NerdCow

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Marketing Manager at Doddle, a UK-based Technology firm within the Logistics space. We help posts and parcel carriers by growing volumes and cutting costs in the first and last mile.

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

Our old website was outdated in both feel and messaging, and no longer reflected our product suite or our potential. We hired the NerdCow team to help to design and to develop our new WordPress website. We wanted our site to better summarise what we do, and to represent us more effectively as a technology business.

We needed a suitable destination to drive traffic to from our other digital activities, with clear value propositions, and different customer journeys optimised for conversion.

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

We shortlisted 2 agencies for our website project, and chose NerdCow based on their agile working model. It was important to us that we launch within a short timeframe, with lots of feedback and interaction throughout. NC's sprint-based design was the most appealing from both a price and efficiency standpoint.

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

We had initial Zoom-based interviews, and then a larger in-person workshop to bring together team members from Marketing, Product and Sales and discuss goals and map those to a loose structure. NC started with prototypes, then external testing, before building it up the Atomic Design System for us to see.

After that the dev team started on the WordPress components and worked those together over the coming weeks into a first-draft site. From that point, we brought in internal team members to help on the content and page designs to make sure everyone was happy. Throughout the whole process they kept us informed via BaseCamp updates and weekly sprint update calls, and were always accessible for individual queries too.

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

Our main point of contact for specific website queries was Product Manager, Dawid, and our weekly calls also included founder, Tomasz. I believe there were 2 other developers working on the site in the background.

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

We've not yet been live a week, so as far as % increase in traffic, leads or no. page visits goes, I can't say. What I can say though is, internally, the company is really thrilled with the outcome and much more proud to point prospects there to visit. It definitely positions us much better as a tech company, and simplifies what we do to the market we serve.

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

Internally, 1-2 of our team would have weekly Google meets with Tomasz and Dawid for sprint updates. The wider team received similar round-up summaries on BaseCamp in written form. They provided clear info on what they'd achieved in the last sprint and what they would be working on next, so there was always the opportunity to change tack if needed.

The NerdCow team were always very responsive to adhoc communications on Basecamp too. Towards the end of the project, closer to our launch, I was sending queries and requests often several times a day, and they were always very quick to get back to my messages and very clear in their responses.

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

Their best asset is easily their people. They are just the nicest guys to work with. Websites are notoriously hard: everyone in the company has an opinion and there's never a 'right' answer. We had a lot of iterations, but it never dampened their enthusiasm or their patience. They turned up every week, followed through on exactly what they'd set out to do and more. The degree of helpfulness we got from them was also extraordinary.

Prior to launch, for example, they took the entire Marketing team through the new site on Zoom and showed us how to edit it on WordPress. They recorded it for us as a 'how-to' style guide and we now have that as an ongoing resource for the team (even handily split into chapters) Other than that, I would say their speed. Their sprints were amazingly efficient, and we'd see huge progress weekly.

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

My only small comment here would be on attention to detail, as we had to flag a few errors as we went along. But actually, bugs are natural by-product of such a quick build, and whenever I mentioned them they were fixed in a really timely fashion.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing project manager at a demolition contractors association. We set the standards for demolition, audit our membership to ensure that they meet the regulatory requirements, and provide them with accreditation for them to show their clients that they’re an accredited demolition contractor. In my role, I’m in charge of implementing new marketing systems and channels, such as our website, our email marketing platform, and our new CRM system.

What challenge were you trying to address with NerdCow?

We had an outdated website that was never planned nor developed with a clear purpose from the get-go. When I joined, I was responsible for replacing it with a new one that could help us get our information across to our membership, share news and initiatives with them, and host a database of our members.

Although our former website had our membership data hosted in it, it was only on the backend and didn’t show it on the frontend. Thus, part of this challenge was to implement an API that could pull data from our CRM and show it on the frontend so that clients could verify the accreditation of contractors they were looking to work with.

What was the scope of their involvement?

NerdCow helped us build our new website. They first analyzed our current website and assessed the goals we were trying to achieve with a new one. Thus, we had a couple of workshops where they gathered our key stakeholders in a room to discuss the project and agree on the core requirements for this project. From there, we went into the prototyping phase.

NerdCow took the feedback they got from the workshops and some sketches we developed during that phase, and they came back with the site’s prototype. We went over the features we required and made some changes as needed. Then, we jumped into the development phase.

The next phase consisted of NerdCow conducting an agile development process to build our website and get it to an MVP. We first wanted an MVP to see if there was any merit in continuing with further development or if there were some aspects that needed to be deprioritized or changed. During this phase, we also met with them to add more sprints.

Originally, we had planned a three-sprits project. Still, by the second sprint, we had enough confidence in NerdCow’s work that we decided to extend the project with a fourth sprint cycle to develop other functionalities that we wanted but weren’t a priority.

The ultimate deliverable was a website with all the functionality, features, and blocks required so that we could populate it with content. NerdCow built it on WordPress and implemented the API required for us to pull our CRM data to the frontend. They also made our site configurable so that we could make any changes without going to them every time. Additionally, they integrated Algolia’s API as the search engine within our site.

What is the team composition?

I worked with three people from NerdCow: Tomasz (Founder), a project manager, and a developer.

How did you come to work with NerdCow?

I found NerdCow through a Google search. I was looking through different web development agencies and found that there was a wide range of options. I had worked with a large agency before, and I saw that their prices were high, as were their timelines. Thus, I decided to focus on smaller agencies and found NerdCow. I ultimately chose them due to their culture, flexibility, and consultative approach.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around £20,000 (approximately $25,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2022, and they delivered the website in April 2022. We’re now populating the website with content. Once that part is done, we will reenter into negotiations with NerdCow for support services, so I expect our partnership to continue at some point.

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

Although we haven’t launched our site yet, our stakeholders are very happy with it, and I and my marketing department colleagues are much happier with it. Everyone has seen the value of NerdCow’s work.

NerdCow helped us get everyone on the same page to agree on deliverables and requirements during our initial workshops. Getting us all in the same room to discuss the project from a wider perspective was hugely beneficial, so they were instrumental in the success of this project.

How did NerdCow perform from a project management standpoint?

NerdCow was very hands-on and communicative. During the agile development process, we had regular meetings to look at the progress, assess what was next on the roadmap, and evaluate which goals had been accomplished. We used Basecamp to manage the project and be in constant communication. Whenever I sent them a message, they replied almost immediately and were very proactive in going through any discussions.

Furthermore, NerdCow’s service was very consultative; they always talked to us about features we wanted and provided us with their insight based on their previous experience. Although we led the workshops, they facilitated them and guided us through the process. They also encouraged our stakeholders to ask questions and answered them quickly — there were no silly questions for them. That side of their services added a lot of value to our project.

Besides Basecamp, we used Miro and Jira for project management. We used these tools during design and development to do sprint reviews, submit tickets, and prioritize work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

NerdCow’s distinguishing features were their flexibility, their agile approach, and the fundamental work they did during the workshops. Instead of jumping right into production and developing what we asked for, they first gathered us and got us on the same page to ensure that we were heading in the right direction. Their approach was fantastic, and we were confident that they knew what they were doing.

Additionally, NerdCow demonstrated that they cared about our website as much as we did because we saw that they focused on one project at a time. During the time we worked with them, ours was the only development project they were working on. Overall, they were honest and open, and we felt that we were all working towards the same goal.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really. Although NerdCow’s billing was different from what we were used to, they also offered flexible pricing. They billed us two weeks in advance, and they billed each sprint separately, which became a small challenge for our accounting team at some point. However, it didn’t present any difficulties, and the challenge was easily solved.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust the process, dive in, and don’t worry if the process feels different and strange — you need to stick with it. NerdCow knows what they’re doing, and they will lead you in the right direction.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an artist, a self-employed painter.

What challenge were you trying to address with Nerd Cow?

I’m not a tech person so I’ve had a lot of trouble creating my website. I brought on Nerd Cow to build a new website for me.  

What was the scope of their involvement?

Nerd Cow built my website from scratch. It features my artwork and portfolio. There’s a contact form that allows visitors to get in touch with me. My Instagram account is also linked on it. Nerd Cow even worked in brushstrokes into the site. There’s a blog section that I write content for.

What is the team composition?

I worked closely with Dawid (Project Manager). I also worked with Tomasz (Founder) at the beginning of the engagement.

How did you come to work with Nerd Cow?

I found them through an online search. I contacted them, and they responded immediately. Right from the beginning, they spoke my language as an artist. It was clear that they were knowledgeable and also decent human beings.

How much have you invested with them?

I invested under $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement was from September–November 2019.

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

The website is beautiful and very accessible. I’m extremely satisfied. The way they arranged the gallery is great. I had the same artwork featured on my previous website and no one ever said anything about it. Now, when people see this new website, they praise it for being so beautiful. People are interested in buying my artwork. The way Nerd Cow arranged and configured everything changed people’s perception of my work.

I’m being taken more seriously now with my website. The layout has a story attached to it through cataloging. Nerd Cow did a great job of making a coherent story out of my work, which is super challenging. They’re very personable. I was worried about working with tech people, but they are more than that; they’re artists.

For a while, I was receiving a lot of spam through the contact form. Nerd Cow completely resolved and took care of it. They also sent me tutorials on how to do things with my website. If I had any issues at all, they addressed them immediately.

How did Nerd Cow perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great with project management. I’m a visual person, and they provided a lot of visuals to show me how they were handling the web design and development. They were organized and got me to meet our deadlines. Their team did a good job of breaking the work into phases. It was a seamless project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re super dedicated and hardworking. They periodically send a newsletter about how I can improve my digital presence. There are always different topics. I genuinely feel that they’re not only concerned about my business, but me as a person. They were very understanding and flexible especially when I was going through personal situations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I was very impressed by their drive and commitment.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t be afraid to contact them. They’re very accessible. No question is a dumb question to them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of Leftover Currency LTD, a bureau de change. We’re a bit different because we work with expired money. If someone has historical currencies in their drawer, we have a way to exchange those through either selling to collectors or taking them to the bank.

What challenge were you trying to address with Nerd Cow?

Nerd Cow has helped us with a new project. During COVID-19, we’ve been looking for more income streams. During a brainstorming session, someone mentioned that we could sell and make gifts from coins and notes. It wasn’t a gap in the market, but we had a thought to sell older money.

We thought of creating a gift shop with the theme of time travel. If someone were ever actually able to travel in time, they would need the money.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The site is a normal bureau de change that sells older money and gifts. We market it as a way to sell money to time travelers.

The team used WordPress with WooCommerce for this site. Our staff was already familiar with it because of our main site, so it made sense to continue using that platform.

Everything I gave them was tech-based, but they assisted with the frontend design. Their team also helped me find a logo designer who also created a style guide for us. They were able to incorporate that style guide into the design of the site. There are also plans for a video that would be created by another agency that Nerd Cow referred us to.

What is the team composition?

We work with three people, including Tomasz (Founder) and two developers.

How did you come to work with Nerd Cow?

I started with a Google search. I must’ve contacted four or five different agencies. Only two of them responded, one being Nerd Cow.

I liked their style of communication. I also saw their portfolio and website. After the introductory call, I felt like they were the right ones.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested £20,000 (approximately $27,700 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November 2020–February 2021.

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

Nerd Cow is part of a network of talented individuals. They recently wrapped up, but before launch, we’re going to do a short sprint to get a few last-minute things done. They’ve delivered what they said they would.

The user testing is very strong. With other agencies, we would’ve had limited testing, but with Nerd Cow, from day two, we were doing user testing. It was a really good process. It helped us understand everything more.

How did Nerd Cow perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, they performed very well. We used Basecamp and Miro. During meetings, all of the people we worked with presented their thoughts and insights. Everything was efficient and organized.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The way they explain their methods for sprint planning and user testing early on had a big impact on me. That’s one of the reasons I would use them again. Their price is also competitive and reasonable.

Their team is very dedicated. During projects, they work daily. They have a good idea of what they can deliver. During both sprints, they actually completed more.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They might give people the impression that websites can be completed within one sprint, but that’s not feasible. The pricing is competitive, but it might not be clear for others that it can increase.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Set a realistic budget. They’re priced competitively, but anything will always take time. If you’re going for something with quality, plan for two or more sprints.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of the Transport Library. We specialize in selling images of trains and buses.

What challenge were you trying to address with Nerd Cow?

We wanted to change our previous website, which I thought wasn’t very good. Nerd Cow came on board to set up a new website. The challenge was to find a way to have the images be visible without taking up too much space. Another challenge we had was having a site with 140,000 images but not having many customers visit the site and purchase images.

We’re currently working with them on different web projects.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Nerd Cow developed a platform to manage the portfolio of our images.

Since the site has expanded over the years, we’ve used Nerd Cow to think of different ways to keep it all under control. At first, we did a WooCommerce site, but then it became so large we transitioned to an OpenCart site to accommodate the large number of images we were hosting. They came to us and suggested a few tweaks to improve the big features of the store.

We watched as people interacted with the site and how it led to sales or non-sales, and together, we put something that changed the look and feel of the site. With each step of the way, Nerd Cow has helped us move to the next stage.

What is the team composition?

At first, we worked with Tomasz (Founder), and then gradually, over the years, we’ve worked with Dawid (Project Manager) and then someone else.

How did you come to work with Nerd Cow?

We were looking for people who were local to us mainly because we wanted a company that could actually show some degree of interest and so that we can meet them in person. We first chose a vendor online because it was cheap compared to hiring locally. But that was a mistake as we experienced a lot of problems with the site and it took so long to get it ready, so in the end, that didn’t work out.

So we went back to looking for local vendors, and we talked to about four companies. We decided on Nerd Cow because they have that degree of interest that also relates to how the website can improve for us.

How much have you invested with them?

I believe we spent about £100,000 (approximately $130,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our main project in January 2014. We’ve been working with them since with about five of our other sites like our book publishing website and a direct mail platform.

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

When they redid our website this year, we’ve gone up about 40 to 50% business-wise. All of that went swimmingly, and both were good experiences, and we had no complaints at all. There are always going to be issues, but they always get resolved. There has never been a time I’ve sat here and thought I’d rather go somewhere else.

They work with us rather than thinking about the end of the project, so it’s been a continuous process. They grow as we grow.

How did Nerd Cow perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, they’re very good. They take the project on board, and you’ll know exactly how long it’s going to take. If anything, we’re the ones always playing catch up with them.

The delays have always been our fault instead of theirs. The only issue is that we struggle to find the time to come back to queries that need answers. As long as I can respond to them in time, everything is all done within the time scale.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What sets them apart is the fact that they share an interest that other people don’t. They came back to us with ideas on how we can improve the website, and it’s always daunting when people say that. Anyone can say that they can improve your website, do some work, take your money and nothing happens.

But this time, Nerd Cow actually works to improve our business. The fact that they’ve shown interest in understanding what we do shows their commitment to providing the best service.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really. At least nothing that you can blame them for.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice would be just to make sure they fully understand your business. Take the time to explain exactly what you need rather than just assume that all website projects are the same. Clients have to be willing to talk about what they do in order for their team to better understand what they want.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a business services company. We provide bookkeeping, accountancy, and any other services for our clients need so they can focus on building their companies.

For what projects/services did your company hire Nerd Cow, and what were your goals?

We needed a new website.

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

They approached us on Linkedin and we started talking. I liked their approach.

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

We had a set of initial meetings to work out the design of the website before embarking on buillding it.

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

4 people.

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

The website is looking good

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

They were very organised. They used google as their primary communication tool and were always on time.

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

Their approach to building the website was interesting and scientific.

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

Not that I can think of.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Im a chief of staff at biotech company.

For what projects/services did your company hire Nerd Cow, and what were your goals?

Increase website performance, translate better our value proposition, increase conversion rate.

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

Nerdcow offers user testing and that was the deciding factor. User feedback was invaluable selling point.

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

Complete redesign of new website with development. Key deliverables included complete working website with new key elements such as book a demo page, resources and description of our history and what we do.

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

3 people: designer, developer, owner.

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

Increased time spend on the website by user, lower exit rate, lower bounce rate, faster loading time of the page, increased conversion from users to book a demo.

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

They used email, basecamp, github.

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

I appreciate the user feedback and their agile approach to development. I really liked design workshops with them.

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

They might consider some dev ops pair of hands to come on board when clients have more complex architecture of their website.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of Novihum Technologies, we produce and market a novel soil enhancer.

For what projects/services did your company hire Nerd Cow, and what were your goals?

Nerd Cow implemented the new website design.

How did you select Nerd Cow and what were the deciding factors?

They work for several years with the designer that we worked with.

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

It was a very detailed step-by-step implementation, a big portion of it was naturally programming and implementing the website in Wordpress.

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

3: the managing director and two of their programmers.

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

The website was implemented exactly as designed, there were no hick-ups. The people at Nerd Cow were always extremely helpful and flexible in the project.

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

Very good communication, quick response and reliable implementation.

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

Their reliability and flexibility. Also very friendly.

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

None that I can think of.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Transport Exchange Group is a technology provider to the road freight industry with integrated solutions that drive optimal profitability and vehicle utilisation. I am the Head of Marketing.

For what projects/services did your company hire Nerd Cow, and what were your goals?

web development for https://courierexchange.co.uk/ and https://haulageexchange.co.uk/.

Main goals were to give our websites a modern look without losing responsiveness; provide easier registration to leads coming to the website.

How did you select Nerd Cow and what were the deciding factors?

they were hosting and maintaining our websites for a decade but we have never worked on a bigger project until this web development opportunity came up.

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

We needed a fast and modern website, following the design plan, integrated with HubSpot (our CRM) and that could be easily editable by the team. We used Wordpress.

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

Tomasz - director Dawid Zimny - Project Manager

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

we doubled leads generated in the first month of launch for both websites.

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

They adapted to our main comm tools and were always fast to respond. They provided technology where needed to project manage the quality of deliverables.

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

Fast to respond. Always.

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

Not that come to my mind.