WebSight Design

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

The name of our company is Pacific Union International. We’re in the residential real estate business, and we’re located in the San Francisco Bay area.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I’m the CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with WebSight Design?

WebSight Design has handled pretty much all of our public-facing Web presence in my business since about 1998. They do website development, SEO [search engine optimization], and all kinds of IT [information technology]-related services.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

The provided us with Web design and development, SEO, networking services, infrastructure services, and basic maintenance and support.

What was your process for selecting WebSight Design with which to work?

They’ve been helping us out for 15 years, so I don’t quite recall how we originally found them. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

They’ve been absolutely fantastic. They always exceed my expectations, and they’re a very important part of our team. Our blog traffic is up 100 percent year over year, and our website traffic increases 20 to 25 percent every year.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

I don’t have a comparison because I’ve used them exclusively for 15 years. So, I don’t have a good benchmark, but I haven’t needed an internal chief technology officer because of them. I’m extremely happy with their team and wouldn’t consider switching to another company.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

No. I’m really satisfied with their work.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

The company is Universal Tone Management. We manage the career of Carlos Santana, the musician. We’re located in San Rafael, Calif., and Las Vegas, Nev.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I am director of marketing and artist relations manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with WebSight Design?

Our goal was to enhance the branding for Carlos Santana as well as facilitating accessibility for his fans to be able to get information, tickets, merchandise, and the history easily.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

They’re providing front-end services. They’ve also built front-end services for other projects as well, including Santana's Milagro Foundation and his wife Cindy Blackman Santana’s website. In the past, his ex-wife Deborah Santana’s website, and Salvador Santana’s website were also developed by WSD. So, all were managed through this company originally. They provide artistic, creative, and front-end turnkey services

What was your process for selecting WebSight Design with which to work?

Our relationship goes back to 1999. We had gone through a couple different incarnations with a gentleman by the name of Joe Conte, who worked for them, and then it turned into an ongoing relationship. They spoke to us, they spoke our language, they understood Carlos’ needs and his eye for art, and were able to meet that.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

It depends on whether we’re modifying the site or not. It’s in the $2,000 to $50,000 range, but less than $50,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of the project?

The relationship is ongoing.

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

I think our fans have been very pleased with their work. We haven’t been putting much effort into updating the site recently, so it’s a little antiquated, but that has nothing to do with them. I think what they’ve done is made a very clean, accessible site for us, and people are able to easily navigate it and get what they need. If you look at our analytics, people come to our site for news, tickets, merchandise, and some for historical information, and that’s easily accessible.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

They’ve performed very well. They have always worked with us to satisfy our needs while also guiding us if we’re making some kind of critical mistake from a technological standpoint. I find them easy to work with, and fairly open. They have a good eye for art. Santana isn’t a cookie-cutter guy, so we can’t just go to someone who’s going to make a cookie cutter website for him.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

No. Everything is good.