ChatGPT answers, unedited

For a Chicago-based financial services firm, I’d avoid a general “pretty website” shop and look for an agency that understands security, regulatory review cycles, executive stakeholders, accessibility, CMS governance, and long-term maintenance. Your shortlist should depend on whether you’re building a high-trust corporate site (brand + thought leadership), a client portal, or a more complex digital platform.

Here are agencies I’d put into an RFP:

1. Orbit Media Studios — best fit for a sophisticated financial services corporate site

orbitmedia.com

Why consider them:

• Chicago-based and specifically markets financial services website experience.
• Strong fit for firms that need a polished institutional presence: investment firms, advisory firms, asset managers, and professional services companies.
• Emphasis on strategy, UX, content structure, SEO, and ongoing website management. Orbit Media Studios

Best for:

• Wealth management firms
• Private equity / alternative investment firms
• Asset managers
• Financial advisory firms needing a credibility upgrade

Questions I’d ask:

• “How do you handle SEC/FINRA compliance review workflows?”
• “What security testing do you perform before launch?”
• “Who owns hosting, patches, backups, and vulnerability management?”

2. Americaneagle.com — best for enterprise-grade builds

americaneagle.com

Why consider them:

• Larger agency with experience across financial services and enterprise organizations.
• Offers website development, hosting/security, integrations, and ongoing support. Americaneagle.com

Best for:

• Firms with:

• Multiple business lines
• Complex CMS requirements
• CRM integrations
• Investor/client resources
• Larger internal review teams

Tradeoff:

• Likely a heavier process and budget than a boutique studio.

3. Solid Digital — strong B2B/corporate website option

soliddigital.com

Why consider them:

• Chicago-based agency focused on B2B website design, UX, development, and ongoing digital programs.
• Good fit if your firm sells complex services where the website needs to educate sophisticated buyers.

Best for:

• Institutional finance
• B2B financial services
• Firms competing for corporate clients

4. Clear Digital — worth considering for regulated enterprise needs

cleardigital.com

Why consider them:

• Positions itself around financial services websites and regulated-industry requirements, including security, compliance, and enterprise experience. Clear Digital

Best for:

• Larger financial institutions
• Firms needing stronger enterprise processes

5. Web Tonic — if speed, design, and modern CMS matter

webtonic.io

Why consider them:

• Focuses on modern Webflow-based builds for financial/fintech audiences. Web Tonic

Best for:

• A marketing site rather than a highly integrated application
• Firms prioritizing speed of publishing and design flexibility

My suggested shortlist for a partner-led financial firm

If I were running the selection process, I’d invite:

1. Orbit Media Studios — strongest likely match for a premium financial-services marketing site
2. Americaneagle.com — strongest for enterprise complexity
3. Solid Digital — strongest for B2B positioning and modern corporate experience
4. Clear Digital — strongest if compliance/security requirements dominate

I would run a paid discovery phase rather than ask for a free redesign pitch.

Security requirements I’d put in the RFP

Require agencies to address:

• SOC 2 status of hosting vendors
• Encryption standards (in transit and at rest where applicable)
• MFA for CMS administrators
• Role-based permissions
• Vulnerability scanning
• Dependency/plugin patching process
• Backup and disaster recovery
• Penetration testing approach
• Data handling for forms and integrations
• Accessibility target (WCAG 2.1 AA)
• Audit logs and change approvals

For a financial services firm, the agency’s operating model after launch matters almost as much as the initial design.

If you tell me your firm type (RIA, PE, hedge fund, bank, broker-dealer, fintech, etc.), approximate website budget, and whether the site needs a client portal, I can narrow this to 3–5 agencies and a recommended selection process.

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Trungale, Egan + Associates - 8 S Michigan Ave #2310, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• One North, A TEKsystems Company - 227 W Monroe St #3500, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Wojo Design - 318 W Adams St #1609, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Envisionit - 130 E Randolph St #1600, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Glantz Design - 1881 Oak Ave, Evanston, IL 60201, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Symmetri Technology Chicago (Acquired by Yes&) - 233 N Michigan Ave #765, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• AlphaZeta Interactive - 325 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Alphazeta - 325 W Huron St, Ste 506, Chicago, IL 60654
• Blackline IT - 171 N Aberdeen St Ste 400, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• PSM Partners – Managed IT & Cybersecurity - 209 W Jackson Blvd Ste 903, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

For a Chicago financial-services firm, I’d narrow the field to agencies that can demonstrate both high-end corporate design and disciplined security/compliance practices. I would not choose purely on visual portfolio.

My shortlist

1. Solid Digital — strong B2B/corporate fit

Chicago-based, focused heavily on B2B website strategy, UX and development. Their positioning around complex B2B sites and integrations makes them worth considering if the site is primarily a sophisticated corporate/marketing platform.

2. Americaneagle.com, Inc. — strongest enterprise infrastructure option

Their Chicago operation covers design, development, integrations, managed hosting/security and ongoing support. That's attractive if your firm's website needs enterprise-grade governance rather than simply a redesign. Americaneagle.com

3. Trungale, Egan + Associates — particularly relevant financial-services specialist

This is the one I'd investigate if industry fluency is a priority. Their Chicago practice specifically cites work with wealth managers/RIAs, broker-dealers, custodians, exchanges, trading platforms, mutual funds, futures/commodities, banking and insurance.

4. The Office of Experience, LLC (OX) — strong enterprise experience/design option

More experience/strategy-led, with capabilities spanning research, UX, technology and digital experiences, including financial services. I'd consider them if you're looking for a substantial repositioning of the firm's digital presence rather than just a website build.

5. One North, A TEKsystems Company — worth an enterprise RFP

They offer UX/UI, development, managed hosting, maintenance, security-oriented support and broader digital transformation. This could make sense for a larger firm with significant internal IT/marketing stakeholders.

One more I would put on the RFP list

Orbit Media Studios is particularly interesting because it explicitly specializes in financial-services websites. It describes work with financial firms, security/uptime monitoring, backups, updates and ongoing website management, and has Chicago headquarters. Orbit Media Studios

Who I'd invite to pitch

If I were putting together a 4-agency RFP, I'd invite:

• Orbit Media — financial-services website specialization
• Trungale, Egan + Associates — financial-services industry expertise
• Americaneagle.com — enterprise engineering/hosting/security
• Solid Digital — B2B corporate website + UX

That gives you meaningfully different approaches rather than four agencies competing on essentially the same proposition.

The security questions I'd make mandatory

For a financial-services firm, I'd put these in the RFP rather than accepting generic claims like "secure website":

• Where is the site hosted, and who controls the infrastructure?
• What security certifications/attestations does the agency and hosting provider actually maintain?
• How are CMS/plugin vulnerabilities monitored and patched?
• Is there a WAF, DDoS protection, malware monitoring and intrusion detection?
• How are backups performed, encrypted and tested?
• How is administrative access controlled—MFA, SSO, least privilege?
• Does any prospect/client information enter the website, CRM or email systems?
• Where is form data stored, and for how long?
• What is the incident-response process and notification SLA?
• Can they provide a recent penetration/vulnerability assessment?
• What accessibility standard will they contractually target (e.g. WCAG 2.2 AA)?
• What happens to the site and credentials if you terminate the relationship?

I'd also separate "secure corporate website" from "client portal." If you're handling nonpublic personal information or authenticated client functionality, I'd want the agency to explain why that functionality should or shouldn't live on the public website at all. A financial-services agency like Orbit, for example, explicitly distinguishes ongoing website security/maintenance from the broader financial-services experience. Orbit Media Studios

If you tell me roughly what type of financial firm you are (PE/VC, wealth management, investment bank, asset manager, hedge fund, fintech, insurance, etc.) and your approximate website budget (e.g. $50–100k, $100–250k, $250k+), I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies and compare their relevant financial-services work, security posture, likely project fit, and pricing tier.

• Gate 39 - 29 E Madison St #806, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Fintech Digital - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• One North, A TEKsystems Company - 227 W Monroe St #3500, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States

For a Chicago financial-services firm, I’d avoid choosing a generic “great web design” shop. You want an agency that understands financial-services credibility, regulatory/compliance review, security, content governance, and executive-level corporate positioning.

I’d put these at the top of your shortlist:

1. Gate 39 — best fit if you’re highly regulated

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-715-1475)

Gate 39 is particularly interesting because it focuses on regulated, information-heavy industries, including financial services. It also does custom web applications, client portals, onboarding systems and integrations—not just marketing websites.

Why I'd shortlist them: If your site needs sophisticated financial workflows or integrations in addition to a polished corporate presence, they're worth talking to.

Best for: financial-services firms where technology + compliance + website functionality overlap.

2. Solid Digital — best overall Chicago B2B choice

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 877-899-9981)

Solid Digital is a Chicago B2B digital agency with a strong combination of strategy, UX, design, development and ongoing support. Their positioning is more enterprise/B2B than consumer-oriented, which I think is appropriate for a sophisticated financial-services firm.

Why I'd shortlist them: Good choice if the objective is a website that makes the firm look significantly more institutional, sophisticated and credible—not merely prettier.

Best for: PE, investment management, advisory, professional services and B2B financial firms.

3. Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best for enterprise-grade infrastructure

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-291-5970)

Americaneagle has a Chicago presence and operates at a considerably larger scale, with capabilities spanning web development, applications, integrations, managed hosting, security and ongoing support.

Why I'd shortlist them: If your firm has a serious IT/security team, multiple stakeholders, complex CMS requirements, or expects the website to become a significant digital platform, the additional engineering depth is valuable.

Tradeoff: You may get more process and organizational overhead than you need for a straightforward corporate site.

4. Fintech Digital — best financial-services specialist

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-348-7245)

This is the specialist I'd put into the RFP specifically because they focus on financial services and fintech, rather than treating finance as one industry among dozens. Their services encompass brand, website/UX and digital marketing.

Why I'd shortlist them: Particularly compelling if your website needs to communicate sophisticated financial products or services and you want the agency to understand the category without a huge education period.

5. One North, A TEKsystems Company — best for a very sophisticated corporate site

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-469-1740)

One North is a Chicago digital-experience firm with enterprise strategy, UX, design, CMS/DXP implementation, hosting and ongoing experience-management capabilities.

Why I'd shortlist them: I'd consider them if you're envisioning something closer to an institutional digital transformation than a conventional 15–30-page corporate website.

But my first call would be Orbit

There's one agency I'd add to the shortlist even though it's slightly different from the Chicago-only group: Orbit Media Studios.

They have an unusually direct financial-services specialization. Their financial-services practice specifically references wealth management, banking, financial consulting, hedge funds and investment-related clients, and they discuss security monitoring, backups, updates and ongoing site management. They've also worked with firms including Zuckerman Investment Group and Hedge Fund Research. Orbit Media Studios

That combination makes them particularly compelling for your situation.

My ranking

What I'd actually do

I'd invite Orbit, Gate 39 and Solid Digital to a competitive pitch.

Don't ask them simply, “How much for a website?” Give them a short brief covering:

• Firm positioning and target audiences
• Current website + what's wrong with it
• Desired brand perception
• Approximate number of pages
• CMS preference, if any
• Integrations/data feeds
• Compliance/legal review process
• Security/hosting requirements
• Accessibility requirements
• Analytics and CRM requirements
• Who internally owns the site after launch

And I'd make security architecture and governance a scored part of the RFP, not an afterthought. A financial-services site can be visually excellent while still being poorly governed from a security perspective.

If you tell me what type of financial firm you are (PE, asset management, wealth management, investment banking, hedge fund, RIA, fintech, specialty finance, etc.) and roughly your website budget ($50k, $100k, $250k+), I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies I'd actually hire and explain why.

Tradeoff: You may get more process and organizational overhead than you need for a straightforward corporate site.

4. Fintech Digital — best financial-services specialist

This is the specialist I'd put into the RFP specifically because they focus on financial services and fintech, rather than treating finance as one industry among dozens. Their services encompass brand, website/UX and digital marketing.

Why I'd shortlist them: Particularly compelling if your website needs to communicate sophisticated financial products or services and you want the agency to understand the category without a huge education period.

5. One North, A TEKsystems Company — best for a very sophisticated corporate site

One North is a Chicago digital-experience firm with enterprise strategy, UX, design, CMS/DXP implementation, hosting and ongoing experience-management capabilities.

Why I'd shortlist them: I'd consider them if you're envisioning something closer to an institutional digital transformation than a conventional 15–30-page corporate website.

But my first call would be Orbit

There's one agency I'd add to the shortlist even though it's slightly different from the Chicago-only group: Orbit Media Studios.

They have an unusually direct financial-services specialization. Their financial-services practice specifically references wealth management, banking, financial consulting, hedge funds and investment-related clients, and they discuss security monitoring, backups, updates and ongoing site management. They've also worked with firms including Zuckerman Investment Group and Hedge Fund Research. orbitmedia.com

That combination makes them particularly compelling for your situation.

My ranking

What I'd actually do

I'd invite Orbit, Gate 39 and Solid Digital to a competitive pitch.

Don't ask them simply, “How much for a website?” Give them a short brief covering:

• Fintech Digital - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Gate 39 - 29 E Madison St #806, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• RSXigital | B2B Lead Generation & Performance Marketing Agency in Chicago, USA - 71 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States

For a Chicago-based financial-services firm, I’d narrow the field considerably. You don't just need a beautiful corporate site—you want an agency that understands regulated communications, security, executive-level positioning, and the realities of maintaining a site after launch.

My shortlist

• Fintech Digital — best specialist fit.

This would be my first call if your priority is financial-services expertise. They focus specifically on fintech and financial-services brands and position themselves around regulated-industry marketing. That's a much better starting point than a generic Chicago web shop.

• Gate 39 — best for financial-services + technology.

Particularly interesting if the website will eventually involve client portals, onboarding, integrations, APIs, or other sophisticated functionality. Their financial-services work encompasses strategy, UX, secured WordPress development, and custom technology.

• Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best enterprise/security option.

I'd consider them if you're building something substantial rather than a relatively straightforward firm website. Their financial-services practice explicitly emphasizes security, accessibility, compliance and integrations, and they have a Chicago office. They cite work with 170+ banks, credit unions and financial institutions. Americaneagle.com

• Solid Digital — best B2B/corporate alternative.

Strong candidate if the objective is a sophisticated institutional/B2B presence rather than a consumer-finance site. They specialize in B2B website strategy, UX/UI and development and are Chicago-based.

• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best if brand sophistication matters most.

A good option if you're looking to reposition the firm as well as redesign the website. They combine brand strategy, UX, visual design and in-house development and have experience with corporate/enterprise websites.

One wildcard: Orbit Media

I'd put Orbit Media Studios very high on the list, potentially #1, depending on what you mean by "financial services."

Orbit has an unusually relevant financial-services practice, with work spanning wealth management, investment firms, banking and financial consulting. More importantly for your requirement, they explicitly discuss security monitoring, backups, updates, ongoing maintenance and financial-sector requirements rather than treating security as an afterthought. Orbit Media Studios

They've also been doing this since 2001, which is meaningful when you're looking for a long-term institutional partner rather than a boutique that happens to build nice websites. Orbit Media Studios

Who I'd interview

If I were sitting on your side of the table, I'd invite four firms to pitch:

1. Orbit Media — strongest overall fit
2. Fintech Digital — strongest financial-services specialist
3. Gate 39 — strongest if technology/integrations are important
4. Americaneagle.com — strongest enterprise option

I'd probably not start with a general creative agency. For a financial-services firm, the website is part marketing asset, part reputational asset, and potentially part compliance/security surface. You want an agency that understands that distinction.

What I'd make them prove in the pitch

Don't ask simply, "Can you build us a secure website?" Ask for specifics:

• Who owns the code, hosting account, domain, CMS and infrastructure?
• Where is the site hosted, and who has production access?
• What is their vulnerability-management and patching process?
• Do they conduct penetration testing or coordinate independent testing?
• How are contact forms and other submitted information handled?
• Can they provide SOC 2 documentation or equivalent security controls where applicable?
• How do they handle FINRA/SEC/compliance-review workflows if relevant to your business?
• How do they manage disclosures, archived content and approvals?
• What accessibility standard do they target?
• What happens when a critical WordPress/plugin/framework vulnerability is announced?
• What is included in post-launch support—and what isn't?
• Can your firm migrate away from them without being held hostage by proprietary infrastructure?

One important distinction: a marketing website generally shouldn't be collecting sensitive client financial information in the first place. If you need logins, account information, applications, or sensitive documents, I'd architect those as separate secure systems rather than trying to turn the corporate website into a quasi-client portal.

My pick: I'd start with Orbit + Fintech Digital + Gate 39 and see how their proposals differ. If your firm is large enough that this is an enterprise digital-platform project rather than a corporate-site redesign, I'd add Americaneagle.com.

If you tell me roughly your firm's size, whether you're an RIA/wealth manager, PE/VC, investment bank, lender, insurance firm, etc., and your approximate website budget ($50k / $100k / $250k+), I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually hire and what I would expect each to charge.

• Fintech Digital - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Gate 39 - 29 E Madison St #806, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• One North, A TEKsystems Company - 227 W Monroe St #3500, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Trungale, Egan + Associates - 8 S Michigan Ave #2310, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Thirdwave - 15 W Hubbard St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States

If I were choosing for a Chicago financial-services firm where credibility, security, compliance, and executive-level polish matter, I’d narrow the field pretty aggressively. I would not hire a generic “great web design” shop.

My shortlist

• #1 — Fintech Digital — best fit if financial-services expertise is the priority. They’re Chicago-based and specifically focused on financial services/fintech, including regulated environments. That makes them particularly interesting if your website needs to speak credibly to institutional investors, clients, counterparties, or sophisticated prospects.
• #2 — Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best for enterprise-grade infrastructure. Their financial-services practice explicitly emphasizes security, accessibility, compliance and integrations, and they report working with 170+ banks, credit unions and financial institutions. Americaneagle.com Americaneagle.com

This would be my pick if the site is complex, has integrations, multiple business lines/sites, or needs a more formal enterprise development process.

• #3 — Gate 39 — best Chicago specialist to put in the RFP. They focus heavily on financial services and information-dense regulated industries, and their work goes beyond marketing sites into portals, onboarding systems, APIs and custom technology. For a financial firm, that's a meaningful distinction.
• #4 — Solid Digital — best for a sophisticated B2B/corporate presentation. They're Chicago-based and oriented toward B2B websites, UX/UI and measurable digital performance. I'd consider them particularly if the site is primarily about positioning, thought leadership and business development rather than transactional functionality.
• #5 — One North, A TEKsystems Company — best for a larger transformation. They offer enterprise UX, research, infrastructure assessment, development, managed hosting and ongoing optimization. I'd consider them if you're effectively treating the website as a major digital-transformation project rather than a redesign.

One more I'd seriously interview

Orbit Media Studios is worth putting on the list even though the key reason isn't simply that they're local. They have a dedicated financial-services practice and specifically discuss security monitoring, backups, CMS/plugin maintenance and ongoing support for financial firms. They also have financial-services examples including hedge-fund and investment-related clients. Orbit Media Studios

orbitmedia.com

Who I'd hire

For your situation, my first three calls would be Fintech Digital, Gate 39, and Americaneagle.com.

I'd frame the decision this way:

One important caveat: “secure website” shouldn't just mean SSL and a firewall. For a financial-services firm, I'd require the agency to spell out hosting architecture, CMS hardening, MFA/least-privilege administration, vulnerability management, backups/recovery, third-party scripts, form/data handling, penetration testing, accessibility, audit logging, and who owns the infrastructure after launch. Agencies often use “secure” much more loosely than a financial firm should.

If you tell me what kind of financial-services firm you are (RIA/wealth manager, private equity, hedge fund, broker-dealer, investment bank, lender, fintech, etc.) and roughly your website budget ($50–100k, $100–250k, $250k+), I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies I'd actually put into an RFP and tell you what I'd ask each one.

• Fintech Digital - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Gate 39 - 29 E Madison St #806, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• One North, A TEKsystems Company - 227 W Monroe St #3500, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Trungale, Egan + Associates - 8 S Michigan Ave #2310, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Thirdwave - 15 W Hubbard St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States

If I were advising a Chicago financial-services firm, I’d shortlist 4 agencies rather than run a broad RFP. For your use case, I’d weight financial-services experience, security/compliance discipline, corporate polish, and the ability to support the site after launch more heavily than flashy creative.

My shortlist

1. Fintech Digital — best financial-services specialist

• Chicago-based and focused specifically on financial services/fintech.
• Particularly attractive if your firm needs the agency to understand regulated-industry messaging and the realities of compliance.
• I'd put them on the shortlist if industry fluency and positioning are as important as the technology.
• Gate 39 — best Chicago specialist for financial + technology

• Strong fit for financial-services firms that need more than a brochure site.
• Their offering spans financial-services web development, secure WordPress development, portals, onboarding systems and API integrations.
• This is probably the most interesting option if you envision the website eventually connecting to other systems.
• Solid Digital — best polished B2B/corporate option

• Chicago-based and heavily oriented toward B2B website strategy, UX and development.
• I'd favor them if your primary objective is a sophisticated institutional presence rather than building a complex financial application.
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best enterprise/security-heavy option

• Much larger than the others, with dedicated financial-services capabilities.
• Their financial-services practice explicitly addresses security, accessibility, compliance and integrations with financial platforms/CRMs. Americaneagle.com
• I'd consider them if this is a substantial enterprise rebuild with multiple stakeholders, integrations or unusually stringent security requirements.

One more I'd interview

Marcel Digital is worth considering if the website is going to be tightly integrated with your broader digital marketing, analytics and acquisition strategy. They have Chicago roots and substantial technical/digital capabilities. Marcel Digital

Who I'd hire

For a typical Chicago financial-services firm, my first calls would be Gate 39, Fintech Digital, and Solid Digital.

I'd structure the decision this way:

There's also a very strong Chicago-specific incumbent worth putting on the list: Orbit Media Studios. They have a dedicated financial-services practice, have been building financial websites since 2001, and explicitly discuss security, privacy, QA, integrations and long-term website management. Orbit Media Studios Orbit Media Studios

What I'd demand in the pitch

Don't let the agencies win you over with designs alone. For a financial-services firm, I'd ask each finalist to demonstrate:

• Security architecture: hosting, WAF/CDN, patching, vulnerability scanning, backups, MFA, access controls and incident response.
• Compliance workflow: who reviews content and forms for regulatory issues, and how changes are documented.
• Data handling: exactly what client/prospect information touches the website and where it is stored.
• CMS governance: granular permissions, approval workflows, audit logs and separation of development/staging/production.
• Accessibility: WCAG 2.2 AA approach and testing methodology.
• Third-party risk: list every external script, SaaS integration and analytics/marketing vendor.
• Post-launch SLA: response times for security issues versus ordinary content/support requests.
• Financial-services references: specifically ask for 2–3 clients similar to your firm, not generic Fortune 500 references.

One important distinction: a marketing website should generally not be handling sensitive client financial information at all. If the project includes authenticated client portals, account information, applications, transactions or other sensitive workflows, I'd treat that as a substantially different technology/security project rather than simply a "corporate website."

My pick: I'd start with Gate 39 + Fintech Digital + Solid Digital, then bring in Americaneagle.com as the benchmark if the project is large enough to justify an enterprise agency.

If you tell me roughly your firm type (RIA, PE, private credit, investment bank, wealth management, insurance, fintech, etc.), desired budget, and whether this is a redesign or new site, I can narrow this to the 2 agencies I'd actually invite to pitch and give you a suggested RFP scorecard.

What I'd demand in the pitch

Don't let the agencies win you over with designs alone. For a financial-services firm, I'd ask each finalist to demonstrate:

• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Trungale, Egan + Associates - 8 S Michigan Ave #2310, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Centric Web®, Inc. - 19W169 Millbrook Ct, Downers Grove, IL 60516, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• Wojo Design - 318 W Adams St #1609, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Envisionit - 130 E Randolph St #1600, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States

For a Chicago-based financial services firm, I’d narrow the field considerably. You don’t just want a pretty corporate site—you want an agency that understands financial-services credibility, compliance workflows, security, accessibility, and enterprise-grade CMS/development.

My shortlist

1. Marcel Digital — best Chicago B2B/enterprise fit

• Chicago-based and particularly strong when the website needs to support B2B positioning, complex CMS work, analytics, SEO and ongoing optimization.
• I'd put them on the shortlist if your firm is institutional/B2B rather than primarily retail.
• Strong choice if you expect the website to become an important business-development asset rather than simply a digital brochure.
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best for security + enterprise complexity

• This would be my choice if your requirements are genuinely enterprise-grade.
• Americaneagle explicitly works with financial institutions and emphasizes security, accessibility, compliance, integrations and high-performance digital platforms. Americaneagle.com
• Their Chicago presence also makes the relationship easier for a Chicago firm.
• Solid Digital — best for a polished B2B corporate site

• Strong Chicago B2B positioning and a more focused agency feel than a giant enterprise shop.
• I'd consider them particularly seriously if the objective is "make us look like a sophisticated institutional financial firm" while still producing a site that generates qualified conversations.
• The Office of Experience, LLC — best for high-end experience/brand work

• Chicago-based digital consultancy with strategy, research, design and engineering capabilities, including financial-services work.
• Worth considering if the project involves repositioning the firm's brand and digital experience, not merely rebuilding the existing site.
• Trungale, Egan + Associates — interesting financial-services specialist

• Their niche is unusually relevant: financial-services branding, websites, collateral and digital marketing.
• I'd investigate them if financial-industry fluency and messaging are more important than building a highly complex technology platform.

One specialist I'd put in the RFP

Orbit Media Studios is particularly compelling. They're Chicago-based and have a dedicated financial-services website practice. They explicitly address security monitoring, backups, CMS/plugin updates, QA, privacy configuration and ongoing support, and say they've worked with financial institutions including American Chartered Bank. Orbit Media Studios

For a conventional corporate site for an investment/financial-services firm, Orbit would probably be my first call.

If I were hiring for your firm

I'd invite Orbit, Americaneagle.com, and Solid Digital to pitch.

My ranking would be:

One important caveat: don't let an agency simply tell you a site is "secure." For a financial-services firm, I'd make the RFP require documented answers around hosting architecture, SOC 2/vendor controls, penetration testing, WAF/CDN, MFA/admin access, encryption, backups and disaster recovery, vulnerability/patch management, third-party scripts, data retention, WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA, privacy, incident response, and exactly what information the website itself is permitted to collect.

For example, Clear Digital's financial-services practice explicitly discusses GLBA, PCI-DSS, SOC 2, encrypted forms, security audits, accessibility testing and integrations with financial-services systems—that's roughly the level of specificity I'd expect in an agency's technical proposal. cleardigital.com cleardigital.com

If you tell me roughly what kind of firm you are (PE, wealth management, asset management, investment banking, private credit, insurance, fintech, etc.) and your approximate website budget ($50–100k, $100–250k, $250k+), I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies and tell you exactly which one I'd hire.

• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• One North, A TEKsystems Company - 227 W Monroe St #3500, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Trungale, Egan + Associates - 8 S Michigan Ave #2310, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Cybernautic Web Design - 515 N State St #14-126, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Wojo Design - 318 W Adams St #1609, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Envisionit - 130 E Randolph St #1600, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

If I were hiring for a Chicago-based financial-services firm, I’d prioritize agencies that understand both institutional credibility and real web security/compliance, rather than a general-purpose creative shop.

My shortlist

1. Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best for enterprise/security

• Strongest choice if this is a substantial corporate site with integrations, multiple stakeholders, or a long-term digital platform.
• They explicitly specialize in financial-services websites, security, accessibility and compliance, and report 170+ financial clients. Their Chicago office is downtown. Americaneagle.com Americaneagle.com
• My pick if security and institutional-grade execution are #1.
• Solid Digital — best Chicago B2B option

• Chicago-based and focused heavily on B2B website strategy, UX and development.
• I'd consider them particularly if you're a PE, asset-management, investment-banking, advisory, or other professional-services firm where the site needs to look sophisticated without feeling like a giant bank's website.
• My pick for the best balance of design, strategy and technical execution.
• One North, A TEKsystems Company — best for a large professional-services organization

• Enterprise-oriented Chicago agency with strategy, UX, design, development, managed hosting and ongoing support.
• Particularly interesting if the website is part of a broader digital transformation rather than simply a marketing-site redesign.
• Trungale, Egan + Associates — best financial-services specialist

• This one caught my attention for your specific situation. They have a stated financial-services specialty spanning wealth managers/RIAs, fintech, broker-dealers, custodians, exchanges, trading platforms, mutual funds, futures/commodities, banking and insurance.
• I'd interview them if industry fluency matters as much as the technology.
• The Office of Experience, LLC — best high-end UX/brand option

• Chicago-based, with strategy, research, design and engineering capabilities and experience with financial services and other complex B2B organizations.
• I'd look here if you're trying to make the firm feel more differentiated and premium, rather than simply "credible financial-services company."
• Cybernautic Web Design — worth considering for a smaller/mid-market engagement

• More hands-on/end-to-end positioning, including design, development, hosting and ongoing marketing.
• Probably not my first choice for a highly regulated institutional platform, but potentially attractive if the project is primarily a corporate marketing site.

Who I'd actually put in an RFP

For a partner-level financial-services firm, I'd narrow it to Americaneagle.com, Solid Digital, and Trungale Egan + Associates.

I'd give them the same brief and make them answer five questions:

• Security: What is your hosting architecture, WAF/CDN strategy, vulnerability management, patching process and incident-response SLA?
• Compliance: How do you handle accessibility, privacy, regulatory disclosures and third-party scripts/tracking?
• Content governance: Can we have granular permissions, approvals and audit trails so junior staff can't accidentally publish something material?
• Ownership: Who owns the code, CMS, hosting account, analytics properties and design system when the engagement ends?
• Financial-services references: Show us three comparable sites launched in the last 24 months, preferably firms with similar regulatory and reputational requirements.

That last point is important: don't let an agency win this project solely on beautiful designs. For a financial-services firm, I'd want to see their security architecture and governance model before I'd care much about the homepage.

My default recommendation: Americaneagle.com if you're building an enterprise-grade platform; Solid Digital if this is primarily a sophisticated corporate/marketing site; Trungale Egan if deep financial-services knowledge is the deciding factor. Americaneagle.com Strike-2

If you tell me roughly what kind of financial-services firm you are (PE, wealth management, RIA, investment bank, private credit, fund manager, etc.) and your approximate website budget, I can narrow this to 2–3 firms and compare them on price, design quality, financial-services experience, security, and likely fit.

• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• One North, A TEKsystems Company - 227 W Monroe St #3500, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Trungale, Egan + Associates - 8 S Michigan Ave #2310, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Ice Nine Online - 444 W Lake St Ste 1700, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• RSXigital | B2B Lead Generation & Performance Marketing Agency in Chicago, USA - 71 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States

For a Chicago-based financial-services firm, I’d narrow the field considerably. You don’t just need a beautiful corporate site—you need an agency that understands regulated-industry content, security, privacy, accessibility, executive-level B2B positioning, and ongoing governance.

My shortlist

1. Marcel Digital — best overall fit

• Chicago-based and strongly B2B-focused.
• Explicit financial-services experience, including navigating compliance considerations. Marcel Digital Marcel Digital
• Particularly compelling if your site needs CRM/marketing integration, sophisticated analytics, SEO, or an enterprise CMS.
• My pick if you want a serious corporate website that also becomes a business-development asset.
• One North, A TEKsystems Company — best for a large, enterprise-grade engagement

• Much more enterprise-oriented than a typical web-design shop.
• Strong UX, design systems, technology, integrations, managed hosting and post-launch support.
• I'd consider them if your firm has multiple business lines, offices, audiences, or complicated internal stakeholders.
• Solid Digital — best for a polished B2B corporate site

• Chicago-based and focused heavily on B2B website strategy, UX/UI and measurable business outcomes.
• A good middle ground between a high-end creative agency and a technical development shop.
• I'd shortlist them if the primary objective is positioning the firm as sophisticated, credible and differentiated rather than building a highly complex application.
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best for technical complexity

• Chicago presence and substantial enterprise web-development capabilities.
• Particularly worth considering if the website will eventually involve integrations, sophisticated content infrastructure, personalization, portals or unusually demanding hosting requirements.
• Clutch's current Chicago financial-services rankings also highlight Americaneagle.com's strength in website replatforming and complex digital platforms. Clutch
• Trungale, Egan + Associates — best financial-services specialist

• This is the one I'd investigate specifically because of your industry.
• Their stated financial-services experience spans wealth managers/RIAs, fintech, broker-dealers, custodians, exchanges, trading platforms, mutual funds, futures/commodities, banking and insurance.
• If your firm's website has substantial regulatory/compliance messaging, that industry familiarity could be valuable.

One more I'd interview: Orbit Media

Orbit Media Studios is worth putting on the RFP list. They have a particularly relevant financial-services practice and explicitly offer security/uptime monitoring, backups, updates and ongoing website management. Orbit Media Studios

Who I'd actually hire

If I were running your RFP, I'd invite four firms:

I'd then make security architecture and governance a procurement requirement, rather than accepting "we build secure websites" as a marketing claim.

For a financial-services firm, I'd require the winning agency to document at minimum:

• Hosting architecture and geographic data residency
• WAF/CDN and DDoS protection
• MFA and least-privilege administrative access
• Encryption in transit and at rest where applicable
• Vulnerability scanning and penetration testing responsibilities
• Patch/plugin/update SLAs
• Backup and disaster-recovery procedures
• Logging and incident-response procedures
• Third-party vendor/subprocessor list
• Accessibility target (ideally WCAG 2.2 AA)
• Privacy/cookie/analytics architecture
• Secure handling of every website form
• SOC 2/security documentation from relevant hosting vendors
• Clear ownership of source code, CMS, domains and infrastructure after launch

That's especially important because a corporate website doesn't need to be treated like a trading platform, but it absolutely can become an attack surface through CMS vulnerabilities, third-party scripts, forms, compromised credentials and poorly governed integrations.

If you want one name: I'd start with Marcel Digital, then put One North and Trungale, Egan + Associates into the competitive process. Marcel's combination of Chicago presence, B2B orientation, financial-services experience and web-development capability makes it the strongest overall fit from what I found. Marcel Digital Marcel Digital

If you tell me roughly your firm size, whether you're an RIA/wealth manager/private equity/asset manager/bank/etc., and your approximate website budget ($50k, $100k, $250k+), I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually invite to pitch and give you a recommended RFP scorecard.

• Hosting architecture and geographic data residency
• WAF/CDN and DDoS protection
• MFA and least-privilege administrative access
• Encryption in transit and at rest where applicable
• Vulnerability scanning and penetration testing responsibilities
• Patch/plugin/update SLAs
• Backup and disaster-recovery procedures
• Logging and incident-response procedures
• Third-party vendor/subprocessor list
• Accessibility target (ideally WCAG 2.2 AA)
• Privacy/cookie/analytics architecture
• Secure handling of every website form
• SOC 2/security documentation from relevant hosting vendors
• Clear ownership of source code, CMS, domains and infrastructure after launch

That's especially important because a corporate website doesn't need to be treated like a trading platform, but it absolutely can become an attack surface through CMS vulnerabilities, third-party scripts, forms, compromised credentials and poorly governed integrations.

If you want one name: I'd start with Marcel Digital, then put One North and Trungale, Egan + Associates into the competitive process. Marcel's combination of Chicago presence, B2B orientation, financial-services experience and web-development capability makes it the strongest overall fit from what I found.

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Trungale, Egan + Associates - 8 S Michigan Ave #2310, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Wojo Design - 318 W Adams St #1609, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Envisionit - 130 E Randolph St #1600, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Plego Technologies - 8 W Monroe St APT 424, Chicago, IL 60603, United States

If I were advising a Chicago financial-services firm, I’d shortlist 3–4 agencies rather than run a broad RFP. For your situation, the important distinction is between an agency that makes a polished marketing site and one that can operate like an enterprise technology partner.

My shortlist

1. Solid Digital — my first call for a sophisticated corporate site

• Chicago-based and focused heavily on B2B/corporate websites.
• Strong fit if the site is primarily about brand credibility, thought leadership, recruiting and business development, rather than transactional functionality.
• Their positioning combines strategy, UX, development and ongoing optimization.
• Best for: a premium, modern corporate site without unnecessarily turning the project into a huge enterprise implementation.
• Marcel Digital — strongest if marketing/CRM integration matters

• Chicago-based with substantial enterprise web-development capabilities.
• Particularly interesting if you want the website tied into CRM, marketing automation, analytics and lead-generation workflows.
• They explicitly offer ongoing enterprise development support focused on security, stability and scalability. Marcel Digital
• Best for: a website that is part of a broader digital/marketing infrastructure.
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best for enterprise complexity

• This is the one I'd investigate if your requirements include multiple business lines, sophisticated integrations, stringent procurement/security requirements, portals or substantial content migration.
• Their Chicago operation supports mid-market through enterprise organizations and works across platforms including Sitecore, WordPress and Liferay, with hosting and post-launch support. American Eagle
• Best for: "we need an enterprise-grade implementation and don't want to outgrow the agency."
• Trungale, Egan + Associates — worth considering specifically for financial-services positioning

• Particularly interesting because financial services appears to be a genuine specialty rather than simply an industry page.
• Their services include brand strategy, website development, collateral, digital marketing and PR, and their Chicago operation has financial-services experience.
• Best for: a firm where the brand, positioning and financial-services credibility are as important as the technology.

One specialist I'd add to the pitch

Orbit Media Studios is worth putting on the list even though I'd evaluate it somewhat differently from the enterprise agencies above. They have a dedicated financial-services practice and specifically discuss security, ongoing monitoring, backups, CMS/plugin updates and complex financial integrations. Orbit Media Studios

That's a particularly good fit if your site needs to be secure without becoming a technology project for its own sake.

Who I'd actually hire

If this were my firm, I'd probably invite:

• Solid Digital — design/strategy benchmark
• Orbit Media — financial-services/web benchmark
• Americaneagle.com — enterprise/security benchmark
• Marcel Digital — technology + marketing/CRM benchmark

Then I'd make them answer the same security and governance questions. That will tell you much more than looking at portfolios.

For a financial-services firm, I'd specifically require the agency to address:

• SOC 2 / security controls and whether they can provide relevant documentation
• Hosting architecture and where data is hosted
• WAF/CDN, DDoS protection and vulnerability management
• MFA, least-privilege access and privileged-account management
• Software dependency/plugin management
• Penetration testing and remediation process
• Encryption in transit and at rest where applicable
• Backups, disaster recovery and RTO/RPO
• Secure development lifecycle and code review
• Accessibility (WCAG 2.2)
• Privacy/cookie/analytics architecture
• Regulatory/compliance review workflow
• Change-control and approval processes
• Who owns the source code, cloud accounts, domains and analytics accounts
• What happens when you terminate the relationship

One important point: don't let an agency equate "secure website" with SSL + managed WordPress hosting. For a financial-services firm, I'd want a documented architecture and security responsibility matrix, particularly if the site connects to CRM systems, investor/client portals, forms or other internal systems.

My initial pick: Solid Digital if this is principally a high-end corporate website; Americaneagle.com if you're anticipating serious enterprise complexity; Orbit Media if financial-services expertise and ongoing website governance are the priority.

If you tell me roughly your firm's size, whether you're PE/asset management/wealth management/banking/insurance/etc., and whether the site needs client/investor login or just marketing, I can narrow this to the 2 agencies I'd interview and give you a specific RFP scorecard.

One important point: don't let an agency equate "secure website" with SSL + managed WordPress hosting. For a financial-services firm, I'd want a documented architecture and security responsibility matrix, particularly if the site connects to CRM systems, investor/client portals, forms or other internal systems.

My initial pick: Solid Digital if this is principally a high-end corporate website; Americaneagle.com if you're anticipating serious enterprise complexity; Orbit Media if financial-services expertise and ongoing website governance are the priority.

If you tell me roughly your firm's size, whether you're PE/asset management/wealth management/banking/insurance/etc., and whether the site needs client/investor login or just marketing, I can narrow this to the 2 agencies I'd interview and give you a specific RFP scorecard.

For a Chicago financial-services firm, I’d prioritize agencies that understand regulated environments and can demonstrate real security/compliance discipline—not just agencies that make beautiful corporate sites.

My shortlist

1. Orbit Media Studios — my first call

• Chicago-based and unusually strong financial-services experience.
• They specifically work with financial firms and have experience with complex integrations.
• Their offering includes security monitoring, backups, updates, ongoing support, and post-launch management. Orbit Media Studios Orbit Media Studios
• Best fit: An established investment, advisory, private-equity, banking, or financial-services firm wanting a sophisticated corporate presence without going to a giant global agency.
• Verdict: I'd put them at the top of the RFP.
• Americaneagle.com — best for enterprise complexity

• Has a Chicago office and substantial financial-services experience.
• They cite work with 170+ banks, credit unions, and financial institutions and emphasize security, accessibility, compliance, hosting, and integrations with CRMs/core financial systems. Americaneagle.com Americaneagle.com
• Best fit: If your website is going to involve substantial integrations, sophisticated infrastructure, multiple business lines, or enterprise-level governance.
• Tradeoff: Likely a heavier/ more expensive engagement than you need for a straightforward corporate site.
• Clear Digital — strongest compliance-oriented option

• Specifically markets financial-services web work and discusses GLBA, PCI-DSS, SOC 2, accessibility, secure forms, encrypted transmission, security audits, and vendor agreements. Clear Digital
• Has experience across banks, fintechs, credit unions, insurance, and other financial brands.
• Best fit: If your partners, compliance team, or clients will scrutinize the site's security architecture and data handling.
• Blacksmith Agency — interesting Chicago boutique

• Chicago web-development shop explicitly serving finance and banking.
• Their positioning is more engineering-oriented: secure code, common-vulnerability protection, scalable platforms, and financial-data integrations. Blacksmith
• Best fit: If you want a technically strong custom build rather than a marketing-led website project.

Who I'd hire

I'd interview Orbit, Americaneagle, and Clear Digital—and I'd probably hire Orbit unless your requirements push you toward enterprise infrastructure.

The key distinction is that you probably don't need a website agency that merely says "we use SSL and secure hosting." For a financial-services firm, I'd want the agency to be able to answer, in detail:

• Where is the site hosted, and who controls the cloud account?
• What's the CMS and why was it selected?
• How are CMS/admin accounts protected—SSO, MFA, RBAC?
• How are third-party scripts and plugins governed?
• What happens to information submitted through forms?
• Is any client/prospect PII stored?
• How are backups encrypted and tested?
• What's the vulnerability/patch-management process?
• Do they conduct penetration testing or coordinate it with an independent firm?
• What's their incident-response process and SLA?
• Can they provide SOC 2/security documentation from their hosting and critical vendors?
• How do they handle accessibility and regulatory disclosures?
• Can your compliance/legal team approve changes before publication?

I'd also keep sensitive client information completely outside the marketing website whenever possible. A corporate site should generally be a presentation/lead-generation layer, not become an accidental repository for financial or customer data.

If you tell me roughly what your firm does (e.g. private equity, investment banking, RIA/wealth management, specialty finance, commercial lending) and your approximate website budget ($50–100k, $100–250k, $250k+), I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies and tell you exactly how I'd structure the RFP.

I'd also keep sensitive client information completely outside the marketing website whenever possible. A corporate site should generally be a presentation/lead-generation layer, not become an accidental repository for financial or customer data.

For a Chicago-based financial services firm, I would not hire a general “web design” shop. Your website is a trust and risk-management asset: you likely need strong information architecture, compliance-aware content workflows, security practices, accessibility, integrations (CRM, marketing automation, portals, calculators, etc.), and a partner who understands financial buyers.

Here are the agencies I would put on a shortlist:

1. Americaneagle.com — best for enterprise-grade financial platforms

americaneagle.com

Best fit: banks, investment firms, insurance companies, wealth managers, firms with complex integrations.

Why I’d consider them:

• Deep financial-services experience, including secure platforms, accessibility, compliance considerations, and integrations with systems like CRMs and financial technology platforms. Americaneagle.com
• Larger team and process maturity.
• Better suited if your website is part of a broader digital transformation rather than just a marketing redesign.

Potential downside:

• May be more agency than you need if you only want a polished corporate marketing site.

2. Orbit Media Studios — best Chicago choice for a high-trust corporate website

orbitmedia.com

Best fit: financial advisory firms, wealth management, investment firms, professional services companies.

Why I’d consider them:

• Chicago-based and experienced with financial-services websites. Orbit Media Studios
• Strong reputation for strategy, UX, content structure, SEO, and ongoing website management.
• Good match for firms where the website’s job is to communicate credibility and generate qualified conversations.

Potential downside:

• If you need heavy custom application development, you may want a more engineering-heavy partner.

3. Solid Digital — best for B2B financial services positioning

soliddigital.com

Best fit: institutional financial firms, B2B finance providers, firms with sophisticated marketing teams.

Why I’d consider them:

• Chicago presence and focus on larger organizations needing web, software, and marketing capabilities.
• Good option if the website needs to support sales enablement, thought leadership, and measurable pipeline growth.

4. Clear Digital — best if compliance and enterprise UX are priorities

cleardigital.com

Best fit: regulated financial institutions and firms with strict governance requirements.

Why I’d consider them:

• They specifically position around financial-services websites, including security, accessibility, compliance requirements, and complex integrations. Clear Digital
• Strong fit if your legal/compliance teams will be deeply involved.

Potential downside:

• Depending on scope, may be more enterprise-oriented than necessary.

5. Thought Media — best mid-market option

thoughtmedia.com

Best fit: financial firms wanting a modern corporate website without a massive enterprise engagement.

Why I’d consider them:

• They specifically mention finance-industry websites, including secure and compliance-oriented builds. ThoughtMedia

My recommended shortlist for a Chicago financial firm

If I were selecting three firms to interview:

1. Orbit Media Studios — if your priority is a premium corporate presence, thought leadership, and inbound growth.
2. Americaneagle.com — if you have complex technology, integrations, or enterprise requirements.
3. Solid Digital — if you want a strategic B2B partner that can tie the site to business development.

Questions I would ask every agency before hiring

• What security review process do you follow before launch?
• How do you handle SOC 2, GLBA, PCI, privacy, and accessibility considerations (where applicable)?
• Who owns the code, hosting accounts, analytics, and CMS?
• Do you provide ongoing vulnerability monitoring and patch management?
• Can our compliance/legal team approve content workflows?
• Can you show 3 financial-services websites you built and explain your role?

For a partner-level decision at a financial firm, I would prioritize security maturity and governance over visual design alone. A beautiful site that creates compliance headaches is the wrong tradeoff.

• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Trungale, Egan + Associates - 8 S Michigan Ave #2310, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Fintech Digital - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Plego Technologies - 8 W Monroe St APT 424, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Cybernautic Web Design - 515 N State St #14-126, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Artversion - 205 N Michigan Ave 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601

If I were choosing for a Chicago financial-services firm where security, credibility, and executive-level polish matter, I’d put Orbit Media Studios at the top of the list, with Americaneagle.com and The Office of Experience (OX) as the other two firms I’d invite to pitch.

My shortlist

1. ** — **Orbit Media Studios

Best overall fit. Orbit is unusually specific about financial-services websites: it cites work for banks, investment firms and other financial organizations, and explicitly addresses security, compliance, uptime monitoring, backups, CMS updates and complex financial integrations. It has been doing this since 2001. Orbit Media Studios
Why I'd shortlist them: strong combination of sophisticated corporate design + financial-services experience + ongoing technical stewardship.
orbitmedia.com

2. Americaneagle.com, Inc. — Best for a large/complex enterprise build

Their Chicago operation handles mid-market and enterprise websites, application development, hosting and long-term support. They have the infrastructure and breadth you'd want if the site involves integrations, multiple business units, complex content architecture or significant traffic. Americaneagle.com
Trade-off: potentially more agency than you need if this is primarily a high-end corporate/marketing site.

3. The Office of Experience, LLC (OX) — Best for premium CX/brand work

OX is particularly interesting if the website is part of a broader repositioning. Its Chicago practice combines strategy, research, design and engineering and has financial-services experience, with an emphasis on sophisticated digital experiences.
Trade-off: I'd scrutinize their security architecture and financial-regulatory experience during the technical evaluation rather than assuming a beautiful UX agency is automatically the right security partner.

4. Trungale, Egan + Associates (TE+A) — Best financial-services specialist

This is worth a serious look because financial services is a stated specialty: wealth managers/RIAs, broker-dealers, custodians, exchanges, trading platforms, mutual funds, futures/commodities, banking and insurance.
Why consider them: industry fluency can matter enormously when your stakeholders include compliance, legal, investment professionals and senior management.

5. Solid Digital — Strong mid-market alternative

A Chicago-based digital agency covering strategy, web design, development and ongoing support. I'd put them on the RFP if you're looking for something more nimble than a very large enterprise agency.

Who I'd hire

For a typical Chicago investment/financial-services firm corporate website, my ranking would be:

1. Orbit Media → best balance of financial expertise, security/maintenance and sophisticated web work
2. TE+A → strongest if deep financial-industry positioning and messaging are paramount
3. OX → strongest if you're undertaking a broader brand/CX transformation
4. Americaneagle.com → strongest if the technical/enterprise complexity is substantial
5. Solid Digital → good alternative if you want a more nimble engagement

One important distinction: a secure corporate website is not the same thing as a secure financial platform. If you're collecting sensitive client information, providing authenticated client access, integrating with CRM/portfolio systems, or handling payments, I'd want the agency to demonstrate its security architecture rather than simply promise "SSL + secure hosting." For example, Clear Digital's financial-services practice explicitly discusses GLBA, PCI-DSS, SOC 2, encryption, secure form handling and security audits—those are the kinds of specifics I'd expect in an RFP response. Clear Digital

What I'd put in your RFP

Ask every finalist to answer these five questions:

• Security: Who owns security architecture, penetration testing, vulnerability management, patching and incident response?
• Compliance: What financial-services clients have you worked with, and what regulatory/privacy requirements did the website have to accommodate?
• Hosting: Where will the site be hosted, who has production access, and what are the backup/DR procedures?
• CMS: How do you prevent the CMS and third-party plugins from becoming the weakest link?
• Ownership: Do we own the source code, CMS, design system, analytics accounts, hosting account and domain—or are we locked into the agency?

If you give me your approximate firm size, whether you're an RIA/wealth manager, PE/VC, asset manager, bank, broker-dealer, etc., and whether the site will have any client login or sensitive-data functionality, I can narrow this to a 3-agency shortlist and tell you exactly which one I'd hire.

What I'd put in your RFP

Ask every finalist to answer these five questions:

• Security: Who owns security architecture, penetration testing, vulnerability management, patching and incident response?
• Compliance: What financial-services clients have you worked with, and what regulatory/privacy requirements did the website have to accommodate?
• Hosting: Where will the site be hosted, who has production access, and what are the backup/DR procedures?
• CMS: How do you prevent the CMS and third-party plugins from becoming the weakest link?
• Ownership: Do we own the source code, CMS, design system, analytics accounts, hosting account and domain—or are we locked into the agency?

If you give me your approximate firm size, whether you're an RIA/wealth manager, PE/VC, asset manager, bank, broker-dealer, etc., and whether the site will have any client login or sensitive-data functionality, I can narrow this to a 3-agency shortlist and tell you exactly which one I'd hire.

For a Chicago-based financial services firm, I’d prioritize agencies that understand institutional trust, compliance constraints, security practices, accessibility, and executive-level brand positioning—not just agencies that make attractive marketing sites.

My shortlist would be:

1. Orbit Media Studios — Best overall fit for a financial services corporate site

orbitmedia.com

Why I’d shortlist them:

• Chicago-based and experienced with financial services websites.
• Strong fit for firms that need a polished institutional presence: investment firms, banks, wealth managers, and professional services.
• Emphasizes content strategy, UX, accessibility, SEO, and ongoing website management. Orbit Media Studios

Best for:
A partner-led firm that wants a sophisticated website that builds credibility with clients, prospects, institutional investors, and recruiting targets.

Watch for:
If you need heavy client portals, authenticated areas, or complex integrations, confirm their preferred technical approach early.

2. Americaneagle.com — Best for complex, regulated, enterprise builds

americaneagle.com

Why I’d shortlist them:

• Long history working with financial institutions.
• Stronger fit if your site needs integrations, multiple business lines, governance workflows, or enterprise CMS capabilities.
• They highlight work involving banks, credit unions, and financial platforms. Americaneagle.com

Best for:
Larger firms, multi-office organizations, or companies where IT/security teams will be deeply involved.

Watch for:
May be more agency infrastructure than you need for a straightforward corporate website.

3. Digital Authority Partners — Best for fintech + digital experience work

digitalauthority.me

Why I’d shortlist them:

• Chicago presence and financial-services/fintech experience.
• More oriented toward broader digital transformation: UX, integrations, portals, analytics, and digital products. Digital Authority Partners

Best for:
A firm that wants the website to become a larger digital platform rather than just a marketing presence.

4. Clear Digital — Best for B2B financial services positioning

cleardigital.com

Why I’d shortlist them:

• Focuses specifically on financial services and enterprise B2B experiences.
• Talks directly about security, compliance, accessibility, and complex financial buying journeys. Clear Digital

Best for:
Asset managers, advisory firms, insurance, fintech, and firms selling to sophisticated buyers.

5. MBC Strategic — Best for investment firms / asset managers

mbcstrategic.com

Why I’d shortlist them:

• Specifically focused on financial audiences and investment communications.
• Good fit if your website’s job is to communicate investment philosophy, credibility, thought leadership, and institutional trust. MBC Strategic

Best for:
Private equity, asset management, wealth management, alternatives, and institutional investment firms.

My recommendation by firm type

What I would ask in the first agency interviews

For a financial services firm, I’d specifically ask:

1. Security

• How do you handle secure hosting, patching, vulnerability management, and vendor access?
• Do you support SOC 2-aligned environments?
• Who owns security responsibility after launch?
• Compliance

• How do you support FINRA/SEC review processes (if applicable)?
• How do you manage disclosures, approvals, and audit trails?
• Technology

• What CMS do you recommend and why?
• How do you prevent marketing users from accidentally creating compliance issues?
• Governance

• Who maintains the site after launch?
• How are changes reviewed and deployed?

If I were selecting three firms to put into an RFP for a Chicago financial services firm, I’d probably invite Orbit Media, Americaneagle.com, and MBC Strategic first—they cover the strongest mix of corporate polish, financial-services experience, and institutional credibility.

What I would ask in the first agency interviews

For a financial services firm, I’d specifically ask:

• Fintech Digital - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Digital Authority Partners - 420 W Huron St Fl 1, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Gate 39 - 29 E Madison St #806, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Ice Nine Online - 444 W Lake St Ste 1700, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• CSTMR Fintech Marketing Agency - 1909 W Wellington Ave #1, Chicago, IL 60657, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Chris Depa Web Design + Branding - 1528 Robinhood Ln, La Grange Park, IL 60526, United States
• One North, A TEKsystems Company - 227 W Monroe St #3500, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Trungale, Egan + Associates - 8 S Michigan Ave #2310, Chicago, IL 60603, United States

For a Chicago financial-services firm, I’d narrow the field considerably. You don’t just want a beautiful corporate site—you want an agency that understands regulated-industry credibility, security, privacy, accessibility, content governance, and the scrutiny that comes with institutional clients.

My shortlist

1. Fintech Digital — best specialist fit

• Chicago-based and focused specifically on financial services/fintech.
• Their work spans website design, UX, SEO and digital marketing, with experience in regulated financial categories.
• My pick if your priority is “they understand our business.”
• Solid Digital — best corporate/B2B option

• Strong Chicago presence and a B2B-focused approach.
• Particularly attractive if this is a partner-facing/institutional corporate site rather than a consumer fintech product.
• They handle design, development, ongoing support and maintenance. Solid Digital
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best enterprise/security choice

• Much larger organization with dedicated financial-services capabilities.
• Explicitly positions its financial-services work around security, accessibility and compliance, including complex integrations with banking/financial systems.
• Chicago office is downtown. Americaneagle.com Americaneagle.com
• I'd choose them if your procurement/security team is going to scrutinize the vendor heavily or the site will have sophisticated integrations.
• Digital Authority Partners — best strategy + execution combination

• Chicago agency with unusually explicit financial-services/fintech experience.
• Their financial-services practice discusses data security, encryption, controls, client portals and UX alongside branding and marketing. Digital Authority Partners
• Good choice if the website is also supposed to become a business-development engine, rather than simply a corporate presence.
• Gate 39 — worth interviewing for a highly specialized financial firm

• Particularly interesting because it focuses on regulated/data-intensive organizations, including financial services.
• Its background is deeply tied to financial-industry clients and technology.
• I'd put them on the RFP if your firm is in trading, asset management, institutional finance, or another technically sophisticated niche.

One more I'd seriously consider

Orbit Media Studios is a strong Chicago contender. It has been building financial websites since 2001 and has a particularly mature process around discovery, information architecture, content, QA, privacy configuration, CMS training and ongoing support. Orbit Media Studios

Who I'd hire

If I were making the decision for a Chicago-based financial-services partnership, I'd interview Fintech Digital, Solid Digital, and Americaneagle.com.

My ranking would be:

One important caveat on “secure”

I wouldn't accept an agency saying “our websites are secure” as sufficient due diligence.

For your RFP, I'd explicitly ask each agency to document:

• Hosting architecture and whether they manage it or hand it to your IT team
• SOC 2 / ISO 27001 status and whose certification it actually is
• WAF, CDN, DDoS protection and vulnerability scanning
• MFA/RBAC for CMS and hosting administration
• Encryption in transit and at rest
• Backup and disaster-recovery procedures
• Penetration testing and remediation process
• Third-party scripts and analytics/data collection
• Form/lead data handling
• Accessibility target (I'd specify WCAG 2.2 AA)
• Software/SBOM and dependency-update practices
• Incident-response SLA
• Separation of production/staging environments
• Who owns the code, hosting accounts, domains and credentials at termination

For a financial firm, I'd also keep client-sensitive information entirely out of the marketing website wherever possible. If you need authentication, client documents, account information, or other sensitive workflows, I'd architect those separately rather than turning the corporate CMS into a pseudo-client portal.

If you give me your approximate firm size, whether you're an RIA/asset manager/private equity/IB/etc., and your rough website budget (e.g. $50–100k vs. $150–300k+), I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually put in front of your partners and tell you what I would expect each to charge.

One important caveat on “secure”

I wouldn't accept an agency saying “our websites are secure” as sufficient due diligence.

For your RFP, I'd explicitly ask each agency to document:

• Hosting architecture and whether they manage it or hand it to your IT team
• SOC 2 / ISO 27001 status and whose certification it actually is
• WAF, CDN, DDoS protection and vulnerability scanning
• MFA/RBAC for CMS and hosting administration
• Encryption in transit and at rest
• Backup and disaster-recovery procedures
• Penetration testing and remediation process
• Third-party scripts and analytics/data collection
• Form/lead data handling
• Accessibility target (I'd specify WCAG 2.2 AA)
• Software/SBOM and dependency-update practices
• Incident-response SLA
• Separation of production/staging environments
• Who owns the code, hosting accounts, domains and credentials at termination

For a financial firm, I'd also keep client-sensitive information entirely out of the marketing website wherever possible. If you need authentication, client documents, account information, or other sensitive workflows, I'd architect those separately rather than turning the corporate CMS into a pseudo-client portal.

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Digital Authority Partners - 420 W Huron St Fl 1, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 2600 S River Rd, Des Plaines, IL 60018, United States
• Fintech Digital - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Marcel Digital - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1285, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Ice Nine Online - 444 W Lake St Ste 1700, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Trungale, Egan + Associates - 8 S Michigan Ave #2310, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• DONE HQ LLC - 1655 Barclay Blvd, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• SEO Design Chicago - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Cybernautic Web Design - 515 N State St #14-126, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• RSXigital | B2B Lead Generation & Performance Marketing Agency in Chicago, USA - 71 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

For a Chicago-based financial-services firm, I’d narrow the field considerably. You don’t just want a good-looking agency—you want one that understands financial-services credibility, compliance, security, governance, and executive-level B2B positioning.

My shortlist

1. Solid Digital — best overall fit

• Chicago-based and focused heavily on B2B/enterprise websites.
• Strong combination of strategy, brand, UX, web development, and post-launch support.
• I’d put them at the top of the list if the objective is a premium institutional website rather than a fintech product.
• Digital Authority Partners — best financial-services specialization

• Chicago-based and explicitly experienced in financial services/fintech.
• Their financial-services offering covers data security, encryption/controls, client portals, UX, branding and messaging. Digital Authority Partners
• Particularly interesting if your firm needs the agency to understand regulated financial-services audiences, not simply build a corporate brochure site.
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best enterprise/security infrastructure

• Much larger organization than the boutiques above.
• Their Chicago operation provides web design/development plus managed hosting and security, and they have extensive experience with financial services and enterprise organizations. Americaneagle.com
• I'd consider them if the website has complex integrations, multiple stakeholder groups, stringent IT requirements, or a long-term enterprise roadmap.
• Fintech Digital — best niche financial-marketing option

• Chicago-based and specifically focused on financial services, including banking, lending, insurance, fintech and other trust-sensitive categories.
• Worth interviewing if your website needs to do more than establish credibility—e.g. thought leadership, SEO, lead generation and financial-services-specific messaging.
• Marcel Digital — best B2B growth/measurement option

• Chicago-based B2B agency with web development, UX, SEO, analytics and ongoing support.
• More attractive if the website is expected to become a measurable business-development channel, rather than primarily a corporate presence.

One more I'd interview

Orbit Media Studios deserves a serious look even though it wasn't among the local-business results I pulled. They're Chicago-based and have a particularly strong financial-services portfolio. Their financial-services practice explicitly addresses security, compliance, ongoing monitoring, backups, updates and support, and they cite work with investment and banking organizations. Orbit Media Studios

orbitmedia.com

Who I'd hire

If I were running the selection process for a Chicago financial-services partnership, I'd invite Solid Digital, Orbit Media, Digital Authority Partners, and Americaneagle.com to pitch.

My likely ranking:

What I'd demand in the RFP

For a financial-services firm, I'd make the agencies answer these explicitly rather than accepting generic claims about "secure websites":

• Hosting architecture: where is the site hosted, who controls the AWS/Azure/etc. account, and what happens if you terminate the agency?
• Security: WAF/CDN, vulnerability scanning, patching, MFA, privileged-access controls, backups and incident response.
• Compliance: experience with SEC/FINRA/GLBA/privacy requirements relevant to your specific business and who owns compliance review.
• Third parties: every analytics, CRM, cookie, chatbot, form and marketing integration that will receive visitor information.
• Content governance: approval workflows and audit trails so marketing can't accidentally publish something compliance hasn't approved.
• Accessibility: WCAG 2.2 compliance and ongoing testing.
• Pen testing: whether they facilitate an independent penetration test before launch.
• Ownership: source code, CMS, hosting account, domain, analytics accounts and design files should ultimately belong to your firm.
• Business continuity: backup/restore procedures and documented recovery objectives.
• Post-launch SLA: response times for security vulnerabilities and outages.

One important distinction: a corporate website being "secure" is not the same thing as the firm being compliant. I'd have your CISO/IT/security counsel establish the actual requirements and make the agency build to them.

If you tell me roughly (a) your type of financial firm—PE, hedge fund, wealth management, investment banking, RIA, private credit, etc.—(b) approximate website budget, and (c) whether this is a redesign or new site, I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually hire and give you a suggested RFP/interview scorecard.

What I'd demand in the RFP

For a financial-services firm, I'd make the agencies answer these explicitly rather than accepting generic claims about "secure websites":

• Hosting architecture: where is the site hosted, who controls the AWS/Azure/etc. account, and what happens if you terminate the agency?
• Security: WAF/CDN, vulnerability scanning, patching, MFA, privileged-access controls, backups and incident response.
• Compliance: experience with SEC/FINRA/GLBA/privacy requirements relevant to your specific business and who owns compliance review.
• Third parties: every analytics, CRM, cookie, chatbot, form and marketing integration that will receive visitor information.
• Content governance: approval workflows and audit trails so marketing can't accidentally publish something compliance hasn't approved.
• Accessibility: WCAG 2.2 compliance and ongoing testing.
• Pen testing: whether they facilitate an independent penetration test before launch.
• Ownership: source code, CMS, hosting account, domain, analytics accounts and design files should ultimately belong to your firm.
• Business continuity: backup/restore procedures and documented recovery objectives.
• Post-launch SLA: response times for security vulnerabilities and outages.

One important distinction: a corporate website being "secure" is not the same thing as the firm being compliant. I'd have your CISO/IT/security counsel establish the actual requirements and make the agency build to them.

If you tell me roughly (a) your type of financial firm—PE, hedge fund, wealth management, investment banking, RIA, private credit, etc.—(b) approximate website budget, and (c) whether this is a redesign or new site, I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually hire and give you a suggested RFP/interview scorecard.

• Alpha Digital Marketing - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Trungale, Egan + Associates - 8 S Michigan Ave #2310, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Fintech Digital - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Beyond AUM - 1628 W Irving Park Rd Ste 1W, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Plego Technologies - 8 W Monroe St APT 424, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• SEO Design Chicago - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• Synergy Labs - Mobile App and Web Developers Agency in Chicago - 515 N State St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Artversion - 205 N Michigan Ave 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601

If I were advising a Chicago financial-services firm, I’d put Orbit Media Studios at the top of the list, then shortlist 2–3 others depending on how sophisticated your security/compliance and digital-product requirements are.

My shortlist

1. Alpha Digital Marketing — best overall fit

Orbit is unusually well matched to your situation: Chicago-based, deep financial-services experience, and explicitly focused on secure financial websites. They cite work with banks, investment firms and other financial organizations, and offer ongoing security monitoring, backups, updates and support. They also understand the distinction between a marketing website and existing secure financial infrastructure—for example, redesigning the front end without disturbing back-end banking functionality. Orbit Media Studios Orbit Media Studios

I'd hire them if: you want a polished institutional website, strong messaging/UX, excellent content/SEO, and a mature long-term website partner.

2. The Office of Experience, LLC — best for a sophisticated enterprise brand

OX is more of a CX/strategy/design/technology firm than a conventional web shop, with experience serving mid-market and enterprise organizations including financial services. The Office of Experience, LLC

I'd hire them if: this is a major repositioning/rebrand and the website needs to feel like a serious institutional digital experience rather than simply a redesigned corporate site.

3. Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best for enterprise-scale infrastructure

This is the bigger-agency option. Their Chicago operation handles web design, application development, hosting, analytics and ongoing support for mid-market and enterprise organizations. Americaneagle.com, Inc.

I'd hire them if: you're anticipating sophisticated integrations, multiple properties, complicated CMS requirements, substantial traffic, or enterprise procurement/security review.

4. Trungale, Egan + Associates — best financial-services specialist

TE+A has particularly relevant financial-services experience spanning wealth managers/RIAs, broker-dealers, custodians, exchanges, trading platforms, mutual funds, futures/commodities, banking and insurance. Trungale, Egan + Associates

I'd hire them if: financial-services positioning and industry fluency matter more than having the largest technical development organization.

5. Fintech Digital — best if compliance/financial-marketing expertise is central

They're specifically focused on financial services and emphasize regulated, trust-sensitive businesses, including banking, lending, insurance, fintech and related categories. Fintech Digital

I'd hire them if: the website is primarily a business-development/marketing asset and you want an agency that already speaks the language of financial-services compliance and acquisition.

One I'd seriously consider outside the conventional agency model

SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago is interesting if "secure" means engineering security, not merely secure hosting. They're a Chicago software studio that builds websites without page builders/themes and also does cybersecurity reviews, including access controls, dependency/build-pipeline review and tracing where customer data goes. Rinnet

For a financial-services firm with a demanding internal IT/security team, that could be compelling.

My recommendation for your firm

I'd probably run an RFP with Orbit, OX, and TE+A.

My ranking would be:

One important caveat: don't let an agency's claim that a website is "secure" substitute for your firm's own security/vendor diligence. For a financial-services firm, I'd make the RFP require specifics around hosting architecture, access controls/MFA, SDLC, vulnerability scanning, dependency management, incident response, backups/DR, logging, data flows, subcontractors, penetration testing, SOC 2/other relevant controls, and who owns the code/accounts.

If you tell me what kind of financial-services firm you are (PE, hedge fund, RIA/wealth management, investment bank, fintech, broker-dealer, etc.) and roughly what you'd spend ($50–100k, $100–250k, $250k+), I can narrow this to the 2–3 firms I'd actually interview and give you the questions I'd use to separate them.

For a Chicago-based financial services firm, I would not choose a general “creative” web shop. You want an agency that understands institutional trust, compliance review cycles, security controls, accessibility, content governance, and executive stakeholder management.

My shortlist would be:

1. Orbit Media Studios — best overall fit for a corporate financial-services website

orbitmedia.com

Why I’d put them near the top: They are Chicago-based, have a financial-services practice, and emphasize strategy, UX, content architecture, security-conscious maintenance, and complex integrations. They have worked with financial organizations including banks and investment firms. Orbit Media Studios

Best for:

• Wealth management firms
• Asset managers
• Private equity / investment firms
• Corporate advisory firms
• Firms needing a premium but not overly flashy brand presence

Ask them about:

• Hosting/security model
• CMS governance
• Compliance approval workflows
• Accessibility testing
• Post-launch maintenance SLAs

2. Americaneagle.com — best for enterprise complexity

americaneagle.com

Why consider them: They have deeper enterprise development capabilities than many boutique agencies and explicitly work with financial institutions on secure, compliant digital platforms and integrations. Americaneagle.com They also have experience with banking website redesigns and multi-site environments. Americaneagle.com

Best for:

• Larger firms
• Multiple business lines
• Client portals
• Complex integrations
• Organizations with IT/security teams

3. Fintech Digital — best if you want finance specialization

fintechdigital.com

They focus specifically on financial services categories such as banking, lending, insurance, fintech, and other regulated markets. Their offering includes website design/development plus broader digital strategy.

Best for:

• Fintech companies
• Financial platforms
• Firms needing industry-specific messaging
• Growth-oriented websites

4. CSTMR — best for fintech positioning and brand

cstmr.com

CSTMR is more marketing/brand-led than a pure engineering shop, but they specialize in financial-services and fintech audiences, including UX/UI, web design, and digital experiences.

Best for:

• Modernizing a dated brand
• Investor-facing positioning
• Fintech or technology-enabled financial firms

5. ArtVersion — best for a high-end corporate brand experience

artversion.com

A strong option if your priority is a sophisticated institutional look and feel. They focus on corporate websites, digital experiences, UX/UI, and enterprise-level design work.

Best for:

• Executive audiences
• Premium advisory firms
• Brand refreshes

My recommendation by firm type

Questions I would ask every agency before hiring

1. Have you built sites reviewed by compliance/legal teams in regulated industries?
2. What security controls are standard in your builds? (WAF, MFA, access controls, backups, vulnerability management)
3. Who owns the code, hosting accounts, CMS licenses, and analytics accounts after launch?
4. How do you handle disclosure-heavy pages and regulatory updates?
5. Can you provide references from financial-services executives, not just marketing teams?
6. What is your process for penetration testing, accessibility, and launch QA?

If I were selecting three firms to invite into a serious RFP for a Chicago financial-services company, I’d start with Orbit Media, Americaneagle.com, and Fintech Digital. They represent three different strengths: strategic corporate web, enterprise-grade implementation, and financial-industry specialization.

• Fintech Digital - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Digital Authority Partners - 420 W Huron St Fl 1, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Gate 39 - 29 E Madison St #806, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Ice Nine Online - 444 W Lake St Ste 1700, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• CSTMR Fintech Marketing Agency - 1909 W Wellington Ave #1, Chicago, IL 60657, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Chris Depa Web Design + Branding - 1528 Robinhood Ln, La Grange Park, IL 60526, United States
• One North, A TEKsystems Company - 227 W Monroe St #3500, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Trungale, Egan + Associates - 8 S Michigan Ave #2310, Chicago, IL 60603, United States

For a Chicago financial-services firm, I’d prioritize agencies that understand regulated environments and can demonstrate real security/compliance discipline—not just agencies that make attractive WordPress sites.

My shortlist

1. Fintech Digital — best specialist fit

• Chicago-based and focused specifically on financial services/fintech.
• Their work spans website design, UX, SEO, and compliance-sensitive financial marketing.
• I’d shortlist them if your site needs to communicate sophisticated financial products without looking like a generic institutional template.
• Solid Digital — best overall corporate/B2B option

• Chicago-based, with capabilities across strategy, UX, web design/development, branding, and ongoing support.
• A good fit if you're looking for a high-end corporate site rather than a purely financial-industry specialist.
• Particularly attractive if the website needs to support recruiting, thought leadership, investor/client communications, and business development.
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best for enterprise-grade complexity

• Much larger organization, with deep financial-services experience.
• They explicitly position their financial-services work around security, accessibility, compliance, integrations, and high-performing digital platforms, and report working with 170+ financial institutions. Americaneagle.com
• I'd favor them if you have complex integrations, multiple business lines, significant traffic, or a substantial technology/security requirement.
• Digital Authority Partners — best for finance + digital marketing

• Chicago-based with specific financial-services/fintech experience.
• Their capabilities include data security/encryption, client portals, UX, branding, and digital marketing. Digital Authority Partners
• Worth considering if the website is intended to become a meaningful business-development/lead-generation channel, not just a corporate presence.
• Gate 39 — interesting niche choice

• Particularly interesting for a financial firm because its focus includes regulated/data-intensive organizations and financial services.
• I'd investigate them if your firm has unusually sophisticated data, marketing-technology, or financial-market requirements.

One I would interview first: Orbit Media

Even though it wasn't surfaced as one of the strongest local-business listings, Orbit Media Studios stands out in my research.

They're Chicago-based and have a dedicated financial-services practice. Their portfolio includes HFR Investments, Commonwealth National Bank, ProSight and Zuckerman Investment Group, and they specifically discuss security monitoring, backups, CMS/plugin updates, and ongoing support. Orbit Media Studios Orbit Media Studios

For your situation, Orbit would probably be my first call, with Fintech Digital and Americaneagle.com as the other two I'd put into an RFP.

What I'd demand in the RFP

Because you're a financial-services firm, I'd make these requirements explicit rather than accepting "secure website" as a marketing claim:

• Hosting architecture: AWS/Azure or equivalent, with clear ownership and isolation model.
• Security: WAF, vulnerability scanning, patch management, backups, monitoring, MFA and least-privilege access.
• Data: Ideally no sensitive client/financial information stored on the marketing site. Forms should route into your approved CRM/workflow rather than becoming a database of sensitive information.
• Compliance: Ask exactly how they accommodate your compliance/legal review process and applicable requirements such as GLBA, privacy obligations and accessibility.
• Third-party risk: Full inventory of plugins, SaaS integrations, analytics, cookies and subprocessors.
• SDLC: Staging environment, code review, QA, penetration/security testing where appropriate, and documented deployment process.
• Business continuity: Backup frequency, RTO/RPO, disaster recovery and incident-response responsibilities.
• Ownership: You own the domain, code, design files, analytics accounts and hosting relationship—or the contract makes the exit process extremely clear.
• Post-launch: Don't accept "we'll keep it updated" as the security plan. Get specific SLAs and responsibilities in writing.

I'd also separate "corporate website" from "client portal." If you're building a public-facing firm website, I'd keep authentication and sensitive client functionality completely outside the marketing-site architecture whenever possible.

My ranking for a partner-level evaluation:
Orbit Media → Fintech Digital → Americaneagle.com, with Solid Digital as the wildcard if brand/positioning is especially important.

If you tell me roughly your firm's size, AUM/revenue, whether you're an RIA/private equity/asset manager/broker-dealer/etc., and a rough website budget ($50k, $100k, $250k+), I can narrow this to 3 agencies and give you a side-by-side recommendation on likely fit, strengths, weaknesses, and what I would ask each one in the first meeting.

I'd also separate "corporate website" from "client portal." If you're building a public-facing firm website, I'd keep authentication and sensitive client functionality completely outside the marketing-site architecture whenever possible.

My ranking for a partner-level evaluation:
Orbit Media → Fintech Digital → Americaneagle.com, with Solid Digital as the wildcard if brand/positioning is especially important.

If you tell me roughly your firm's size, AUM/revenue, whether you're an RIA/private equity/asset manager/broker-dealer/etc., and a rough website budget ($50k, $100k, $250k+), I can narrow this to 3 agencies and give you a side-by-side recommendation on likely fit, strengths, weaknesses, and what I would ask each one in the first meeting.

• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Fintech Digital - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• cre8 - 910 W Van Buren St Ste 100 #302, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• Ice Nine Online - 444 W Lake St Ste 1700, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Trungale, Egan + Associates - 8 S Michigan Ave #2310, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Plego Technologies - 8 W Monroe St APT 424, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• cre8 - Chicago, IL 60607
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States

If you’re a Chicago-based financial services firm and this is an institutional/corporate website—not a lead-gen site for a small business—I’d shortlist agencies based on financial-services experience, security/compliance maturity, enterprise UX, and ability to work with senior stakeholders.

My shortlist

1. Orbit Media Studios — my first call

Orbit is unusually well aligned with your brief. They have a dedicated financial-services practice, with work for investment firms, banks and other financial organizations. They explicitly address security, complex integrations, regulatory considerations and ongoing website management. Their financial-services portfolio includes HFR Investments, Zuckerman Investment Group and Commonwealth National Bank. Orbit Media Studios

Best for: a sophisticated corporate/investment-firm site where positioning, content, UX and technical execution all matter.

2. Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best for enterprise/security depth

This would be my choice if the site has substantial integrations, authenticated areas, complicated content architecture, or enterprise IT/security requirements. Americaneagle specifically works with banks, credit unions, mortgage lenders and financial institutions and emphasizes security, accessibility and compliance. It says it has launched projects for more than 170 financial institutions. Americaneagle.com

Best for: larger, technically complex organizations where IT/security will have a major voice in vendor selection.

3. Solid Digital — strong corporate/B2B option

I'd put Solid on the RFP list if you're looking for a polished institutional website without necessarily needing a giant enterprise agency. Their Chicago team combines strategy, design, engineering and ongoing support.

Best for: modernizing a traditional financial-services brand while keeping the site restrained and corporate.

4. Fintech Digital — financial-services specialist

A more specialized option. They're Chicago-based and focused heavily on financial services, including regulated categories such as banking, lending, insurance and fintech, with website/UX capabilities and attention to security and accessibility. Fintech Digital

Best for: a firm that wants an agency deeply immersed in financial-services marketing rather than a generalist corporate agency.

5. cre8 — interesting boutique choice

This one caught my attention for your particular situation. It's a Chicago studio focused on complex B2B organizations, including finance/investment management, insurance and other regulated industries, and has experience with custom web applications and financial-data integrations. cre8

Best for: a smaller, senior-level team where you want direct access to the people actually doing the work.

Who I'd actually invite to pitch

If I were in your seat, I'd make it a 3-agency bake-off:

I'd also have cre8 pitch if you want a boutique alternative.

One other specialist worth knowing about is MBC Strategic. They work exclusively with financial-services firms and specifically position their website work around investment managers, allocators, fundraising, compliance and institutional credibility. MBC Strategic

One important caveat

I wouldn't select the agency based on its claim that it builds "secure" websites. For a financial-services firm, I'd make the RFP require concrete answers on:

• SOC 2 / ISO 27001 and the agency's own security controls
• Hosting architecture and data residency
• WAF/CDN, encryption, backups and vulnerability management
• Penetration testing and independent security testing
• CMS patching and dependency management
• SSO/MFA if you have authenticated content
• Accessibility (WCAG 2.2)
• SEC/FINRA/compliance-review workflow, if applicable
• Analytics and third-party tracking/data flows
• Who owns the source code, hosting accounts, domains and credentials
• Incident response and SLA after launch

For a pure corporate/institutional site with no client data or transactional functionality, you probably don't need to over-engineer the platform. The bigger differentiator will be whether the agency can make the firm look institutional, credible and differentiated without falling into the generic "financial services website" aesthetic.

My vote: start with Orbit. Their combination of Chicago presence, financial-services portfolio, strategy/content capability and ongoing technical management is particularly compelling for a partner-level firm decision. Orbit Media Studios

If you tell me roughly what type of financial firm you are (PE, hedge fund, RIA, wealth manager, investment bank, private credit, etc.), your approximate website budget, and whether you need a redesign or a completely new build, I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies and tell you what I'd expect each to cost.

I wouldn't select the agency based on its claim that it builds "secure" websites. For a financial-services firm, I'd make the RFP require concrete answers on:

• SOC 2 / ISO 27001 and the agency's own security controls
• Hosting architecture and data residency
• WAF/CDN, encryption, backups and vulnerability management
• Penetration testing and independent security testing
• CMS patching and dependency management
• SSO/MFA if you have authenticated content
• Accessibility (WCAG 2.2)
• SEC/FINRA/compliance-review workflow, if applicable
• Analytics and third-party tracking/data flows
• Who owns the source code, hosting accounts, domains and credentials
• Incident response and SLA after launch

For a pure corporate/institutional site with no client data or transactional functionality, you probably don't need to over-engineer the platform. The bigger differentiator will be whether the agency can make the firm look institutional, credible and differentiated without falling into the generic "financial services website" aesthetic.

My vote: start with Orbit. Their combination of Chicago presence, financial-services portfolio, strategy/content capability and ongoing technical management is particularly compelling for a partner-level firm decision.

• Fintech Digital - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Marcel Digital - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1285, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Trungale, Egan + Associates - 8 S Michigan Ave #2310, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Bounteous - 4115 N Ravenswood Ave #101, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Beyond AUM - 1628 W Irving Park Rd Ste 1W, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Glantz Design - 1881 Oak Ave, Evanston, IL 60201, United States
• Plego Technologies - 8 W Monroe St APT 424, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• SEO Design Chicago - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Synergy Labs - Mobile App and Web Developers Agency in Chicago - 515 N State St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States

If I were advising a Chicago financial-services firm, I’d shortlist three agencies rather than run a broad RFP. For your use case, I’d prioritize financial-services experience, enterprise-grade security, compliance workflows, content governance, and the ability to make the site feel like a serious institutional firm—not a generic marketing site.

My shortlist

1. Fintech Digital — best specialist fit

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-348-7245)

This would be my first call if your firm is in wealth management, asset management, banking, lending, fintech, or another regulated financial-services niche.

They are Chicago-based and specifically focused on financial services, including regulated/trust-sensitive businesses. Their capabilities span UX, website development, SEO and compliance-oriented marketing, with security and accessibility considerations. Digital Authority Partners

Why I'd consider them: they should understand the difference between building a beautiful website and building one that a financial-services firm's legal/compliance people can actually live with.

Best for: a sophisticated corporate site where financial-services domain knowledge matters more than sheer agency scale.

2. Marcel Digital — best Chicago enterprise/B2B option

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-255-8044)

I'd put Marcel very high on the list if this is a corporate/institutional website rather than a consumer financial product.

They're Chicago-based and combine web development with SEO, analytics, CRO and digital strategy. Their work includes B2B/enterprise websites and ongoing technical support, with particular expertise around enterprise CMS implementations. Marcel Digital

Why I'd consider them: they look like a good fit for a firm where the website needs to support marketing, thought leadership, recruiting, analytics and business development—not simply serve as an online brochure.

Best for: a $100K-ish-to-$300K+ corporate website where marketing sophistication and ongoing optimization matter.

3. Solid Digital — best design/technology balance

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 877-899-9981)

Solid Digital is another Chicago option I'd put on the pitch list. Its offering covers web design, branding, digital products, development and ongoing support/maintenance.

I'd look at them particularly if brand perception is a major objective—e.g., you want the site to make the firm look more modern, institutional and differentiated without going full "fintech startup."

Best for: premium corporate design + strong technical execution.

Two others I'd interview

Trungale, Egan + Associates (TE+A) is worth a serious conversation because its financial-services specialization is unusually deep: wealth managers/RIAs, broker-dealers, custodians, exchanges, trading platforms, mutual funds, futures/commodities, banking and insurance.

Bounteous is the one I'd consider if you're looking for something substantially larger and more enterprise-oriented. Its Chicago operation combines experience design, engineering, analytics and marketing technology.

For a major institutional firm with complicated integrations or a broader digital-transformation agenda, that scale can be valuable.

How I'd rank them for you

One important distinction: "secure website" shouldn't just mean SSL and a secure hosting provider. For a financial-services firm, I'd require the agency to explain its approach to CMS hardening, third-party scripts, WAF/CDN, vulnerability management, dependency updates, backups/disaster recovery, access controls/MFA, logging, penetration testing, privacy, forms, analytics, and separation of the public website from any client-facing systems. Financial-services specialists such as Clear Digital explicitly frame their work around security and regulatory requirements including GLBA and PCI-DSS. Clear Digital

I'd also keep client portals and sensitive financial data out of the marketing-site architecture whenever possible. The public corporate site should generally be a hardened presentation layer, with authenticated client functionality living in appropriately controlled systems.

If it were my money

I'd invite Fintech Digital, Marcel Digital and Solid Digital to a first-round pitch.

I'd give all three the same brief and ask them to demonstrate:

1. Three comparable financial-services sites they've actually built.
2. Their proposed CMS and hosting architecture.
3. Their security threat model and third-party dependency policy.
4. How they handle compliance/legal review and disclosures.
5. Their approach to analytics and marketing pixels.
6. Who actually does the development—not just who sells the project.
7. Post-launch security/maintenance SLAs.
8. Accessibility and performance testing.
9. How they handle employee bios, thought leadership and high-volume content.
10. A live walkthrough of a site they built 2–3 years ago, not just their newest work.

That last one is particularly revealing: a great agency should be able to show that the site remained secure, maintainable and useful after launch.

If you tell me roughly what type of financial-services firm you are (PE, asset management, wealth management, investment bank, trading, insurance, fintech, etc.) and your approximate website budget, I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually hire and what I think each should charge.

Why I'd consider them: they look like a good fit for a firm where the website needs to support marketing, thought leadership, recruiting, analytics and business development—not simply serve as an online brochure.

Best for: a $100K-ish-to-$300K+ corporate website where marketing sophistication and ongoing optimization matter.

3. Solid Digital — best design/technology balance

Solid Digital is another Chicago option I'd put on the pitch list. Its offering covers web design, branding, digital products, development and ongoing support/maintenance.

I'd look at them particularly if brand perception is a major objective—e.g., you want the site to make the firm look more modern, institutional and differentiated without going full "fintech startup."

Best for: premium corporate design + strong technical execution.

Two others I'd interview

Trungale, Egan + Associates (TE+A) is worth a serious conversation because its financial-services specialization is unusually deep: wealth managers/RIAs, broker-dealers, custodians, exchanges, trading platforms, mutual funds, futures/commodities, banking and insurance.

Bounteous is the one I'd consider if you're looking for something substantially larger and more enterprise-oriented. Its Chicago operation combines experience design, engineering, analytics and marketing technology.

For a major institutional firm with complicated integrations or a broader digital-transformation agenda, that scale can be valuable.

How I'd rank them for you

One important distinction: "secure website" shouldn't just mean SSL and a secure hosting provider. For a financial-services firm, I'd require the agency to explain its approach to CMS hardening, third-party scripts, WAF/CDN, vulnerability management, dependency updates, backups/disaster recovery, access controls/MFA, logging, penetration testing, privacy, forms, analytics, and separation of the public website from any client-facing systems. Financial-services specialists such as Clear Digital explicitly frame their work around security and regulatory requirements including GLBA and PCI-DSS. Clear Digital

I'd also keep client portals and sensitive financial data out of the marketing-site architecture whenever possible. The public corporate site should generally be a hardened presentation layer, with authenticated client functionality living in appropriately controlled systems.

If it were my money

I'd invite Fintech Digital, Marcel Digital and Solid Digital to a first-round pitch.

I'd give all three the same brief and ask them to demonstrate:

1. Three comparable financial-services sites they've actually built.
2. Their proposed CMS and hosting architecture.
3. Their security threat model and third-party dependency policy.
4. How they handle compliance/legal review and disclosures.
5. Their approach to analytics and marketing pixels.
6. Who actually does the development—not just who sells the project.
7. Post-launch security/maintenance SLAs.
8. Accessibility and performance testing.
9. How they handle employee bios, thought leadership and high-volume content.
10. A live walkthrough of a site they built 2–3 years ago, not just their newest work.

That last one is particularly revealing: a great agency should be able to show that the site remained secure, maintainable and useful after launch.

• Marcel Digital - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1285, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Fintech Digital - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Artversion - 205 N Michigan Ave 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601
• Plego Technologies - 8 W Monroe St APT 424, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Trungale, Egan + Associates - 8 S Michigan Ave #2310, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• SEO Design Chicago - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• Beyond AUM - 1628 W Irving Park Rd Ste 1W, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• LaunchPad Lab - 220 W Huron St, Ste 2001, Chicago, IL 60654
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Wheaton Website Services - 20 Danada Square W, Wheaton, IL 60189, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States

If this is a serious corporate site for a financial-services firm, I’d optimize for three things: financial-services experience, security/compliance discipline, and executive-level brand quality. I would not simply hire the highest-rated generic Chicago web shop.

My shortlist

1. Marcel Digital — best overall Chicago fit

• Strong enterprise/B2B orientation and genuinely local.
• Particularly interesting if you want a sophisticated corporate site plus ongoing SEO, analytics, CRO, and CMS support.
• They have substantial enterprise Umbraco experience and explicitly work with complex organizations. Marcel Digital
• My pick if: you want a polished institutional site that also becomes a serious business-development/marketing platform.
• Fintech Digital — best financial-services specialist

• Specifically focused on financial services and regulated/trust-sensitive businesses.
• Their capabilities include financial-brand websites, UX/UI, SEO, and security/accessibility considerations.
• My pick if: regulatory/compliance context and understanding financial-services buyers matter more than having a huge agency.
• Orbit Media Studios — best proven financial-services web practice

• This is probably the first agency I would interview.
• Orbit has a dedicated financial-services web practice and cites work with investment, banking and other financial organizations. More importantly, it explicitly addresses security monitoring, backups, CMS/plugin updates, uptime, and ongoing maintenance. Orbit Media Studios
• My pick if: you want an agency that understands that a financial-services website is an ongoing operational asset, not just a redesign.
• The Office of Experience, LLC — best for a premium corporate/brand transformation

• More strategy/experience/design oriented, with engineering capabilities underneath.
• Its client profile includes mid-market and enterprise organizations and financial services.
• My pick if: the website is part of a broader repositioning of the firm and you care enormously about executive-level brand perception.
• Artversion — best design-forward alternative

• Chicago-based, established creative agency with corporate and enterprise web work, including large WordPress implementations.
• My pick if: the current site looks dated and the primary objective is a major upgrade in visual sophistication.

One non-Chicago option I'd put in the RFP

Americaneagle.com is worth considering if your definition of "secure" includes substantial integrations, authentication, financial data, accessibility, and enterprise infrastructure. It specifically markets secure financial-services platforms and says it has worked with 170+ banks, credit unions and financial institutions. Americaneagle.com

Who I'd actually interview

For a Chicago financial-services partnership, I'd narrow it to:

Orbit Media → Marcel Digital → Fintech Digital → The Office of Experience

I'd probably invite three to pitch rather than five. My ranking would change depending on whether you're an RIA/wealth manager, PE/VC firm, investment bank, lender, insurance business, or institutional asset manager.

One important point: don't let an agency's claims of "secure" substitute for your firm's security review. In the RFP I'd require them to specify hosting architecture, CMS, patching cadence, vulnerability scanning, WAF/CDN, MFA/RBAC, backups and recovery, third-party scripts, logging, penetration testing responsibilities, SOC 2/ISO evidence where applicable, accessibility, privacy controls, and exactly what happens when a critical vulnerability is disclosed.

If you tell me roughly what type of financial-services firm you are and the approximate website budget ($50–100k, $100–250k, $250k+), I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd hire and give you a side-by-side evaluation of them.

• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• One North, A TEKsystems Company - 227 W Monroe St #3500, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Artversion - 205 N Michigan Ave 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Alpha Digital Marketing - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States

For a Chicago-based financial services firm, I would not optimize for a “pretty website agency.” I’d look for a partner that understands institutional credibility, regulatory review, security controls, executive stakeholder management, and long-term maintenance.

My shortlist would be:

1. Orbit Media Studios — best overall fit for many financial firms

Orbit Media Studios

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 773-348-4581)

Why I’d put them near the top:

• Chicago-based and experienced with financial services websites. Orbit Media Studios
• Strong reputation for strategy, information architecture, content, SEO, and ongoing site management—not just visual redesign. Orbit Media Studios
• Good fit if your website is primarily a corporate credibility platform (institutional investors, clients, prospects, recruiting) rather than a transactional portal.

Best for:

• Asset managers
• Private equity / investment firms
• Wealth managers
• Advisory firms
• B2B financial services

Watch for:

• If you need a highly customized authenticated client portal or complex fintech application layer, you may want a more engineering-heavy firm.

2. Americaneagle.com — best for enterprise complexity

Americaneagle.com, Inc.

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-291-5970)

Why consider them:

• Larger agency with Chicago presence and experience supporting enterprise websites, integrations, hosting, and ongoing support. Americaneagle.com
• Better suited if your site touches many systems: CRM, investor databases, document libraries, multilingual content, complex permissions, etc.

Best for:

• Larger financial institutions
• Firms with internal IT/security teams
• Complex CMS requirements

Watch for:

• Larger agencies can introduce more process overhead and higher budgets.

3. One North — best for premium institutional brand experience

One North, A TEKsystems Company

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-469-1740)

Why consider them:

• Strong Chicago enterprise digital experience background combining strategy, UX, design, and engineering.
• A good choice if your website is part of a broader brand repositioning or client experience initiative.

Best for:

• Institutional firms
• Complex stakeholder environments
• Firms competing for high-net-worth clients, talent, or institutional mandates

4. Solid Digital — strong corporate B2B option

Solid Digital

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 877-899-9981)

Why consider them:

• Chicago-based agency focused on corporate websites, design systems, development, and ongoing support.
• Good fit for a marketing team that wants a structured partner.

Best for:

• Financial services firms with a marketing-led website rebuild
• Companies needing ongoing optimization after launch

5. Clear Digital — strongest finance-specific positioning

Clear DigitalWhy consider them:

• Explicit financial services specialization.
• Focuses on security, compliance considerations, accessibility, and integrations common in regulated industries. Clear Digital

Best for:

• Firms where compliance and security review are major decision criteria.

My recommended shortlist for a Chicago financial services partner

If I were running the RFP, I would invite:

1. Orbit Media Studios — balanced choice
2. One North — premium institutional experience
3. Americaneagle.com — enterprise capability
4. Clear Digital — finance/compliance focus

Before hiring, I’d ask each agency these questions:

• What security practices do you follow (SOC 2 vendors, penetration testing, vulnerability management)?
• Who owns the code, design files, hosting accounts, and CMS?
• How do you handle FINRA/SEC-related content review workflows?
• What CMS do you recommend and why?
• Can you provide references from asset managers, banks, PE firms, or investment companies?
• What is your post-launch support model?

For a Chicago financial services firm, I would probably start with Orbit and One North for discovery conversations, then compare them against Americaneagle if your requirements are more enterprise/technical. Orbit Media Studios Americaneagle.com

• Fintech Digital - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Gate 39 - 29 E Madison St #806, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• Beyond AUM - 1628 W Irving Park Rd Ste 1W, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Plego Technologies - 8 W Monroe St APT 424, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Trungale, Egan + Associates - 8 S Michigan Ave #2310, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Thirdwave - 15 W Hubbard St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Osmo Web Agency, LLC - 7427 S South Shore Dr #4K, Chicago, IL 60649, United States

For a Chicago financial-services firm, I’d prioritize agencies with actual financial-services experience and demonstrable security/compliance discipline, rather than choosing a generalist creative shop.

My shortlist:

1. Fintech Digital — best overall fit for regulated financial services. Chicago-based and specifically focused on financial services, including banking, lending, insurance, fintech and other regulated categories. Their offering spans website/UX, compliance-aware marketing and SEO. Orbit Media Studios

Why I’d interview them: They understand that the website isn't merely a branding exercise—it has to survive compliance review while projecting institutional credibility.

2. Gate 39 — best if technology/security is a major concern. They specialize in regulated, data-intensive organizations and have financial-services roots, with experience across cloud infrastructure and digital platforms.

Why I’d interview them: Particularly interesting if your site will have integrations, authenticated areas, data feeds, or a more sophisticated technical architecture.

3. Marcel Digital — best for a sophisticated B2B corporate site. Chicago-based, with in-house web development, analytics, CRO and SEO capabilities and an enterprise/B2B orientation.

Why I’d interview them: Strong candidate if the mandate is simultaneously "make us look like a top-tier institution" and "generate measurable business development results."

4. ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best design/brand option. They're a long-established Chicago creative agency with corporate website, enterprise UX and branding capabilities.

Why I’d interview them: If your existing site feels dated and the priority is elevating the firm's institutional brand while retaining a serious corporate aesthetic.

5. Orbit Media Studios — best proven financial-services web specialist. Orbit explicitly markets financial-services website work, including security/compliance considerations, SEO, information architecture and conversion strategy. Orbit Media Studios Orbit Media Studios

Why I’d interview them: Probably the strongest website-first candidate on this list. Their financial-services specialization is unusually explicit.

Who I'd hire

If I were running the RFP, I'd put Orbit, Fintech Digital, and Gate 39 into the final three.

I'd lean Orbit if this is primarily a high-end corporate/institutional website.

I'd lean Gate 39 if there is meaningful technical complexity—client areas, integrations, sensitive data, cloud infrastructure, etc.

I'd lean Fintech Digital if regulatory/compliance expertise and financial-services marketing are the dominant requirements.

One important distinction: "secure website" should not just mean SSL + a secure CMS. For your firm, I'd make every finalist answer, in writing, how they handle hosting, WAF/CDN, patching, vulnerability scanning, backups, MFA/admin access, third-party scripts, form-data handling, incident response, penetration testing, accessibility, vendor/subprocessor risk, and separation of production/staging environments. Financial-services specialists such as Clear Digital explicitly address requirements including SOC 2, PCI-DSS, encrypted transmission and security audits, which is the level of specificity I'd expect in an enterprise proposal. Clear Digital

My recommendation: don't run a 10-agency beauty contest. Send a tightly scoped RFP to Orbit, Gate 39 and Fintech Digital, give them the same requirements and ask each for a proposed architecture, security model, CMS, maintenance model, timeline, team composition and 2–3 relevant client references. That will tell you much more than comparing portfolios.

• Fintech Digital - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• cre8 - Chicago, IL 60607
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Trungale, Egan + Associates - 8 S Michigan Ave #2310, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Thirdwave - 15 W Hubbard St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Valenture Managed IT Services – Chicago IT Support & Technology Solutions Provider - 155 N Wacker Dr #4250, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Osmo Web Agency, LLC - 7427 S South Shore Dr #4K, Chicago, IL 60649, United States
• Beyond AUM - 1628 W Irving Park Rd Ste 1W, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• CSW Solutions Inc - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States

If I were advising a Chicago financial-services firm, I’d shortlist 3–4 agencies rather than run a broad beauty-contest RFP. For your situation, the key is finding a firm that can make the site look institutional and handle security, compliance, governance, CMS architecture, and long-term support.

My shortlist

1. Fintech Digital — best financial-services specialist

• Chicago-based and focused specifically on financial services, including regulated categories.
• Offers website/UX work with security and accessibility considerations.
• Particularly compelling if you're an investment, wealth-management, lending, insurance, or fintech business and want an agency that already speaks the industry's language.
• My take: Probably the first call I'd make if financial-services expertise is your #1 criterion.
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best for enterprise-grade execution

• Has a substantial Chicago operation and works with mid-market and enterprise organizations.
• Its financial-services practice explicitly emphasizes security, accessibility and compliance, alongside web development, integrations, hosting and ongoing support. Americaneagle.com
• My take: I'd favor them if this is a significant corporate site with complex integrations, multiple stakeholders, stringent security requirements, or a long expected lifespan.
• cre8 — interesting boutique option

• Chicago-based and specifically positioned around complex B2B organizations, including finance/investment management and other regulated industries.
• Their emphasis is on the underlying CMS, integrations, performance and operational architecture—not just the visual redesign.
• My take: Worth interviewing if you want senior-level attention without hiring a huge enterprise agency.
• Solid Digital — strong design + corporate digital option

• Chicago-based with capabilities spanning web design, branding, applications, support and ongoing optimization.
• My take: I'd put them on the RFP if brand sophistication and executive-level presentation matter as much as the technology.

One other agency I'd seriously consider

Trungale, Egan + Associates has particularly relevant financial-services experience and combines strategy, branding, creative, web and marketing. That's attractive if the underlying problem isn't simply "our website is old," but rather "our digital presence doesn't accurately position the firm we're becoming."

What I'd do in your shoes

I'd invite Fintech Digital, Americaneagle.com, cre8 and TE+A to a tightly scoped pitch.

But I would not ask them merely for homepage concepts. Give them a hypothetical or sanitized version of your requirements and make them demonstrate:

• Their security architecture and threat model
• Hosting/cloud architecture and responsibility matrix
• CMS permissions and governance
• MFA/SSO options for administrators
• Vulnerability scanning, penetration testing and patching
• Backup/disaster recovery and uptime monitoring
• Third-party scripts, analytics and cookie/data handling
• Compliance workflow for disclosures and regulated content
• Accessibility/WCAG approach
• How they handle forms and personally identifiable information
• Post-launch SLAs and incident response
• Who actually owns the code, CMS, hosting accounts and design files
• Two or three financial-services clients comparable to your firm

That's important because "secure website" can mean very different things. Orbit Media, for example, explicitly describes security/uptime monitoring, backups, updates and dedicated support for its financial-services clients, while Digital Authority Partners discusses financial-services data security, encryption and controls. Orbit Media Studios Digital Authority Partners

If I had to pick one without knowing anything else about your firm, I'd start with Fintech Digital for sector expertise and Americaneagle.com for enterprise depth. If you're a sophisticated investment/financial-services firm where brand positioning is especially important, I'd add TE+A to that conversation.

If you tell me what type of financial-services firm you are (PE, asset management, RIA, broker-dealer, bank, fintech, etc.), approximate firm size, and whether the site is primarily corporate/marketing or has authenticated client functionality, I can narrow this to a top 2–3 and give you a side-by-side evaluation of likely fit, strengths, weaknesses, and questions to ask each agency.

• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Marcel Digital - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1285, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Artversion - 205 N Michigan Ave 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601
• Alpha Digital Marketing - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• SEO Design Chicago - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States

For a Chicago-based financial services firm, I would not hire a generalist “pretty website” shop. You want an agency that understands institutional trust, compliance review cycles, security architecture, content governance, and the expectations of high-net-worth clients, investors, or corporate counterparties.

My shortlist would be:

1. Orbit Media Studios — best overall fit for many financial firms

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 773-348-4581)

Best for: wealth managers, investment firms, advisory firms, B2B financial services companies needing a premium corporate site.

Why I’d consider them:

• Chicago-based with a strong corporate/B2B website track record.
• They specifically market financial services website work and discuss security, maintenance, monitoring, backups, and CMS management. Orbit Media Studios
• Strong balance of strategy, UX, content, SEO, and development rather than just visual design. Orbit Media Studios

My fit rating for a financial services partner: ★★★★★

2. Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best for enterprise complexity

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-291-5970)

Best for: larger firms, regulated environments, complex integrations, portals, multiple business lines.

Why:

• They have a dedicated financial services practice focused on secure web platforms, integrations, accessibility, and compliance-oriented development. Americaneagle.com
• They have experience with banks and financial institutions, including multi-site financial website projects. Americaneagle.com
• Better choice if your website touches CRMs, client portals, account systems, or enterprise infrastructure. Americaneagle.com

My fit rating: ★★★★★ for enterprise, ★★★★☆ for a simpler corporate site

3. Solid Digital — best for B2B brand modernization

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 877-899-9981)

Best for: firms that need a sophisticated corporate presence and ongoing digital support.

Why:

• Chicago presence and experience with corporate website redesigns, branding, UX, development, and maintenance.
• Good fit if your website is primarily about credibility, thought leadership, recruiting, and business development.

My fit rating: ★★★★☆

4. Marcel Digital — best if growth analytics matter

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-255-8044)

Best for: firms where the website is expected to generate leads, improve marketing attribution, and integrate with CRM workflows.

Why:

• Chicago-based agency with web development plus analytics, CRO, SEO, and marketing capabilities.
• More performance-marketing oriented than some pure brand/design agencies.

My fit rating: ★★★★☆

5. ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best design-led option

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-837-7466)

Best for: firms where brand perception and executive-level polish are the priority.

Why:

• Chicago design consultancy with corporate website, UX, and digital experience capabilities.
• Stronger on brand/design sophistication than compliance-heavy financial infrastructure.

My fit rating: ★★★★☆

Who I would hire depending on your situation

• Registered investment advisor / wealth management firm: Orbit Media
• Private equity, asset management, institutional investment firm: Orbit Media or MBC Strategic (financial-services specialist) MBC Strategic
• Bank, lender, fintech, insurance, regulated platform: Americaneagle.com
• Large corporate financial services firm with multiple stakeholders: Americaneagle.com or Solid Digital
• Boutique firm wanting a “top-tier institutional” look: Orbit Media or ArtVersion

Questions I would ask before signing anyone

1. Can you provide examples of financial services sites that went through legal/compliance review?
2. Who owns security reviews, hosting, patching, and incident response?
3. What CMS do you recommend and why (WordPress, Drupal, Sitecore, Webflow, etc.)?
4. How do you handle: - client data submitted through forms
5. CRM integrations
6. accessibility (WCAG)
7. audit trails and content approvals
8. Can our compliance team approve content without blocking marketing velocity?

If I were running the agency selection process for a Chicago financial firm, I would put Orbit Media, Americaneagle.com, and Solid Digital into the first round and ask each for a discovery workshop rather than a generic proposal.

For a Chicago-based financial-services firm, I’d narrow the field pretty aggressively. You don’t just need a beautiful corporate site—you need an agency that understands institutional credibility, compliance workflows, security, content governance, and the scrutiny that comes with financial services.

My shortlist

1. Orbit Media Studios — my pick

This is the one I'd put at the top of your RFP.

They're actually Chicago-based, have been doing web work for 20+ years, and explicitly specialize in financial-services websites. Their financial-services portfolio includes Zuckerman Investment Group, HFR Investments, WestPoint Financial Group, Byline Bank and OneUnited Bank. www.orbitmedia.comwww.orbitmedia.com

More importantly for your situation, Orbit addresses security monitoring, backups, CMS/plugin updates, uptime monitoring and ongoing maintenance, rather than treating security as something that happens after launch. www.orbitmedia.com

They also have a particularly strong combination of strategy + UX + content + development, which is important for a financial firm where the website is effectively part of the firm's credibility package. Their Chicago office is at 4043 N Ravenswood Ave. www.orbitmedia.comwww.orbitmedia.com

I'd hire Orbit if: you want a premium, highly credible corporate site without bringing in a giant enterprise integrator.

Orbit Media Studios

2. MBC Strategic — best if you're an investment firm

If by "financial services" you mean asset management, private equity, private credit, hedge funds, wealth management, RIA, etc., I'd seriously consider MBC.

They are unusually specialized: their entire practice is focused on investment/financial-services firms, including asset managers, investment advisors, PE, private credit, hedge funds and alternatives. Their website practice includes fund/strategy pages, investor communications, analytics and digital optimization. mbcstrategic.com

They've worked with names including AIG, Russell Investments, Polen Capital, RiverNorth, Angel Oak Capital Advisors and Ancora. mbcstrategic.com

The catch: they're headquartered in Santa Monica, not Chicago, so I wouldn't choose them simply because you want a local agency.

I'd hire MBC if: the primary objective is to make the firm look and communicate like a top-tier institutional investment manager.

MBC Strategic

3. Americaneagle.com — best for enterprise complexity

Americaneagle is the one I'd consider if your website touches substantial infrastructure—CRM, authentication, core financial systems, applications, portals, etc.

They explicitly work with banks, credit unions, mortgage lenders and financial institutions, and emphasize security, accessibility, compliance and integrations with systems such as Salesforce Financial Services Cloud and major banking platforms. They say they've worked with 170+ financial institutions. www.americaneagle.com

This is more of an enterprise digital partner than a boutique corporate-web agency.

I'd hire them if: security, integrations, governance and scalability matter more than having the most boutique creative experience.

Americaneagle.com

4. Clear Digital — strong enterprise/B2B contender

Clear Digital has a dedicated financial-services practice covering banks, fintech, credit unions and insurance. They explicitly discuss GLBA, PCI-DSS, SOC 2, accessibility, secure hosting, encrypted data transmission and regulatory validation. www.cleardigital.com

They'd be particularly interesting if your firm is somewhere between financial services and technology/B2B, rather than a traditional investment manager.

Clear Digital

What I'd do in your shoes

I'd invite exactly three agencies to pitch:

1. Orbit — benchmark for Chicago execution and overall website quality.
2. MBC Strategic — benchmark for financial/investment-industry expertise.
3. Americaneagle — benchmark for enterprise security/infrastructure.

Then make them respond to the same technical brief, rather than letting each agency sell you its preferred solution.

For a financial-services firm, I'd specifically require the winning agency to demonstrate:

• SOC 2/ISO 27001 posture of the agency and the proposed hosting environment
• penetration testing / vulnerability scanning responsibilities
• WAF, CDN, DDoS and bot protection
• MFA and least-privilege access for administrators
• encrypted data in transit and at rest
• secure handling of contact forms and any PII
• third-party scripts/tag governance
• CMS/plugin patching SLAs
• backup and disaster-recovery procedures
• accessibility/WCAG compliance
• documented content approval and compliance workflow
• audit logs and administrator controls
• incident-response procedures
• separation of development/staging/production
• who owns the code, hosting account, domain, analytics and CMS after termination

One important distinction: a corporate marketing website generally shouldn't be collecting or storing sensitive financial information in the first place. I'd architect the site so that anything involving genuinely sensitive client/account information stays in your existing secure systems and the website simply hands users off to them.

Bottom line

If I had to pick one today: Orbit. Their combination of Chicago presence, financial-services experience, strong corporate web work, and explicit ongoing security/maintenance is unusually well aligned with what you're asking for. www.orbitmedia.comwww.orbitmedia.com

If you're specifically an investment manager: I'd put MBC Strategic vs. Orbit head-to-head, with MBC potentially winning on industry positioning and Orbit winning on technical/web execution.

If you tell me roughly what kind of financial firm you are (PE, hedge fund, wealth manager, RIA, lender, fintech, etc.), firm size, and whether the site will collect any client data, I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually interview and give you an RFP scorecard.

If you’re a partner at a Chicago financial-services firm, I’d prioritize agencies that understand regulated financial services, enterprise stakeholder review, and security—not just agencies that make attractive WordPress sites.

My shortlist:

1. Orbit Media Studios — best overall
   • Chicago-based and unusually strong in financial-services websites.
   • Explicitly addresses financial-sector security, uptime monitoring, backups, CMS/plugin updates, and complex financial integrations. www.orbitmedia.com
   • Strong choice if this is primarily a high-end corporate/marketing website rather than a transactional platform.
   • My first call.

2. Trungale, Egan + Associates — best financial-services specialist
   • Particularly interesting if your firm is in wealth management, asset management, brokerage, fintech, exchanges, trading, or institutional finance.
   • Their positioning spans financial-services strategy, creative, web and digital marketing, so they can help with the broader brand—not just the build.
   • I'd put them in the RFP if positioning and industry fluency matter as much as engineering.

3. Solid Digital — best corporate/enterprise option
   • Chicago office, with strategy, UX, web design/development, support and ongoing advisory capabilities.
   • I'd consider them if you want something that feels more enterprise B2B than traditional financial-services marketing.

4. Envisionit — best creative/brand-led option
   • Chicago-based, with web development, UX, integrations, analytics and ongoing support.
   • Worth considering if the website is part of a larger brand repositioning.

5. Sandstorm Design — best for complex stakeholder environments
   • Chicago-based and focused on UX, accessibility and enterprise web development.
   • Particularly appealing if your website has lots of internal stakeholders, compliance review, accessibility requirements and complicated content governance.

One I'd seriously consider outside the typical agency shortlist

Clear Digital has a particularly explicit financial-services practice. It discusses security architecture, encryption, PCI-DSS/GLBA/SOC 2 considerations, accessibility testing, compliance validation and integrations with CRM/core financial systems. www.cleardigital.com

For a financial-services firm where the website itself touches sensitive information or connects to internal systems, I'd put Clear Digital into the competitive set.

How I'd rank them for your situation

If I were making the decision myself, I'd invite Orbit, Clear Digital, and Trungale Egan to pitch. That gives you three meaningfully different approaches: Chicago financial-services web expertise, enterprise/security depth, and financial-services brand/marketing specialization.

One important caveat: I'd not accept an agency's claim that a site is "secure" at face value. For your RFP, require them to specify hosting architecture, CMS, WAF/CDN, MFA/SSO, access controls, logging, vulnerability scanning, patch SLAs, backups, incident response, penetration testing, third-party vendors, data flows, and exactly what information their platform will store. That's where the difference between a polished corporate site and an appropriately engineered financial-services site becomes apparent.

If I were advising a Chicago financial-services firm, I’d shortlist three agencies rather than run a broad RFP. The key is finding a firm that can combine executive-level brand/design with enterprise-grade security, governance, accessibility, and ongoing support—not just a beautiful WordPress site.

My shortlist

1. Fintech Digital — best financial-services specialist

This would be my first call if industry fluency is the priority. They’re Chicago-based and specifically focused on financial services, including regulated businesses, with website design/development, compliance considerations, UX, SEO and digital strategy. www.orbitmedia.com

Why I like them: They should understand the difference between marketing a financial-services firm and marketing a generic B2B company—particularly around disclosures, trust, compliance and regulated claims.

2. Solid Digital — best overall Chicago B2B/corporate choice

For a partner-level, sophisticated corporate website, I'd put Solid Digital very high on the list. They're Chicago-based and oriented toward B2B organizations, with web design, development, branding and ongoing digital support.

I'd favor them if the project is primarily a high-end institutional brand/website rather than a complex financial platform.

3. Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best for enterprise complexity/security

This is the one I'd consider if your website has substantial technical requirements: integrations, sophisticated CMS architecture, authenticated areas, complex infrastructure, or stringent IT/security review. Americaneagle explicitly positions its financial-services practice around secure, accessible and compliant digital platforms, and it has a substantial Chicago presence. www.americaneagle.com

The tradeoff is that it's a much larger organization, so you may get more enterprise capability but less of the boutique-agency feel.

One more I'd interview

Marcel Digital is worth adding if SEO, analytics, CRM integration and lead generation matter as much as the actual site. They're Chicago-based, work with financial organizations, and have substantial B2B/enterprise web-development experience. www.marceldigital.com

How I'd rank them for your situation

My recommendation: If you're a traditional financial-services firm—asset management, private equity, wealth management, investment banking, insurance, etc.—I'd invite Fintech Digital, Solid Digital, and Americaneagle.com to pitch. I'd make them answer the same technical/security questions before comparing creative work.

And I would not let the agency's generic claim that a site is "secure" carry much weight. Your RFP should require specifics around hosting architecture, WAF/CDN, MFA/admin access, patching, backups, vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, SOC 2/vendor controls, accessibility, incident response, disaster recovery, and who actually owns the infrastructure.

If you tell me what kind of financial-services firm you are (PE, wealth management, RIA, hedge fund, investment bank, fintech, etc.) and roughly what you'd spend ($50–100k, $100–250k, $250k+), I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually hire and tell you which one I'd pick.

For a Chicago-based financial-services firm, I’d avoid treating this as a generic “web design agency” search. You want a partner that can combine institutional credibility, excellent UX, security/compliance discipline, and the ability to integrate with your existing systems.

My shortlist

1. Orbit Media — I'd probably hire them

Orbit Media Studios

This is the most compelling overall fit. Orbit is Chicago-based and specifically markets its financial-services practice. Its portfolio includes HFR Investments, Zuckerman Investment Group, Byline Bank, WestPoint Financial Group and American Chartered Bank. It also explicitly offers security/uptime monitoring, backups, CMS updates, secure hosting and ongoing support. www.orbitmedia.com

The bigger reason I'd put them first: they appear to understand that a financial firm's website isn't merely a brochure. Their process covers strategy → information architecture → content → UX → development → QA → launch → ongoing optimization, and they have experience integrating with complicated financial tools without necessarily disturbing the underlying systems. www.orbitmedia.com

Best if: you're building a sophisticated corporate site that needs to look exceptionally credible to institutional clients, investors, prospects and recruits.

2. Americaneagle.com — best if security/enterprise architecture dominates

Americaneagle.com

I'd put these guys into the RFP if your site has meaningful integrations, authenticated experiences, multiple business lines, stringent hosting requirements or a larger technology stack.

They claim 170+ financial-services clients and 500+ financial projects, with work spanning banks, credit unions, lenders, wealth-management/advisory firms and fintechs. Their financial-services practice explicitly addresses security, accessibility, compliance, CRM/core-system integrations and secure account experiences. www.americaneagle.com

They also have a Chicago presence and offer in-house PCI-compliant hosting with 24/7 monitoring. www.americaneagle.com

Their financial-services case studies are particularly relevant: they've worked on sites for Northwest Bank, First Secure Holding Group, Corporate America Family Credit Union and other financial institutions. www.americaneagle.com

Best if: your CISO/CTO, legal or compliance team is going to have a significant say in the selection.

3. Blacksmith — interesting challenger

Blacksmith

Blacksmith is worth interviewing if you want a more engineering-led partner. They explicitly target finance and say they build secure, compliant platforms, conduct security penetration testing and QA, and handle enterprise integrations. blacksmith.agency

They also have a finance case study involving Coastal Community Bank, where the engagement addressed security, accessibility and performance problems. blacksmith.agency

Best if: you're looking for something more technically ambitious than a conventional corporate-site redesign.

4. Fintech Digital — specialist financial-services marketer

Fintech Digital

Fintech Digital is Chicago-based and focuses specifically on financial services, including banking, lending, insurance/mortgage and fintech. Its offering includes website design/development alongside SEO, UX, messaging and compliance-aware marketing.

Best if: the real problem is positioning and communicating a complicated financial-services offering—not just rebuilding the technology.

Who I'd invite to pitch

If I were sitting in your seat, I'd make the shortlist Orbit + Americaneagle + Blacksmith, with Fintech Digital as the specialist fourth bid.

I'd give all four the same brief and make them answer these questions:

1. Show us 3 financial-services sites you personally built — not merely branded.
2. Who actually writes the code, and is development in-house or outsourced?
3. What is your security-development lifecycle?
4. What penetration testing do you perform before launch?
5. Who owns the hosting infrastructure and security patching?
6. How do you handle PII, forms, CRM integrations and third-party scripts?
7. What are your accessibility standards?
8. What CMS do you recommend, and why is it appropriate for a financial-services firm?
9. Give us the names/roles of the actual senior people who will work on our account.
10. What happens when there's a critical vulnerability or site outage at 2 a.m.?

One important distinction: if this is primarily a marketing/corporate website with no client login or movement of sensitive financial data, I would weight brand, UX, content and maintainability heavily—and Orbit would be my pick. If you're talking about authenticated client functionality, sensitive data, major integrations or a more application-like platform, I'd lean toward Americaneagle.com or Blacksmith.

If you tell me roughly firm size/AUM, current CMS, whether there's client login, and your expected budget ($100–250k, $250–500k, $500k+), I can narrow this to a specific winner and a recommended RFP shortlist.

If I were advising a Chicago financial-services firm, I’d shortlist 4 agencies rather than run a huge RFP. The right choice depends on whether you want a high-end corporate/brand site or something closer to an enterprise digital platform.

My shortlist

1. One North, A TEKsystems Company — my top pick for a serious enterprise firm

This is the one I’d interview first if security, governance, and enterprise credibility are genuinely important. One North is Chicago-based, works with sophisticated professional-services organizations, and has an ISO/IEC 27001-certified information-security management system covering areas including hosting, remote access, onboarding/offboarding and client-data protection. It also provides 24/7/365 monitoring for hosted applications. www.onenorth.com

They also have substantial Sitecore/enterprise experience, including Platinum Solution Partner status. www.onenorth.com

Best for: institutional asset management, private equity, investment banking, wealth management, large professional-services firms, or anyone with a serious IT/security review.

My take: Probably the safest choice if your website will go through your firm's CIO/CISO, legal, compliance and marketing teams.

One North

2. Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best if the site is technically complex

Americaneagle is much larger and more implementation-heavy. Its financial-services practice specifically covers secure websites, accessibility, compliance, integrations with banking/CRM/loan systems, and managed hosting. It says it has worked with 170+ financial clients and completed 500+ financial projects. www.americaneagle.comartversion.comwww.orbitmedia.com

Their Northwest Bank case study is particularly relevant: the engagement involved redesign, CMS modernization, security/hosting and content-management improvements for a financial institution. www.americaneagle.com

Best for: a site with integrations, authenticated areas, complex CMS requirements, multiple business units, or significant traffic.

My take: More engineering muscle than you may need for a straightforward corporate site, but I'd put them on the RFP if the project has substantial technical complexity.

Americaneagle.com

3. Solid Digital — best middle ground

I'd consider Solid Digital if you want something more boutique and design-led without sacrificing technical capability. Their Chicago team handles strategy, UX, web design/development, applications and ongoing support/maintenance.

Best for: a mid-sized financial-services firm that wants a polished institutional presence without hiring a giant enterprise integrator.

My take: Worth interviewing, particularly if the partners care a lot about how the firm's brand comes across digitally.

Solid Digital

4. ArtVersion® — best design/brand option

ArtVersion is Chicago-based and has been around since 1999. It combines brand strategy, UX and corporate/enterprise web development and has experience with large organizations and financial-services brands. Its work is particularly appealing if the problem is "our website makes us look less sophisticated than the firm actually is." artversion.com

Best for: a partner-driven firm where positioning, visual sophistication and differentiation matter as much as the underlying technology.

My take: I'd seriously consider them if this is primarily a corporate website rather than a technology platform.

ArtVersion

One more I'd put in the mix: Orbit

Orbit Media Studios is unusually relevant to financial services. It has a dedicated financial-services practice, explicitly addresses security/compliance, provides ongoing security monitoring and backups, and has done websites for firms including WestPoint Financial Group and ProSight Financial Association. www.orbitmedia.com

Best for: a corporate site where content, SEO, thought leadership and lead generation are major objectives.

Orbit Media Studios

What I'd do in your shoes

I'd invite One North, Orbit, ArtVersion and Americaneagle.com to a tightly scoped pitch.

My expected ranking would be:

One important distinction: "secure website" shouldn't mean merely SSL + a firewall. For a financial-services firm I'd make the agencies answer, in writing, about their hosting architecture, SOC 2/ISO certifications, vulnerability management, penetration testing, patching, backups/DR, access controls, third-party scripts, CMS governance, data retention, incident response and whether your website ever handles regulated/client information.

If you tell me what kind of financial-services firm you are (PE, hedge fund, RIA/wealth manager, investment bank, lender, fintech, etc.), approximate firm size, and whether this is a $100k / $250k / $500k+ website, I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually hire and explain why.

If I were advising a Chicago financial-services firm, I’d shortlist 4 agencies rather than run a 10-agency beauty contest. For your situation, I’d prioritize security architecture, financial-services/compliance experience, enterprise CMS discipline, accessibility, and the ability to produce a site that feels appropriately institutional without looking stale.

My shortlist

1. Marcel Digital — my best overall fit

Chicago-based, with a strong B2B/enterprise orientation and explicit financial-services experience. They combine website development with analytics, SEO, CRO and ongoing optimization, and have substantial enterprise CMS experience, including Umbraco, Azure and headless/composable approaches. www.marceldigital.com

Why I'd interview them: likely the best balance of serious corporate presence + modern UX + measurable business outcomes.

Marcel Digital

2. Artversion — best for brand/design

ArtVersion is a Chicago creative agency specifically focused on corporate websites, enterprise platforms, UI/UX and digital experiences. www.marceldigital.comartversion.com

Why I'd interview them: if the mandate is "make us look like a sophisticated, differentiated financial institution," I'd put them high on the list. I'd just scrutinize their security/DevSecOps capabilities and proposed hosting architecture during diligence rather than assuming the agency itself should own that layer.

ArtVersion

3. Orbit Media Studios — best proven financial-services web specialist

Orbit has been building financial websites since 2001 and explicitly discusses custom development, integrations, CMS, QA, data privacy and ongoing website management. www.orbitmedia.com

Why I'd interview them: unusually strong evidence that they've dealt with the particular content, stakeholder and technical complexity of financial-services sites. They're probably the safest "we've done this many times" choice.

Orbit Media Studios

4. Fintech Digital — best if you're specifically in regulated/fintech territory

Their focus is financial services rather than generic corporate marketing, including banking, lending, insurance, fintech and other trust-sensitive categories. Their stated capabilities include website/UX work with security and accessibility considerations.

Why I'd interview them: particularly attractive if your website has to work hard for business development and marketing, not simply function as a corporate brochure.

One wildcard: security-first

If "secure" means genuinely security-critical—for example, the site will have authenticated areas, client data, APIs, sophisticated integrations or sensitive workflows—I would also talk to NetCoreSolutions. It's a Chicago technology/security firm that combines web application development with cybersecurity, GRC, penetration testing and compliance work. www.netcoresolutions.com

NetCoreSolutions

That's a different proposition from hiring a conventional creative web agency: I'd consider them if the project is closer to a digital platform than a marketing website.

Who I'd actually call

For a partner-level selection process, my first three calls would be:

1. Marcel Digital — strongest overall
2. Orbit Media — strongest financial-services web pedigree
3. ArtVersion — strongest design/brand alternative

Then I'd bring Fintech Digital into the process if your business is heavily regulated or fintech-oriented.

One important caveat: don't let an agency's claim that it builds "secure websites" substitute for an actual security review. In your RFP, I'd require specifics around hosting, CMS hardening, SDLC/DevSecOps, vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, WAF/CDN, MFA/SSO for administration, third-party scripts, data retention, incident response, backups, accessibility, and SOC 2/ISO evidence where relevant.

If you tell me what kind of financial-services firm you are (PE, hedge fund, wealth manager/RIA, investment bank, lender, fintech, etc.) and roughly what you're spending ($50–100k, $100–250k, $250k+), I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd hire and give you a recommended RFP/scoring framework.

For a Chicago financial-services firm, I’d narrow the field considerably. You don’t just need a pretty corporate site—you want an agency that understands regulated content, security, accessibility, integrations, governance, and executive-level stakeholder management.

My shortlist

If I were hiring

I'd probably interview three:

1. Marcel Digital — my first call.
They're particularly interesting for a financial-services firm because they combine enterprise web development with digital strategy/measurement rather than treating the website as a standalone creative project. Their Chicago team has deep Umbraco/enterprise experience. www.marceldigital.com

2. Fintech Digital — the specialist.
If your firm is an asset manager, private-equity firm, wealth manager, lender, fintech, broker/dealer, etc., I'd want them in the pitch. Their positioning is unusually specific to financial services and regulated categories. studiosunup.com

3. Sandstorm or Clique — depending on the brief.
I'd favor Sandstorm if the challenge is primarily brand + UX + accessibility + corporate communications; Clique if you're really building a digital platform with integrations and substantial engineering.

One other agency I'd seriously look at is Trungale, Egan + Associates. Its financial-services specialization is unusually deep—wealth management, RIAs, fintech, broker/dealers, custodians, exchanges, trading platforms, mutual funds, banking and insurance—so it could be particularly compelling if your website is as much a positioning/communications exercise as a technology project.

What I'd insist on in the RFP

For a financial-services firm, I'd make these non-negotiable:

• Security architecture: hosting, WAF/CDN, vulnerability management, patching, backups, incident response and penetration testing.
• Compliance: ability to accommodate your compliance/legal review process, disclosure management, archival/versioning and applicable SEC/FINRA/GLBA requirements.
• CMS governance: granular permissions, approval workflows and auditability—not everyone should be able to publish.
• Accessibility: target WCAG 2.2 AA.
• Privacy: analytics/cookie architecture and third-party scripts reviewed by your security/privacy team.
• Integrations: CRM, marketing automation, investor/client systems and other internal platforms without unnecessarily exposing sensitive systems.
• Ongoing support: defined SLAs, security updates, monitoring and emergency response—not just "call us if something breaks."
• Ownership: your firm owns the code, content, domains, analytics accounts and infrastructure credentials.
• Security evidence: ask for their most recent independent security assessment/SOC 2 information where applicable, subcontractor list, SDLC/security practices and incident-response process.

For comparison, agencies such as Orbit explicitly describe financial-sector security monitoring, backups, updates and dedicated support, while Clear Digital discusses financial-services architecture including encrypted transmission, SOC 2 hosting and security audits. www.orbitmedia.com

Bottom line: I'd start with Marcel Digital, Fintech Digital, and Sandstorm/Clique and make them compete on the same tightly specified RFP. If you tell me roughly what kind of financial-services firm you are (PE, asset management, wealth management, investment banking, insurance, fintech, etc.), your approximate website budget, and whether you're redesigning an existing site or building from scratch, I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies and tell you exactly why I'd pick one over the others.

For a Chicago-based financial services firm, I would not optimize for a “beautiful marketing site” agency alone. You want a partner that understands enterprise UX, security controls, regulatory review cycles, CMS governance, accessibility, and the expectations of institutional clients.

My shortlist would be:

My likely ranking for a Chicago financial services partner

1. Americaneagle.com — if you have complex requirements (client portals, integrations, multiple business lines, enterprise CMS). www.americaneagle.com
2. Orbit Media Studios — if this is a premium corporate site for an investment, advisory, or wealth firm and you want strong strategy/content/design. www.orbitmedia.com
3. Solid Digital — if the main goal is institutional credibility, brand positioning, and lead generation.
4. Marcel Digital — if marketing performance and pipeline generation are priorities.

For a financial services firm, I would ask every finalist these questions before hiring:

• Have you built sites reviewed by legal/compliance teams under SEC/FINRA or similar constraints?
• What is your security process? (code review, dependency management, hosting controls, vulnerability scanning)
• Where will the site be hosted, and who manages patches?
• Do you support SOC 2 environments or enterprise CMS governance?
• How do you handle forms, lead capture, CRM integrations, and sensitive data?
• Can you provide two references from regulated financial companies?

If you are a private equity, asset management, hedge fund, wealth management, or institutional investment firm, my first calls would be Orbit + Americaneagle + Solid Digital. If you have investor portals, authenticated areas, or complex integrations, I would lean heavily toward Americaneagle. www.americaneagle.com

For a Chicago-based financial-services firm, I’d shortlist agencies differently than I would for a normal corporate website. You want strong design, but also a partner that understands security, compliance-sensitive content, accessibility, integrations, governance, and long-term maintenance.

My shortlist

1. Orbit Media Studios — my first call

This is the strongest overall fit I found. Orbit is Chicago-based and has a dedicated financial-services practice, including work for banks and investment-related organizations. It explicitly addresses security monitoring, backups, updates, secure hosting, accessibility/regulatory considerations, and complex financial integrations. www.orbitmedia.com

They also have a fairly mature process: discovery → UX/content → development → QA → launch → ongoing optimization. That matters for a partner-level firm where the website needs to communicate sophistication rather than simply look pretty. www.orbitmedia.com

Orbit Media's financial-services practice

Verdict: Hire them unless another agency demonstrates substantially stronger security/compliance credentials in the pitch.

2. Fintech Digital — best if regulatory/compliance expertise is paramount

This is the specialist I'd put in the RFP alongside Orbit. They're specifically focused on financial services and regulated categories, including banking, lending, insurance, fintech and related businesses. Their offering includes website design/development with security and accessibility considerations. Fintech Digital

The tradeoff is that I'd want to see high-end corporate website examples comparable to your firm's brand ambitions before choosing them over Orbit.

Verdict: Very compelling specialist; especially worth interviewing if compliance is a major concern.

3. Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best for a technically complex/enterprise build

Americaneagle is the one I'd consider if your website is more than a marketing site—for example, if it involves authenticated experiences, sophisticated integrations, substantial content migration, or unusually demanding hosting/security requirements. Its Chicago-area operation covers development, hosting, managed cloud services and security, including 24/7 monitoring/support. Americaneagle.com, Inc.

Verdict: Strongest technical/enterprise option, but potentially more agency than you need for a relatively straightforward corporate site.

4. Solid Digital — strong B2B alternative

Solid Digital is Chicago-based and oriented toward B2B organizations, with website strategy, UX/UI, development and ongoing support. Solid Digital

I'd put them on the shortlist if your priority is premium B2B positioning + modern digital experience, rather than deep financial-services specialization.

5. Beyond AUM — interesting financial-services specialist

Beyond AUM is particularly focused on RIAs, wealth managers, advisors, planners, TAMPs and WealthTech. It also advertises marketing-compliance review, digital risk assessments and cybersecurity due diligence. Beyond AUM

I'd investigate them if you're an investment/wealth-management business rather than a broader financial-services enterprise.

What I'd do in your shoes

I'd issue an RFP to three firms:

1. Orbit Media — benchmark for overall quality and financial-services web expertise
2. Fintech Digital — benchmark for regulatory/compliance understanding
3. Americaneagle.com — benchmark for enterprise security/technology

Then make them answer the same questions. In particular:

• Who is responsible for security after launch?
• Where is the site hosted, and who controls the infrastructure?
• What vulnerability scanning/penetration testing is included?
• How are CMS/plugins/dependencies patched?
• What's the backup and disaster-recovery architecture?
• What are your incident-response SLAs?
• How do you handle SOC 2, GDPR, WCAG and other applicable requirements?
• Can our IT/security team conduct its own assessment?
• Who owns the code, hosting accounts, analytics and CMS?
• Can you provide references from financial-services clients with comparable security requirements?
• What happens when our compliance team needs a last-minute content change?
• What's included in the post-launch retainer?

One important distinction: don't let an agency's use of the word "secure" substitute for an actual security architecture. A marketing agency can build an excellent secure corporate site without itself being your security assessor. I'd have your firm's IT/security team independently review the proposed hosting, CMS, authentication, integrations, data flows and vendor controls.

My ranking for your situation: Orbit > Fintech Digital > Americaneagle > Solid Digital > Beyond AUM.

If you tell me roughly what type of financial-services firm you are (PE, wealth management, investment banking, asset management, insurance, fintech, etc.) and your approximate website budget, I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually interview and give you a side-by-side comparison.

If I were advising a Chicago financial-services firm, I’d shortlist 3–4 agencies rather than run a broad RFP. For your use case, I’d prioritize proven financial-services experience, security/compliance discipline, enterprise CMS capability, and the ability to handle sophisticated stakeholder review—not just visual design.

My shortlist

1. Gate 39 Media — my first call for a financial-services specialist

Gate 39 Media

This would be my first choice if you're an investment, wealth-management, private-equity, trading, or other financial-services firm. Gate 39 explicitly focuses on financial-sector websites and offers secure portals, forms, CRM integrations, hosting/support and cybersecurity alongside design and development. They also emphasize financial-industry content and messaging expertise. www.gate39media.com

Why I'd call them: They're less likely to need educating about the regulatory/trust nuances of financial-services marketing.

2. Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best for a large/complex enterprise build

Americaneagle.com

If this is a major corporate-site rebuild with integrations, sophisticated CMS requirements, hosting, security and long-term support, I'd put Americaneagle.com at the top of the RFP. Its financial-services practice specifically addresses security, accessibility and compliance, and it handles integrations with banking/core systems, CRMs and third-party platforms. www.americaneagle.com

Downside: It may be more agency than you need if this is primarily a polished corporate brochure site.

3. Orbit Media Studios — best Chicago corporate-web specialist

Orbit Media Studios

Orbit is particularly compelling if you want a very polished corporate website without turning the project into a giant enterprise-IT exercise. It has been doing financial websites since 2001 and explicitly handles complex integrations, migrations, QA, privacy configuration and ongoing management. www.gate39media.comwww.americaneagle.comwww.orbitmedia.comwww.fly-equity.com

I'd seriously consider them if your site is primarily about brand credibility, thought leadership, recruiting and business development, rather than authenticated financial transactions.

4. Rinnet — interesting choice if security/engineering matters most

Rinnet

Rinnet is different from the traditional marketing agency: it's a Chicago software-engineering studio that builds websites and applications and also performs cybersecurity reviews. It emphasizes custom development, documented architecture, secure-by-default practices and tracing where customer data goes. rinnet.io

I'd consider them if you have nontrivial integrations, proprietary functionality, client portals, or a strong internal technology/security team.

Who I'd actually hire

For a typical Chicago-based financial-services firm needing a new corporate website, my ranking would be:

If you're specifically private equity / asset management, I'd also take a look at Fly+Equity. It explicitly specializes in private equity, venture capital and financial firms and lists clients including Aurora Capital, Shamrock Capital and TDP. www.fly-equity.com

One important caveat on "secure"

I wouldn't select an agency simply because its website says "secure." For a financial-services firm, I'd make the RFP require:

• SOC 2 Type II for relevant hosting/vendors, where applicable
• documented secure SDLC
• independent penetration testing before launch
• OWASP-based application security testing
• MFA/SSO for administrative access
• least-privilege access and separate production/staging environments
• encrypted data in transit and at rest
• documented incident-response procedures
• dependency/plugin vulnerability management
• backup and disaster-recovery procedures
• accessibility testing (ideally WCAG 2.2 AA)
• clear ownership of your domain, code, CMS, analytics and cloud accounts
• contractual language around breach notification and subcontractors

For a financial firm, I'd also have your own IT/security team or outside security counsel review the architecture. An excellent web agency is not a substitute for an independent security assessment.

If I had to make only three introductory calls: Gate 39, Orbit, and Americaneagle.com. I'd give Rinnet the fourth slot if your site has meaningful technical/integration requirements.

If I were hiring for a Chicago-based financial-services firm where credibility, security, compliance, and executive-level polish matter, I’d narrow the field to three agencies rather than run a broad RFP.

My shortlist

1. Bounteous — my first call for a sophisticated institutional firm

Bounteous
Bounteous
Web
Address: 4115 N Ravenswood Ave #101, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
Phone: +1 877-220-5862

Bounteous is particularly compelling because it has deep financial-services experience and an actual Chicago pedigree. Its financial-services practice covers wealth/asset management, capital markets, banking, and alternative investments, and it explicitly emphasizes security/privacy by design and governance. www.bounteous.com

Most importantly, it has a highly relevant Chicago reference: Mesirow, an independent Chicago financial-services firm. Bounteous handled Mesirow's replatform, redesign, CMS, SEO migration, and digital experience work. www.bounteous.comwww.orbitmedia.com

Why I'd hire them: Best combination of financial-services fluency, enterprise-grade engineering, design sophistication, and ability to handle a complicated stakeholder environment.

Potential drawback: They're a substantial consultancy. If you simply need a beautiful 20–30 page corporate site, you could be paying for considerably more machinery than necessary.

Bounteous financial services practice

2. Rightpoint — best if brand + digital experience are equally important

Rightpoint
Rightpoint
Web
Address: 29 N Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
Phone: +1 312-920-8383

Rightpoint is another Chicago heavyweight. Its work combines strategy, UX, design, content and engineering, with explicit capabilities around security, privacy and compliance. www.rightpoint.com

It also has substantial financial-services experience. One particularly relevant case involved redesigning a commercial bank's corporate-loans portal, including research, strategy, UX and functionality. www.rightpoint.com

Why I'd hire them: If you're trying to reposition the firm and want the website to feel like a genuine upgrade in institutional stature—not merely a redesigned brochure.

Potential drawback: Like Bounteous, they're more digital-transformation consultancy than boutique website shop.

Rightpoint

3. Orbit Media Studios — my choice if you want a more focused website specialist

Orbit is a Chicago web agency that specifically markets financial-services website development. Its process covers discovery, UX/design, development, migration, QA, privacy configuration, launch and ongoing support. It has been doing financial websites since 2001. www.orbitmedia.com

Why I'd hire them: If the mandate is primarily "build us an exceptional corporate website" rather than "transform our entire digital experience." They're likely to be more nimble than the large consultancies.

They're also actually in Chicago:

Orbit Media Studios
Orbit Media Studios
Web
Address: 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
Phone: +1 773-348-4581

Orbit Media's financial-services web practice

One wildcard: Beyond AUM

Beyond AUM
Beyond AUM
Web
Address: 1628 W Irving Park Rd Ste 1W, Chicago, IL 60613, United States

If your firm is specifically wealth management / RIA / advisor / independent broker-dealer oriented, I'd interview Beyond AUM as the specialist option. They're focused specifically on financial-services firms and combine website work with marketing-compliance review, digital-risk assessments and cybersecurity due diligence. That's an unusually relevant combination for a regulated firm.

Who I'd actually put in the RFP

I'd do a 3-agency bake-off:

I would not choose primarily based on visual portfolio. For a financial-services firm, I'd make the selection hinge on whether the agency can demonstrate:

• Secure architecture and hosting model
• SOC 2 / security controls and vendor-risk documentation
• CMS permissions, MFA/SSO and admin security
• Vulnerability scanning, patching and penetration testing
• Disaster recovery and incident-response procedures
• Privacy/cookie/data governance
• SEC/FINRA marketing-review workflow where applicable
• Accessibility/WCAG compliance
• SEO migration and redirect strategy
• Clear separation between the public website and any sensitive client functionality
• Who actually owns the code, CMS, hosting accounts and intellectual property after launch

My instinct: Start with Bounteous and Rightpoint, then use Orbit as the control bid. If Bounteous comes back dramatically more expensive than Orbit without a compelling security/technology advantage for your particular requirements, I'd seriously consider Orbit.

If you tell me what kind of financial-services firm you are (PE, wealth management, investment banking, asset management, private credit, hedge fund, etc.) and roughly how sophisticated the site needs to be, I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies and tell you exactly what I'd ask each one in the first meeting.

For a Chicago-based financial-services firm, I’d narrow the field considerably. You want more than a beautiful site—you want an agency that understands regulated environments, executive-level stakeholders, security, accessibility, CMS governance, and the reputational stakes of a corporate site.

My shortlist

1. Solid Digital — my first call for a modern B2B financial-services site

Chicago-based, with a strong B2B orientation and capabilities spanning strategy, design, web development, and ongoing support. I’d put them near the top if this is primarily a corporate/marketing website rather than a transactional financial platform.

2. Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best for enterprise complexity/security

This is the safer choice if you expect a substantial CMS, integrations, sophisticated infrastructure, or long-term managed hosting. Their financial-services practice specifically emphasizes security, accessibility and compliance, and their Chicago operation offers hosting/security as well as development. www.americaneagle.com

3. Marcel Digital — best if marketing performance matters

A particularly interesting option if the website needs to become a serious business-development engine, rather than simply a corporate brochure. They're Chicago-based and combine web development with SEO, analytics, CRO and broader digital strategy, with significant B2B/enterprise orientation. www.marceldigital.com

4. Clique Studios — best high-end design/strategy alternative

I'd consider them if brand positioning and the experience of the site are especially important to the partnership. They're a Chicago digital-transformation studio combining strategy, design, engineering, CMS, integrations, QA, accessibility and ongoing support.

5. Fintech Digital — best specialist option

Worth interviewing because they're specifically focused on financial services and regulated/trust-sensitive categories. Their offering includes financial-brand website design/development alongside compliance-oriented marketing and UX work.

One specialist I'd also put on the RFP list

Orbit Media Studios is unusually relevant: Chicago-based, has a dedicated financial-services website practice, and explicitly discusses security monitoring, backups, updates, complex financial integrations and working within existing back-end systems. They've worked with financial institutions including American Chartered Bank. www.americaneagle.comwww.marceldigital.comwww.orbitmedia.com

How I'd choose

If I were making the decision for a financial-services partnership, my first three pitches would be Solid Digital, Americaneagle.com, and Orbit.

I'd score them on:

One important distinction: don't let an agency's claim that a site is "secure" substitute for actual security diligence. In the RFP I'd ask for their secure-development lifecycle, hosting architecture, penetration-testing approach, dependency/vulnerability management, incident-response procedures, access controls, backup/DR practices, SOC 2/ISO certifications where applicable, and exactly what your firm—not the agency—would be responsible for.

If you tell me roughly your firm's size, AUM/revenue, whether you're PE/asset management/wealth/banking/advisory/etc., and whether this is a $100k, $250k, or $500k+ website, I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually hire and what I would expect each to charge.