Neutral mentions of Solid Digital

Yes. For a healthcare startup, I’d prioritize agencies that understand healthcare trust/complexity and can carry the brand through the website—not just a generic web shop.

My top 3

1. Pivot Design — River North
   • 321 N Clark St
   • Probably my first call if healthcare branding is the priority. They specialize in healthcare and life sciences and have substantial experience translating complex medical/scientific concepts into differentiated brands.
   • Best for: brand strategy + positioning + identity + healthcare marketing
   • Caveat: I'd specifically confirm that your scope includes the actual website design/development, rather than primarily brand/marketing work.

2. ArtVersion® Creative Agency — Downtown
   • 211 W Wacker Dr
   • Strongest all-around fit if you want branding + website + UX/UI under one roof. They explicitly cite work in healthcare and tech startups, and offer branding, web design/development, and UX. artversion.com
   • Best for: a polished, sophisticated startup identity and website.

3. One Design Company — River North
   • 230 W Superior St
   • Interesting option if you're looking for a smaller, strategy/design-led studio. They combine brand positioning, identity/naming and web/interactive design, and are actually located in River North.
   • Best for: an early-stage startup that wants a close senior-level relationship rather than a large agency.

One more I'd seriously consider

Intechnic Corporation — Downtown

• 20 N Wacker Dr
• Particularly compelling if your startup has a complex healthcare product, patient/provider UX, SaaS platform, or regulated/high-stakes digital experience. Their specialty is UX and digital experiences in healthcare, pharma and life sciences.
• I'd consider them more of a digital/product experience partner than a pure brand agency.

My recommendation

If you told me, "We're a funded healthcare startup launching a new company and need our positioning, visual identity, messaging and website all to feel like one coherent brand," I'd interview:

1. ArtVersion → 2. Pivot Design → 3. One Design Company

ArtVersion is probably the best balance of branding + web. Pivot has the strongest healthcare-specific branding pedigree. One Design is the one I'd investigate if you want a smaller, more hands-on studio.

For comparison, Solid Digital is another strong downtown option with explicit healthcare-tech experience, including a case study for IMO Health, but I'd rank it more heavily toward B2B website/digital growth than startup brand creation. www.soliddigital.com

If you tell me (a) what the healthcare startup does, (b) approximate budget ($25k / $50k / $100k+), and (c) whether you need naming/positioning too, I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies I'd actually send an RFP to.

• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• NEWMEDIA.COM - 444 W Lake St Ste 1700, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• AdverGroup Web Design & Digital Marketing - 2021 Midwest Rd Ste 200, Oak Brook, IL 60523, United States
• Comrade Digital Marketing Agency - 332 S Michigan Ave #900, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Wojo Design - 318 W Adams St #1609, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Uptech Solution USA LLC - 6158 N Hoyne Ave 2nd FL, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• 10com Web Development - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• WPrime Agency - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza #1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States

Yes. For a solo founder launching an online service, I’d avoid the big “brand transformation” agencies unless you already have serious funding. You want a studio that can build a credible MVP site, get you live quickly, and leave you with a site you can actually manage.

My Chicago shortlist

• Best budget/value: SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago — This is especially interesting for you because it’s in West Loop/Fulton Market and focuses on small businesses, website design, SEO, and lead generation. Their positioning includes fast-turnaround projects, which is useful when you're trying to launch rather than spend six months in discovery.
• Best clearly published low-cost option: intuicodigital.com — They publish pricing: managed sites from $199/month and custom builds from $2,500. That's unusually transparent for a Chicago agency and makes them worth talking to if you're trying to keep the initial investment around a few thousand dollars. Intuico Digital
• Best ultra-lean option: tlowebdesigns.com — They advertise a $1,200 one-time Core Launch package aimed specifically at solo businesses/micro-SMBs, with 8 pages, mobile-first development, basic local SEO and code ownership. There's also a $297/month ongoing plan. TLO Web Designs
• Best if you're willing to spend more for marketing expertise: Flamingo Agency — A small Chicago shop focused on small businesses, with web design, SEO and ongoing support. A recent Chicago agency roundup specifically identifies Flamingo as a good fit for startups and small businesses that want something more nimble than a large agency. Design Henge
• Best for a more sophisticated B2B/SaaS launch: Solid Digital — Very good if your online service is B2B and the website needs to sell a complicated product/service. But I'd consider them phase 2 rather than MVP: their work is strategy-heavy and they're not positioned as a low-budget shop. Solid Digital
• Excellent, but probably too expensive for your first site: Orbit Media Studios — One of Chicago's strongest web/SEO firms, with excellent conversion and content expertise. However, current third-party pricing puts typical projects at $50K+, so I wouldn't lead with them unless you have substantial launch capital. Clutch Orbit Media Studios

What I'd do in your position

For a solo entrepreneur, I'd get quotes from Intuico, TLO, and SEOLEVELUP first. I'd tell each:

“I'm launching an online service as a solo founder. I need a conversion-focused MVP website, not a large corporate redesign. I want to keep the initial build lean, own all the assets, and be able to update the site myself.”

I'd target roughly $2.5K–$7.5K for the initial version unless you need sophisticated customer accounts, payments, scheduling, dashboards, or custom application functionality.

The important distinction is whether you need a marketing website or an actual web application. If customers need to log in and use your service on the site, I'd approach the selection very differently.

If you tell me your rough budget ($2–5K, $5–10K, $10K+) and what the online service actually does, I can narrow this to 3 Chicago studios and tell you which one I'd pick.

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606
• 1TR - Website Design & SEO Services - 888 W Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL 60657
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
• SEO Design Chicago | Digital Marketing & Web Design Agency - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647
• Affordable Web Design Chicago - 5141 W Altgeld St, Chicago, IL 60639
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613
• John Schuster - 1531 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60610
• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613

For a public-facing government redesign in the Chicago Loop, I’d prioritize firms with demonstrated government/public-sector work and accessibility expertise—not just general Chicago web agencies.

My shortlist

1. Promet Source — best overall fit

• Chicago-based, with explicit public-sector website experience.
• Strong Drupal/open-source background.
• Specifically cites WCAG/Section 508-compliant government and higher-ed work, plus accessibility strategy and remediation. Promet Source
• Particularly compelling if your project involves a large content repository, complex governance, or a Drupal-based CMS.
• Their Chicago office is in Ravenswood rather than the Loop, but that's immaterial for a project like this.
• Mightybytes — best accessibility-by-default/design choice

• Chicago agency with a strong UX/design and responsible-technology orientation.
• Says its deliverables comply with WCAG 2.2 AA by default, rather than treating accessibility as a late-stage compliance exercise. Mightybytes Mightybytes
• Good candidate if the redesign is as much about service design, content, usability, and inclusive UX as it is about CMS engineering.
• Less government-specialized than Promet, so I'd ask for public-sector references.
• DigiSavvy — strong government/WordPress option

• Explicitly works with government agencies and cites a City of Chicago public-sector project.
• Builds to WCAG 2.1 AA and says it uses VPAT documentation and real user testing rather than relying on accessibility plugins. DigiSavvy
• Particularly attractive if WordPress is your preferred CMS and your internal staff need to maintain the site themselves.
• Delta Creative Studio — worth an RFP conversation

• Has a dedicated government/public-sector practice.
• Explicitly addresses accessibility, transparency, procurement, stakeholder communication, and WCAG 2.2 AA/ADA in its government offering. Delta Creative Studio
• I'd evaluate its depth of actual government references against Promet and DigiSavvy before putting it at the top of the list.
• CivicSitePro — interesting smaller/local specialist

• Focuses specifically on municipalities and civic organizations in Illinois.
• Offers WCAG 2.1 AA, accessibility remediation, accessible-content training, and civic-oriented IA. CivicSitePro CivicSitePro
• Its case-study portfolio appears considerably smaller, so I'd consider it for a smaller agency/project rather than automatically for a major Loop government platform.

If I were selecting three

I'd invite Promet Source, Mightybytes, and DigiSavvy to the first round.

*Specialized in civic work, but with a smaller publicly documented portfolio.

One important distinction: don't make “ADA compliant” the primary evaluation criterion. For a government project, I'd put substantially more weight on whether the team can demonstrate manual keyboard testing, screen-reader testing with disabled users, accessible design-system components, accessible PDFs/documents, plain-language content, form accessibility, procurement/security documentation, and an ongoing accessibility governance process. A Lighthouse score or accessibility widget isn't enough.

Also, since the project is in the Loop, there are plenty of generic web firms physically located downtown—for example Solid Digital at 100 N LaSalle—but I wouldn't let Loop proximity outweigh specialized government/accessibility credentials.

If you tell me roughly what government body it is (City of Chicago, Cook County, state agency, independent authority, etc.), CMS, and project budget, I can narrow this to 3–5 firms with comparable government case studies and likely procurement fit.

• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Marcel Digital - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1285, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Team 201 - 500 W Madison St #1000, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Walker Sands - 55 W Monroe St Ste 3925, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• Fuzzy Math - 811 W Evergreen Ave #305, Chicago, IL 60642, 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
• C E Anderson & Associates - 175 N Franklin St Unit 410, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Comrade Digital Marketing Agency - 332 S Michigan Ave #900, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• SEO Design Chicago - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• OneIMS - 111 E Upper Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60601
• Allevi8 Marketing - 6127 S University Ave Ste 110K, Chicago, IL 60653, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States

For a tech scaleup in Fulton Market, I’d shortlist agencies that can do more than make the site prettier: positioning, UX, conversion architecture, development, SEO, analytics, and post-launch optimization.

My Chicago shortlist

1. Orbit Media Studios — best overall for a growth-focused website redesign

• Probably my first call for your brief.
• Their model is unusually focused on website strategy → UX/content → development → SEO/CRO → ongoing optimization, rather than treating the website as a branding exercise. Orbit Media Studios Orbit Media Studios
• They've done 1,000+ websites and explicitly build around lead generation, conversion and measurable performance. Orbit Media Studios
• Their Scale Marketing case is particularly relevant: redesign, new information architecture, SEO, UX and continued optimization rather than a one-and-done launch. Orbit Media Studios
• Caveat: They're more web/growth specialists than a broad "brand + demand gen + PR" agency.
• Marcel Digital — best if acquisition/measurement is equally important

• Stronger candidate if you want the redesign tightly connected to SEO, paid acquisition, CRO, analytics and revenue measurement.
• They're in the Loop and specifically position themselves around measurable growth, web development, SEO, paid media, CRO and analytics, with substantial B2B/enterprise orientation.
• I'd put them in the pitch if your mandate is: "redesign the site, then continuously improve pipeline from it."
• Team 201 — best scaleup/GTM fit

• This is the one I'd investigate if you're a B2B technology company going through a funding, positioning, market-expansion or GTM inflection point.
• They're specifically oriented toward high-growth B2B tech companies and offer integrated strategy, demand generation, creative, marketing ops and analytics.
• Tradeoff: I'd want to see exactly how much of the actual website UX/design/build they'd own versus bringing in specialists.
• Solid Digital — strong B2B redesign alternative

• Good middle ground between a web agency and broader digital-growth partner.
• Their positioning is specifically around B2B brand/marketing teams, with website strategy, design/build, marketing and ongoing optimization.
• Worth putting into the RFP if you want a long-term digital partner rather than a redesign vendor.
• Walker Sands — best if you need the agency to own broader B2B growth

• Much more of an integrated B2B marketing operation: strategy, creative/content, communications/PR, paid media and GTM/revenue-oriented work.
• Particularly interesting if the redesign is part of a larger repositioning and demand-generation push.
• I'd choose them over Orbit if you want the agency relationship to extend well beyond the website.

One specialist I'd keep in the mix

Fuzzy Math is excellent if the hardest problem is product UX rather than marketing-site growth. They're a Chicago UX/product strategy firm with deep experience in complex B2B software, research, design systems and digital transformation. Fuzzy Math

I wouldn't make them the sole agency for a growth-marketing mandate, but I'd seriously consider them if your redesign includes logged-in product experiences, onboarding, self-service, or a complicated SaaS workflow.

Who I'd actually invite to pitch

I'd keep the first round to four:

For a Fulton Market tech scaleup, I'd start with Orbit and Marcel and make them compete on the same brief. Orbit looks particularly strong if the core problem is "our website no longer represents us and isn't converting"; Marcel becomes more compelling if the mandate is "turn the website into a measurable acquisition/pipeline engine."

One important distinction I'd make in your RFP: don't ask for a "website redesign." Ask for a growth redesign with baseline metrics, conversion research, ICP/persona work, messaging, information architecture, UX, design, development, technical SEO, analytics instrumentation, CRO testing and a 6–12 month optimization roadmap. That will separate the agencies that actually think about growth from the ones that primarily sell beautiful sites.

For a family-owned retailer on Chicago’s Near North Side, I’d prioritize an agency that can do more than make the site look newer: it should improve mobile UX, speed, local search, and—if you sell online—product discovery and checkout.

My shortlist

1. YourPortal — best overall fit for a small/midsize retailer
   • Located on N. Elston, so it’s genuinely local.
   • Does Shopify migrations, custom Shopify design/development, WooCommerce, UX, mobile performance, and ongoing support.
   • I’d put them near the top if you want a practical redesign rather than a huge-agency engagement.

2. Flamingo Agency — good boutique/small-business option
   • Based in Lakeview and focused heavily on small-business websites.
   • Strong fit if your current site is WordPress and you want a modern responsive redesign without turning the project into an enterprise exercise.
   • They also handle WooCommerce and ongoing support.

3. IDE Interactive, Inc. — best if UX is the main problem
   • Chicago-based experience-design/development shop with capabilities spanning websites, e-commerce, mobile, and custom software.
   • I'd consider them if the old site isn't merely dated but is genuinely difficult to navigate or you have unusual retail functionality.

4. Praella — best for a serious Shopify/e-commerce rebuild
   • Downtown Chicago and strongly focused on Shopify/Shopify Plus.
   • Their work emphasizes UX/customer journeys and more complex e-commerce requirements. chicagoweb.co
   • Probably more agency than you need for a simple brochure-style retailer site, but worth interviewing if online sales are important.

5. Alpha Efficiency — interesting Near North Side choice
   • At 875 N Michigan Ave, they're particularly convenient for a Near North Side business.
   • Their positioning combines redesign, mobile responsiveness, UX/conversion work, SEO, and performance rather than treating the website as purely visual.

6. click5 Interactive LLC — good smaller-shop alternative
   • Near River North on Hubbard.
   • Particularly relevant if you want a clean, usability-focused redesign and hands-on development rather than a large marketing-agency process.

One more I'd interview

Solid Digital is a more substantial Chicago agency. They do WordPress/custom development with attention to performance, integrations, and sites that marketing teams can manage. I'd consider them if your retailer has a larger catalog, multiple systems, or ambitions beyond a straightforward redesign.

For your particular description, I'd start with YourPortal, Flamingo, and IDE Interactive, then add Praella if e-commerce is a major revenue channel.

What I'd put in the RFP

Don't just ask agencies for a "mobile-friendly redesign." Ask them to commit to:

• Mobile-first UX, designed around actual customer tasks.
• Core Web Vitals/performance targets, with testing on real mobile connections.
• A simplified navigation and prominent store hours, location, phone, directions, and contact actions.
• Product/category architecture that works well for both users and Google.
• Preservation of existing SEO value: URL inventory + 301 redirect plan.
• Accessibility, particularly readable type, contrast, keyboard navigation, and touch targets.
• A CMS your staff can actually maintain without calling the agency for every photo or product change.
• Analytics and conversion tracking before launch.
• A clear post-launch maintenance arrangement.

If you sell online, I'd specifically ask each agency to show two or three retail/e-commerce redesigns they've personally built, not just their prettiest portfolio pieces. The Chicago Web Co., for example, explicitly emphasizes mobile-first Shopify builds, UX audits, and conversion optimization, and has published retail/e-commerce case studies. chicagoweb.co

For a family-owned retailer, I'd also favor a small senior team with direct access to the people actually designing/building the site over a big agency where you're handed to an account manager. That tends to make a redesign much less painful.

For a small manufacturing company in the West Loop looking for a modern B2B website redesign, I’d focus less on a general “creative web agency” and more on firms that understand industrial buyers, RFQs, technical content, certifications, product catalogs, and long sales cycles.

Here are some Chicago-area options I’d shortlist:

Best fits for industrial/manufacturing B2B websites

Orbit Media Studios
A strong choice if you want a polished, modern B2B site with strategy, SEO, and lead generation built in. They specifically market manufacturing website work and focus on conversion-oriented sites rather than just visual redesigns. www.orbitmedia.comwww.visualfizz.com
Good for: established manufacturers that need a credible digital sales tool.

Flamingo Agency
A more manufacturing-specialized option. They focus on industrial companies, capability pages, RFQ flows, and WordPress-based manufacturing sites. www.flamingoagency.com
Good for: small-to-mid-sized manufacturers that want a practical redesign without a huge agency engagement.

VisualFizz
Chicago-based B2B agency with experience building sites for complex industries, including industrial companies, with attention to UX, CRM/ERP integrations, and lead generation. www.visualfizz.com
Good for: manufacturers that need the website connected to sales processes.

Centric Web
They position themselves around manufacturing and B2B websites and emphasize experience with industrial businesses. www.centricweb.com
Good for: smaller manufacturers wanting a straightforward partner familiar with the industry.

Solid Digital
A broader B2B digital agency that can handle strategy, redesign, branding, and ongoing marketing support.
Good for: companies that want a brand refresh along with the site.

If I were narrowing it to 3 for a West Loop manufacturer:

1. Orbit Media — best overall balance of strategy, design, SEO, and B2B sophistication. www.orbitmedia.comwww.visualfizz.com
2. Flamingo Agency — best if the priority is “we need a better manufacturing website that generates quote requests.” www.flamingoagency.com
3. VisualFizz — best if you have more complex needs (CRM, integrations, multiple audiences). www.visualfizz.com

When interviewing them, I’d ask:

• “Can you show me 3 manufacturing websites you redesigned?”
• “How do you structure capability pages for engineers/procurement teams?”
• “How do you improve RFQ conversion?”
• “Who writes the technical copy — your team or ours?”
• “How do you handle CAD files, spec sheets, certifications, and distributor resources?”

For a small manufacturer, I’d avoid agencies that mostly show restaurants, consumer brands, or SaaS landing pages—they often underestimate how technical industrial buyers evaluate suppliers.

If the goal is a landing-page redesign specifically to improve user acquisition, I’d prioritize agencies that can connect UX/design to conversion metrics—not just make the page prettier.

My Chicago shortlist

1. Orbit Media Studios — best overall for acquisition/CRO
   • Strong fit if you want research, UX, conversion optimization, landing-page testing, and analytics rather than a purely visual redesign.
   • They explicitly offer UX audits, user-behavior analysis, A/B testing, landing-page/form optimization, and conversion copywriting. rawcutcreative.com
   • I'd put them at #1 if the founder can provide traffic/conversion data.

2. Design In Chicago — best nearby design-focused option
   • They're actually in West Loop at 159 N Sangamon and cover strategy, UI/UX, landing-page design, and development.
   • Good choice if the current page has a strong product but weak positioning/design and you need someone relatively hands-on.

3. Evolve with Digital - Web Design — best hyper-local/startup-sized option
   • Located directly on Fulton Market at 1375 W Fulton Market.
   • Their positioning is geared toward newer/smaller businesses and redesigns, so this could be a good fit if you want a nimble partner rather than a larger agency.

4. Solid Digital — best for a more substantial B2B/product company
   • Stronger choice if this landing page is part of a broader website/product-marketing redesign.
   • Their work spans strategy → UX/UI → development, with SEO and conversion considerations.

5. Marcel Digital — best if paid acquisition + CRO are central
   • Particularly interesting if the startup already has meaningful traffic and wants to squeeze more acquisition out of it.
   • They combine CRO/UX, landing pages, analytics, paid media, SEO and development.

6. Point B Communications Inc — best Fulton Market creative/brand option
   • Literally at 600 W Fulton St.
   • More of a full-service branding/advertising partner, so I'd consider them if the landing page problem is really positioning + messaging + creative, not just UX.

One more worth contacting

ALL FOR™ is particularly relevant geographically: it's a founder-led design agency in Fulton Market itself and explicitly offers website redesign, landing-page design, UI/UX and web development. allfor.agency

ALL FOR™

Who I'd contact first

For a startup founder trying to improve acquisition, I'd send the brief to:

Orbit Media → Design In Chicago → ALL FOR™ → Marcel Digital

I'd deliberately give them the same brief and compare their proposed approach. The key question isn't “Can you redesign our landing page?” It's:

“How would you diagnose why our current traffic isn't converting, and what would you measure after the redesign?”

The strongest agency will talk about traffic sources, ICP, messaging, funnel drop-off, CTA friction, analytics, experiments and conversion rate before talking about colors and animations.

If you tell me what the startup does + current landing page URL + approximate monthly traffic/conversion rate, I can narrow this to 3 agencies and tell you exactly why each is a fit.

If I were the marketing director of a Chicago engineering firm, I’d narrow the field pretty aggressively. You don’t just need a good-looking site—you need an agency that can translate technical services into buyer-oriented messaging, support long B2B sales cycles, and build a measurable lead-generation engine.

My shortlist

1. Orbit Media Studios — my first call for a lead-gen-focused website

Orbit is particularly compelling if the primary objective is more qualified inbound leads from the website. Its approach connects strategy, UX, content, SEO and development, and it explicitly positions websites as lead-generation assets rather than brochures. www.orbitmedia.com

Why I'd call them: Strong fit for an engineering firm with complicated services that needs to improve organic search, content, conversion paths and overall site architecture.

Orbit Media Studios

2. VisualFizz — especially interesting for industrial/technical B2B

This one jumped out because VisualFizz specifically describes its web-development work as B2B and industrial, including complex products/services, CRM/ERP integrations and qualified-lead generation. It also has broader B2B positioning and demand-generation capabilities. www.visualfizz.com

Why I'd call them: If your engineering firm sells into manufacturing, industrial, infrastructure, technology or other technical markets, their experience is unusually relevant.

VisualFizz

3. Solid Digital — strong B2B website specialist

Solid Digital has been doing Chicago B2B web work since 2007 and explicitly frames its offering around B2B growth. Its published results include increased target-account engagement and significant traffic improvements. www.soliddigital.com

Why I'd call them: Good choice if you want a polished, sophisticated corporate site while still keeping marketing performance front and center.

Solid Digital

4. LoSasso Integrated Marketing — one I'd investigate for engineering/manufacturing

LoSasso is particularly interesting because its Chicago practice focuses on complex B2B, industrial, manufacturing and technology businesses, with website/UX work explicitly tied to lead generation.

Why I'd call them: If your firm has a highly technical offering and the bigger challenge is positioning + messaging + demand generation, not simply redesigning the website.

5. Walker Sands — the bigger strategic option

Walker Sands is a Chicago-headquartered B2B agency with capabilities spanning brand/messaging, content, digital marketing, demand generation and RevOps/GTM engineering.

Why I'd call them: If you're looking beyond a website redesign toward a broader B2B demand-generation transformation. I'd expect this to be a larger engagement than a typical web-design project.

Walker Sands

If it were my RFP

I'd probably invite Orbit, VisualFizz, Solid Digital and LoSasso to pitch.

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

1. Show us an engineering, industrial or similarly technical B2B site you've built.
2. How do you turn technical capabilities into buyer-oriented messaging?
3. How will the new site generate qualified opportunities—not just traffic and form fills?
4. How will you connect website activity to our CRM and ultimately pipeline/revenue?
5. What would you change about our current site after looking at it for 30 minutes?

That last question is particularly revealing. A good B2B agency should be able to identify ICP, positioning, conversion and information-architecture problems before talking about colors and animations.

One other option worth putting on the radar is Webtage: its published portfolio includes a specific B2B brand, web and marketing project for an engineering firm (Merkur Innovation), which is unusually close to your situation. www.webtage.com

Webtage

My ranking for your particular use case:
Orbit → VisualFizz → LoSasso → Solid Digital → Walker Sands

If you tell me roughly firm size/revenue, engineering specialty (civil, MEP, environmental, industrial, consulting, etc.), current website, and whether your priority is SEO/inbound vs. ABM/outbound, I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually take meetings with and tell you what I'd ask each one.

If I were in your seat as marketing director at a Chicago engineering firm, I’d avoid agencies that are primarily “pretty website” shops. You want a partner that understands technical B2B buyers, long sales cycles, SEO, conversion paths, and ultimately qualified opportunities—not just form fills.

My Chicago shortlist:

1. Orbit Media Studios — probably my first call
   • Very strong B2B lead-gen orientation.
   • Their model explicitly connects strategy → UX → content → development → lead generation. www.orbitmedia.com
   • Particularly attractive if your engineering firm has lots of technical services/content that needs to be organized into a site that actually drives inquiries.
   • They have substantial experience with complex B2B buying journeys.

2. Ice Nine Online — especially interesting for an engineering/industrial firm
   • Chicago-based, founder-led B2B agency.
   • Website design + SEO + lead generation are integrated rather than treated as separate projects.
   • Their published work includes a B2B chemicals manufacturer, where a new SEO-driven site reportedly produced a 390% increase in search visibility and significant attributed lead value. agencies.semrush.com
   • I'd put them high on the list if your business is technical/industrial and organic search is important.

3. VisualFizz — good if positioning/messaging is part of the problem
   • Chicago B2B agency with experience in manufacturing, industrial/construction and other technical markets.
   • Combines brand positioning, web, SEO/content and paid media. www.visualfizz.com
   • Worth considering if the current site doesn't adequately communicate why an engineering buyer should choose you.

4. Solid Digital — strong B2B website specialist
   • Chicago-based and explicitly focused on B2B website design and development.
   • Their process includes brand discovery, digital strategy, personas, sitemaps and wireframes—not simply jumping into visual design. www.soliddigital.com
   • I'd consider them if the website itself is the primary project and you want a sophisticated B2B digital experience.

5. LoSasso Integrated Marketing — worth a serious look for engineering/manufacturing
   • This one jumps out because its positioning is around complex B2B categories including industrial, manufacturing, automation and technology.
   • They also do website development/UX specifically for lead generation.
   • Potentially one of the best industry-fit conversations.

If I were narrowing it to three

I'd ask Orbit, Ice Nine, and LoSasso to pitch.

I'd structure the RFP around one question:

“Show us how you would turn our website into a qualified-pipeline engine for engineers, technical buyers, procurement, and executives.”

And I'd make them demonstrate:

• How they'd map your ICP and buying committee
• How they'd structure service/industry pages for SEO
• How they'd turn technical expertise into content that attracts prospects
• What conversion paths they'd use besides “Contact Us”
• How they'd distinguish an RFQ from a genuinely qualified opportunity
• How they'd connect forms to your CRM
• How they'd measure MQL → SQL → opportunity → revenue, rather than just traffic and leads
• What they'd change about your existing site before showing you a single design

That last point is important. A good B2B agency should be able to diagnose your commercial problem before trying to sell you a visual redesign.

If you give me your engineering firm's website URL, I can also do a quick competitive-style assessment and tell you which 3 Chicago agencies I'd actually invite to pitch—and why, based on your services, target buyers, SEO opportunity and current conversion strategy.

• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Vault Innovation - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Allevi8 Marketing - 6127 S University Ave Ste 110K, Chicago, IL 60653, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Doejo - 444 N Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Operation Technology - 211 W Wacker Dr 3rd Floor, Chicago, IL 60606
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Chykalophia - 929 Michigan Ave Apt. 3, Evanston, IL 60202, United States
• Plan B - The Agency Alternative for the AI Economy® - 10 W Hubbard St #5w, Chicago, IL 60654, United States

If the goal is specifically “make a seed-stage startup look credible to investors and give prospects a compelling demo experience,” I’d shortlist these differently than I would for a generic Chicago web-design search.

My pick: Design In Chicago

Design In Chicago would be my first call if you want a Chicago-based team that can handle strategy → brand → landing page → development under one roof. Their offering explicitly includes branding, web strategy, UI/UX, landing-page design, and development.

The caveat: I’d want to see recent startup/VC-backed work before signing. Their public positioning is broader than “seed-stage startup specialist.”

The more interesting options

• Orbit Media Studios — Orbit Media Studios

Strong choice if the site needs to become a serious GTM/conversion asset, rather than just an impressive fundraising page. They emphasize strategy, UX, content, conversion and measurable business outcomes. Brightter

• Brand Vision Marketing — Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding

Worth considering if you need positioning + visual identity + website rather than simply a website build. Their Chicago operation combines brand strategy, identity, web design/development and SEO.

• Solid Digital — Solid Digital

I'd consider them if you're looking for a more mature design + engineering partner and expect the marketing site to evolve significantly after the seed round.

• Vault Innovation — Vault Innovation

Particularly interesting if by “demo site” you mean something closer to an interactive product prototype rather than a marketing page. They combine product design/UX with software development.

But there's one wildcard I'd seriously consider

For your exact brief, I wouldn't restrict the search to Chicago.

Key-Sprung explicitly targets pre-seed through Series A startups, with branding, positioning, websites, decks and prototypes, and frames its work around making startups “look fundable.” Key-Sprung

Likewise, Jointley is unusually aligned with fundraising: it describes itself as a 0→1 design studio for founders and offers a “Raise-Ready Sprint” combining an investor deck and landing page, with a stated seven-day investor-ready turnaround. Jointley

Those are closer to the job to be done than many conventional Chicago agencies.

What I'd actually do

I'd get proposals from 3 teams:

1. Design In Chicago — local, full-service option.
2. Orbit Media Studios — strategy/conversion-heavy option.
3. Key-Sprung or Jointley — startup/fundraising specialist benchmark.

And I would give all three the same brief, asking for:

• investor-facing landing page
• product/demo microsite
• messaging/positioning refinement
• light visual identity system
• interactive product mockups rather than a static “fake app”
• Webflow/Framer or equivalent implementation
• analytics + CRM/demo-request tracking
• mobile-first execution
• delivery in ~4–6 weeks
• ability for your team to edit the site afterward

Most importantly, don't ask them simply to “make us look investor-ready.” Give them your pitch deck, product screenshots, ICP, competitive set and fundraising narrative and ask: “What would you change about our story before designing the site?” The quality of that response will tell you more than their portfolio.

If you tell me your startup's category, rough budget ($10k / $25k / $50k+), and whether you already have branding, I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies and compare their likely fit, strengths, weaknesses and pricing.

1. Design In Chicago — local, full-service option.
2. Orbit Media Studios — strategy/conversion-heavy option.
3. Key-Sprung or Jointley — startup/fundraising specialist benchmark.

And I would give all three the same brief, asking for:

If the goal is a marketing-site redesign that becomes a growth-experiment platform, rather than just a prettier website, I’d shortlist these Chicago agencies:

My pick: Orbit Media Studios

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

Best overall fit. Orbit combines website strategy/design/development with CRO, analytics, and A/B testing. Their process explicitly includes analytics setup, funnels, Google Tag Manager, heatmaps, and post-launch optimization—not just a one-time redesign. www.orbitmedia.comwww.orbitmedia.com

Why I'd choose them:

• Strong marketing-site redesign + implementation capability
• CRO and experimentation are integrated into their web work
• They emphasize research before design
• In-house web/design/optimization team
• Particularly appropriate if your primary growth metric is qualified leads/demo requests, rather than app-product experimentation

Orbit Media Studios

Strong alternative: Marcel Digital

Marcel Digital
Web
Address: 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
Phone: +1 312-255-8044

I'd put Marcel ahead of Orbit if your startup has a more complex B2B funnel or serious analytics/measurement requirements. They're unusually integrated across web development, CRO, SEO, paid acquisition, and analytics, with an emphasis on tying measurement to revenue. www.orbitmedia.comwww.orbitmedia.com

Best if experimentation is the core requirement: Invesp

Invesp
Web
Address: 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
Phone: +1 248-626-2129

Invesp is more CRO/experimentation-centric than a traditional web-design agency. Their offering covers quantitative analytics assessment, research, experimentation, landing-page optimization and implementation. I'd consider them if you want the redesign to be driven heavily by a hypothesis → test → learn methodology. pilotdigital.com

Also worth interviewing: Solid Digital

Solid Digital
Web
Address: 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
Phone: +1 877-899-9981

A good option if you want a polished B2B SaaS-style redesign with a substantial strategy/discovery component and ongoing digital-growth support. They're somewhat more design/build-led than experimentation-led.

One important caveat: I wouldn't hire an agency simply because it says "analytics" and "A/B testing." For your project, I'd make the RFP explicitly require:

1. GA4 + GTM instrumentation plan before redesign
2. Event taxonomy for activation/conversion milestones
3. Baseline funnel + current conversion rates
4. Research informing the new IA/messaging
5. Experiment backlog with hypotheses and prioritization
6. A/B-testing infrastructure (e.g. GrowthBook, VWO, or equivalent)
7. Post-launch dashboard/reporting
8. At least 2–3 experiments run after launch, not merely "analytics installed"
9. Ownership of all analytics/testing accounts and source code
10. A measurement plan tied to pipeline/revenue, not vanity metrics

For comparison, Chicago's Pilot Digital explicitly describes a cycle of analytics → hypothesis → A/B test → measurement → iteration, which is the sort of operating model I'd look for. pilotdigital.com

My ranking for a startup:
1. Orbit — best balance of redesign + CRO + analytics
2. Marcel Digital — best for B2B/complex measurement
3. Invesp — best experimentation specialist
4. Solid Digital — best design/build-oriented alternative

If you tell me your startup's type (B2B SaaS, consumer, marketplace, etc.), approximate site traffic, CMS (Webflow/WordPress/custom), and rough budget, I can narrow this to the one I'd actually hire and give you a suggested RFP/agency interview scorecard.

• Mabbly - 640 N La Salle Dr #540, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Designer and Gentleman - 2653 W Hollywood Ave, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Doejo - 444 N Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Concentric Design - 3130 N Rockwell St, Chicago, IL 60618, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• What A Great Website - 50 E Bellevue Pl, Chicago, IL 60611, 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
• Artversion - 205 N Michigan Ave 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601
• Chykalophia - 929 Michigan Ave Apt. 3, Evanston, IL 60202, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Chris Depa Web Design + Branding - 1528 Robinhood Ln, La Grange Park, IL 60526, United States

If the goal is “create the brand and then turn it into a launch-ready website that actually helps us acquire users,” I’d shortlist these Chicago firms rather than treating this as a generic web-design search:

My top 3

1. Mabbly — best overall startup/GTM fit.
I'd put them first if you need someone to help answer “What should this brand stand for, who are we targeting, how do we communicate the product, and how does that become a site that generates demand?” Their capabilities span positioning, identity, UX research/product discovery, web and marketing.

2. Designer and Gentleman — best if brand + product experience are tightly connected.
Their combination of identity, UX/UI and digital-first design is particularly relevant if you're launching something where the website needs to feel like an extension of the product, not a separate marketing artifact.

3. Orbit Media — best if acquisition is the priority.
If you already have reasonably clear positioning and want the initial site to become a serious acquisition engine, Orbit's emphasis on SEO, CRO, analytics, content and ongoing optimization is compelling. It is likely a more structured/premium engagement.

One wildcard worth looking at

Concentric Design is worth investigating if you want a smaller, design-centric branding partner. Their positioning is specifically around bringing strategy into brand identity and digital experiences, which can be a nice fit for an early-stage company that doesn't want a giant agency process.

I would not choose solely based on portfolio aesthetics. For a startup, I'd ask each agency to show you 2–3 examples where they took a company from positioning/identity → launch website → measurable user acquisition, and ask exactly what they themselves handled versus what was outsourced.

If you tell me your startup type (B2B SaaS, consumer app, fintech, healthtech, etc.), approximate budget, and whether you already have a name/product, I can narrow this to the 3 Chicago agencies I'd actually contact first, with likely engagement level and what to ask each one.