PiVisions Direct LLP

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I own and run a pottery studio.

What challenge were you trying to address with PiVisions Direct LLP?

The need for the website came up from the fact that we were looking to have an online shop. We have a lot of requests from people in real life if we were going to have an exhibition or gallery showing — they were also asking if we had an online shop they can buy from, so that was part of our need. The other part was also creating an online profile for myself because as a craftsperson, I'm primarily a ceramic artist.

I do other forms of crafts so we wanted to put up a profile online, where visitors can know about me and my work.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I contacted PiVisions as a one-stop solution for web development, e-commerce, backend integration, and social media integration. They've done the whole thing besides content writing and images — those were provided to them. The design, the setup, and the customization of how the website works and interfaces are all by PiVisions. In addition, they didn’t build the website from scratch. There was an existing portal, but it was very basic and it's nothing like what the final version is now.

I’m not sure of the technology they used in building or creating the website, as I'm not a tech guy myself. I don't have insight into the technical backend of the coding software or the template designs, but I do remember we discussed a couple of options for Wix templates. I don't know how it's been done, but I'm told that it was a custom-made website.

Moreover, they provided SEO services. We haven’t done SEO for social media marketing yet, but we’ve spoken about it — it's a window that’s open for some point in the future, but not at the moment. We only discussed keyword research.

What is the team composition?

Our interface was only with one person who I think was the owner or partner. I don’t know how many people were working on the backend of the website.

How did you come to work with PiVisions Direct LLP?

The contact came through one of my friends. She said, if we were looking for a website, PiVisions is someone we can talk to. When we spoke to them, we knew it would be a good fit. 

We really needed someone who could spruce up the existing site at that time to update it, and make it look spiffy as it didn't have finesse — it was just information on pages at that point. From the initial conversations, it seemed like they were available, so that was that.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent less than $1,000 on the whole project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July of 2020, and the work was completed in January or February of 2021. They're also handling us for the first year for any backend issues that we might have with the shop — or if there are any changes that need to be made. Nonetheless, their deliverables have been delivered, so their work is over.

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

I don’t really have any success metrics. I’ve not done anything to promote or reach out to more people because the work hasn’t been really good. I think I have to promote it a bit if I want more traffic on the site, but so far, I don't think I've had any major changes after the site was launched. Everyone who has seen the website has liked it. People who have bought from the website thought it was easy to navigate.

Our expectations from the website were also fairly simple. When we say we wanted a fully functioning website, we provided the written content and the image content, so it was just about putting it all together in a design and flow that resonated with my work ethic.

Capturing the tone of the website was one of the key briefs and I think they've done well on that — they kept the flow, aesthetic, and design as simple but elegant as possible. Beyond that, I don't think we had demanded very much. That may also be because we are now in new terms of website development, pushing the content out, and maybe even being aware of what can be done within e-commerce websites. We didn’t demand a lot of things because we weren’t aware of what to ask for, but we still got what we did ask for, that's for sure.

How did PiVisions Direct LLP perform from a project management standpoint?

I think we were the ones not keeping our deadlines. I'm the sole proprietor of the ceramic studio for which the website was made, so it's not a corporate structure. There weren’t many people in the pipeline who can do things at the backend and front end — so I do everything that's needed.

What would invariably happen is that we were all going through the first phase of the lockdown at that time when we started working together, so sometimes delays would happen for various personal or medical reasons. Delays have also happened at PiVisions, but I don't think we looked at it as them intentionally delaying and not delivering on time, because we were all going through a tough time — it was okay if there was a little delay here and there.

We did not use any project management tools. For communication, we were doing phone calls, screen shares, and emails. We also had a WhatsApp group where we used to share information or feedback or whatever.

What did you find most impressive about them?

For me, the website was a gift from God. PiVisions was the second or third vendor we spoke to, and the talk was nice, so we just went ahead with them — we didn’t have to go to 10 different vendors. There is no comparison since this was my first website and I'm happy with them. I don't know too much about this work, so I really can't say how others are.

I think they were very good on all factors such as punctuality, promptness, and delivery.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The one thing that I wish I could give as feedback is, if you've asked for ABCD and you get ABCD with a little bit of magic at the end of the day, that would’ve been impressive. It's not a lack because they were still delivering on all the things that we’ve asked for, but it's just something that adds a little value over and above what you're otherwise delivering — which I don't think we had with them.

Something that they also need to improve on is the design front because that is the first thing you notice when you come onto a website — it's as important as the backend being smooth and efficient and correctly in place. Since it's an artist's website, everything is about creativity, aesthetics, and design. If it was a different kind of website, it would’ve been a different story, so being a little bit finer and well nuanced would be great.

Any advice for potential customers?

I would suggest that you should push a little bit more on the design and creative fronts, because I think their strength is in technical backend management. If I was to recommend them to a friend, I would definitely say to work with these guys, but make sure that you push them on the creative and design aspects because that could be better.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the manager of Debs Consultant, an overseas education consultancy.

What challenge were you trying to address with PiVisions?

We needed a company to develop our website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our website from scratch. We started with wireframes, working on an overview of what the site would look like. They were great at identifying the requirements, and they foresaw things that we didn’t anticipate. The backend functionality offers a very good overview of our business in its totality. In terms of the frontend, students log in through the website and there’s a full dashboard for them once they have an account. PiVisions also did our SEO and essential online marketing.

What is the team composition?

I worked with three or four, mainly communicating with one of them.  

How did you come to work with PiVisions?

I knew about them before, but not the full extent of their work. When I started looking for website developers, I liked their website.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April–May 2019.

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

The site launched in May, so I’m confident we’ll see measurable impacts soon. We did a little testing with some of our people to see what they thought, and the feedback has been great. Everything is working well. They were particularly pleased with its accessibility on mobile platforms, which has been a success.

How did PiVisions perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was perfect. We used email, phone calls, and we met up quite often.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They didn’t merely stick to what I wanted as it was important for us to expand. There were a lot of places where pitfalls were avoided because they thought carefully.

I never felt like that were simply trying to do business with us. They were genuinely invested in understanding who we are and what we’re trying to do. I’m happy to have come across that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m happy with everything they’ve done.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know what you want but be flexible. Chances are that their ideas are going to be good.

Please describe your company and your position there.

In my capacity as Director of The Seagull Foundation for the Arts I head the PeaceWorks and History for Peace projects.

Established in 1987 The Seagull Foundation for the Arts is a non profit that has been actively supporting, nurturing and disseminating creative and critical activity in the field of the arts in India, especially fine arts, theatre and cinema, out of a deep conviction and commitment to the belief that the arts are everybody’s responsibility and a social commitment.

For what projects/services did your company hire PiVisions Direct LLP, and what were your goals?

Design and development of the History for Peace website which is an online community of social science educators across south asia

How did you select PiVisions Direct LLP and what were the deciding factors?

Through WIX

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

Ours is a very content heavy website and the major problem we wanted addressed is for the visitor to get the scope of our work at first glance and get inspired to spend time, explore and read all the material leading to becoming a member on the site. To achieve this we wanted to start from scratch, work on front end desing and the complete overhaul of backend to make it simple to use for admins as well as members

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

One, Udit Agarwal

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

Over the past two decades I have worked with several designers and developers. I have myself run a design and development company in the past and am a qualified Graphic Designer.

I can say with utmost sincereity it has been a pleasure working with them. Hw understood the brief at one go, delivered on time and was keen to patiently explore newer possibilities wherever required.

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

All perfect!

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

Their professionalism.

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

Nothing that I can think of really.