UI/UX Design & Web Dev for Government Initiative
-
- $10,000 to $49,999
- Mar. 2021 - Apr. 2022
- Quality
- 4.0
- Schedule
- 4.0
- Cost
- 3.0
- Willing to Refer
- 4.0
"We wanted a website that was sustainable and adaptable to growth, and they provided us with the necessary resources."
- Government
- New York City, New York
- 1-10 Employees
- Phone Interview
- Verified
Elevation designed and developed a WordPress website for a government initiative. The team provided comprehensive services from start to finish. The client was given training on how to update their own site.
Elevation was able to deliver a website that fulfilled all of the client's functional requirements. The team was responsive, professional, and never missed a deadline. Their exceptional knowledge and counsel sets them apart.
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
BACKGROUND
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I'm the coordinator of community and coalition initiatives for a government initiative.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
What challenge were you trying to address with Elevation?
We were creating a workshop for a project we were working on. After gathering input from actual people through focus groups, we concluded that creating a website for easy access to information would be the most effective approach.
SOLUTION
What was the scope of their involvement?
Elevation provided end-to-end services, including designing the user interface, creating wireframes, and managing the entire process from pre-production to launch using WordPress. We chose WordPress because our team members with web development knowledge were already familiar with it, making it an easy choice.
The Elevation team clarified the terminology and created a timeline based on our funding. They started from scratch, ensuring that we understood everything. They also gave us some benchmarks regarding what we needed to do to move the process forward.
With the help of the project manager at Elevation, we identified what we didn't want, and determined the appropriate color scheme and text style for our project.
The team at Elevation provided recommendations and listened to our input. They were responsive and were good at making suggestions based on their experience, some of which we took to heart because that isn't our scope of work. They made some suggestions that we weren't interested in, but overall, it was a productive exchange from my point of view.
Based on the overall vision and design of the web page, we knew that much of the information would be static and wouldn't require a lot of updating. The website had some specific content related to our state. Still, as we were developing the project, we knew that there was a potential for it to go national, or at least have potential national implications and impact.
We asked that Elevation design the website so that we could quickly pivot from resources for one state to information on all 50 states. At the very end, when we were getting ready to launch, they walked us through how to add those drop-down views and the other 49 states.
We entered into a maintenance contract with them for three months, and everything went smoothly. There were a few minor bugs, but nothing significant. Furthermore, we had another two-month contract with them for a discreet add-on. During this time, we sought their guidance in determining the best design.
What is the team composition?
Agustin (Project Manager Team Lead) was our main point of contact. Additionally, we interfaced with 2–3 other people with design specialties. Some additional people worked on our project.
Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?
As our group's primary point of contact and a facilitator, I frequently interacted with Agustin during the project. From my experience, he was always responsive and willing to assist with any inquiries. He was very patient with us and good at explaining different options in a way that made sense and allowed the project to proceed.
How did you come to work with Elevation?
Our project manager aided us in selecting web developers by narrowing down our options, and we conducted interviews to make our final decision. Based on our vision of the website and the interview, we chose Elevation.
How much have you invested in them?
We spent between $10,000–$50,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
The engagement lasted from March 2021–April 2022.
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We've been using Google Analytics, and they helped us think through that aspect. Some folks on our internal team have developed a marketing campaign. We aren't getting the traffic we hoped, but we aren't surprised because we don't have the funds for marketing campaigns. Our ability to promote this relies on our network of connections, as we don't have a specific budget for advertising.
We have been analyzing bounce rates, duration of stay, video views, and specific pages visited by our website visitors. We have been using this information to refine our content or marketing strategy as much as possible.
How did Elevation perform from a project management standpoint?
They used Basecamp for project management. From the start, they created a timeline and consistently provided updates on our progress along the timeline. They also informed us whenever we were falling behind, which proved to be helpful.
The people handling this work on our team had other responsibilities, and sometimes they fell behind; any delays were due to our team. The Elevation team was consistently punctual with their obligations. I can't recall a time when Elevation failed to fulfill a commitment.
Our internal work group had a standing meeting every Friday, and we invited Agustin to that when we first executed the contract with Elevation. Due to financial reasons, we quickly decided only to ask Elevation into our calls if necessary. Most of the coordination took place through either Basecamp or email communication.
The Elevation team preferred to have only one or two designated points of contact, which is understandable since communicating with 15 team members can be difficult. I was the primary decision maker; I had to approve various project elements. We clearly defined the process and knew the rules of engagement, which made the project smoother.
What did you find most impressive about them?
We have a website that we all feel good about. The Elevation team guided us on how to use WordPress, enabling us to perform updates independently. We wanted a website that was sustainable and adaptable to growth, and they provided us with the necessary resources.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I can't think of anything that Elevation needs to improve on. Some team members on our side were frustrated by Basecamp as a resource, but that wasn't my experience, as I was comfortable using it.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Our team found it beneficial to identify our strengths and weaknesses. In this case, we needed them to guide us into asking the right questions to help realize our vision of designing the website.
When hiring someone for website design, it is important to trust their experience and guidance throughout the process. Allow them to do their job. Conflicts can occur if there are team members who have strong personalities and tend to micromanage.
RATINGS
-
Quality
4.0Service & Deliverables
-
Schedule
4.0On time / deadlines
-
Cost
3.0Value / within estimates
-
Willing to Refer
4.0NPS