WDB Agency

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a professional film equipment sales and rental company. We have $100,000 cameras that are used for high-end commercials or small motion pictures, so it’s a niche market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WDB Agency?

We needed a new website. We were coming from a bad experience with a developer that kept spinning the wheels without producing anything; we spent a fortune with him.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

WDB Agency has developed our Drupal website. They initially came in and sat down with us to get to know our business and goals. Then, they used the appropriate practices to build our site from scratch in Drupal 7.

Our website is a rental and sales e-commerce site; it has the ability to synchronize our inventory pricing with QuickBooks. They’ve also built a sales basket and set the checkout so it accepts credit cards without keeping the credit card information around.

Currently, Drupal 7 is being discontinued, so WDB Agency is redoing the website. Additionally, they host the site.

What is the team composition?

We’ve mainly interacted with their marketing person.

How did you come to work with WDB Agency?

We found them searching online. Ultimately, we chose them because they came up with a coherent, reasonable plan that met our specifications at an affordable price.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent at least $100,000. We also pay $550 a month for hosting services and upgrades.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked with them since 2017. They proposed the current project in February 2020, but we put it off due to COVID-19. We’re now picking up the thread.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen an increase in site traffic, click-through business, and conversions. Moreover, the website’s navigation and functionality have improved, and we’ve gotten positive feedback. 

How did WDB Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They deliver on time and respond quickly to our needs. If there’s anything wrong with the site, we can just call or email them, and the team takes care of it. We mainly communicate through email and Zoom. Overall, they’ve given us excellent service.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their technical ability is outstanding, and the team is personable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’ve done everything to our satisfaction.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

In general, I suggest clearly outlining what you want to build. Give them the appropriate information so they can incorporate it into the whole project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a marketing project manager for a small biotechnology company. We design and perform clinical genetic tests.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire WDB Agency, and what were your goals?

Our website and e-commerce system were outdated. We hired WDB Agency to design a new website and update our e-commerce system.

SOLUTION

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

A web search for possible vendor candidates was performed. The top 2 candidate firms were interviewed and WDB Agency was selected due to their understanding of our goals and collaborative attitude.

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

Formal goals and objectives were mapped out early in the process. A wireframe of the new website was created. New branding and design elements were created. Website and e-commerce functionality were thoroughly tested before launch.

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

Our two main points of contact were a project manager responsible for the management of technical aspects of the website and e-commerce systems' functionalities as well as a manager responsible for the branding and design elements. We were in contact with at least 2 of the actual developers of the website as well as the specific graphic designer responsible for the design elements of the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new website was visually more appealing and easier to navigate than our previous website.

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

We had weekly standing meetings with our main project managers and and additional staff that happened to be required that week. Most communication took place through BaseCamp, which provided a nice record of all communications.

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

WDB Agency designed a website that is visually appealing, easy to update/add content, and is intuitively navigable.

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

Our ordering process is fairly complex. The shopping cart functionality is not as smooth as it could be. The "fix" is going to be fairly complex and time intensive. We have chosen to possibly address these issues in the future.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I run the front desk at the Commonwealth Veterinary Hospital and do our marketing, including social media, our newsletter, and our website.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website was 20 years old, so we needed a redesign to add functionality and boost traffic and clientele.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They oversaw the entire website redesign process. They conducted interviews with our clients to better understand our business model and major goals. They walked us through a few of their ideas, and took us through wireframes and more detailed designs before implementing a new UI.

New functionalities included online appointment booking and several options for different types of potential clients to contact us—all of which come to us via email. They also helped us rethink our online marketing strategy to enhance both client acquisition and customer retention.

At the end of the project, they installed Google Analytics so I could gauge effectiveness on my own, but I haven’t had much time to work with that.

What is the team dynamic?

I worked with a small team that included a project manager, a marketing specialist, a developer, and a graphic designer. My primary point of contact was Gil Duzanski [Founder and CEO, Web Design Boston].

How did you come to work with Web Design Boston?

We found them through a simple Internet search. After comparing their website and portfolio with several alternatives, I decided to go with Web Design Boston. They also included a white paper they had written on how to design your own website, which provided insight on what the redesign process would look like. Then, they responded within 30 minutes of the initial inquiry.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent just over $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The redesign started in fall 2016 and was done by mid-March 2017. Now, they only work on troubleshooting issues as they arise.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had the best summer to date this year, due, in large part, to a significant number of appointments scheduled online. We’re creating 2–4 new client files a day, as opposed to 1–2 before the site redesign..

We’ve received a lot of positive feedback from clients on the look and feel of the new site. There is information on our site that’s not on other hospitals’ site, and people seem to appreciate that.

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

They used Basecamp to manage the project, which made it very easy for me to send content for uploading, keep track of progress, and receive their requests. It was all a very smooth process. We met about three times in person, and that was all we needed; everything else was done remotely.

What did you find most impressive about them?

This was my first website redesign process, and they made me feel very comfortable throughout the project. They were extremely responsive, and conveyed complex information in a way that was accessible and unintimidating.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could provide more guidance post-launch. Since this was my first project, I’ve had a little trouble learning the new content management system, and it’s unclear when it’s appropriate to contact them. I would’ve liked to see more structured post-project instruction.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a nonprofit organization, and I manage a web team there.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We felt that the site could use a new design and improved information architecture.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Web Design Boston transitioned our existing website content into a newer Drupal version. They created a new visual theme and implemented necessary architectural changes. They also wrote custom code to provide us with additional functionality that was not readily available. The site was build in a third party hosting environment.

How did you come to work with Web Design Boston?

We interviewed quite a few companies. Web Design Boston had a nice portfolio, good references and extensive experience working with Drupal. Plus, they were very responsive and ready to start when we were ready to start. It all aligned.

What is the status of this engagement?

It was over a year ago. The bulk of the project was done in a month or 2, followed by a cycle of refinements that remains ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new site design received extremely positive feedback from internal and external clients. Some of the website content was hidden in the previous version of the site and the new site architecture improved its visibility. There was a noticeable overall increase in traffic.

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

They were great at staying on top of tight deadlines. We had regular in-person meetings and many scheduled and impromptu phone calls. Web Design Boston used Basecamp to keep track of tasks and to-dos which made communication between teams transparent.

What did you find most impressive about Web Design Boston?

If you tell them what you want accomplish, they give you different options and explain pros and cons of each. They are fair in their assessments and a pleasure to work with. And they promptly return your calls!

Are there any areas Web Design Boston could improve?

I really can't think of anything. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Building Engines works with commercial real estate property management teams to help them run their business and their buildings efficiently through work order assignments, vendor management, inspections, preventative maintenance, and other things like that.

My role at the company is the Director of Inbound and Lead Generation. I’ve been with the company for about a year and a half now.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our biggest challenge was not receiving many inbound leads, not getting a whole lot of inbound traffic, not ranking on any of our identified keywords. We were looking for better and more paths to conversion, a better user experience, and something that we could slowly grow through search engine optimization over time.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Web Design Boston met with us. They’re very hands-on. Even before we signed a contract when we were vetting different agencies for the project, they took a hands-on approach and talked to us about strategy. They were right in understanding and utilizing the resources they had from us. Since they’re obviously not in our space and our industry, I think they found a excellent balance of working with us and using their creative direction. They made it easy to work with right off the bat. Then as the project got rolling on, there was open communication.

We had an older site. This was a complete overhaul, so it was a brand new site. It’s put up on Drupal; that’s our content management system. There are built-in areas for plugging in titles and meta descriptions and headlines and things like that to benefit our search engine optimization. I was primarily dealing with Gil, the owner of the company, but I know he was working with his team. I believe three other people were working on the project at any given time.

There is a lot that was done that was custom. On the homepage, we have an area where we call out our features. We have the little hero video running in the front, but then you can expand on some of our features and turn that into a slide. That was a custom area. The podcast page under our resources is something that was done after we launched the website, so we continue to work with Web Design Boston on other areas of our site. I have a laundry list of stuff that we’re probably going to continue to work with them on. Then our resource center is another section that was pretty custom-built.

The project took a little longer than expected, but it was not on their side. In fact, they were great all the way to the end of working with us on some of these last-minute changes to make sure our whole site looked as we wanted it to be before we went live. Web Design Boston usually responds to my email within an hour when I send them something, even if I haven’t talked to them in a couple of months. They’re still here as a partner, but nothing goes on a strict payment schedule. It’s not as if we have a contract going right now; they don’t have us on retainer or anything like that, but we still work with them on one-off projects all the time.

How did you come to work with Web Design Boston?

Gil and his team at Web Design Boston had previously been working with Building Engines. Web Design Boston designed our blog a couple of years prior, so there was already a working relationship there on some projects. It was my first time working with their team. We vetted a couple of different agencies, and ultimately they seemed to understand our goals and what we were looking to do. They had the management style and structure that fit with us.

How much have you spent with Web Design Boston?

We have spent between $20,000 and $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

It began in the summer of 2015 and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Yesterday we were looking at results for our first three quarters of the year compared to last year, and our website channel, which was a weak point before going live with this new site. I think we had 70% more pipeline from that portion of our website channel, the request a demo call-to-action and the pricing page. We can get some marketing qualified leads through those. Those paid dividends pretty much immediately. From here, it’s all about us trying to grow organic traffic and get more people to convert.

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

I think they were great from a project management standpoint. I was the one who was managing the project, and I was in contact with Gil multiple times a day at some points. They did a good job of using Basecamp to share files, thoughts, and images as we were building the site. They were pretty clear in each section of the project, from planning and strategy to wireframing and then design and implementation all the way up to launch. They were communicating with us very frequently. If we went dark on them for any period, they would give us a nudge, which was great. It was two thumbs up for them from a project management standpoint.

What did you find most impressive about Web Design Boston?

I think it was building the relationship and having the back and forth trust off the bat. It’s nice to know that they weren’t trying to build it all by themselves. They knew that we were their best resource for building the site, and they used us as a resource appropriately without overbearing us. We were in charge of a lot of the content, but they were still working with us very closely to make sure that we had the same look and feel, and that the site came out exactly how we wanted it to. There was some push and pull in certain areas, but ultimately they would let us dictate where we wanted to go because it was our industry and our site. They gave really good feedback along the way, and ultimately we always agreed on something in the end.

Also, they were not holding overages over our head as some agencies may do as you start to steer out of the scope a little bit. They were very clear at communicating if we were going to be looking at any major additional costs.

Are there any areas Web Design Boston could improve?

None that I can think of. They were great. I think there were no major issues. There’s quirky little things as you go through. You go back and forth, and there may have been a couple of times where I had to repeat something that I probably said in a prior email, but when you’re going off punchless edits over and over again, things like that sometimes get lost a little bit. For the most part, they were great at reviewing everything we had and going through one by one and making sure everything was covered.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a 3D printer manufacturer. I’m the Vice President of Marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

It was a two-pronged approach. We needed to quickly get a splash page up on our site that could accept leads and people that wanted to sign up for more information. We had to have the back end set up to work with our Zoho implementation. 

Then beyond that, we needed to develop a full site, the design, the development, the hosting, the entire kit and caboodle within another month or so after that. It was important to us that we stayed in the VC [venture capital] community first rather than end user prospects; we’re not quite there yet. We needed to have a partner that could very easily implement a solution that could accommodate our needs but also a solution that would enable us to grow quickly without having to change our implementation or change our platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The platform our site is built on is Drupal, which is very robust and secure, which was part of the requirement. Also, Web Design Boston built on a user interface on top of it that enables non-technical users like me (I’m a marketing department of one) to very easily make changes, edits, and that sort of thing without having to know code. They were able to layer that on top. It was a requirement for me in the blog to have some monitored comments capability, and they layered on Discus as that tool. It just works very seamlessly. Then they spent quite a bit of time working on the seamless integration with my Zoho database.

We had a designer that I worked with, and the founder worked with me directly as my day-to-day interface as well as the person that was doing the majority of the development on our site. I was very happy to work with him and the designer, just two people to make it easy for me to deal with them.

We’ll have many changes to the site once we start turning our marketing focus to end user prospecting. I have a whole list of capabilities, enhancements, and changes to accommodate that change in marketing focus, and certainly we’ll turn right back to them. I’ve had a couple of little things that they’ve had to help me with, little tweaks and changes, and they’ve done so immediately. They also handle our hosting; they use Amazon servers. They are my seamless IT department. They take care of all of that for me.

How did you come to work with Web Design Boston?

I had a feeling that I wanted to use Drupal as the platform. I have used many different kinds of platforms for websites in the past. I knew none of them could meet the needs that I had, and so I turned to Acquia, which is the company that commercializes Drupal. They’re located here in Boston as well. I reached out to them to ask for a small local partner in the area who they would suggest that is a Drupal shop that can work with me. They turned me on to Web Design Boston.

What is the status of this engagement?

Since April 2016 and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Again, I’m a department of one, so as you can imagine, I’m very busy. What I really loved was that they are a relatively small shop, but very knowledgeable and experienced. I found a lot of value-add throughout the project where I would say, “I want to do this,” and they would say, “Well, you may not want to do that” or “You may not want to do it this way or that way.” They would come up with several different options for me or suggestions or reasons why maybe I shouldn’t do something, which was totally fine. I valued that.

They’re not located too far from us, so if we wanted to work on something in real time, the founder would just hop over, and we would sit together and work on something quickly, get it banged out, and it would be done. Whenever I had an ask, it was totally no problem. It was handled quickly and professionally, and I truly appreciated that. It was something that made my life a lot easier, and that’s something I value being that I’m managing so many different facets of marketing.

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

Very well. They use Basecamp. It’s very easy to track conversations and different discussion threads using Basecamp. It’s easy to upload and share large files. It was a seamless experience. If I gave them a task or we had a deadline, I didn’t have to worry. It was always handled promptly and on time, and everyone knew at all times what was going on with the project.

What did you find most impressive about Web Design Boston?

I appreciate everything that they did; it was a close, personal touch. I had the most experienced person there working on our behalf, working with me closely. For the expertise that I got and innovative thinking, I think the price was low compared to what I have paid in the past for implementations and project management that weren’t nearly as pleasant. I’ve worked on a lot of sites before with vendors, and it’s just been a nightmare. I just found working with these folks is a pleasure from their expertise to their demeanor to their project management and their results. We get a lot of positive feedback on our website, so I look forward to working with them for a long time to come.

Are there any areas Web Design Boston could improve?

Honestly, I can’t think of anything at this stage. I’m not such an easy customer to please, so that’s saying something.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of a treatment center.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with WDB Agency?

I needed help expanding my business' awareness in the market.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

WDB Agency has done web design and development for us from scratch. To jumpstart the process, we gave them content so they could understand our area of specialization and offerings to correctly convey the message we wanted to send to our audience. In terms of features, the site allows users and clinicians to learn more about our services, send confidential healthcare information, and pay for their services.

Moreover, WDB Agency has provided branding services for us; they designed a logo for us based on the thoughtful and creative brainstorming sessions we had.

In addition to that, they’ll provide maintenance and hosting services for our platform.

What was the team composition? 

We’ve worked directly with Gil (CTO), a content director, and a branding director.

How did you come to work with WDB Agency?

Someone referred them to us, and we chose them because WDB Agency’s team made me feel confident after our first meeting.

How much have you invested in them?

We've spent around $100,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our team and general users have had a great experience using the site and are giving us positive feedback on WDB Agency’s branding work. 

How did WDB Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

WDB Agency is excellent at sticking to schedules and staying on budget. Moreover, they’re great at responding to our feedback and incorporating our ideas. Regarding tools and communication, we use phone calls, email, and virtual meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their leadership and level of collaboration are what distinguish them from other providers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think they can improve anything — I’m satisfied with their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend people to work with WDB Agency. They’re a great choice, and you’ll be in great hands.