Powered by Coffee

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

WordPress agency, I am a consultant.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Powered by Coffee, and what were your goals?

We hired Stewart to help with Dev Ops setup for a new WordPress optimised server. He helped the team with server side and local machine setup, and helped them with all the work flows for deployment of a very complicated WordPress publishing website. We then used Stewart to migrate a very large database of e-commerce users for a WordPress marketplace, which contained a lot of old meta data.

SOLUTION

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

We met Stewart at WordCamp London a number of times. He is very experienced in the field of WordPress.

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

We had a number of calls and face to face meetings to decide how to approach the projects. Stewart also came onsite to our studio to deliver one to one training with our development team. Stewart was also available after the project to help with any technical issues or questions from our team.

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

We mainly worked with Stewart.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The deployment process was successfully used on the large WordPress project but also rolled out to other complex projects.

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

He was very quick to understand the complexity of the project and quick to provide a solution. Stewart always kept us up to date and hit the deadlines.

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

Stewarts extensive knowledge of backend development.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the design director at a brand design agency based in the UK and Ireland. We work for a range of clients, predominantly B2B companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Powered by Coffee?

We had completed a client’s branding and moved on to the next phase, which was designing their website. We were looking for a web developer to put together the site we designed.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Powered by Coffe provides web development for our client. They have developed a website using our design. The team was involved from the beginning, including contact with the client, the planning stage, and the design phases. 

First, they provided their technical expertise and advice regarding the different kinds of technologies to build the website, best practices, techniques, and how to map the user journey correctly. They were involved from the beginning, including contact with the client, the planning stage, and the design phases. The client wanted a site that was highly customizable and Powered by Coffee offered advice on how that could be achieved using modules throughout the site to allow the client to customize the site easily. 

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with Stewart (Founder), Giles (Project & Operations Manager), Leander (Developer), and Chris (Solutions Engineer). 

How did you come to work with Powered by Coffee?

They approached us years ago, and we met with Stewart. We found him to be very impressive, knowledgeable, and humble. Everything about Powered by Coffee felt right, so we worked with them on some projects and were delighted with the results and process. They were very engaged, patient, and accommodating in those first projects, so we approached them for this website.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The client uses a separate SEO agency, and since the website went live, they've seen a 351% increase in direct traffic and a 153% increase in overall traffic. Our client has also expressed on several occasions how pleased they are, and some of their customers have told them the new site is a better experience — it's easier to navigate and find information. 

How did Powered by Coffee perform from a project management standpoint?

I'm very impressed with their project management; they keep us up to date. Due to the nature of these types of projects, a certain amount of change and scope creep is expected. Powered by Coffee keeps us well-informed of any potential scope creep and the impact it would have on the project. They've been very fair when we've wanted to implement a few things that fell out of budget, telling us how much it would cost. In one instance, we wanted to implement a menu, and since we couldn't afford it at the time, they helped us develop a plan to phase in the extra items. 

They use Jira to log issues and communicate with us. Our initial meetings were face-to-face, and now our communication is through email or Jira. In terms of deadlines, they're always on time and sometimes ahead of time. Moreover, they accommodate us; they often have to reschedule things on their end for our client and do it without complaint. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I'm impressed with Powered by Coffee's willingness to be involved in the project from the very beginning and provide their advice. The team gives us their recommendations without forcing them upon us. They feel very much like our advisor and partner in this process.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve a bit on their attention to detail in translating the design to the final website. This is a very minor point, though.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co founder of O Street. We are a graphic design studio that often work with developers to help us build more complex websites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Powered By Coffee, and what were your goals?

We hired Powered By Coffee to help us build a website for one of our clients.

SOLUTION

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

We wanted to use a web developer that had a track record of quality work and the skills and ability to bring our flat designs to life digitally.

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

The client wanted a website with an easy to use CMS. They had content, but Powered By Coffee helped them develop a site and content plan. Powered By Coffee then built the website in Wordpress, sharing a locally hosted preview of the site for the client to flow their copy into before publishing.

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

We worked with one person form the vendors team, the owner and head developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The client were very impressed with the professional look and feel of the site we built, It was easy for the to use and its quality enabled them to be taken a lot more seriously by their target audience.

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

After agreeing timelines Powered By Coffee delivered the work on time and on budget.

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

We were impressed by the speed and quality.

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

At the time a broader team to might have helped, but I believe they now have a bigger team that I assume will address that.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the editor of Family Travel Forum

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Family Travel Forum provides vacation information, tips and resources to parents and grandparents traveling the world with children.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Powered by Coffee to accomplish?

• Maintain website
• Grow and develop website

SOLUTION

How did you find Powered by Coffee?

Referral

Why did you select Powered by Coffee over others?

• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

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

Powered by Coffee migrated our new Word Press site to their servers and have maintained, meanwhile adding new tools, Word Press plugins and cloud services to boost site speed and improve the user experience.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Site maintenance success reflected in little downtime. 
• Site speed reduction measurable. 
• Site traffic and performance measurable on Google Analytics.

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

Yes, PbyC delivered their work on time. Sometimes they hit a snag in implemention or testing on a staging server but have always been communicative about their expected outcome.

What was your primary form of communication with Powered by Coffee?

Email or Messaging App

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

Their integrity, honesty, and meticulous attention to detail are very impressive. Trust me, I have worked with many, many developers over the years.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Powered by Coffee could have done differently?

Not that I am aware of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Product Design of Snook

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We design services and digital products

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Powered by Coffee to accomplish?

• Code review of a WordPress website
• Development of a WordPress website

SOLUTION

How did you find Powered by Coffee?

Referral

Why did you select Powered by Coffee over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Powered by Coffee were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Performing a code review on an existing WordPress website, carrying out remediation work and completing development on additional features.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered all of the work on time, and on budget.

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

Everything was delivered in a prompt and professional manner. They were transparent with their delivery too, giving us access to their project management system so we could add and respond to bug tickets too.

What was your primary form of communication with Powered by Coffee?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

It was rare to find a technical delivery partner who explained things in simple terms and provided actionable advice.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Powered by Coffee could have done differently?

Nope!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Technology of Bonhill Group Plc

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Financial publishing and events

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Powered by Coffee to accomplish?

• Develop website
• Develop Subscription System
• Integrate services

SOLUTION

How did you find Powered by Coffee?

Referral

Why did you select Powered by Coffee over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Expertise

How many teammates from Powered by Coffee were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Develop, maintain, and optimise a leading online and offline publication including; 

• Paywall and Metering 
• Authentication and user portal 
• E-commerce including subscription management 
• Content optimisation via technical SEO 
• Consulting and project management

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Increased traffic and a number of subscription metrics 
• Improved internal content workflows 
• Reduced maintenance and bug fix hours

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

• Delivered within agreed timelines within an agile framework 
• Always available over the phone to discuss issues or new projects 
• Provided constructive feedback on plans and projects

What was your primary form of communication with Powered by Coffee?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Stewarts expertise and knowledge on Wordpress and associated technologies and their ability to deliver complex projects with shifting goals and tight timelines always impressed me.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Powered by Coffee could have done differently?

Occasionally did not confirm items completed even though work was finished