Merge Studio

I am the Deputy Director of California WIC Association

We are a 501c3 Non-profit organization representing 84 California WIC Local Agencies providing education, training, and advocacy on policies affecting our community and families.

Clutch Site

2-5 Employees

We did a complete redesign of our website, including incorporating new branding and design, new and revised content, and overall organization and structure. We added new features to enhance usability and experience including a blog, resource library, and events calendar.

Launching our new website on time and within budget.

Merge provided excellent project management with a dedicated project manager for our website. We had weekly meetings to discuss the status and progress of the project, and they guided us and defined exactly what content and materials would be needed at the different stages of the project. They were flexible when we need to adjust the timeline to fit our schedules, and delivered the completed project on time. They provided detailed training and guides for our staff, and continue to provide oustanding support to our small organization.

We appreciate their focus on non profit organizations and found it invaluable, because our presence and priorities are different than other types of entities. They made sure that our website was great for the users with a focus on making it easy for staff to update. They always provided support when needed and incorporated enhancements at our request as we look to add features to our site. Their project management was truly exceptional in keeping the project progressing on track and guiding it to completion on time.

I can't think of anything specific.

I am the musician coach of Martha Caplin

I coach musicians who are taking auditions and performing music.

Referral

Referred to me

1 Employee

I consulted with Michelle Dodd of Merge Studio with a rather loose plan to create a website that would transition me from being a performing violinist to being a musician who coaches up and coming performers. Her work began with educating me as I knew absolutely nothing about how websites are designed. She set up the various links and came up with a basic design that I immediately liked. It's as if she understood who I was, giving the site a classical, simple, yet warm and inviting look. We chose photos from hundreds that I had. Once the initial planning and application was done, there continues to be ongoing work as I add more of my music to the site.

I posted the website link on Facebook with a short description of what I am now doing. Immediately I received a request to give a professional violinst three coaching sessions.

MIchelle Dodd was pristine in being timely and in responding to my needs. For example, she showed me how to post blogs and when I would sometimes have trouble she would help right away.

Virtual Meeting

Michelle is an impressive and unique individual whose talent as a web designer comes out of who she is. In the intitial meetings she understood right away that this website was a legacy for me as much as it was a way to target musicians who would come to be coached. She impressed me by her ability to see others and to know how to translate who they are into a form that is technical.

Nope.

I’m a self-employed writer.

I needed a couple of websites for a new project. I had done a book and a film connected to that book, so I needed to build a website entirely from scratch.

Merge Studio designed and developed a WordPress website because that was the interface I used to update the website. They optimized the site for mobile users, whether on a phone or tablet. The functionality included a lot of scrolling instead of being menu-driven, which was a structure I hadn’t worked with before. However, we discussed it, and Merge Studio persuaded me that it was a good way to go for this website because the idea was to provide users with short snippets of information. The site included a video, so they had good arguments to go with that functionality.

Michelle (Co-Founder & CEO) was my primary point of contact.

We had a preexisting relationship because Merge Studio developed my personal website for my business as a writer. They did it a while ago and had a different name then, so this was the second website I did with them.

I haven’t seen the final invoice, but I spent less than $10,000.

We started talking about the website last year, but the actual timeline began in March 2024, when I was able to get the content. We didn’t start on the construction until the content was available.

I have seen some positive impact through the website and social media, but I don’t have any numbers on that. The website has been running for only two weeks, so it’s pretty new.

We had a hard deadline due to the film premiere, and they met it. In general, Merge Studio did a better job meeting deadlines than I did on my end to get the content finalized. Overall, I was pleased; they delivered what was promised.

As someone whose strong suit isn’t designing or envisioning websites, it was very helpful to work with a team that could take my ideas and grasp the content well. I wanted to get my content out to the world, but I didn’t necessarily grasp how to structure it in the technological or aesthetic environment. Merge Studio did an excellent job listening to what I wanted and figuring out the right tools to make it happen, whether through the structure or the website's visual design.

Nothing really comes to mind. Overall, I had a good experience, and they completed the project in a timely fashion.

It’s essential to have a clear sense of the website’s purpose, whether it’s to sell a service, sell products, or convey a particular set of information. In my case, I didn’t really know how to build a website to make it work, but I had a clear idea of the audience I had in mind and what I wanted them to get from the experience. That enabled Merge Studio to put together a good technical background and aesthetic for the site.

I am the Managing Director of Live By Living

Live By Living connects cancer survivors and their caregivers to nature and one another through walks, hikes and retreats.

Chamber

2-5 Employees

Scale organization to include:

Yes, the project plan was developed with agreed upon deliverables. Merge listened attentively to understand our needs, adapted to our emerging organizational requirements and consistently executed tactical milestones on time and within budget.

Live By Living partnered with Merge after an extensive vendor search and interview process. With stated goals in mind, Merge proved to be the most skilled and talented partner, and brought tremendous expertise regarding the nonprofit space. Most impressive was not only their techincal skills and passion for their craft, but also their exceptional soft skills.

We're pleased with our continued collaboration and partnership with Merge Studio.

I am the Administrative Officer of Society for Health Psychology

Independent contractors providing Administrative support for a division of the American Psychological Association

Referral

2-5 Employees

Merge was recommended for their focus on non-profit organizations. They began by interviewing key members of the association's leadership to determine goals and obstacles, in relation to the previous site and industry standards. A complete review of the previous site provided insights into areas for improvement. In addition to building a more flexible structure for ongoing development, the Merge team guided association volunteers in evaluating previous content. They also made recommendations for coordinating communications tools to create internal consistency and optimal effectiveness. Volunteer training and collaborative planning now allows the association to maintain established functions and access Merge expertise for additional improvements.

Merge has done an outstanding job of:

Virtual Meeting

Our organization has contracted with at least half a dozen designers, web management companies, or other contractors over the past twenty years. Before Merge, none demonstrated the commitment to learn enough about the organization and field to accurately reflect the culture and provide the needed services to members and site visitors. In addition, many created sites that ensured ongoing dependence on the vendor for site maintenance and future development, while Merge trained and guided our volunteer leaders to manage routine updates while the specialists at Merge addressed technical challenges beyond the expertise of volunteers. The level of collaborative support from Merge Studio is unmatched. Also, their focus on the unique needs of non-profit organizations put them ahead of other vendors in being prepared to suggest approaches for site development which other vendors did not grasp.

The responses from organizational leaders, volunteers, members and visitors to our new site have been overwhelmingly positive. Since this was a long process, it might have have been helpful to receive periodic "progress reports" from Merge to share with the volunteer leaders who were not directly involved in the project - though the leaders who were involved were happy to report on the excellent collaboration.