How did you select this vendor?
We chose Millennial Web Development after conducting a broad search for a partner that was able to not only bring their expertise but was also willing to ensure that our needs/goals for the website were met. Among our criteria was the ability to add e-commerce functions and advise on the pros and cons of different platforms, create a desktop and mobile-friendly user experience, create and implement animation, customize contact forms for inbox routing, create and/or install a store locator, build a section for repeatable and searchable posts/content, and build the website in a manner that allowed for easy ongoing updates.
We also wanted a vendor that could assist in the management of DNS and web server based needs. Our initial search resulted in a dozen vendors and ultimately 3 that we considered seriously. The deciding factor was Millennials experience in developing/designing websites for other CPG brands, their ability to communicate and share their capabilities, and their confidence in being able to deliver on our ambitions for our website.
We appreciated that they were patient with us and answered our questions and that they had questions for us that informed their recommendations to help us achieve our goals. Myself, our internal IT team and a couple other brand team members were involved in the selection process and we each agreed on hiring Millennial.
Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.
When the project started, we had purchased the domain and had our DNS and web service solidified. We had also created an outline of the pages we needed and the content and copy blocks we thought were necessary. Copy had also been written. From that stage Millennial Web Development began designing page by page. We intentionally held off on creating custom content until we knew the specifications needed.
As each page was designed, Millennial worked with us to dial in the content blocks and provided recommendations on best practices to improve the user experience. Once design was complete, Millennial began development, and started with the most crucial pages/sections so our internal team could generate the necessary content. When a page near completion, Millennial would provide a test link to our team to test functionality and provide notes. In this aspect, they were very good about making changes based on our feedback and pushing back when their experience knew better.
Once development was complete, Millennial created a quick video tutorial showing how updates could be made on the back-end and helped us publish the website. In the days/months since the website has launched we have made tweaks based off of visitor feedback and when those adjustments are beyond our capabilities we've continued to rely on Millennial to help troubleshoot and make updates.
What was the team composition?
The Millennial Web Development team was led by Jim Clement who is a Project Manager and Developer. He coordinated and relayed all information to the Millennial Web Development team. It was nice to have one point of contact versus having to go to multiple people depending on the question. Depending on the phase or our needs, Jim would task a team member to help but we only had to reach out to him.
Millennial Web Development successfully built the website and implemented a proprietary content-sharing mechanism. They were very communicative and efficient. Their WordPress web design and development skill were top-notch.