Web Design Lane

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a website designer in charge of managing this project.

For what projects/services did your company hire Web Design Lane, and what were your goals?

We hired Web Design Lane to design and build a WordPress membership website with a blog and lending library.

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

I interviewed Jake Anderson and very carefully reviewed a very detailed scope of work with him several times. I wanted to make sure he completely understood the project. I was assured that WDL had the skills I required and could handle this project to my specifications with a high level of professionalism and sophistication. I was given a 100% money-back satisfaction guarantee.

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

The work included a redesign of an older website, a blog, a membership component, and a lending library. We wanted a responsive WordPress website that looked modern and sophisticated. This is pretty basic stuff. It probably could have all been handled using plugins.

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

1 salesperson. Once we paid WDL I never heard from him again. He never returned my calls or answered any emails. He said the job would take 3-4 months. It is now almost 11 months.

2 project managers. The first was totally incompetent and the second also could barely function and ended up quitting. They both mislead me repeatedly about delivery dates of components. Deadlines were never reached.

A third manager came on board and said he would get back to me. I never heard back from him. I worked with a team of programmers. I spent months explaining and training this team. They were completely incapable of even posting 1 blog article correctly. I reduced the number of posts and pages I required them to do. I helped them in a myriad of ways to try to get something (anything) finished. Nothing worked.

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

I have NOTHING to show for thousands of dollars and hundreds of my hours wasted.

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

We communicated through email, phone, and online communication portal, and text. Their process was bumbling, patronizing, incoherent, and slow, with many manipulations and lies. It felt a little misogynistic. I got a lot of "lip service".

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

I felt safe enough hiring them because of the money-back guarantee, which I have in writing.

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

Yes. They could refund my entire fee in full. I cannot imagine they are capable of actually doing any of the work I hired them to do properly.