Realm

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Plush Pumpkin, Inc. We design handmade home decorative items made out of velvet, like pumpkins, hearts, acorns, and more.

What challenge were you trying to address with Realm?

I wanted to update and upgrade the theme of my Shopify website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Realm helped me update my Shopify theme. Initially, I sent them an email describing what I wanted, and they got back at me immediately, asking a couple of questions for more detail. We also set a price and signed the service agreement. After that, they executed the assignment very promptly.

What is the team composition?

I only worked with Jay (Owner & Designer).

How did you come to work with Realm?

I found Realm through Google research when looking for a local Shopify expert. Jay was very quick at getting back to me, and I decided to work with him after asking him if he would be the one working directly with me. I really liked that I was already communicating with the person who would be in charge of the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–May 2022.

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

Overall, my website is much better than it used to be. Given that we’re a seasonal business, we won’t see the real impact on our sales until September or October. Still, based on the website's upgrades, I would be surprised if our sales were not much higher than last year.

How did Realm perform from a project management standpoint?

Realm’s project management was excellent. Everything was task-oriented and goal-oriented, and they did everything on time; I was very happy with their performance. We communicated via email and Google Meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

When I worked with other companies, they usually passed the project along to other team members after we signed the contract. However, that was not the case with Realm. From the first moment I talked with them, I was already talking with my go-to person, which was very important to me. Moving forward, I now have a great Shopify expert I can reach out to if I need future assistance with my site.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I can’t think of anything I wasn’t happy with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go in knowing exactly what you want to accomplish. If you have a Shopify website, Realm is an expert you can reach out to answer any questions.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Freewaters, a casual footwear company. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Realm?

We needed to update our website. We wanted a fresher look and improved functionalities for conversion. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Realm redid our Shopify website from scratch, working on our platform from conceptualization to launch. 

What is the team composition?

Jay (Owner) was our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Realm?

They were referred by a vendor we worked with. I interviewed six companies, and I found Realm to be the best fit for our needs.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March–July 2021. 

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

The website converted better compared to our old platform. We received exactly what we needed in terms of functionality. 

How did Realm perform from a project management standpoint?

Realm was good at project management — they provided excellent service and were very responsive. We were happy with the outcome of the website. Overall, we were satisfied with our partnership. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Realm fitted our company really well. Since they were a small company like us, they didn’t have the project management complexity of bigger companies. We were able to establish direct communication with their team and manage the project efficiently. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I highly recommend working with Realm. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of a hair products company for women with kinky or curly hair.

What challenge were you trying to address with Realm Web Design?

We needed help building a professional, cohesive website. We also wanted a quiz to ask questions and guide our customers through the buying process. Finally, we wanted filters to make products easy to find.

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, they helped us with our logo. Then, they worked on our Shopify design. They mocked everything up for us and we went back and forth on the colors. Next, the team helped us figure out which types of pages we’d need. Afterward, they trained us on how to put products on the site. They also prepared some recordings, which we could reference. Most recently, they set up our SEO.

What is the team composition?

We work with Jay (Owner & Designer).

How did you come to work with Realm Web Design?

I spoke with 10–15 web designers online. Throughout that process, I learned Shopify would be the best platform for us. Then, I started researching who would be the best Shopify designers to work with. I was able to narrow it down to Realm Web Design and another partner.

Even before we hired Jay, he gave us feedback on our logo. I really liked that he was more of a partner and gave feedback based on other companies he’s worked with. Their pricing was also more competitive than the other option.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $15,000–$20,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2020, and our work is ongoing.

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

We haven’t launched yet, but we’re very happy with the work so far. Jay’s very proactive. It feels like he’s our partner.

How did Realm Web Design perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a lot of emails back and forth and we also have a couple of calls. At the beginning of the week, they let us know what they’re working on and what they need from us.

We correspond throughout the week as those things get done. Jay’s very responsive and on top of everything that needs to get done. They always follow-up whenever they don’t hear from us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Jay has a genuine interest in understanding our business.  A lot of the other providers seemed more robotic. Jay, on the other hand, offers a personal touch. He’s great about pointing us in the direction of other resources to help us along the way.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I have no complaints at all.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to know what you’re looking for and what your business strategy and brand are going to be.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Bille Leather. It’s a leather product business, and we started about a year ago. We have a range of leather products including handbags, coats, travel bags, wallets, backpacks, and so on and so forth.

What challenge were you trying to address with Realm Web Design?

Like any new business, we went through a lot of startup challenges but we’ve overcome them. We just launched our online business.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Realm created our website on Shopify. I had some ideas but wasn’t exactly sure what the best choice would be from my standpoint. I talked to Realm and it turned out that the Shopify site was the best choice.

What is the team composition?

I communicate with Jay (Owner & Co-Founder). I’m sure he has a team working with him, but he’s my main contact.

How did you come to work with Realm Web Design?

I did my own research, like any research you do on the internet. I tried different Shopify website builders and finally landed on Clutch which is where I found out about Realm. They sounded exactly like a company I wanted to work with. I contacted Jay and it has worked out perfectly for me.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in August 2020, and the website went live in December 2020.

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

When I was looking for a website developer, there were certain metrics I was looking for. I wanted to work with a good listener who was professional. I wanted someone who’s able to understand my vision and is passionate about what they do. I needed a partner that’d work around challenges that we might face when working on the project.

Realm checked all of those boxes for me. I was extremely pleased with what Jay did for us. We’ve gotten really good comments from people that have seen the website so far. Everyone has loved it. The Shopify site is even better than we thought it would be, and we love it.

How did Realm Web Design perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s amazing, and I’d give them 10 out of 10. They’re very organized and on time. Realm is responsive to our questions and concerns; they’re very detailed. Most of the time, we emailed each other which worked perfectly for us. Communication was very clear, and we were able to work in that way. We had appointments as well as discussed things on the phone and Zoom meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

To be honest, I contacted four or five different companies before I started working with Realm, but it was all disappointing. With Realm, the communication was perfect, the work was perfect, and we had no complaints. It was amazing and compared to the others, they’re not comparable from my personal experience.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have anything I was disappointed with whether it was communication skills or listening to me, giving me ideas, the passion for the work, working around things, or coming up with a better solution; everything worked for me.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d recommend Realm to anyone without any reservations. Call Jay and talk to him and you will be good to go.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-owner of The Wild Orchid. We’re an everyday florist and boutique, but are becoming more of an event florist.

What challenge were you trying to address with Realm Web Design?

We weren’t satisfied with our previous site, and we also wanted to rebrand. I’m starting to take over the business from my mom and wanted to get everything up to date.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Jay (Owner & Co-Founder) completely redid the platform on Shopify. I’m not tech-savvy, so he also assisted with Google Ads. He provided any information I needed on that. He also let me know about different things I could do with Shopify.  

What is the team composition?

We only worked with Jay.

How did you come to work with Realm Web Design?

We met through a family friend. We were talking, and Jay mentioned that he did web design. In the back of my mind, I knew that down the road I wanted to do that. He gave me that extra push.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on the website from February–May 2020. We started right after Valentine’s Day, and we finished the site by Mother’s Day.

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

Our business has doubled, maybe even tripled. We’ve had to hire a new designer.

How did Realm Web Design perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, they’re amazing. As far as timelines and deadlines go, Jay was on top of everything. He got everything done so fast.

I’m the type of person that needs everything explained multiple times, so Jay was always responding to my emails within minutes. I planned to take maternity leave, so my team needed to be trained on the system. Jay made sure that everything was taken care of.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I think their customer service distinguishes them. Jay was there for me. Even though he works remotely, he was able to come in and sit down with us.

His design skills are also impressive. He customized everything. We only had a 30-minute conversation about what I wanted, and it all clicked for him. It was pretty spot on.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, I don’t even know.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re going to rebrand or start a new website, definitely have a vision in place. Be clear about what you’re thinking. We had a lot of trial & error, so communication was key. That’s how I got the most out of what I wanted by being open with him.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am one of the Co Managing Directors of AFRM Clothing. We are a direct to consumer e-commerce business that is a subsidiary of one of the largest private U.S. label clothing manufacturers, Topson Downs. I handle everything that has to do with the digital aspects of the business including operations.

What challenge were you trying to address with Realm Web Design.

We had built a pre-existing business on Shopify and customized a template with a different developer.  We recently went through the process of a rebrand, and wanted to also redesign the website to reflect that; as well as add additional features. We were unhappy with our previous developer and were looking for another.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve contributed all of the development. They recommended building off of a base template on Shopify, so that it would be continually updated in the backend – which was an excellent recommendation. They have been working with me as the designer, to implement my ideas and customized features around our desired feature list and business needs.

One of the biggest challenges has been associating products of the same style by color on the site. This is a common feature on major enterprise e-commerce sites. Often, if you see a dress of the same style with 3 different color options, you can hover each of those colors boxes and see the alternative product views. That's not possible on Shopify, as they don't build that into the default system. However, we were able to work around it and find a solution to achieve that. It was very creative and worked for our process. We've been very happy with the results.

What is the team dynamic?

We worked with Jay [Owner, Realm Web Design] as our project manager. My understanding is they had other engineers that were working on a project, but I never interacted with them, only with Jay over email or occasional phone calls.

How did you come to work with Realm Web Design?

On Shopify's website, they were listed as one of their recommended developers. 

How much have you invested with them?

About $8,000–10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2017, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

Generally, the response from customers has been very good for the site and the functionality of it. Our sales through the Thanksgiving holiday, and especially the cyber weekend deals, have been double what we normally achieve. I think that speaks to the quality of work. We haven't had any bugs, and everything’s worked well.

How did Realm Web Design perform from a project management standpoint?

They did an excellent job. We worked exclusively over email, but I would have rather worked through a project management platform like Asana or Basecamp. Sometimes when you’ve got an email chain, the communication can get a little bit off; however, they’re always quick to pick up the phone and clarify things. Their response time is very impressive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are very willing to innovate. Often times, they will first want to understand the problem we’re trying to solve. Then on several occasions, they’ve recommended alternative solutions that are either less expensive on our end, or more easily maintained. They really seem to have our business in mind, as opposed to just thinking about the billing hours. They’re willing to correct problems or make little fixes that are easy for them but don't charge extra like many other larger agencies would. I appreciate that about them.

Are there any areas they could improve?        

We didn’t use a project management software, and that is definitely something I would like to do going forward. I’ve found it to be a bit clearer on the communication of individual aspects of a project when you've got multiple people working on a single release.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

To set their timeline expectations up-front, which is what we’ve done and it’s been really good. We have an understanding of when tasks are going to be complete and can check in all along the timeline with those expectations.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing for a company called White River Hardwoods.

What challenge were you trying to address with Realm?

We wanted to create a responsive site that made it easier for customers to buy our products. We decided on a switch from Kibo to Shopify as an ecommerce platform, and needed a web development group to help us with the transition.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Realm oversaw the entire shift for two of our sites, one B2C sales site and one company overview site, both of which needed migration to Shopify. For the B2C site, they also assisted with UX/UI design and overall user flow.

What is the team dynamic?

I worked with Jay [Owner & Designer, Realm Web Design], and he coordinated with his team separately.

How did you come to work with Realm?

We interviewed a few different firms that we had found through recommendations and searching online. After speaking with about five different firms, we decided that Realm would be the best fit for the project.

How much have you invested with them?

$60,000 to $70,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2016, and the project is ongoing. We're going to launch the second site in the next few weeks. We also still go to them for changes that we need incrementally done.

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

We’ve gotten very positive feedback, but more importantly, our sales have increased 60 percent over the same period last year. The project paid for itself in the first 6 months.

How did Realm perform from a project management standpoint?

Jay has been fantastic since day one. He’s customer oriented and very technically sound. We mostly communicate via phone or email, I’ve never met him one-on-one, which is common with this scope of project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Realm has a great team. They’re very flexible and they’re good listeners, which is rare these days. Typically, agencies want to push their thoughts and ideas on which technology to use, but that’s not the case with Realm.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not that I can think of.

Advice for potential customers?

Have your project organized, and set expectations.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Moneyline Tees is an e-commerce apparel business. I am the owner/operator.

What challenge were you trying to address with Realm Web Design?

We needed a fast, efficient, mobile-friendly website that could easily convert transactions.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Jay [Owner & Designer, Realm Web Design] developed our e-commerce from the ground up. He was responsible for the design and functionality coding, as well as some small design features for our homepage. He also provided insider tips, helpful apps, and other ways to better my business.

What is the team dynamic?

We only work with Jay. We communicated mostly by phone or email.

How did you come to work with Realm Web Design?

A colleague recommended searching through Shopify’s list of experts. Realm had good reviews, so I reached out to them. I had a conversation with Jay, and felt he was a good fit.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $25,000–$30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January or February 2017. The original project is finished, but we’re building another e-commerce website with them now.

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

We really like the new site. The functionality and efficiency are great, and the process of finding a product and converting it for a quick sale is simple and easy.

How did Realm Web Design perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was terrific. Jay is a busy guy, but he gets back to us quickly, and we’ve had no issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Jay’s attention to detail and responsiveness show that he cares about our business, beyond just getting a job done. He takes time to build a relationship. That doesn’t happen much in his industry. This is the fourth or fifth company we’ve used, and he really stands out among them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a watch repair and service website. We sell accessories online, and do watch repairs nationwide.

What challenge were you trying to address with Realm Web Design?

Our website launched 10-12 years ago, so the platform was outdated. We needed professional help upgrading to a modern platform, like Shopify, that was more mobile and user-friendly. We wanted to change the entire website, but also transfer all of our product inventory to the new site.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They transferred all of the information from our old site and built everything for the new Shopify site. They provided the new design, customizations, and all kinds of extra features. We have forms and search features that didn’t work with Shopify’s templates, so they built those from scratch. The finished product looks fairly simple, which I wanted, and it is mobile and tablet responsive.

What is the team dynamic?

I only dealt with Jay [Owner & Designer, Realm Web Design]. There may have been other people on the project, but all of my interaction was with him. He sent mockups for each page and design element, and if I approved it, they moved forward. There was always a dialogue.

How did you come to work with Realm Web Design?

We were looking for a Shopify expert in Los Angeles within our budget and with good customer reviews. Jay met all our criteria and was knowledgeable and responsive in his interactions with me and my SEO [Search Engine Optimization] team member.

How much have you invested with them?

Overall, we’ve spent between $25,000-$35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2016. We finished the first site a while ago, but they’ll still provide small fixes or new features when we need them. I’m working with them on a different project now, so we’re still in contact.

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

Everybody likes the new site. They think it’s user-friendly, clean, and neat.

How did Realm Web Design perform from a project management standpoint?

We originally wanted a company in L.A., but they moved around the time we started working together. We never met face-to-face, but communicated about 90% through email. We scheduled conference calls when email wasn’t thorough enough. They were very responsive, and I’d definitely give them an A-plus.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were really involved with our project, and went beyond just completing directives. I did a lot of research on companies that just take your money and only do what you ask, good or bad. Realm gave us personal attention, made recommendations, and showed that they actually cared about the project’s functionality and appearance.

Are there any areas they could improve?

After the initial build is finished, it would be helpful if they offered an ongoing maintenance plan for small businesses. They have good service, and will do small things on request, but it would be great if they expanded their team to offer that kind of option.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the co-founder and owner of The Sweet Box. ​I do everything except for fulfillment, as we opened a fulfillment center for that earlier this year.

What challenge were you trying to address with Realm Web Design?​

We had a free template Shopify site. This isn't bad, but we needed something better. That's when I reached out to some preferred Shopify web design experts and contacted Realm.​

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were in charge of making a new website focused on a new homepage.

How did you come to work with Realm Web Design?

He was saying the right things and knew exactly what to do. He had a vision​ for the site, which is what I needed, as I did not. That's what a true expert is and does.

How much have you invested with them?

Less than $5,000​.

What is the status of this engagement?

The site was completed a few months ago. I will be using Realm for all future work and enhancements.

Could you share any evidence that demonstrates the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement?

The site looks completely professional now.​

How did Realm Web Design perform from a project management standpoint?​

Excellently. They were on time and on price target.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their vision and ability to take charge most impressed me. I needed someone to tell me what the site needed, and that's what Realm did really well.​

Are there any areas Realm Web Design could improve?

No.

Do you have any tips or recommendations for other prospective clients that might increase their success when working with Realm Web Design?​

Definitely give them an opportunity to compete for your business.