IT-Geeks

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the owner of an adult products e-commerce company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IT Geeks?

I wanted to develop a website for my online store.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

IT-Geeks developed my website from scratch; they optimized it for speed because it's a large site, and there will be many things on it. They've also offered maintenance for 30 days after the completion of the contract, so I can reach out to them anytime anything happens.

What is the team composition?

We've worked mainly with Eva (Project Manager) from their team.

How did you come to work with IT Geeks?

I posted the job on a web development platform, they have a provider list of trusted website developers, and IT Geeks were on that list. They sent a response email, and we had a conversation where I found out they had experience in the type of commerce we wanted to build. Overall, we chose them because I could tell right away that they were professionals in their work.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent around $3,200 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I've done some comparative shopping to see what other websites like mine look like, and there aren't very many good professional and visually appealing functional websites in the niche that I'm in.

Overall, the product they've delivered looks beautiful — it's probably one of the top 10 sites I've come across.

How did IT Geeks perform from a project management standpoint?

Eva is extremely responsive, and we have great communication. In the morning, I email her, and she responds within an hour. Also, she walks me through, teaches me, and gives me the knowledge I need to ensure that I succeed with the product.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have the right people in the right places; Eva has been an awesome project manager and a pleasure to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Maybe they could offer additional services to walk the client through every project step.

Any advice for potential customers?

Ask for a comprehensive list of all the ordinary everyday things so you can be prepared.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the owner of an online clothing retailer. We sell women's apparel.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire IT-Geeks, and what were your goals?

We hired IT Geeks to optimize the design and functionality of our Shopify website. Our goals were to improve usability, conversion rate, and revenue.

SOLUTION

How did you select IT-Geeks and what were the deciding factors?

I selected IT Geeks because they were well-reviewed across other review platforms for similar services, were professional in their interactions, and gave me a cost-effective quote.

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

I gave IT Geeks a detailed list of changes I wanted to implement on the website.

I then gave IT Geeks access to my Shopify website and they went through and implemented those changes which ranged from adding in content modules on the homepage, making the homepage hero responsive on various device types, adding in functionality on the product page to make information more digestible. 

Moreover, adding accelerated payment buttons in the cart, optimizing the mobile slide-out menu, etc.

How many people from the IT-Geeks team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I only worked with a single Project Manager who handled all inquiries, revisions, billing, etc.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Hard to say definitively but after a couple months sales are up 50% year over year after we started making changes with IT Geeks.

We expect that the changes we have made to the website with IT Geeks will have a strong impact on conversion rate.

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

We interacted via the Shopify Experts channel as well as email. All communications went through a single point of contact.

We went through various revisions (as well as additional tasks that weren't in the original scope) all of which were handled with no additional cost or pushback. Tasks were generally completed well within my ideal timeframe (10 or so days).

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

Their speed, their ability to handle revisions and changes to the scope. Their ability to translate my notes into reality and cost-effective pricing are impressive.

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

Only perhaps more attention to detail to reduce the number of revisions needed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am one of the founders and the CEO of the company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire IT-Geeks, and what were your goals?

Our website was a new eCommerce website designed to sell fine art world wide. Our pictures, printed on aluminum sheets, are a combination of original photographs / oil paintings that showcase high detail and vibrant colors.

IT-Geeks were tasked with implementing a full fledged website where we worked in collaboration with IT-Geeks design capability and coding skills to create a visually pleasing yet complex website capable of show casing hundreds of original pictures. Our goals were to be able to launch a fully operational eCommerce website within six months that was visually pleasing yet robust and straightforward to update with new pictures from all over the world.

Mike at IT Geeks was a font of knowledge and continually demonstrated the unusual skill of being able to balance artistic creativity with practical implementation while always being ready to talk with us via a video link. Mike and IT-Geeks helped us reach our goals on time and within budget. We were thrilled with the look of our final website. Thank you Mike and IT Geeks.

SOLUTION

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

Finding IT Geeks was not easy and we had a wasteful first start with am "incompetent" website building vendor which made us much more careful in our search for and final selection of IT Geeks. IT Geeks reviews were very important to us initially.

What sold us on IT Geeks was Mike's quiet confidence in his skills, his sense of humor, his artistic ability, and his willingness to hand hold us through the hard learning curve of coming up to speed on using the Shopify software back end as neither myself nor our team members had ever built a website before although we are all skilled professional photographers.

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

Coming into the project with IT Geeks we had a clear vision of how we wanted our collections of photographs to display as drop down menus under certain main menus such as "The Work" (twenty plus collections of artwork in carefully created classifications such as "landscapes" or "mountains", etc. We also knew that we had to trade off image quality with speed of loading a picture with the emphasis on image quality once loaded.

Mike and IT Geeks laid out an implementation plan that was logical and allowed both IT Geeks and ourselves to work together on meeting deadlines and deliverables. Our project was soup to nuts in that we went from a blank page website to a full blown eCommerce site including check out and website analytics in six months of hard work on all sides.

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

Mike was our main IT Geeks project manager and point of contact. Mike did an excellent job of co-ordinating his other team members which included writers, coders and SEO experts.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A key deliverable for us was to have our on the ground sales team be able to enter a facility (hospital, office complex, nursing home, trade show, etc., etc.) and to be able to, when necessary, showcase our 800 plus high quality images to our buyers by allowing them to go online to our website to make their final selections of images and sizes of images so as to allow our drop shipper to deliver our metal prints as ordered. We have received numerous compliments on the design, implementation and ease of use of our website.

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

Most professional but always flexible and fun to work with.

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

Mike and IT Geeks did the hardest things well. They delivered a high quality website on time and on budget and were quick to solve problems and often made important suggestions proactively so that we did not have to step backwards to fix problems. For myself, I most appreciated Mike's artistic subtlety which was always balanced by his practical coding skills, and as icing on the cake, his sense of humor and ready smile!

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

Not really. Truthfully, myself and my team were usually the one's holding the website project up as we were often distracted by our day to day work projects and we often delayed IT Geeks as we missed our deadlines rather than IT Geeks missing there deadlines.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO at baby brand startup based in Canada. We combine innovative design, safety, and a daring use of colours. This makes every item outstanding.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire IT-Geeks?

As a startup we have a small product catalog of only 2 skus. Each sku is offered in 6 colors. We wanted to display a total of 12 items on the shop all page. But also to have the possibility to choose the 6 colors available on each page of each product. As a SHOPIFY website, we also needed our inventory to be taken into consideration for each color despite the creation of only 2 products in the Shopify platform, but 12 products displayed on the website

SOLUTION

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

We choose them for the afordable price and experience in the industry. We also like the rapid answer and detailed quote.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

After a series of email to understand well what we needed, the works have been finished quickly. We asked for more features that we haven't thinked at the beginning. They added those features in the initial project really easily.

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

In total, we worked with 2 peoples. The IT pearson also took the time to show us how their work works in a video conference. So we can make the change by ourselve in the Shopify platform if we need to add or remove products.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Our website is not also very beautiful, but really functional and without any bugs.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The communication was easy and fast. We even received answer in the weekend.

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

I was impressed by their ease in creating our ideas. They make sure to offer us the best option, not just doing what we ask. Take the time to explain us all the options

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

For that first project, everything was perfect.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Principal Owner of a Pet Food manufacture and retail store company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire IT-Geeks?

I hired IT-Geeks to help create a customized website and to assist with 3rd party applications (shipping, memberships, etc.) and to teach me how to manage changes within my website.

SOLUTION

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

I looked for vendors who were experts with Shopify and E-Commerce and most importantly, understood my vision for the website AND was flexible with my time as I have 2 business I'm running at the same time so my bandwidth is not always easy to work within.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Had a series of development meetings to walk through my vision and talk through expectations of the tools I was looking for and the look / feel for the user before the team then began creating the website which they were able to translate from our development meetings with accuracy - it was amazing to see the transition of the website from planning to execution!

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

In total, there were a total of 6 people working on my project which included a lead team member who was my point of contact and their developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

While the website is not officially up an running, the website they created is extremally easy to navigate and they were also to include a website link to my other business for customers to seamlessly navigate to. IT-Geeks performed beyond my expectations and I am extremally happy with their work!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Amy, my project manager, was an extremely effective communicator and driver in ensuring the project was on task - she made the entire process and experience seamless and never made me feel bad for having to change anything on the website.

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

They patience first and foremost with my never ending changes to the littlest things ranging from finding the "prefect" color to the "perfect" font. Additionally, they were extremely knowledgeable in their field and was able to provide guidance and suggestions along the journey to help me create a user-friendly website but also a website that showcased my business and products in the best way possible.

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

Absolutely none - anyone working with IT-Geeks will be extremely happy with their work!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of Hobby-Sports.com, a retailer that has sold R/C hobby products locally and online for over 30 years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire IT-Geeks, and what were your goals?

Design a new Shopify website and SEO work. We were looking for an accessible website for customers for local sales and worldwide shipments.

SOLUTION

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

Recommended by Shopify and had great reviews. Tom was very professional and returned my phone call with a lot of knowledge about the industry and how he could help.

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

They did everything from the initial setup and design of the website to ongoing changes and upgrades.

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

Tom took the lead on the website project, and Emma organized everything and moved the project along. Rob specializes in SEO work and is taking the lead on making the website show up in online searches.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Jan-May 2022 sales are double that of the same time in 2021

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

Very flexible in communication. Email, video calls, and Trello. Everything moves fast, and changes are usually completed in 24-48 hours.

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

They dont make a website and move on to another customer. They find ways to improve the website while keeping up with the latest tech to keep me competitive in the marketplace.

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

Maybe they offered to teach me more about their excellent services and ideas sooner.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am VP of Operations for Direct School Uniforms. We are an online school uniform retailer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire IT-Geeks?

This project is a new online only concept for our existing brick and mortar retail business. We just don't have a full time on site technology team, so we hired IT Geeks to be that missing piece of our team. They have stepped in seamlessly, as if we have worked together for years. Sam J and his team have performed better than I expected at every turn. I look forward to using them again in the future.

SOLUTION

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

We looked at all the experts on the Shopify list and IT Geeks really stood out due to their multiple 5 star reviews, reasonable cost structure, quick response, and then they won us over with their professional attitude.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We needed an expert to help us get our new Shopify website up and running quickly and smoothly. We did not have the time or talent to do it all ourselves in the available timeframe. We were worried that the learning curve would be too steep. We did our research and found IT Geeks.

The scope of work that they could perform was perfect for us. We agreed on a plan of action and they did everything they promised and much more. They helped us choose a theme that worked best for our type of business, import the products, choose and implement additional software to solve some unusual business processes we needed, and then tested the whole system to ensure the best experience for our online customers.

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

I worked with an initial consultant in the very beginning to get the scope of work outlined, and then I was passed on to a project manager, Sam J, who was my contact for everything. Sam had a very competent team to back him up. It was all very seamless. I appreciate not having to work with several contacts at once.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Our website looks beautiful and verry professional. It gives our customers an easy and pleasant shopping experience.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project manager was very easy to communicate with. We spoke daily through email and had regular meetings on Google Meet.

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

I was very impressed with their knowledge of how to get this website to work exactly like I needed it to. No wasted time hunting for solutions.

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

I really found this to be a perfect experience and would not ask them to improve on a thing.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Creative Co-Ordinator of a womenswear e-commerce fashion brand based in London.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire IT-Geeks, and what were your goals?

Our website was previously hosted on Wordpress and it brought us numerous amount of unnecessary problems such as selling items that were not in stock, gift cards not working, analytics weren't reliable, and crashing at every launch.

It was also complex to use and we were losing customers due to having so many issues with simply purchasing items, which is essentially a vital part of an e-commerce platform. We wanted to move to Shopify to enhance our customer experience and fix all the unnecessary issues previously mentioned.

While we we’re at it, we decided to also update our website design to give it a new life as it had not been updated for over 5 years.

SOLUTION

How did you select IT-Geeks and what were the deciding factors?

We did an extensive online search and contacted multiple vendors. Some vendors showed hesitancy over some of the features we wanted to implement on our new site so we decided to go with IT-Geeks based on their approach, experience and cost.

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

Our main scope was 3 things: Migrate the website from Wordpress to Shopify, implement the new website design that we had created and implement a few new features to the website such as a loyalty programme, Instagram feed, returns portal and bundles.

How many people from the IT-Geeks team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We only had one main point of contact which made it very convenient and easy for us. We were in contact with Mike who is currently the Senior Project Manager at IT-Geeks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There was no issues with migrating the website, everything went smoothly and as expected. When we re-launched the website, we had the biggest influx of visitors and sales we've ever had and the website was functioning properly without crashing.

All the deliverables we're met and we really appreciated how much the team had patience and flexibility with our never ending design notes as we realised a lot of new improvements on the way.

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

We mostly communicated with Mike via emails for any feedback that we had. We did also have a few Zoom meetings every once in a while to go through bigger, more complex improvements that we felt that needed more in depth discussion.

Emails we're always replied in a timely manner. Communication was great.

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

Their patience and flexibility with our design notes made this project much longer than it was initially meant to be. Our new website notes we're always met with ease which made the journey more enjoyable for us.

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

Some design notes were initially missed and had to be brought up again. In the end all notes were resolved.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a company that manufactures and sells accessories for first responders. We sell direct to consumer online as well as wholesale to resellers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire IT-Geeks, and what were your goals?

We needed a website refresh and migration to Shopify 2.0. We also needed to be able to better provide our merchants with an easier way to purchase our products.

SOLUTION

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

We selected IT Geeks because of the amount of experience they had completing the tasks that we required.

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

I had an initial consultation with a member of the team who listened to our needs and assigned an account manager. I had a Zoom meeting with the our account manager and we went over specific needs. From that point on I received frequent updates and mock ups so that I could see the way the site was progressing. I was involved in the process every step of the way and was kept well informed of the updates.

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

I worked with one project manager from beginning to end.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website is now more attractive, flows better and is easier to navigate.

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

I had regular email chats and Zoom meetings with the project manager. I was kept very well informed of the updates that were being made and timelines.

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

I was most impressed with the way Sam always kept me involved. I never felt that I didn't know what was going on.

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

There was a slight misunderstanding regarding the scope of work. However, our project manager, Sam was quick to resolve the issue in a manner that made us happy.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Vice President overseeing e-commerce division for the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire IT-Geeks, and what were your goals?

We were rolling out a new blog as an add-on to our e-commerce. We had very specific requests of ensuring the podcast and blog ties out to our e-com website.

SOLUTION

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

My team interviewed a few vendors and IT Geeks were very knowledgable, responsive, and fast in their turnaround time.

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

We had a kick-off meeting to discuss our objectives and scope with key deliverables. From there they developed wire frames. We did go thru a couple of iterations and then the final result was delivered.

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

A project manager and a designer worked with the team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We saw traction on our podcast and inturn increased traffic to the website.

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

They were extremely communicative - usually responded within an hour via emails and would also hop on adhoc phone calls as we were working with tight deadlines.

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

They were extremely professional, and they delivered everything on time. They also go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that our project was to our satisfaction.

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

Testing is something that can be improved but most of it was due to a tight deadline and does not really reflect on them necessarily for this project.