Temper And Forge

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a program manager at a research and education company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Temper And Forge?

We wanted to create a new e-learning service for humanitarian practitioners in the field, so we needed to redesign the look and feel of our online course material and website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired Temper And Forge to help us create a new, clean, and sleek-looking WordPress website accessible for low bandwidth conditions worldwide. They’ve designed the wireframes and shown us different types of website designs for us to choose from.

What is the team composition?

We work with a project manager, a lead designer and developer, and a software engineer.

How did you come to work with Temper And Forge?

We found them while looking for boutique website developers. We had other options, but we decided to go with Temper And Forge because we liked their products and their team’s approach.

How much money have you invested in this partnership?

So far, we’ve spent about $25,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

The website they’ve created is intuitive, which is great for us because we can update it ourselves. In addition, the platform is very mobile- and user-friendly, and that’s something we’re looking for because we’re an educational platform that needs to be accessible in low internet connectivity areas.

Overall, everything they’ve done meets our expectations regarding look, feel, mobile accessibility, speed, and the ability to switch languages — those are features we asked them to create since the beginning.

How did Temper And Forge perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m satisfied with project management. They’ve kept everything on schedule and use monday.com, where we can check the website’s progress. We also like that they have a dedicated project manager who sits on all of our biweekly calls to have constant contact with us and review everything. In addition, we use Slack — it’s very easy to reach out to them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a lot of background information on education. Moreover, they’re able to create a product with accessibility for people who aren’t tech-savvy or have internet access.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — I’m satisfied with them because they’re a great team to work with, including on an interpersonal level.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of a company that’s working in the mental health treatment industry. We help people get out of situations that aren’t ideal, whether they’re drug- or mental health-related. Our company provides them a platform where they get information about the cold, hard truth of what’s going on out there. It also tells them what steps they need to take to improve their lives that hopefully won’t cost them an arm and a leg.

What challenge were you trying to address with Temper And Forge?

We hired Temper And Forge to build our website. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Temper And Forge has developed our website. Everything has been finished, but we’re still in partnership with them. We’ll launch the site by the end of October 2021.

What is the team composition?

We work with about five people, including Nate (Founder & Owner).

How did you come to work with Temper And Forge?

We had a bunch of meetings with companies here in Portland, Maine. We also talked to companies in New York and Boston. Meanwhile, we found Temper And Forge online.

Our conversations with Nate and his team at Temper And Forge showed us that they truly understood our vision while keeping competitive pricing. They also didn’t add things that we didn’t want, keeping everything simple — they didn’t upsell anything. Instead, the team made sure that we understood what we were asking for and what could be delivered. Overall, they hit the nail on the head while we were talking to them. We were able to drive home the product that we wanted, so we hired them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $10,000–$25,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Temper And Forge in February 2021, and the partnership is ongoing.

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

Around 25 people have tested the site, and the feedback has been positive. They say that it’s modern and extremely user-friendly. It’s also clean and nice. Everyone understands exactly how it works and how to navigate it. Overall, the feedback has been absolutely positive; there hasn’t been any negative feedback on the website in terms of UX. 

How did Temper And Forge perform from a project management standpoint?

Temper And Forge provides ideas and suggestions that help us increase our conversions and revenue. We’re going to use the ideas they bring to the table to enhance our performance. Overall, they don’t only do what I ask them to do; they also offer great suggestions and go above and beyond what we expect from them. To communicate, we use Google Meet. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their strongest suits are being down to earth and easy to speak to; I never feel uncomfortable when talking to them. We’re in different worlds, but they don't say things that I can’t understand. Everything is in layman’s terms. Simply put, they understand what I’m saying and they’ve brought my vision to life.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They can maybe use Zoom for our meetings instead of Google Meet. However, that’s just my personal preference. It’s more about the product than their performance.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be completely transparent; be upfront and explain exactly what you’re looking for and what you’re willing to spend. That way, you’ll get exactly what you want. As long as you’re speaking from the heart, they’ll deliver your needs plus more. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the co-founders of a startup called Truistic. We’re an online comparison site for people trying to access treatment options for addiction and mental illness. We received funding to start the project less than a year ago.

What challenge were you trying to address with Temper And Forge?

We needed to design a website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Temper and Forge did our entire website from scratch. In the beginning, we provided them with an RFP with what we were looking for. We wanted a homepage that displayed three separate paths with different questioning so people could go into our site and decide if they want treatment right away, if they need treatment but are only looking around, or if they need help but don’t know what to do.

Another functionality was the searchable and filterable data about treatment centers based on the insurance providers they accept or treatment types they offer with graphics, photo galleries, listing options, geo-locations, and so on. They also provided the option to set up phone calls and potentially book treatment online.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people throughout the project. We interacted with Nate (Lead Developer & Owner), Chris and Sam (Developers), and Catherine (Project Manager).

How did you come to work with Temper And Forge?

We didn’t want to go the Squarespace or Weebly route just to spend $3,000–$4,000 or less and have a cookie-cutter website. On the other hand, we also didn’t want to hire someone that’d charge us $80,000–$90,000. We were looking for something in between.

With Temper and Forge, I got a good vibe from Nate as soon as I got on the call. He was running the show, and he immediately got what I was talking about. Overall, he showed that they could provide an excellent product at a reasonable price and partner with us throughout the life of our company.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began our partnership in January 2021, and they delivered the website in June 2021.

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

We initially did some testing with groups of about 50 people. We told them to be rough on the website and complain about any little thing they could think of, but there was hardly any negative feedback.

How did Temper And Forge perform from a project management standpoint?

It was fantastic. Temper and Forge was very polite and professional. They tracked the project and kept us organized. If we asked to add certain things, they updated us quickly, answered emails, and planned meetings. Also, they were really upfront with us and let us know what was essential for us to complete, what could take a couple of days, and so on. Overall, we felt comfortable because we knew exactly what was going on, and everything was completed on time.

We usually initiated communication by email, and they were always available on Google Meet, Zoom, or any type of online conference call.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The level of access we had to their team and their can-do attitude distinguished them from the competition. They also took the time to understand what we were trying to achieve and why it was important for our business model. We felt they were immersed in the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. They answered all of our questions, and the price point was amazing compared to everyone else’s.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Spill your guts to them; let them know everything. Tell Temper and Forge exactly what you want, why you want it, what’s connected to it, where the thought comes from, and so on. Just dump everything on the table; they’ll love it. They want to know where you’re coming from, not only specific instructions about the functionality.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a primary care optometric practice.

What challenge were you trying to address with Temper And Forge?

We needed someone to redo our website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our previous site was 20 years old, so we were in need of a redesign. They implemented the content we wanted on the new site, including staff profiles, pictures, and general design elements. Their team contributed some of the content while we supplied the rest.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with Nathan (Founder & Owner).

How did you come to work with Temper And Forge?

They were referred to me by a colleague who had used their site development services.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $3,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January–April 2021.

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

The new site is great. We don’t get a ton of traffic, so I haven’t been able to gauge much external feedback. However, I’ve been happy with the new look of the site. I’m confident that our customers will appreciate the user-friendliness as well.

How did Temper And Forge perform from a project management standpoint?

They communicated well, constantly keeping me abreast of their progress. They also incorporated my feedback into the process. Their team delivered the final product in a timely manner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They completed everything in an expedited manner for a fair price. Nathan was easy to get in touch with. Making changes along the way was never an issue.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. The engagement was pretty seamless.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate with them. If you tell them exactly what you’re looking for, they’ll make it happen.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and president of a wine retail company. We have four stores in the Boston area, and we do a fair amount of virtual events.

What challenge were you trying to address with Temper And Forge?

We had a shoddy website, and we needed help in web and e-commerce development. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, Temper and Forge designed and developed a quick turnaround funnel website for our events business. We would use that as a landing page for our Google and social media ads. 

The site is built on WordPress and contains our company information, services, and some testimonials. It also features a basic questionnaire that allows us to obtain essential details from prospective clients. After development, they’ve hosted this platform. 

Since we’ve liked what Temper and Forge did, we’ve also asked them to revamp our retail website. They’re currently rebuilding our Shopify website from scratch. 

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with Nathan (Founder & Owner), a designer, and a developer. 

How did you come to work with Temper And Forge?

I found Temper and Forge through Clutch. I was in touch with five web developers for my landing page project. They were the only ones who confidently committed that they could deliver the project in 2–3 weeks. Their price was also very reasonable, and I liked their portfolio. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $10,000 so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve started working together in September 2021, and our relationship is ongoing. 

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

Temper and Forge’s work has helped us generate close to $100,000 in revenue in just two months. Our customers like the site since it’s simple and represents who we are. The site has also received positive feedback from our organization. 

How did Temper And Forge perform from a project management standpoint?

Temper and Forge’s project management is top-notch. They’ve followed our schedule and even over-delivered; their team functions with very little guidance. We communicate through emails and Google Meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Temper and Forge has delivered what they’ve promised — that’s rare. They offer quality and timely work. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Listen to what they have to say because it’s valuable. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of an athlete-consumer marketplace.

What challenge were you trying to address with Temper And Forge?

We needed help with Shopify migration and Webflow development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve worked with Temper And Forge in creating design templates, which they’ve utilized to craft our platforms. Apart from migrating our site content to Shopify, they’ve also deployed custom development tools and conducted API integration. We’ve then engaged their team to build a Webflow platform for our NFT projects.

What is the team composition?

I’ve mainly worked with Sam (Frontend Web Developer) and Chris (Frontend Web Developer).

How did you come to work with Temper And Forge?

I worked with Temper And Forge on a previous project while operating a different business. We kept in touch, and I reached out to them again to discuss this opportunity.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $35,000–$45,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with Temper And Forge started in August 2021.

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

Our primary success metric for Temper And Forge’s performance is our athlete acquisition rate — from an initial 13 athletes, we’ve welcomed more than 200 athletes since switching and optimizing our systems.

How did Temper And Forge perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Monday as our main project management tool. From our team’s perspective, Temper And Forge is a timeline-oriented and collaborative team that works within our schedules and keeps us in the loop at all times.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Temper And Forge hits the nail on the head every time. They’re a transparent and flexible team that works within quick turnaround times.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ll appreciate it if they include design services in their package to avoid rounds of feedback sessions.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t hesitate to hire their team.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a food service broker company; we focus on helping brands grow in the food service industry.

What challenge were you trying to address with Temper And Forge?

We wanted to do website development for our business.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We already had a website, but it was made cheaply and poorly because it was all I could do back then. Temper And Forge revamped our site on Squarespace with a fresh look using their creative talent and skill set. They did use some of the pieces from our old page and translated them to our new one, but it feels like they did it from scratch.

We told them that we wanted a shiny and professional website where people could go and learn about our work. The site features content like a services page, a territory map, pictures of our team with their bios, and all the basic premise information and story of our company.

Currently, they provide ongoing maintenance to our site.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is Nate (Founder), but we also interact with around three more people from their team.

How did you come to work with Temper And Forge?

They’re a local company, and they were referred to me.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $6,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

I don’t have metrics of their work, but as far as feedback, I can say that their work is excellent and that our internal team is psyched about our site. Additionally, people in our industry and potential clients have been giving positive feedback on our site.

How did Temper And Forge perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re great at sticking to schedules and deadlines. In terms of communication, we use phone calls and email — they’re very responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their creativity is outstanding — they’re the whole package. They lead a professional and enjoyable engagement as well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — I have no complaints at all.

Any advice for potential customers?

They’re in good hands with Nate — he’s a good guy and takes the project very seriously. Also, their pricing is pretty reasonable, so working with them will deliver a solid engagement.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re retail chocolate makers. We elaborate handmade chocolates in an open kitchen and sell them in the Boston area.

What challenge were you trying to address with Temper And Forge?

We already had a website, so we wanted to clean it up and make it more functional in order to convey who we were and increase our sales.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Temper And Forge took the time to meet with me on several meetings to understand who we were and how we wanted them to design our website for it to convey our message. They then redesigned our website, and we brought in a professional photographer to take and provide them with new photos for it. They were in charge of the whole project, which included updating the site’s technology stack, speed, usability, and visibility.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Nathan (Founder & Owner) and another person.

How did you come to work with Temper And Forge?

I found them doing an online search. I was looking for a local company because I had worked with a foreign company before. Having face-to-face interaction with them really made a difference; I could explain and describe my ideas better.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $6,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2021, and they delivered the website in August 2021. We’re still in contact with them in case we need to continue making edits, uploading more photos, or posting seasonal content.

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

Our new site is faster and offers improved usability to our customers. We’ve received very positive feedback all around. However, it’s hard for me to measure the impact of our new website on our sales so far because our activity decreases during the summer months. We won’t be able to see results until the fall.

How did Temper And Forge perform from a project management standpoint?

Temper And Forge performed very well; they were very thorough and good communicators. Nathan was very responsive and clear. He put together a list of tasks that they then addressed to accomplish what we accomplished.

It was very easy to work with them. We communicated via email and shared files.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Overall, I was very impressed with how organized and creative Temper And Forge was. They brought new ideas to the table.

If we would have worked with another company, maybe they wouldn’t have cared about us as much. However, being local, Nathan loved our product, so he was very helpful throughout the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything that they could have done better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Let Temper And Forge come back with new ideas and don’t try to control the project. They know what they’re doing.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Communications and Operations Manager for a Boston-based think tank and policy institute focused on the role of business leadership in creating a sustainable society. While we are a non-profit, we work primarily within the business and financial sectors and communicate with corporate executives, business leaders and investment management professionals.

For what projects/services did your company hire Temper and Forge?

Our previous website was designed in 2014 and had an outdated look, as well as lacking some of the functionality we required. We hired Temper and Forge to redesign the site to give it a more polished and professional appearance and increased functionality.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a site that would be more inviting and intuitive for visitors to navigate and that would showcase our publications and projects. We also wanted a way to track traffic to the site and in particular, to track who was downloading our publications.

How did you select this vendor?

I searched for web developers in the Boston area with WordPress expertise and created a shortlist of four vendors based on positive reviews and samples from their websites. I contacted each vendor and had a brief phone call or email exchange, after which I sent them an RFP detailing the requirements for the project. The vendors sent proposals and we selected Temper and Forge based on Nate's intuitive understanding of the project and our needs, as well as his reasonable price point.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we selected this vendor, I had a phone call with him to discuss the project in greater detail and we stayed in regular contact over email so that he could keep me updated on progress and I could answer any questions he had. Although we had some general ideas on how we wanted the site to look, most of the overall design was left to Nate, as well as all of the technical aspects of the site build.

Although there was an existing site, the back end was a bit of a mess and Nate wound up building most of the site from scratch. The draft site was ready within a month and we had a phone call so that he could take me through the site and I could provide feedback on the general look and direction.

He sent the next version within a few weeks, incorporating earlier feedback, and outlined his plan for completing the rest of the project. We provided further feedback and then at the last minute asked him to move up the launch date by a week to coincide with an event our CEO was attending. We were thrilled that he was able to meet the new deadline and still incorporate all of the feedback!

What was the team composition?

I worked directly with Nate, who did all of the design and technical work. I liaised with our CEO to show him drafts of the site and incorporate his feedback, but Nate did not communicate with him directly.

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

We were very pleased that we were able to launch the redesigned site right before an event that our CEO was speaking at. The site is much simpler to navigate and we're able to direct interested parties to our projects and publications more easily.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Nate was very easy to communicate with. He's very responsive to questions, detailed in his requests for information and patient with our lack of technical savvy and kept us regularly updated with his progress and work left to be done. He's also very personable with a great sense of humor! Most of our communication was over email, with phone calls whenever more detailed feedback or clarifications were needed.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was really impressed with Nate's skill and depth of knowledge, as well as his professionalism. He was easy to work with and we appreciated his patience and good humor throughout the project. They readily understood what we were looking for and delivered a beautiful and functional site.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, I had no complaints about working with Temper and Forge. It was a pleasure working with Nate!

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing at Sciolytix, an experiential learning company focused on the sales training space, but also all digital learning.

What challenge were you trying to address with Temper And Forge?

We have a learning management system that is very technically advanced. We’ve been doing quite well in our PPC campaigns but we knew we could do better by upgrading our landing pages. Temper And Forge worked closely with us to create three different versions of the landing page so we could determine what could help us increase conversions.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us with web page design and then used WordPress to develop the platform from scratch. We went over our existing landing page and outlined what our goals were. Their ideas were very data-driven. They came back to us and gave us advice based on their experience.

They also set up the backend and set up heat maps. They used heat maps to make small tweaks that would help us increase conversions. The three pages we put out were a hybrid of all of our ideas.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Nate (CEO).

How did you come to work with Temper And Forge?

We work with another digital agency and they recommended that we work with a web developer. They recommended a few companies, including Temper And Forge. We gave them a few ideas and asked if they could iterate on that. They jumped on the project and presented a data-driven approach. Additionally, their price was very reasonable.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $3,000­–$7,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July–August 2020.

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

They provided excellent feedback based on the data they collected from the heat maps. As a result, our conversion rate increased by about 150%, and our cost per acquisition decreased significantly.

How did Temper And Forge perform from a project management standpoint?

It was a very collaborative process and we got a lot of information from them. He shared a project plan and met all of our deadlines. They ran the project very well. When we communicated, we either talked over phone or used email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

He was very responsive and used the data very well. He was excellent on both of those fronts.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing for me to complain about. It project was well-done.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’ve you’re looking for a relatively low-cost, and experienced web designer, they’re a good deal. They know their stuff and I would certainly use them again.