TheCommerceShop

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the director of marketing at a value-added distributor of industrial computer and networking products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Commerce Shop?

We wanted to combine our two existing websites. It was difficult to maintain both sites, and they caused confusion. During advertising campaigns, we’d always have to decide which site the campaign would promote.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Commerce Shop created one website that served the functions of our two previous sites. One was a B2B site hosted on Wix, and the other was a B2C site hosted on BigCommerce. At the start of the project, we showed them our websites, as well as sites that we admired and wanted to use as guidance. We also gave them basic information about our company and our goals for the project.

The Commerce Shop merged these two sites into one that was hosted on BigCommerce. They also redirected all of our materials to one shortened URL.

What is the team composition?

I worked with at least three members of The Commerce Shop’s team, but there were more behind the scenes. I worked with a technical project manager, a creative UI designer, and an SEO and CRO specialist.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $27,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in December 2021, and the project was completed in October 2022.

How did you come to work with The Commerce Shop?

They were a recommended provider by BigCommerce. There weren’t very many development teams that I researched that were willing to work on BigCommerce, but The Commerce Shop was.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Commerce Shop was very successful in migrating the two websites into one. They applied a simple URL to that site. We’re very happy with the final result and the look of the project pages.

How did the company perform from a project management standpoint?

The Commerce Shop worked within the budget. The project took longer than expected, but that was on our end; we’re a small team, and it took a while for us to make decisions and get back to The Commerce Shop. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Commerce Shop was very flexible, respectful, and courteous. They accepted our input well; it was nice to work with them. I’ve worked with teams in the past that could be standoffish or discount our ideas, but that wasn’t my experience with The Big Commerce. They made our ideas happen without pushback or upselling. There was no scope creep, and we weren’t sold additional packages even though The Commerce Shop offers other services.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don't think so.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owner & Founder of Proclamation

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a contemporary fine jewelry brand, known globally for its powerful and provocative statement pieces.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Commerce Shop to accomplish?

• Develop a modern and user friendly website

SOLUTION

How did you find The Commerce Shop?

Online Search

Why did you select The Commerce Shop over others?

• High ratings
• Good value for cost

What was the size of The Commerce Shop’s team?

6-10 Employees

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

The Commerce Shop scope of work included conversion rate optimization, page speed optimization, new cart development, custom product page development, homepage design and development, product collection optimization, installation and optimization of 3rd party apps, and more.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Sales conversion rate
• Page load speed
• Customer journey

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

They are very organized with specific deliverables and deadlines, as well as weekly or biweekly virtual meetings to go over progress and updates. Their response rate is extremely prompt, and they are very quick to troubleshoot and assist with issues.

What was your primary form of communication with The Commerce Shop?

Virtual Meeting

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

Their professionalism and expertise were top-notch, but the most impressive / unique attribute is their prompt customer service and willingness to help.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Commerce Shop could have done differently?

My only constructive feedback would be that their tendency to use 3rd party apps can potentially result in slower page load times and confusing back-end complications, but all of their positive attributes definitely outweigh this.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a fundraising company that has an online business. We work primarily in the US.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Commerce Shop?

We needed to redesign our company’s website to increase our web traffic and Google rankings.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Commerce Shop assists us with four particular tasks: website design and development, SEO strategy, conversion rate optimization, and PPC strategy on Google and social media.

We initially discussed with The Commerce Shop our project’s requirements to improve our site’s performance and security, as well as its UX and Google rankings. Our previous site was created on Drupal, and The Commerce Shop has redesigned and developed the new site on the newest Drupal version. 

The Commerce Shop is currently working on our SEO strategy to attract more web traffic and improve our organic search rankings. They’ve realized keyword analysis and backlinking on guest blogs, amongst other SEO strategies. We’ve used different web analytics tools, including Google Analytics and Google Search Central (formerly Google Webmasters), to set and monitor our site’s KPIs.

Moreover, The Commerce Shop is also assisting us with our site’s conversion rate optimization and manages PPC campaigns on Google and social media.

What is the team composition?

Since our project divides into four different aspects, we work with four different teams from The Commerce Shop. Each team has a leader and has around 4–7 teammates from The Commerce Shop. Overall, we work with around 15 team members.

How did you come to work with The Commerce Shop?

I initially found The Commerce Shop through one of their subsidiary companies, which is a Drupal partner. I researched extensively for business providers and asked a couple of companies to submit a business proposal. We chose The Commerce Shop based on their detailed proposal since their goals were aligned with ours. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $50,000 with The Commerce Shop.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with The Commerce Shop in December 2021, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since we’ve been working with The Commerce Shop, we’ve set unprecedented records on our Google rankings, web traffic, web views, and click-through rates. We’ve worked with other companies before and are very pleased with The Commerce Shop’s results — that is why I’ve agreed to do this review.

Moreover, our conversion rate is exponentially increasing. Our average Google Search position during 2022 was 31.9, which means we appeared on the third page of search results. On the other hand, during 2023, our average Google Search position has been 25.1 — this is an indicator that our rankings are already improving thanks to The Commerce Shop’s SEO strategy. 

How did The Commerce Shop perform from a project management standpoint?

The Commerce Shop meets deadlines and delivers work in a timely manner. During our meetings, I always ask for an expected delivery date for work, and The Commerce Shop always meets them. They work fast, especially with urgent requests when sometimes they deliver them on the same day. 

We have a weekly call through Google Meet. To collaborate with The Commerce Shop, we use Jira and Google Drive. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed with The Commerce Shop's commitment to pleasing the customers. They work in a detailed and thorough way and come up with ideas I haven’t thought about. I’ve worked with other companies before, and The Commerce Shop is obsessed with delivering perfect work. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, I don’t have any criticism for them. I’m working with four different teams, and each team is different. They’re different from the other teams. However, they’ve performed fantastically overall.

I think The Commerce Shop could improve their internal communication. Since we work with four different teams, sometimes I’m the mediator that has to follow up with other teams' work. I wish they had more synergy between internal teams so everyone knows about the overall project’s progress. The Commerce Shop can improve their internal communication. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend having a clear understanding of your project’s expectations before contacting The Commerce Shop. Research different companies because this is a serious investment, review their proposals in detail, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Website Manager of ALEKO

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

At ALEKO Products, we love coming to work! Established in 2005 as a small, family-owned business, we have grown into a thriving company that serves the United States, Canada, and other countries worldwide. We are a collective of honest people with diverse, specialized skills and a passion for a job well done.

Over the past decade we have expanded our offerings to include a wide range of products, from driveway gates to chicken coops, inflatable boats to tools. It is our particular hope to supply products that spark joy and add convenience to the lives of our customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Commerce Shop to accomplish?

• Increase CR
• - improve website functionality
• - improve UX/UI

SOLUTION

How did you find The Commerce Shop?

Online Search

Why did you select The Commerce Shop over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing first our budget
• Good value for cost

What was the size of The Commerce Shop’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

Finished a list of projects

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• CR was increased
• Bounce rate decreases

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

Mostly, it was delievered in time excepts the Loading Speed Improvements Project and PapaTheme one

What was your primary form of communication with The Commerce Shop?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email 
• Messaging App

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

Vignesh's responsiveness. They are very good developers.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Commerce Shop could have done differently?

hard to say, but probably more advices from Tamil about UI/UX

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Director of Vape Craft LLC

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Biggest online vape retailer selling thousands of products per day between many of the top websites ranked on Google.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Commerce Shop to accomplish?

• do a difficult custom migration from a proprietary platform to BigCommerce
• setup custom integration to connect our subscription app to BigCommerce

SOLUTION

How did you find The Commerce Shop?

Online Search, Referral

Why did you select The Commerce Shop over others?

Good value for cost, Referred to me

What was the size of The Commerce Shop’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

Commerce Shop has been tasked with migrating our proprietary platform to Bigcommerce, our website is the biggest subscription service in the vape industry and with that, the project includes building out a secure and reliable custom application that connects with our vaulted data and enables the use of subscription data/orders on the BigCommerce checkout so we can continue servicing our subscription customers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• created the base website with pre existing extensions on the BigCommerce platform
• Created a custom application to host our subscription data for new and old customers on the BigCommerce platform
• Successfully enabled the use of subscriptions and migrated payment tokens from our old platform to our new one

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

Commerce Shop delivered difficult items to us within a timely manner consistently and were always friendly.

What was your primary form of communication with The Commerce Shop?

Virtual Meeting

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

They've never turned down a challenge and resolved problems even the most seasoned developers have yet to encounter.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Commerce Shop could have done differently?

more communication/updates between bi weekly meetings. Seemed like i would only get an update a day or two before our next meeting and wouldn't know work was being done until our next meeting.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the IT Manager of the company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Developers and manufacturers of specialty printing equipment including the Bravo-Series CD/DVD/BD Disc Publishers, LX-Series Color Label Printers, AP-Series Label Applicators, Signature Slide and Cassette Printers, and Eddie, the Edible Ink Printer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Commerce Shop to accomplish?

• Migration from Magento 1 to Magento 2
• Development of custom solutions to match our internal process
• CRO and SEO management

SOLUTION

How did you find The Commerce Shop?

Online Search

Why did you select The Commerce Shop over others?

Pricing first our budget, Great culture fit, Good value for cost, Company values aligned

What was your primary form of communication with The Commerce Shop?

Virtual Meeting, Email or Messaging App

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

Migration from Magento 1 to Magento 2 CC and integration with our existing ERP/CRM solutions. Our Magento store began as an experiment and quickly became an integral part of our day-to-day business.

We were looking to upgrade the design/style and the infrastructure supporting the store. Integration with our existing internal systems, payment solutions, fraud protection, international sales, and conversion optimization we the essential items we wanted to be addressed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Revenue
• Site Traffic
• Conversions

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

The development team was international, with a project manager based in the US. Our project manager has always been very responsive and available to fill in the gaps when the international team was unavailable. The international team worked through the time difference and made themselves available as I needed them.

They were always timely with responses and gave me a thorough break down of the time frame for our various projects.

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

During our initial meetings to understand the scope of work, I was very impressed with The Commerce Shop's ability to identify all the pain points we had on our existing site. We were presented with a thorough analysis that reflected exactly what we hoped to accomplish with our project.

Additionally, The Commerce Shop has understood the needs of our business and continually goes above and beyond with the solutions they create for us.

Are there any areas for improvement or something {provider_name} could have done differently?

I don't have any recommendations for improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a cosmetics manufacturer and wholesaler.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Commerce Shop, and what were your goals?

Our website was under continual attack due to being on a shared server and we needed a better user experience. But we've been working with The Commerce Shop for 5-6 years and will continue to work them on future projects.

SOLUTION

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

We visited The Commerce Shop in Atlanta after a trade show and everyone was so nice and professional. We felt they were competent to solve our problems and help us reach our goal.

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

We eventually migrated our entire site to Shopify Plus. Which allows the best design and security features that exist.

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

We not only utilized the web development team, but the marketing team and email team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our website is now at the cutting edge and easily changeable if we desire improvements.

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

The Commerce Shop delivered everything we asked, including developing wholesale site for our b2b customers.

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

They can work with any platform and are very flexible and easy to reach.

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

The most important thing to us is that they are in our same time zone, so they aren't sleeping when we need them the most.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're a custom printing company of labels and graphics for the trucking industry, and I also partly own an e-commerce site selling truck parts. I am the web development manager for the printing company and a part-owner of the e-commerce site.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Commerce Shop?

We needed an affordable web development solution. We had an in-house PHP programmer who had built a Drupal website for us. When he left the company, we started searching for a replacement but could only find people looking for $100,000+ salaries, which we weren't willing to pay. Commerce Shop offered us the opportunity to partner with a professional web development team at a rate that we could afford.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our e-commerce store was a Drupal 6 platform, but that is no longer supported after the release of Drupal 8. Commerce Shop quoted me for a migration to the new version, and development began there. We found out that many of the modules in use on the Drupal 6 site weren't stable enough to allow a move. We ended up choosing Drupal 7 and reinstated every bit of functionality on our new site.

Commerce Shop performed all development on their in-house servers, to which I was given access. I was able to step in where needed, give feedback, help test, and so on. Commerce Shop recently moved the work to my server to ensure that it would work in that environment and performed a full-load test of the site. I was given the results a few hours ago, and everything looks great. We have a few loose ends to clean up and will probably make the Drupal 7 site live next week.

Our company also has a Drupal 7 site which was built by the in-house developer, as well as a Magento one. We had a ton of ideas for the Drupal 7 site and submitted tickets for these adjustments to Commerce Shop. One of the main tasks was creating a web portal where larger customers could log in and access their parts center. The parts center lists all the products ordered regularly by the customer. One of our main offerings put forth by the sales team is the ability to consolidate parts and support clients' inventories. We have everything on shelf, and when they place an order, we will ship the products and not have them deal with inventory management.

One particular airline company purchases thousands of decals from us on a yearly basis. We have a 15-20 page catalog with each one of their products in it. The client can fill out a sheet with their requirements and securely fax it to us. Commerce Shop has created a private products listing, allowing customers to log in from different locations or submit purchase orders. We're giving larger clients an online product ordering portal. It will be finished within the next few days, and I'm very excited about it.

I manage the trucking parts site through Dreamweaver and local files on my computer. It was given to me by our local IT person, who built it using custom HTML code. We've signed a contract with Commerce Shop for building a Magento-based website. I never used that technology, but one of the reasons for choosing it was that, sometime down the line, we may have a need for selling directly to end-users. Currently, we have a distribution model of reps and store fronts, but over the past few years, we've seen other manufacturers with the same model sell directly to end-users. We wanted to have a platform that could be easily converted to an e-commerce website if we decided to make that move. We've been working on this project for the last 5 months.

At the moment, we need to fill the platform with content, and make it live. It will have a couple different critical features, including location information and descriptions for our products. It will also allow dealers to log in and place orders online. Depending on what type of a dealer someone is, there will be different price levels, identified by their account information. We have a dealer center on which our marketing collateral will be placed, allowing clients to download it directly instead of having to email us and wait for a reply.

How did you come to work with Commerce Shop?

We were using a local developer in Sacramento for our truck parts site. Their business model moved from Drupal to WordPress development. When we needed to get some work done, our partner ended up introducing us to Commerce Shop. I wrote a lengthy and in-depth RFP [request for proposal]; Commerce Shop gave us a quote and delivered on every single item in our request.

How much have you invested with Commerce Shop?

The total cost of Commerce Shop's services has been between $45,000 and $60,000 so far. We are looking to build a few mobile apps and other features, so the price will go up.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Commerce Shop in October 2015. We started our Drupal 7 upgrade project in December. We have ongoing work for other projects with Commerce Shop.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Projects take a long time, and they also have launch dates that get pushed back. I can't say that Commerce Shop met all deadlines, but there are unknowns in our work, so it hasn't been a negative situation. Commerce Shop accomplished everything that they've committed to, but I have no key metrics to share.

How did Commerce Shop perform from a project management standpoint?

Commerce Shop has been fantastic in general, but there are a few things that they can work on. I have access to a US-based project manager who is available during my business hours, and Commerce Shop has generally been available when I needed it. Emergencies get resolved, no matter when they occur. Commerce Shop has called me during Thanksgiving, helping resolve a situation.

There has been a bit of scope creep on directions that were outside of the RFP. I was fine with this, as long as the approach taken by Commerce Shop achieved what I was looking to achieve, but I was still billed additionally.

We wanted to give dealers on our truck parts site the ability to bulk order. When the site was first released, it only featured a normal check-out process, which wasn't what I wanted. Commerce Shop also built a bulk check-out option, but I was billed for both functionalities. Things in this line have happened before, and my project manager from Commerce Shop agreed that we shouldn't be billed for the extra work. I assume that the same outcome will occur here, so it's not a very big deal, but I will still need to have that conversation.

There's scope creep in every project, and Commerce Shop is in the business of making money as well. I want them to be successful from our relationship, but there are limits.

What did you find most impressive about Commerce Shop?

I enjoyed the fact that Commerce Shop's team was available when I needed them. It's very important to have contacts one phone call away and take care of emergencies fast. Commerce Shop has done this multiple times in the past.

When we were exploring going overseas, we looked at 10-12 options. My boss showed me ads for $5/hour developers, but they didn't have a US-based contact. I would have to be up at midnight, call the other side of the globe in order to talk to someone with bad English skills, and be billed for additional time because they misunderstood what I needed. The fact that Commerce Shop is based in the US and has the ability to address my needs are important.

Are there any areas Commerce Shop could improve?

Outside of the scope creep, no. Commerce Shop has done everything that we've asked for, had weekly calls with our team, and the project managers are intimately familiar with our products. I felt that my needs were met; I don't consider the negative aspect to be very significant. Commerce Shop always worked with me, and billing hasn't been a problem in the past.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Commerce Shop?

I’d advise clients not to look anywhere else. Commerce Shop is what they need. We've had in-house resources, I've outsourced the work to a US company, and we've interviewed 15 different opportunities overseas. Commerce Shop has been the best available option.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Rugged Computing, Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We offer Ruggedized IT Hardware and software solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire TheCommerceShop to accomplish?

• Meganto Conversion
• Monthly Magento Support
• Custom Magento Extensions

SOLUTION

How did you find TheCommerceShop?

Online Search

Why did you select TheCommerceShop over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

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

Upgrade from Magento Ver. 1.7 to 2.4 plus monthly support and custom Magento extensions.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

100% completion and 100% success.

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

Yes, and they were/are very responsive.

What was your primary form of communication with TheCommerceShop?

Email or Messaging App

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

We're impressed with their high-quality work and the professionalism of all their staff.

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

N/A

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Graphic/Web Design of Pyrotect

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Racing Safety Products

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Commerce Shop to accomplish?

• Multi Site

SOLUTION

How did you find The Commerce Shop?

PRI 2023

Why did you select The Commerce Shop over others?

• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from The Commerce Shop were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Multi Site Website with: 

• 2 ecommerce websites and
• 2 CMS websites

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Timeline and progress on development week to week.

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

Great communication, proactive, and great team work integrating me into their project.

What was your primary form of communication with The Commerce Shop?

Virtual Meeting

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

Their communication is consistently great

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Commerce Shop could have done differently?

N/A