandon (Head of Operations), a project manager, and their design staff.

How did you come to work with Lform Design?

We had already worked with them on a previous project. We decided to work with them on this task because we liked what they proposed for it.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent around $47,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2021–February 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were able to deliver the specific look and functions we wanted for our website. Overall, we were delighted with their final product.

How did Lform Design perform from a project management standpoint?

They were communicative throughout the project, stuck to our deadlines, were responsive, and put in some extra hours to fulfill our requests. Regarding tools, we used email and video conferences.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their flexibility and willingness to pursue our requirements were outstanding.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate with them upfront; they’re receptive to diving into the project’s wants and needs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a manufacturer and distributor of high-purity metals in powdered form. I’m one of the owners of the business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lform Design?

We needed a company that could help us create a stronger B2B presence and improve our organic search results. We wanted a highly functional, searchable, and appealing site that highlights our products, technical prowess, and value proposition.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We partnered with Lform Design to develop an online catalog website that shows accurate information about our products. They built the site in a way that allows us to display similar or alternative products when customers browse for a certain item. Additionally, the site automatically shows any information that we input into our transaction software, such as the changes in our products’ prices or descriptions.

The project has officially wrapped up, but we recently signed an agreement with them to go forward with some SEO work.  

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people from Lform Design over the course of the project.

How did you come to work with Lform Design?

We found Lform Design through a Google search. We realized that it was a great fit very early on — their presentation about a potential solution matched what we were looking for, and them being in the same time zone as us was definitely an advantage.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $100,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together on the website from March 2021–January 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The biggest evidence of success was the flexibility and quality of the website Lform Design delivered. Their technical expertise was key to being able to constantly and automatically update the information that’s on the site to reflect any changes that we make in our transaction software.

The volume of contact back to our company has also improved ever since we launched the site — I am not sure if that can be fully attributed to their work, but that’s certainly an initial measure of the success of this engagement.

How did Lform Design perform from a project management standpoint?

Lform Design performed really well in terms of project management — they were incredibly good at keeping us and our team on track throughout the engagement.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Lform Design being a relatively small company made me feel more comfortable working with them and allowed us to establish a cordial relationship. I always had someone I could talk to whenever I had any questions or whenever I thought that there might be an issue that needed to be addressed.

I also appreciated how they always seemed open-minded and willing to examine all of our options instead of being set in one direction. They were always willing to listen to our ideas, but we could also trust them to be transparent when there might be a better solution.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t be afraid to challenge them to give you ideas that are outside the box.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a remodeling and renovation firm serving most of New Jersey. I own the firm with my brother-in-law.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lform Design?

We needed to redo our website from scratch to stay ahead of the curve. Though it’s performing well as far as the searches were concerned, it was old and outdated. To do this, we hired Lform Design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ian (Owner) spoke with me in a series of meetings to understand our company, its vision, and the direction we wanted to go. He also made note of the sites that we wanted to mimic. We spent a lot of time defining our goals before moving forward with an agreement. 

Lform then presented me with some design options based on what we discussed. As per my requirements, they made the website clean, clear, and concise with a user-friendly design. The team also made sure that the website would be easy to find through Google searches. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with a project manager and a lead designer with whom we had the most contact. There was also a trainer who helped people in my office understand the administrative side of the site, and a coordinator who kept the whole project on schedule

How did you come to work with Lform Design?

I googled for highly ranked web designers and narrowed down my search to an agency that was more local. I wanted to be able to have a face-to-face meeting. That’s how I came across  Lform Design.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started talking around November 2020 and finalized an agreement by January 2021. The majority of the work was completed last June 2021, with our website launching shortly after. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Lform Design met all of our expectations. The website is a clear improvement from our previous one, performing as it should and meeting Google’s benchmarks in terms of functionality and user-friendliness. It is also very flexible and allows me to easily make changes to the site on my own. It is aesthetically pleasing, and we’re very happy with the outcome.

How did Lform Design perform from a project management standpoint?

Lform Design performed very well on this front. They have a process in place that is very straightforward, and they hold both themselves and their clients to it.  

We met in person, but the bulk of the work was done with scheduled Zoom meetings. They were always available to respond to all of my questions. On the few occasions where I had to escalate some concerns to Ian, he was able to manage and handle those as I hoped he would. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I spoke to a lot of their competitors and I knew that I made a good choice in working with Lform Design. Their method of communication and personalized service was exactly what I wanted. The entire team was always in sync, and everybody was aware of what was being done on my website. They struck a good balance between engaging with me like a small agency and delivering like a large company. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have any complaints. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take the time to go through the process that leads up to the engagement. It’s valuable to the smooth execution of the project and allows you to get to know the Lform Design team. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the managing member of a full scale tax and accounting firm in the New Jersey with over 30 employees, providing various services to individuals and small businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Lform Design?

Our website was created almost 20 years prior and was in desperate need of a new design to reflect the company we are today to the online community and be used a resource for our current clients

SOLUTION

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

We interviewed several vendors and after a difficult experience and failed attempt with another provider we immediately reached out to Lform.

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

The project started with an analysis of our current site and discovery phase where Lform took the time to get to know our company, our tastes in design, and how we felt we needed to be viewed online. They took that information and began the initial design phase, where they presented us with various options they felt embodied our company.

Once the final design was approved together we went into the development and content collection stage where they worked with us until the final launch of the site.

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

We had 4 primary members of the team: a project manager, a designer, a developer, and a trainer all of which worked with us throughout the project to make sure we met our launch goals.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They constantly shared statistics and insight on how websites were used to assist us in making decisions and providing content.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project was managed effectively from start to finish, Lform had strong communication across their team and we made each deadline throughout the project timeline which was extremely important for us. They have a process and system that works and assures their clients they are always on top of the job.

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

I found that although extremely creative in designing websites, they were very strategic and systematic in their approach to project management.

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

The website was built during Covid making in person meetings difficult, but Lform was still professional and effective

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

SP Industries manufactures laboratory equipment, glassware, and apparatuses for distributors and end-users within the biopharmaceutical and academic sectors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lform Design?

We had a very old website that was built on WordPress with WooCommerce plug-ins but was no longer supported by the SQL server. There were a handful of issues with the site and we could no longer run updates, add or delete products, or even change the displayed prices. We couldn’t even take guest orders that were not payable through PayPal due to the site not being PCI compliant. 

We hired Lform Design to help us migrate the site to a new server and make the necessary changes in order for it to become user-friendly for our distributors and end-users. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Lform Design migrated the data from a no-longer-supported 2008 SQL Server to Microsoft Azure. We also shifted from Windows to a Linux environment. The team made all these enhancements through WooCommerce, keeping the customization to a minimum such that our admins could take over and do it themselves. 

The old version of the website used to only house a PDF catalog of our products, so Lform Design created a database into which we could feed information about what we’re selling and have it reflect on the site itself under different categories. Instead of having our customers browse through a document, the team fixed the site to allow users to put in a request for a quote.

Lform Design also made recommendations to our internal design team on how we could improve the appearance of the home page and static pages. 

Throughout the development, Lform Design provided documentation and training to ensure that when the site would be handed off to us, we would be able to navigate through it. They gave us videos that outlined how WordPress worked, where we would find things on the site. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with two people. Charles (Head of Operations & Engineering Lead) acted as the project manager and Brandon (Senior Developer) oversaw the database work.

How did you come to work with Lform Design?

Our brand manager had done work with Lform Design years ago. We had actually vetted them against the other companies that we had reached out to, but we ended up choosing them in the end.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from March–June 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their development work has allowed us to manage and customize the website internally instead of outsourcing everything to a development agency. The UX/UI  is 100% better.

Now that we’re able to take large guest orders, the number of visitors and on-site purchases have also increased. It has allowed us not only to draw in more customers, but also to develop a good relationship with them. 

Lform Design also put an analytics system in place that allows us to view the number of visitors on the site and see what products they’re usually searching for. Based on the figures fed to us by the analytics, we can make adjustments to our site and production to ensure that we’re meeting the customer demand properly. 

How did Lform Design perform from a project management standpoint?

We had a clear project plan, but if we felt like we weren't going to be able to follow it, they stepped in to reassign the tasks and help us work through it. They were very patient and accommodating about us not being as quick as we needed to be. 

We typically communicated through phone, email, and Google Meet. We had weekly meetings during the early stages of the project, but we started doing it every other week as we progressed. The Lform Design team constantly gave us follow-ups out of courtesy, which I don’t see a lot of agencies doing anymore. They always informed us what was going on and asked if there was anything else we needed them to do. 

Whatever was ready for us to test or look into, they would hand it over as soon as it was done. This allowed us to promptly give them our feedback and immediately identify what needed to be changed or fixed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Lform Design was there for us every step of the way. They were very trustworthy and gave us such a sense of comfort that what we needed would get done in the right way.

They fully understood our needs as well, capturing technical requirements that even we weren’t able to provide. We found them really wonderful to work with because they did everything with a lot of patience and humor, which we needed. They under-promised but over-delivered.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. We were very clear on what both sides needed to fulfill, so there were no gaps in the communication that could’ve let to a failure in the build.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

When putting out an RFP, take Lform Design’s recommendations on what parts of the project they can fill in. We're often so close to what we do and what we have that we believe we’re the best person to make those decisions, but an external team will always be able to provide a fresh perspective and will understand the data better. Heed their advice because they’re not going to steer you wrong.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a manager at a commercial flooring company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lform Design?

We were looking to create an informational website for our company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did custom web design and development from the ground up for us. They already finished that, and now they update and host the site for us.

What is the team composition?

We work with 4–5 people from their team, including developers, graphic designers, a project manager, and a content creator.

How did you come to work with Lform Design?

I found them on Google. We decided on them because they’re local and I also thought that they were what we needed. Additionally, I had a good conversation with Lform Design’s owner before we started working together.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $25,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2019, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website works better than expected; they delivered an excellent product. Our employees are happy to work with the site, and we’ve also noticed that our traffic and organic search leads have increased since we created the site.

How did Lform Design perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very responsive, hit the deadlines, and are also on top of us to make sure we don’t delay the project — that’s been helpful for us. In terms of communication, we use email and phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a local agency with the experience of a large national brand. Also, they’ve been able to exceed our expectations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They can continue to work with flushing out deliverables up front just to make sure that they’re covering all their bases. We were able to work that out along the way, so that wasn’t an issue, but they can improve that.

Any advice for potential customers?

The more you bring to the table regarding your expectations, the better. That gives them more direction throughout the project to meet the deliverables. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the vice president of sales and marketing for a company that supplies bulk raw ingredients to manufacturers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lform Design?

We basically wanted Lform to showcase our abilities as a supplier. After we became organic-certified, we wanted to highlight all of our ingredients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Lform basically rebranded the company. Their team updated our logo and updated our whole website to include most of our products. Our original logo was a natural sunflower, and we wanted Lform to make it more modern. They implemented all of the content on the website.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager, their design team, and their technical team.

How did you come to work with Lform Design?

We found Lform online and contacted them. Unlike other companies, they immediately responded to us. We liked that their team was closely located to us too.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent a little over $20,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project with them around March 2020 and paused it around May 2020 because of COVID-19 but restarted the project around August 2020. We’ll finalize the project in a few days.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Although we’ve yet to complete the project, we’ve received about 2 new inquiries a day. That’s all organic. We haven’t even told our customers or published a press release about our new brand. Lform exceeded our expectations.

How did Lform Design perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team’s on point. They quickly communicate, even by text message.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team pays attention to detail. They attend to the smallest design details.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Tell them exactly what you want and Lform will deliver.