PROJECT FEEDBACK SUMMARY

The site created by Temper And Forge meets the client’s expectations. Its design is so engaging that, within the first month of launch, the site was placed on the top 7% of all new Shopify sites. The team is very talented and professional, and they’re very good at meeting timeline expectations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Temper And Forge?
We wanted to launch an online portal for our jewelry distribution in a cost-effective way while making it look very professional. Although we have a broad skillset, website and online store development are not part of our talents. Thus, we connected with Temper And Forge to get help.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?
Creating a custom template from an existing one was more cost-effective than designing and developing a new website from scratch, so Temper And Forge helped us develop a custom Shopify template for our site. Part of the reason why they recommended Shopify for our site was that online sales were our main focus. They told us that Shopify was a very seamless platform for new businesses like ours, and we would be able to combine a lot of the elements that we needed to run our store.

First, we provided them with assets to create the template, including our logo, primary branding colors, product samples, target audience information, and samples of different websites that we liked. With our input, they got a better understanding of our style. Then, they came back with different template options based on our style and the products we needed to showcase.

After choosing a template to start from, Temper And Forge started customizing it and fine-tuning it. This process was very collaborative, during which they gave us recommendations of different creative elements to add, including imagery, font size, and font design.

We launched the site recently, but Temper And Forge keeps working with us. Currently, they’re helping us with our SEO. These efforts started when they were still building the site, implementing on-site SEO strategies for our product names and listings.

What is the team composition?
Initially, we were introduced to four people from Temper And Forge, two of which focused on account services. However, we haven’t interacted with them a lot. Our main contact points have been Nate (Lead Developer & Owner) and Sam (Developer).

How did you come to work with Temper And Forge?
We were connected with Temper And Forge through a mutual friend, and we really liked the strategy they brought to the table to work with us. It was very attractive to us that we didn’t need to put them on a retainer, so they would work for us as much as we needed them to, and we would pay them accordingly. This approach was very helpful for us as a new business because we would be able to control our costs.

What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together around July 2021, and our engagement is ongoing. Our goal was to launch the site around January 2022, but we were behind schedule and launched in February 2022, which was partially our fault.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Generally speaking, Temper And Forge has met our goals and done what we needed them to do. During the first month of our launch, we were in the top 7% of all Shopify websites that were launched in the same period, which was a great metric to understand how users perceived us. However, it is still early to provide any metrics regarding the site’s performance.

How did Temper And Forge perform from a project management standpoint?
Temper And Forge have been good at meeting timeline expectations. Although we launched our site later than we wanted, it was more our fault than theirs. Additionally, their communication has been good.

In terms of budgeting, we’ve been surprised a couple of times by our bills, but I don’t think it has to do with Temper And Forge. We use a Monday.com board, which tells us how many work hours we’re using. However, we haven’t been on top of it as much as needed, and we’ve ended up going over our budgeted hours. Moving forward, we will be more aware of that.

Besides Monday.com, we communicate via email and text messages. Our communication was especially helpful during launch because we texted them whenever we found bugs, and they fixed them immediately.

What did you find most impressive about them?
Temper And Forge is a very talented team. They run very leanly while being highly professional — that’s a good combination. Additionally, I like that they’re similar to a boutique shop financially speaking, so we don’t have to pay monthly contracts.

Are there any areas they could improve?
Temper And Forge’s communication has room for improvement. It would be great if they were more on top of things and frequently touched base with us.