The Story Web Design & Marketing

Please describe your company and your position there.

Nasser Allan LLP in a law firm located in Vancouver, BC specializing in divorce and family law.

For what projects/services did your company hire The Story Web Design & Marketing?

We needed a new website and we hired Story Wed Design to build a new website for us.

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

We looked for web designers on google. We had consultation with few web design companies and Story web design came across to us as most honest and least hidden fees.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

First Story wen design provided us with several design options in accordance with our specification. We selected the design and then they proceeded with implementation. If we wanted to make any changes, they were happy to accommodate and also to provide guidance as how the change may impact the usability of our website.

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

We mostly worked with Trevor.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We needed a new user friendly and easy to navigate website and the Story Web design delivered exactly just what were looking for.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective and very easy to communicate to address our needs

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

We used Story Web Design to design and build our website. Trevor’s team came up with so various designs to help us better organize our content and attract the right clients. Although we were in different time zones, they were great at communicating with us every step of the way. We also had meetings to stay on track. We are very happy with our website design and recommend using Story Web Design to anyone looking for a website. Trevor made the whole process pleasant, stress free, and we felt that we were really taken care of.

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

Nothing that I can think of.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Eddy Solutions is a market leading IoT-enabled Hardware, Network and Service Provider specializing in water monitoring and leak detection. I am a Marketing Specialist.

For what projects/services did your company hire The Story Web Design & Marketing?

Web design, web development, animation. We wanted a new exciting design to help us keep our brand current as a leading technology vendor. Our new website had to reflect the nature of our business in monitoring water and water protection.

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

We have worked successfully with The Story in the past for multiple projects. This is our third website that has been created by The Story.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The project was a redesign of the existing website. We wanted a unique animation that fit our brand of water protection. We brainstormed ideas and then concepts were created for the animation. Concurrently, the home page was designed. Multiple concepts were considered. We selected the one we liked the best and minor modifications were made. The inside pages were then designed.

While we were finishing the designs, the website was developed. The Story managed many changes to the designed and developed pages and were very fast in their response to our requirements. Weekly meetings were held throughout the project to move the project from start to completion in a short time.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The executive team loves the design. We needed a designed that aligned with our brand. We needed The Story to manage many different tasks and manage them to completion in a timely manner. The project was well managed and organized. We have pleased to see that page views and average time on website has increased more than 10%.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Regular team meetings and documentation helped make sure things didn’t slip through the cracks. It was perfect.

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

The Story impressed us with how quickly they could get things done. Fantastic turnaround times and achieving deadlines.

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

The team at The Story are pros 😊

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the Chief Operating Officer and VP of the North York Knights Hockey Association.

What challenge were you trying to address with The Story Web Design & Marketing?

We had a very basic website that we wanted to modernize. In addition to allowing for more efficient and timely distribution of information, we wanted the new site to support our league's registration process.

What was the scope of their involvement?

To start the engagement, I provided a broad outline of what I wanted from the project. From there, they delivered a complete site rebuild. They put together a full suite of design elements for the site, including logos, banners, banding, sidebars, and page links. The content was pretty much where we wanted it to be, but we still had them help update some of the informational aspects of the site to clearly differentiate our offerings.

The revamped solution was an all-encompassing website that was both informative and interactive. Our overall goal was to ensure that a new hockey participant in Toronto could simply navigate to our website and easily understand their membership options. We wanted our audience to be able to make informed decisions based on who we are, what products we offer, and what the program would look like for them. We also wanted to make sure that the site would allow people to register immediately while conveying a clear understanding of the rules and regulations of our organization. These included participant photo regulation as well as inclusion and diversity conditions. As the project has gone on, the design has evolved to include a place to locate standings and performance measures for the different teams. The site also includes messaging functionality, allowing our organizaiton to easily communicate with and receive feedback from our members.

They implemented SEO best practices into the new site, but this was more of a secondary aspect of the project. We have a strong brand awareness in our area, but we definitely wanted to ensure that registrants wouldn't be confused by Google search results. Their team made sure to keep this goal in mind throughout the design process.

What is the team composition?

Trevor (President) was the project lead. There may have been two or three other design professionals from their team working in the background, but I'm not sure of an exact number.

How did you come to work with The Story Web Design & Marketing?

A colleague of mine at another hockey organization provided me with a couple potential firms for the project. We decided to go with them after speaking with them on the phone and reviewing their previous work.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent about $21,000 on the intial site redesign project. Since then, we've spent an average of $4,000 per year on their ongoing services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working together since July 2014. The site launched int 2016, but they've contiued to provide us with hosting and maintenance services.

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

Our website was honored as a bronze winner of the Horizon Interactive Award. I'm pretty proud of this external recognition. Additionally, as a volunteer organization we usually only receive complaints as opposed to positive feedback. However, we have never received a complaint about our website since the beginning of our engagement, which is pretty amazing. Their team delivered an informational, easy-to-navigate solution that meets all our participants' needs. Any questions, whether they're related to equipment, registration, or other issues, are easy to answer through the site. We've also never had any issues with the site's registration functionality. Despite thousands of parents trying to register their children during the same yearly window, we've never seen any crashes or lapses in responsiveness.

How did The Story Web Design & Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They did well. They had never worked with a hockey organization, so they had to adjust their processes to the needs of our end users. From a project management perspective, this led to a lot of back-and-forth between us early on in the engagement. I taught them a lot about the necessary content for this type of site, and they taught me a lot about how our audience's needs would translate into site features. This process went really well on both sides thanks to their team's flexibility.

We mostly communicate through email. Our teams also collaborated on the site mock-ups they would create during the initial portion of the project. Trevor would share these with me and then alter them based on my feedback. When an issue needing an urgent response arises, I'll let them know that I need it within 24 hours. They've always met my needs in this regard.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're flexible with their processes but have stood firm in ensuring that the site is easy to navigate. Since I have more knowledge of the site's content than they do, I'm often tempted to overload pages with information. However, they make sure that the content on the site is implemented in a manner that allows visitors to find what they need quickly. We've worked together so that all necessary information is showcased properly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only area that could use improvement is how thoroughly they proofread the changes they make to the site. They sometimes publish updates too quickly rather than taking the time to properly review everything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be comfortable serving as the expert on your site's content. While they are prepared to do research on your business, they won't be able to come into the project with a deep understanding of all aspects of your industry. It's not fair to hold a designer accountable for this knowledge, even if they do their own research. Rather, your team should be responsible for shaping the content focus of the project. I would definitely give them control of how the content is presented on the site, though. They have a great understanding of this area, regardless of industry.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Piper and Company is a consulting firm that works with professional associations, trade associations, unions, government, and public-private partnerships to develop strategic plans and conduct organizational reviews, among other services.

For what projects/services did your company hire The Story Web Design & Marketing?

We hired The Story Web Design & Marketing to design and develop a website for us.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a website that showcased our work and would help prospective clients understand what kind of services we provided and for whom.

How did you select The Story Web Design & Marketing?

I found The Story online. They have great reviews, the past work they showcase is excellent and their price point aligned with our budget.

Describe the project in detail.

Our previous website was dated and no longer accurately showcased who we were and what we were about. While we didn’t know exactly what what we needed in a new website, we had a concept and a general sense of the feel we wanted our website to project.

The consultative process was thorough and the design concepts that The Story submitted to us were great and captured everything we wanted to show off about our company.

What was the team composition?

We worked closely with The Story team.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We got a great looking website that we really like.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had a great working relationship. Through weekly meetings we were able to consistently provide input and receive updates about the project. We felt like were on the same page through the entire process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We trusted their guidance and advice and they effectively incorporated all of our requests. They are excellent, professional web designers.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The Story is an excellent web design company. We are very pleased we selected them for our website.

Please describe your company and your position there.

blue i music is a music production and publishing firm for b schmidt and his co-creators. I am the founder with the roles of composer and songwriter in addition to the marketing and promotion of the music. 

For what projects/services did your company hire The Story Web Design & Marketing?

1. Web Design
2. integration with social media
3. integration with music streaming services

What were your goals for this project?

It was time for a properly designed web site. Previous versions of the site were set up by me directly and lacked the flair and sensibility of a professional design. Additionally, the design had to have elements that could be repurposed for social media platforms so that there was a visual brand consistency across my internet presence.

How did you select The Story Web Design & Marketing?

I was familiar with The Story Web as I had recommended them to some of my past clients. The feedback from my clients was uniformly good on their experience and so I was very comfortable in moving ahead on my own site with Trevor and his Team.

Describe the project in detail.

Project required:

• a design that captured a contemporary artist sensibility
• integration with major music streaming platforms
• a blog to highlight various music projects
• an electronic press kit
• ease of use for me when adding content to the sore site

What was the team composition?

Trevor acted as my main liaison and fulfilled the roles of project manager and design advocate. There were also designers and programmers from Trevor's team that were involved, although my need to work with them directly was not required.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The site and its content is now seeing higher user retention, plus it is a better vehicle for me to showcase my compositions to music industry professionals. Feedback from my fan community has been uniformly positive.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication was excellent. Goals and timelines were established at the onset to properly set expectations around timing and scope.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Probably the biggest element was related to the site design, which had a focus on me visually. This was a new experience for me, and full credit to Trevor for his sensitivity in managing my concerns while still advocating for the version of the design that he felt was the most impactful and that would show my works in the best possible light.

In the end, I trusted Trevor's judgement and experience and that's the design we went with.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I was pleased with the experience and the resulting website.

Please describe your company and your position there.

My company distributes beauty products to hair salons and barber shops. I am the owner of the company.

For what projects/services did your company hire The Story Web Design & Marketing, and what were your goals?

We needed an ecommerce website that would showcase our products and enable us to sell products as a distributor. Our website is a digital extension of us, and it has to look and function professionally.

How did you select The Story Web Design & Marketing and what were the deciding factors?

When I spoke with The Story, they asked me questions no other vendor did. They wanted to understand what our business needed. Also, price point was important and they provided us what we needed without an huge price tag.

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

We had weekly project meetings that kept our project moving forward and completed in a timely manner. The website was designed and then developed and tested.

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

I was able to run everything through a single point of contact, which made things much less confusing.

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

The Story created a custom designed website for us, but they did more than that. They are business thinkers. They helped me think about my business operations and marketing.

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

It was very effective. Our interaction with them was structured. We had weekly meetings and a timeline to meet.

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

The Story provided excellent attention to detail. They also provided us with a lot of insight, asking, “have you thought of this?” and “did you know that you can do that?”

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

The Story’s is very artistic – when I first saw our design, I was so excited because it looked so great. I’m very happy with the website. It is very aesthetically pleasing. We're confident when our clients view our web property because we know that it’s a first-class website.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the VP of Business & Channel Development at Astro Payments, which is a credit & debit card payment processing company. We create partnerships with business software companies to payment enable their application.

For what projects/services did your company hire The Story Web Design & Marketing?

We hired The Story Web Design & Marketing to design and develop a new website for Astro Payments.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a website that used our branding illustrations to create a bold new website design for us that would set us apart from our competitors. Our website needed to feel not only bold and fresh, but it also needs to be easy to use and navigate.

How did you select The Story Web Design & Marketing?

We found The Story Web Design and Marketing through an online directory and felt they were ideal for creating a new website design for us.

Describe the project in detail.

The project kicked off and there was a plan to provide us concepts and then to design and develop the remaining websites. The Story provided us with multiple ideas for the website that were really exciting. The one that was implemented was is striking and bold. We think it’s pretty cool. Once the initial concept was decided on, the project went pretty smoothly, creating the rest of the designs and then developing the website.

What was the team composition?

On our side, we had representatives from management, sales, marketing and IT on our side and we worked with Trevor Hamilton who was the project manager for The Story.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We kind of expected that The Story was just going to reuse our previous old options that had been developed for our website in a previous iteration. That isn’t what happened though. They provided us with some very cool options.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had weekly meetings, which were a necessity, to help keep the teams in sync. We were able to discuss everything that was completed, what was still to be done and brainstorm together about anything that was outstanding. There was effective goal setting

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The Story provided us multiple graphical designs that were creative, bold and exciting, that went above and beyond what we were expecting.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Some times we were making changes so quick, some the of versions got passed by.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Faris CPA is a boutique, tax accounting firm. We provide experienced tax help to independent professionals, individual investors, and small to medium size businesses.

We provide the highest quality of tax, financial, and accounting services and advice so that undue taxes and penalties can be avoided.

For what projects/services did your company hire The Story Web Design & Marketing?

We hired The Story Web Design & Marketing to create a new website and brand for us.

What were your goals for this project?

I needed a website that presented my firm in a professional way and helped to increase conversion rates.

How did you select The Story Web Design & Marketing?

I was recommended by me SEO firm to The Story.

Describe the project in detail.

The Story kicked off the project and provided me with their plan and a list of everything I needed to provide. We had weekly meetings that were very helpful.

I was able to relax and be calm because I saw the progress and I never felt like I was left behind.

What was the team composition?

The Story kicked off the project and provided me with their plan and a list of everything I needed to provide. We had weekly meetings that were very helpful.

I was able to relax and be calm because I saw the progress and I never felt like I was left behind.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

I got a website that professionally and accurately represents my firm. The website also helped improve conversion rates for me.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our weekly meetings kept things moving forward and they held my hand throughout the process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I felt like The Story prioritized providing a high quality website for me and that they did not penny pinch their time.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The Story made me feel very comfortable and confident. They were straightforward and easy to work with.

Please describe your company and your position there.

EZ Agents is an online real estate agency for savvy home buyers. We provide the best financial option for Colorado home buyers. We will help the buyer to purchase the home they want and then provide 50% of our commission back.

For what projects/services did your company hire The Story Web Design & Marketing?

We needed a modern web design that feels cutting edge. We needed the website to be very easy to read, whether on desktop or mobile. Our website needs to work very well on smart phones. And most of all the website needs to bring new leads.

What were your goals for this project?

I found The Story online. I liked their work and I felt that they understood my needs and could deliver what I wanted.

How did you select this vendor?

I found The Story online. I liked their work and I felt that they understood my needs and could deliver what I wanted.

Describe the project in detail.

I needed a website (https://ez-agents.co) for my new business that would help me to grow my business. When we started the project, I discussed with The Story the type of look and feel we wanted.

The Story gave guidance on copywriting to help make it easier for people to read the website and to make buying decisions. For the design of the website, The Story provided us with multiple design concepts to choose from. They were both solid designs. I chose one and we made it even better by working through multiple revisions of the designs.

Once the design was done, we started the development of the site. The website was designed especially with mobile in mind. It has a dedicated mobile home page and desktop home page. We expect a majority of our prospects will to our mobile site, so it was important to have an excellent mobile experience with our website.

Throughout the project we there was a single point of contact. Nothing was lost in translation and I was able to get what I wanted. We had weekly project meetings throughout the project.

The Story also helped to ensure we were focused on the right things while being patient with exploring the various ideas I had for the project. All of these things really helped to keep things moving forward.

What was the team composition?

I worked with the project manager/owner and he had a team of designers, a developer and copywriter.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

I wanted a modern look that utilized illustrations. The design we got looks great and has an excellent flow that’s easily digestible to read.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The Story was professional, responsive, patient, and focused on my satisfaction.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The Story was easy to work with. They were always responsive via phone or email. They didn’t get frustrated with changes. They made sure I was happy.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I’m just getting started with the promotion of the business website. I could be using The Story in the near future for management of our advertising to increase the effectiveness of the results.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Lori's Lending provides financing for small to medium sized businesses. We provide funding for small businesses in and across the business spectrum. I am are the owner and founder of Lori's Lending.

For what projects/services did your company hire The Story Web Design & Marketing?

Web design and development, branding and logo design.

What were your goals for this project?

I needed a whole brand for my website, including logo, overall look/feel and copyrighting. I needed a professional website that would help prospective customers know who we are. It was (and is) very important that we differentiate ourselves from our competitors. Our clients want someone who's personal and who will give them personal attention. The website needed to reflect that.

How did you select this vendor?

A former colleague of mind had some work done by The Story and recommended them to me. In the proposal phase they had a clear understanding of what I was trying to accomplish and demonstrated they could do it.

Describe the project in detail.

The Story stated by working on our logo. From that they developed business cards and letterhead for us too. The Story interviewed me in order to better understand who we are and our target customers. They got a clear understanding of our value and the issues that our prospective customers are facing. They created the home page copy and then started designing the caricatures. Once the caricatures were developed, they created the home design. Once that was approved the created the rest of the copy and designs. The story gave us the great copy and a fantastic design.

What was the team composition?

The Story composition included Designers, Marketing experts, and Copywriters.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

I wanted a unique, personable, professional website and The Story gave that to me. This is very helpful in assisting me to a unique in crowded market.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

There was a lot of follow up throughout the project to keep everything moving forward.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I got the website that I wanted and love it!

Are there any areas for improvement?

The Story continues to be helpful to me as I look to expand my marketing efforts.