Wholegrain Digital

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your organization?

I run a gym design business. We design gyms, interiors, and exteriors, for residential developments and private homeowners.

You’re the owner and founder, correct?

Yes. I am.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges that you were attempting to address when you first approached Wholegrain Digital?

We were looking for a custom solution that would provide us with a very aesthetically pleasing, visually compelling website, to attract potential developers and private residents in need of gyms in their establishments. The business has been up-and-running for about two or three years, and we’re trying to attract new business from developers, to put our gyms in their residential developments. That was the business challenge going into it, and that’s why we needed a decent website to advertise our services. We were really in search of a specialist with WordPress because that’s the platform that I’m most familiar with from my other businesses.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of this project in greater detail?

They offered mostly design and development services for WordPress. They don’t provide ongoing support or maintenance. I do that myself, but they’re there should I need them. I’m due to have a meeting with them next week to review some module customizations and to go over some configurations. Most of their work is now relegated to custom development and ad hoc bug fixes.

How did you select Wholegrain Digital as your solution partner?

We started with some preliminary Internet research, and then we narrowed it down with the help of someone who specialized in WordPress development. Wholegrain attracted our attention because they’ve worked extensively with WordPress. If we were going to have a WordPress-based site, we wanted a partner with a record of working heavily with the platform. We included about two or three more vendors to our shortlist before conducting our interviews with their leadership teams. We were very impressed with the work completed by Wholegrain Digital. We definitely saw a few sites that caught our eye, both in terms of functionality and visual design. Their estimates were also more than reasonable.

Could you provide a general cost estimate for this project?

We’ve spent about £10,000 [approximately $16,000] on their services.

When was this project completed?

The website launched at the end of January [of 2014].

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their performance?

We’ve been so busy that we haven’t been able to ascertain that information. That’s one thing that we need to get on in the near future. Having said that, the business has definitely grown. Even a cursory look at some basic search results will provide a good indication of our progress. Google tends to place us in the top five results for several relevant search queries. In addition to that, the administrative process has also been considerably streamlined. 

When working with Wholegrain Digital, is there anything you’d consider unique about their strategic approach or development methodology that distinguish them from other vendors?

They’re very easy to work with; it seems like nothing is too much trouble for them. With other companies that are a lot bigger and a more rigid corporate structure, you might have to go through a few chains of command before getting what you need. We already feel like we’ve gotten personalized attention. They go out of their way to work with you on a custom solution. There’s a lot of give and take, and sharing of ideas and information, which I think leads to high-quality solutions.

Over the course of the whole project, from start to finish, they seemed to understand exactly what was required. We went into the project with very specific visual and functional goals in mind for the new site. It was imperative that our goals and expectations were met, which we conveyed to Wholegrain quite clearly. They were able to get that from the get-go, and understand the kind of design concept we were after. They kept us updated at each and every stage with detailed information, which I was then able to use to provide valuable feedback. They’d then take that feedback and incorporate it into the next iteration. We were rarely disappointed by the results of that process.

I found them very supportive and very effective at communication. They’d respond to our inquiries within hours, not days. They were able to deal with our issues very rapidly, rather than stranding me up for days on end, wondering what was going on. They set out a very clear timeframe when things were going to happen, and how things were going to take place. They’d rarely break that specified timeframe, and when they did, we’d always receive notification beforehand. There weren’t any surprises with Wholegrain. They’re just very capable and competent professionals.

In retrospect, are there areas in which you think they could improve as a service provider?

I can’t offer any real criticisms regarding our experience. Wholegrain has been a fantastic partner.

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your company?

I work for Totaljobs. We’re the largest jobs board company in the United Kingdom. We have six different websites that offer somewhere around 200,000 jobs every month. As part of those sites, we have multiple blogs, and various other presences that we need to keep updating with relevant content.

What is your position?

I’m the senior content manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges you were attempting to address when you first approached Wholegrain Digital?

The beginning of our engagement was about two years ago, I think. We had a lot of visitors every month, in the millions even, but apart from getting them to apply for jobs, there was no great interaction with them, and the whole process was lacking personality. We were really trying to do two things. One was we were trying to show that we knew the world that they were in, and we were trying to show empathy, that we cared for their plight. Also for our customers, we wanted to demonstrate thought leadership, and that we understood their point of view. We wanted to show that we understood what the market meant, that we were kind of at the forefront of that, and we understood what was going on and what the developments were. All of this needed to be conveyed effectively through our websites.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of work in greater detail?

They’ve built eight complete sites for us at this point. The first one was a blog, which was the first time we’d ever attempted anything like that with another organization. It was one of those things that ran hideously in time, but it was all 100 percent on our side. It was we that were holding Wholegrain up rather than the other way around. Since then, we’ve come back to them, and they’ve worked on other blogs, various media centers, and various amendments to projects.

We executed a large marketing campaign last November, and we needed to modify one of our blogs so that we could have a bespoke page, which we’d never done before. We got them to do that, and it worked out very well. They’ve worked not just with me, but other people in the company. Recently they’ve become troubleshooters for us. I paid another agency to build a tool in PHP for me, and Wholegrain is currently fixing that tool to make it work the right way. The previous agency left it in a disastrous state.

How did you select Wholegrain Digital as your solution partner?

Initially, I found them through Google. I was basically looking for qualified WordPress developers the U.K., and their name kept cropping up. I spoke to a few different vendors, but I think from what I can remember, Wholegrain was the one that came back to me the most efficiently, and with the most realistic quote, so we went took it from there. We tried to evaluate at least three developers, to make sure that we got a representative sample. We decided on a U.K.-based company because we wanted a partner that would be easy to get hold of.

Could you provide a general cost estimate for this particular project?

I would say between $20,000 and $30,000 each year.

When was the most recent project completed with them?

They’re actually working right now on something for me. Before that, the last project they did for me was three or four months ago. In essence, it’s very much a continuous, ongoing relationship. There are definitive deliverables involved, but our work isn’t really ever complete.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback you’ve received that would demonstrate the effectiveness of their work?

We launched a blog last June, slightly more than a year ago. In November, it had slightly less than 300,000 visits, so it kind of rose. It’s gone down slightly since then, but it peaked very quickly. It gained a lot of traffic very quickly. So, it obviously works. I’ve also had various people within my organization pleased that the blogs are being very well produced, and looking different than stuff we’ve done before, in a positive way.

[About] 95 percent of the time, if there’s ever been a problem, it’s been our end, because we’re associated with a much wider set of companies. As a result, we have a lot of security in place on all of our hosting. A lot of the time that causes issues, and makes things run very slowly. A lot of the time, Wholegrain would produce things, and then be forced to delay deployment because of red tape on our end. They always resolved everything rapidly, so it was never in doubt that it wasn’t going to work. Anytime we have a project, and we have a problem come up that we don’t expect, Wholegrain has gotten used to adapting to that. They’ve done extremely well. I’ve allowed Wholegrain to take over dealing with our partner in Belgium responsible for our database security and hosting. They’re now able to be efficient with the communication, and things are moving a lot more quickly. That’s the kind of trust you develop only through successful projects and mutual respect.

When working with Wholegrain Digital, is there anything you’d consider unique about their approach or development methodology that distinguish them from other vendors?

The thing I haven’t really spoken about is their expertise. I think I’ve taken that for granted because I’ve worked with them for so long. I worked with another agency using PHP, and I expected the same results and process. I paid them more and got a lot less in return. To me, that’s the best thing I can thing I can say. They have a level of expertise and experience that is exactly what I need to get things done. We can really rely on them.

In retrospect, are there areas in which you think Wholegrain Digital could improve as a service provider?

My only issue with Wholegrain is their scalability. Wholegrain is quite a small company, and if they were bigger I could give them more work. I’m afraid we might outgrow them at some point, which means we’ll have to go find another partner that could potentially fill their shoes. But, I found that rather hard to believe.

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your organization?

We are a company that specializes in providing online interactive training solutions for pilots. We do Web based, iPad, Android apps, and a website system as well. It’s all about allowing pilots to prepare for their simulated flights and to generally improve their flying skills, and advance their careers.

What is your position?

I’m the managing director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges you were attempting to address when you first approached Wholegrain Digital?

We first talked to Wholegrain about three years ago. At that point, we had a number of training apps, but it was very much substandard software. We realized there was a potential to engage each of these pilots who were using our software in some sort of community. It would get them to talk to each other, to help learn from each other’s mistakes, learn from each other’s knowledge. We approached Wholegrain first to redesign our website, to give it a much newer, fresher look. On top of that, we also wanted to explore ways to engage our community and to advance the site in that direction.

We started talking to them at that point, with a plan to update our website design, but also to move the development forward, and to start to look at having community features and a much more immersive ecosystem. Wholegrain was pretty much the instrument in deciding the switch to WordPress. We went to them having used a proprietary CMS (content management system). We weren’t very happy with it, and that was one reason we wanted to move forward. Wholegrain explained to us the benefits and showed us some of the sites they’d recently worked on. Really, they were the ones who convinced us that WordPress was the way to go.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of work in greater detail?

It’s really been two main projects. One has been primarily website design. They’ve taken our ideas, taken what our goals were, and converted them into what we consider great designs. Companies in our field have always had designs that were lacking, especially when compared to other sectors. We always wanted to sort of push the envelope in that respect, and they did a really good job of giving us some fantastic designs that actually went on to win awards for the software, which combined some of the design work they’ve done, too. On top of that, there’s also been the development side of it. They’ve helped us decide on what features would be best to incorporate into the site, and have actively played a more consultative role.

How did you select Wholegrain Digital as your solution partner?

The reason we first went to Wholegrain was because we were looking at the number Web design companies, and we straight away loved their own website. I’ve always been a strong believer in, if the Web design company does a good job on their own site, then they’re going to do a good job with yours, too. We really liked the way they had their site set up. It seemed to project the same things we were looking to do on our site, and the same sort of values. It really spoke to us and instilled some confidence in their approach and capabilities.

Could you provide a general cost estimate for this project?

This year, we’re looking to do some basic cosmetic upgrades to the site, which will probably run us about £12,000.

When was the most recent project completed?

We’re working on one right now. The current website we’re doing is an ongoing project. We’re just finishing the design stage, and we’re meeting with them on Monday. We plan to launch on December 1, [2014]. Prior to this one, the most recent project they completed for us was a complete user interface design for a new pilot app, which allowed pilots to download their rosters, their logbook, have an interactive map to see where their flight was, the weather; just an app that does everything the pilots needs on a day-to-day basis. They were instrumental in providing all the design work for that, which they did about two months ago.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the effectiveness of their work?

We’ve received a number of official pilot testimonials about the value of our product. We get a lot of feedback about not only the functionality of the apps, but a lot of the people get back to us just saying how nice it looks and feel. On the whole, people have been very impressed with the work, including us. 

When working with Wholegrain Digital, is there anything you’d consider unique about their approach or development methodology that distinguish them from other vendors?

I’ve dealt with a number of website design companies in the past, and there are a couple of things I really liked about Wholegrain. Their designs and their development are second to none. On top of that, they’re genuine and very honest. They’ll tell you exactly what you need, rather than trying to tell you what they want you to have. They’re very focused on the results, not about how much they’re trying to make out of you. In the past, I’ve had design companies looking to sort of tie you in for years, to almost keep you captive. Wholegrain has always been very honest, very upfront, and just give you exactly what you ask for.

In addition to that, especially with the design work, they’re the one company that I’ve worked with that really listens to what their clients want. We can sit down with them and explain exactly how we want our apps or our website to work, or what designs we want, and they never fail to impress when it comes to the actual results. They always surprise us with how good the designs are. We’ve been dealing with them for about two or three years, and we’re not very prescriptive with Wholegrain anymore. We just explain what we want, and we let them go with it. We can trust them. They’re able to hit their marks with minimal guidance. They have a lot of creative license in that regard.

In retrospect, are there areas in which you think Wholegrain Digital could improve as a service provider?

No, I don’t think so. I’ve used other website design companies in the past, and I won’t go anywhere else now. Wholegrain does exactly what I need them to do, and I find them to be exemplary.

BACKGROUND

We are a gym design consultancy business specializing in private and commercial gym design and equipment procurement. We are based in central London. We deliver gym solutions to a number of sectors, including the residential and corporate markets. I manage each project from initial consultation with the client through to project delivery. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

We wanted a new website that would be better aimed at our target markets and would help grow our business.

SOLUTION

The website was built using the latest version of WordPress. We selected Wholegrain Digital since they were experts at WordPress and understood what we required.

They were friendly, engaging, and understood exactly what was required so we chose them to build our new website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

The new website is really helping us transform our business as it is generating more qualified leads.

Wholegrain Digital was very flexible and never complained about small or large changes to the initial project brief.

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your organization?

Our company is a national theater for children. We are an educational company that serves as a resource for schools. One of the core parts of our business is touring educational programs to schools around the United States. We also have a sister company in Australia.

What is your position?

I’m the director of information technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges you were attempting to address when you first approached Wholegrain Digital?

Part of our business model is providing our programming to school free of charge, and the programs are paid for by sponsors. Our primary site was targeted primarily at schools, and letting them know about our programs, but wasn’t optimal for highlighting our paying sponsors. We wanted Wholegrain to build us a site that targeted those sponsors, so they could receive the recognition they deserved. We approached them for a completely new website using WordPress.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of work in greater detail?

They’ve done website design and development. They’ve cloned our sites for us. They made a new version for our Australian partner. They cleaned and migrated all of our content to the new site. They’ve conducted extensive user testing and done a lot of platform optimization. They’ve integrated our e-commerce system, too. They’ve been involved in almost everything.

How did you select Wholegrain Digital as your solution partner?

We found them through some online research for qualified WordPress developers. We reached out to a couple of different companies, but we were most impressed by Wholegrain. They really seemed to know what they were doing. When we first sat down and discussed our work, they were much more concerned with our long-term vision and how we saw the site enhancing our business. We found that reassuring, especially because they already have a great track record of design and development.

Could you provide a general cost estimate for this particular project?

We’ve been with them for some time now. The projects have ranged from maybe $4,000 to $7,500. We’ve had quite a few different projects with them.

When was the most recent project completed?

In January or February of this year [2014].

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the effectiveness of their work?

We use Google Analytics, which is one way to measure our improvements. I don’t think we’re measuring anything in particular that would demonstrate the effectiveness. Our business is not a traffic generating type of thing, so it’s actually a more subjective experience for us.

Our workflow is much more efficient now, that’s for sure. That isn’t all that surprising. We chose WordPress because we knew it’d be able to streamline some of our processes. We’ve received a lot of positive feedback from our sponsors and our staff. Overall, we’ve been very pleased with the site. 

When working with Wholegrain Digital, is there anything you’d consider unique about their approach or development methodology that distinguish them from other vendors?

I would say they exceeded expectations. They’re extremely competent in the work they do. They produce fantastic work. They’re very good a communicating what they need. They’re very good at listening to what we need and translating what we say we need into the actual end deliverable. That’s a fairly rare quality, to be a technology provider and have all those ducks in a row. I think their communication process and their technical abilities are just spot on.

In retrospect, are there areas in which you think Wholegrain Digital could improve as a service provider?

Our experience with them has been nothing short of positive. I can’t offer any real criticisms of their work or process. We wouldn’t be working with them if we thought they could improve and simply didn’t.

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your organization?

We are a dedicated event organizer. We have three main venues: One in Northamptonshire, one in Guildford, and another in Warwickshire [in the United Kingdom]. We have two other businesses as well. One is a team-building company, and the other is a venue-finding company.

What is your position?

I’m the director of marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges you were attempted to address when you initiated the relationship with Wholegrain Digital? 

Originally, we needed them to build a small website for a subsidiary of our company. We’re now working with them to rebuild that site, too. It was long overdue for a redesign. Since they were the ones responsible for building the first WordPress site, it only made sense to return to them to revamp it.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of this project?

They build all of the functional components of the site and we implement all of the content. Our part is relatively easily since we’re basically just migrating all of the data from our old site. They weren’t too involved in the design, either. Their primary role is custom development and enhancement of our site's functional aspects.

How did you select Wholegrain Digital as your solution partner?

We conducted an initial Internet search using Google. They were one of a few potential vendors to receive our statement of work and, as I’d mentioned, it also made sense because they made the original site, too.

Can you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in monetary terms?

I can’t remember without checking. It wasn’t a massive amount, but it was still fairly substantial. We’re also not done with the redesign.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the effectiveness of their work?

The new site is definitely an improvement. Our main Sundial Group website was very old and had loads of irrelevant or unnecessary information. The new site really streamlines our backend processes and will hopefully offer more dynamic content to our users. I can’t really provide you with any figures or anything, but anecdotally, we’re very pleased with what’s been completed so far.

When working with Wholegrain Digital, is there anything you’d consider unique about their approach or development methodology that distinguishes them from other vendors?

I really can’t say because I wasn’t that closely involved in the project. I did interface with the project manager on our side, and he indicated Wholegrain was very responsive and reliable. We didn’t experience any real issues, and we continue to work closely with them, I think very effectively.  

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your organization?

I work for a niche boutique consultancy that specializes in helping organizations in the commercial tractor space to implement CRM [customer relationship management] solutions using the Salesforce platform.

What is your position?

I’m the founder and chief executive officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges you were attempting to address when you initiated the project with Wholegrain Digital?

The business challenge when I engaged Wholegrain was to gain an understanding of our core identity and what we’re trying achieve with our online presence and, secondly, making sure the price of establishing a compelling digital presence was affordable. 

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of the project?

It was the complete design, build, and implementation of a fresh, brand new website for us. We came to Wholegrain with our basic objectives and goals, and they took us through the discovery and scoping phase. Once we agreed on the concept, they began to build the site from scratch. We were responsible for collecting and preparing all of our data and content for migration, and we provided consistent guidance on the actual design, too. Once the backend was built, Wholegrain migrated all of our content and configured the system properly. They also provided us with some very detailed documentation and tutorial guides, which was fantastic.

Had you already selected WordPress as your content management system before approaching Wholegrain Digital?

Not really, because we didn’t have a lot of experience with the CMS market. We were advised to look at open source solutions like Drupal and WordPress. It just so happened that Wholegrain were WordPress experts. We weren’t particularly concerned for any reason as to which one to go with since the basic feedback was that either platform could meet our needs, but at different costs. We really just wanted to ensure that the site met our expectations and requirements. Wholegrain recommended WordPress because it was their forte and, as far as I’m concerned, that was the correct way to go.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this project in monetary terms?

[Approximately] £4000 is what we spent on the implementation, but that doesn’t include our support retainer.

When was the site launched?

Three years ago [2011].

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of the results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or end-user feedback you’ve received that would demonstrate the effectiveness of their work?

We’ve received informal feedback from contacts, connections, associates, friends and others about the quality of the website. Everything we’ve heard has been very positive feedback in terms of the design and the impact the site has had. In terms of converting traffic into something, email, or any type of inquiry, it’s been, unfortunately, quite limited. I can’t necessarily attribute that to Wholegrain because they weren’t engaged to provide SEO [search engine optimization] services. They were engaged for the design and implementation services. But, certainly, the feedback on the quality of the site and the scope of the site in terms of meeting our expectations in the market has been very positive. It operates pretty flawlessly, which was the end goal.

When working with Wholegrain Digital, is there anything you’d consider unique about their approach or development methodology that distinguishes them from other vendors?

I appreciate their ability to listen and comprehend your business objectives. Their second impressive feature is their ability to translate those objectives into actionable technical requirements. They bring to the table a breadth of experience and knowledge around what is doable, and they challenge us when we’re asking for things that may sound problematic.

They also have a great culture that we find easy to work with. They’re very, very sociable and professional. They’re generally a very responsive team, too. Whenever we’ve had needs or changes to the site, they’ve been very responsive in supporting us and enabling us to achieve the change we want, within the timeframe we want. 

In retrospect, are there areas you think they could improve on as a service provider?

They don’t offer SEO services. If they did, that’d have been very helpful. They said they could recommend other organizations to do SEO for us. I understand, historically, that they used to offer SEO services, but decided to pull out of that market. It would have been nice to have them as our full-service vendor because it’d be one less additional service to add to our budget through a vendor with different pricing. It was also just another separate project we needed to manage and orchestrate alongside the site build.

The second thing I think they could improve is their knowledge of CRM systems. They’re very knowledgeable in what they do know, which is website development, particularly on the WordPress platform. But, they don’t have a lot of experience working with CRM systems in tandem. Given the size of the WordPress market and given the size of the Salesforce market, it would have been helpful if they’d been experienced in integrating WordPress with Salesforce. I was rather surprised when I discovered that they didn’t have that experience. The quote they gave us integrate the two systems was significantly higher than it would have taken for us to do ourselves. I think that’s because they haven’t done it before. Being able to build websites that are integrated with some of the leading CRM applications out there would be a useful thing for them to develop internal capability on.