Positive mentions of Solid Digital

• Duo Consulting - 20 W Kinzie St, Ste 1510, Chicago, IL 60654
• 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
• Market JD, Inc. - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• dNOVO Group | Law Firm Marketing Agency - 545 N McClurg Ct Ste 1808, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Forward Lawyer Marketing - 3553 W Peterson Ave Ste 30, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Attorney Web Design | Chicago - 233 S Wacker Dr Ste 4400, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Cybernautic Web Design - 515 N State St #14-126, Chicago, IL 60611, United States

For a midsize Chicago law firm, I’d put these on the RFP shortlist:

• Duo Consulting — particularly worth considering if you’re moving to/from Drupal or need a sophisticated CMS migration; they have documented legal-sector work and migration experience. Nylon Technology
• Solid Digital — downtown, with experience in website rebuilds, CMS migrations, UX and ongoing optimization.
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. — the larger-enterprise option; they have documented experience migrating a major law firm to WordPress/WP Engine. WP Engine
• Market JD, Inc. — specifically law-focused and located at 20 N. Wacker; useful if legal-industry marketing expertise matters as much as development.
• Orbit Media — Chicago-based and specifically markets legal website redesigns, including responsive development, CMS implementation, migration, accessibility and SEO. Orbit Media Studios

For your particular project, I’d start conversations with Duo, Orbit, and Solid Digital and give all three the same requirements: current CMS, approximate page count, integrations, attorney/practice-area profiles, SEO preservation, accessibility, and desired CMS.

If you tell me your current CMS, approximate site size, and budget range, I can narrow this to 2–3 firms and compare them.

• Duo Consulting - 20 W Kinzie St, Ste 1510, Chicago, IL 60654
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• AttorneySync - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 300, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Market JD, Inc. - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• dNOVO Group | Law Firm Marketing Agency - 545 N McClurg Ct Ste 1808, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Forward Lawyer Marketing - 3553 W Peterson Ave Ste 30, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Forward Lawyer Marketing - 460 N Main St Unit 209, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137, United States
• OVC Lawyer Marketing - 750 Warrenville Rd Ste 203, Lisle, IL 60532, United States
• Attorney Web Design | Chicago - 233 S Wacker Dr Ste 4400, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• BSPE Legal Marketing - Chicago - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60610, 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
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

For a midsize Chicago law firm, I’d shortlist these rather than going with a generic web shop:

1. Duo Consulting — best if the CMS migration is the hard part. They have a strong Drupal/migration background and have done award-winning legal-site work, including a Much Shelist project. Their process is particularly methodical, which is valuable if you have a large content library, attorney profiles, practice areas, publications, etc.
2. Solid Digital — best overall for a sophisticated midsize firm. They're downtown at 100 N LaSalle and focus on strategy, UX, development and CMS work rather than simply making a prettier site. Their experience includes full rebuilds and CMS migrations, so I'd put them high on the RFP list.
3. AttorneySync — best if legal-industry expertise matters most. They're at 211 W Wacker and work exclusively with law firms. Their focus is more marketing/conversion-oriented, with website development commonly using WordPress.
4. Market JD, Inc. — another good legal-specific option, conveniently at 20 N Wacker. They position themselves as being built around the legal industry and combine website rebuilds with SEO and intake/conversion considerations.
5. dNOVO Group | Law Firm Marketing Agency — worth talking to if you want the redesign tied closely to SEO, lead generation and ongoing digital marketing. They're at 545 N McClurg Ct.

One non-downtown option I'd definitely include

Orbit Media is probably the strongest pure website contender I'd add to the RFP even though its office is in Ravenswood rather than downtown. They specifically offer law-firm website redesigns, CMS implementation, migration, accessibility/browser QA, SEO and ongoing CMS support. They also say their typical full redesign runs 10–30+ weeks, which is a useful benchmark for a substantial midsize-firm project. Orbit Media Studios

My recommendation

If I were running the selection process, I'd invite Duo + Solid Digital + AttorneySync + Orbit to pitch.

The important distinction is that you don't merely need a "responsive redesign." For a law firm, I'd make the RFP explicitly require:

• URL-by-URL content migration and redirect mapping
• Preservation of existing SEO equity
• Responsive/mobile-first UX
• A CMS your marketing team can actually maintain
• Attorney/practice-area/location content models
• Accessibility testing
• Analytics/Search Console continuity
• Form/intake integrations
• Performance/Core Web Vitals
• Staging environment and rollback plan
• Full ownership of the CMS, code, content, domain and analytics
• Post-launch redirect/crawl monitoring

That migration piece matters enormously: a redesign that looks fantastic but destroys years of search visibility is a bad redesign. Dedicated migration specialists emphasize URL mapping, redirects, crawlability and post-launch monitoring for exactly this reason. SEO Design Chicago

If you tell me your current CMS (WordPress, Drupal, Sitecore, proprietary, etc.), approximate page count, and whether you're primarily B2B/corporate or consumer-facing, I can narrow this to the 3 firms I'd actually invite to the pitch and give you a suggested budget range.

• Pivot Design - 321 N Clark St #600, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• One Design Company - 230 W Superior St #700, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• HiveSourced - 230 E Ohio St, Ste 410, Chicago, IL 60611
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

If you want one agency to handle both the brand and the website, with actual healthcare/startup experience, I’d shortlist these:

• Pivot Design — River North

321 N Clark St. This is probably the most healthcare-specific option I found. They focus heavily on healthcare/life sciences and offer brand positioning, naming, identity, messaging, brand guidelines, and integrated digital/creative work.
Best fit: healthcare, biotech, medtech, pharma, or a startup with a complex clinical story.

• One Design Company — River North

230 W Superior St. A strategy-led design studio combining branding, digital/interactive design, research, and development.
Best fit: a startup looking for a sophisticated, modern brand rather than a traditional healthcare look.

• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — Downtown/Loop

211 W Wacker Dr. They combine brand strategy, visual design, UX/UI, and in-house web development, so you can keep brand and website under one roof.
Best fit: a polished B2B healthcare company that needs both brand strategy and a substantial website.

• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding — Downtown

30 N Michigan Ave. Their offering explicitly combines brand strategy, visual identity, website design/development, and SEO.
Best fit: an early-stage startup wanting a relatively integrated brand + website + marketing engagement.

One non-downtown option I'd also consider

Solid Digital is in Chicago and specifically works with B2B SaaS and healthcare technology, including branding/digital strategy and website design. Their healthcare case study for IMO Health is particularly relevant. soliddigital.com

soliddigital.com

My practical shortlist

For a healthcare startup, I'd talk to Pivot Design, One Design Company, and Solid Digital first. They represent three somewhat different approaches: healthcare-specialist, design/brand-led, and B2B healthcare/digital-growth.

If you tell me what the startup does (e.g. digital health, biotech, healthcare services, medical device, AI) and roughly your budget ($25k, $50k, $100k+), I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies and pull examples of their healthcare work and likely project fit.

• 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
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• Vault Innovation - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• LaunchPad Lab - 220 W Huron St, Ste 2001, Chicago, IL 60654
• Marcel Digital - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1285, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Adage Technologies - 10 S Riverside Plaza Ste 1500, Chicago, IL 60606, 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
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• cre8 - Chicago, IL 60607
• 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
• Synergy Labs - Mobile App and Web Developers Agency in Chicago - 515 N State St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States

If you’re a Chicago tech/SaaS company and the project is a custom marketing site—not the SaaS product itself—I’d shortlist agencies that understand B2B positioning, complex buyer journeys, UX, and conversion, rather than a generic web-design shop.

Chicago shortlist

• Solid Digital — Probably the first agency I’d interview. They specifically focus on B2B website design/development and say they work with B2B SaaS and technology companies. Their Chicago practice dates to 2007, and Clutch currently lists them among Chicago's web-design firms. Solid Digital Clutch
• The Office of Experience, LLC — Worth considering if this is a larger, strategically important site where brand, research, UX, content, and engineering all need to come together. They work heavily with mid-market/enterprise B2B organizations.
• IDE Interactive, Inc. — Interesting if "custom" means you want something substantially beyond a CMS marketing site. They combine strategy, UX/design and engineering and build digital platforms, web applications and custom systems.
• Vault Innovation — More product/software-oriented, so I'd look at them if the site has application-like functionality, integrations, authenticated experiences, or complex interactions.
• LaunchPad Lab — Similar logic: particularly relevant if the boundary between your marketing site and SaaS product is blurry. They specialize in custom web applications and product strategy/design alongside engineering.
• Marcel Digital — A particularly relevant option if SEO, analytics, CRO, paid acquisition, and the website need to operate as one growth engine. They're a Chicago B2B digital marketing/web-development agency.
• Adage Technologies — I'd put them on the RFP if you have complex integrations, enterprise CMS/DXP requirements, or a technically complicated web ecosystem.

How I'd narrow it

For a typical Series B–enterprise B2B SaaS marketing site, I'd have Solid Digital, The Office of Experience, and Marcel Digital pitch.

For a highly interactive/product-like experience, I'd add IDE Interactive or LaunchPad Lab.

For an enterprise integration-heavy rebuild, I'd add Adage Technologies.

One useful benchmark: current Chicago agency listings show substantial variation in project economics. For example, Clutch currently lists Solid Digital among Chicago web-design providers, while agencies such as Clique Studios, LLT Group, and EDUCO tend to appear at higher project-budget levels. Clutch

For your RFP, I wouldn't ask simply "can you build our website?" I'd ask each agency to show:

1. Two B2B SaaS/technology sites they personally designed and built.
2. Their proposed approach to positioning + information architecture, not just visual design.
3. How they handle CMS architecture, integrations, analytics and experimentation.
4. Who actually does the strategy, design and development—not just who sells the project.
5. How they measure success beyond launch: demo conversion, qualified pipeline, SEO, engagement, etc.
6. A realistic budget and timeline for your specific scope.

If you give me your approximate budget ($50–100k, $100–250k, $250k+), CMS preference (Webflow/WordPress/Next.js/etc.), and whether this is a redesign or net-new site, I can narrow this to 3 Chicago agencies that fit the project and give you the specific reasons to put each on the RFP.

One useful benchmark: current Chicago agency listings show substantial variation in project economics. For example, Clutch currently lists Solid Digital among Chicago web-design providers, while agencies such as Clique Studios, LLT Group, and EDUCO tend to appear at higher project-budget levels.

For your RFP, I wouldn't ask simply "can you build our website?" I'd ask each agency to show:

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• TXI - 10 S Riverside Plaza Ste 875 - #7670, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• LaunchPad Lab - 220 W Huron St, Ste 2001, Chicago, IL 60654
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Vault Innovation - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• IDE Interactive, Inc. - 2945 W Peterson Ave Ste 103, Chicago, IL 60659, 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
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Operation Technology - 211 W Wacker Dr 3rd Floor, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• SEO Design Chicago | Digital Marketing & Web Design Agency - 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
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States

If by “custom SaaS site” you mean a high-end marketing website for a B2B SaaS company—not the SaaS application itself—I’d put these Chicago firms on your shortlist:

• Solid Digital — Strong fit for B2B SaaS. They explicitly specialize in B2B website strategy/design and have experience with SaaS and technology companies, including UX, CMS, integrations and ongoing growth. Solid Digital
• TXI — More product/engineering-oriented. Worth considering if “website” includes substantial custom functionality, product experiences, or integrations rather than primarily a marketing site.
• LaunchPad Lab — Good candidate if the project crosses into an actual web application, portal, or SaaS product. They combine product strategy, UX/UI and custom software engineering.
• Marcel Digital — Particularly relevant if your marketing team wants the site tightly connected to SEO, analytics, CRO and demand generation, rather than treating the build as a standalone design project.
• Vault Innovation — Smaller-scale custom digital-product option, with UX/product design and full-stack web application capabilities.
• IDE Interactive, Inc. — Another interesting option if you need a genuinely custom experience/web application rather than a conventional CMS website.

One additional firm I'd interview

Orbit Media is especially relevant to your specific use case. Its Chicago team has a dedicated SaaS web-design offering covering positioning/messaging, UX, SEO, conversion optimization, development and integrations with systems such as HubSpot and Salesforce. They also publish SaaS-specific results and case studies. Orbit Media Studios

orbitmedia.com

How I'd structure the shortlist

Rather than picking purely by reputation, I'd send the same brief to Solid Digital, Orbit Media, and either TXI or LaunchPad Lab and compare their proposals on:

1. Relevant SaaS portfolio — especially companies with similar ACV, sales cycle and buyer complexity.
2. Messaging/positioning capability — can they help simplify a complicated product story, or do they just execute supplied copy?
3. Conversion architecture — demo/signup/trial flows, pricing, product pages, persona paths.
4. Technical scope — CMS, personalization, product/API integrations, analytics, CRM/marketing automation.
5. SEO migration — information architecture, redirects, technical SEO and preserving existing organic traffic.
6. Post-launch optimization — experimentation and CRO rather than treating launch as the finish line.
7. Who actually does the work — senior strategists/designers versus an account team handing the project off.

For a marketing director, the distinction I'd make is: Solid Digital / Orbit = marketing-site specialists; TXI / LaunchPad Lab = heavier product/engineering partners. That's a useful dividing line when you talk to them.

If you tell me your approximate budget (e.g. $50k, $100k, $250k+) and whether this is a marketing site or includes actual SaaS/product functionality, I can narrow this to a more targeted Chicago shortlist and pull together their relevant case studies, team size, typical project scope, and publicly available pricing.

• mStoner, Inc. - 500 W Madison St, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr, Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606
• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• EDUCO Web Design - 128 Chicago Ave, Oak Park, IL 60302, United States
• Eduvantis, LLC - 118 N Clinton St Ste 100-12, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Sandbox Studio, Chicago - 1608 W Cornelia Ave, Chicago, IL 60657, United States
• MF Digital Marketing, Inc. - 4809 N Ravenswood Ave Ste 110, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Synergy Creative - 1039 W Lake St 2nd floor, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States

If this is a university office near the Chicago Loop and you want a mobile-first site plus an ongoing support relationship, I’d put these agencies on the shortlist:

• mStoner, Inc. — Best higher-ed specialist. mStoner is now part of Carnegie and focuses specifically on higher-education digital work, including research-informed UX, content strategy, IA, web development and ongoing support. Its Chicago office is at 500 W Madison, right in the Loop.
• Clique Studios — Best nearby full digital/technical partner. Their Loop office is at 20 N Wacker. They offer responsive/mobile design, UX, accessibility, web development and ongoing optimization, and are positioned for higher-ed and complex organizations.
• Orbit Media Studios — Best for content + SEO + ongoing growth. Orbit has a dedicated higher-education practice, including university UX, responsive development, CMS implementation, accessibility and post-launch support. It specifically cites work with Olivet Nazarene University and the Erikson Institute. Orbit Media Studios
• EDUCO Web Design — Best smaller-agency option. EDUCO has substantial education/nonprofit experience and a University of Chicago project; its Music Institute of Chicago work included responsive redesign, Drupal development and ongoing web support. Educo Web Design Educo Web Design
• Eduvantis, LLC — Worth considering if the project needs higher-ed strategy as much as web execution. They're specifically focused on higher education strategy and digital marketing, although I'd confirm whether they can provide the depth of ongoing technical support you need.
• Sandstorm Design — Good UX/accessibility alternative. Chicago-based and experienced with higher education, accessibility and research-driven digital experiences.
• Solid Digital — Good generalist downtown option. Based at 100 N LaSalle, with web UX/development and ongoing digital-growth capabilities; I'd rank it below the higher-ed specialists if university experience is a hard requirement.

My top 3 for your brief

1. mStoner if higher-ed expertise is the priority.
2. Clique Studios if you want a polished mobile experience plus substantial engineering capability and a convenient Loop location.
3. Orbit Media if content, SEO, accessibility and long-term optimization are important alongside the redesign.

I would also ask each bidder for 2–3 recent higher-ed projects, mobile performance metrics, accessibility/WCAG approach, CMS recommendation, and a concrete 12-month support SLA. For a university office, the post-launch relationship can matter more than the initial visual design.

If you want, I can also narrow this to 5 agencies and compare estimated project size, higher-ed clients, CMS expertise, accessibility, ongoing support, and proximity to the Loop.

• Adage Technologies - 10 S Riverside Plaza Ste 1500, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Translations.com - 150 North Michigan Ave, Fl 20, Chicago, IL 60601
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 2600 S River Rd, Des Plaines, IL 60018, United States
• Duo Consulting - 20 W Kinzie St, Ste 1510, Chicago, IL 60654
• 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
• Interpro Translation Solutions - 1761 S Naperville Rd Ste 102, Wheaton, IL 60189, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Towering Media - 3509 N Reta Ave Apt 3, Chicago, IL 60657, United States
• EDUCO Web Design - 128 Chicago Ave, Oak Park, IL 60302, United States
• Translatus, Inc. - 1658 N Milwaukee Ave #560, Chicago, IL 60647, United States

For a company headquartered in downtown Chicago, I’d shortlist two types of partners, depending on whether you need the agency to build/manage the multilingual website or primarily localize the content.

My first call: Adage Technologies

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-258-1200)

Adage is actually in downtown Chicago at 10 S Riverside Plaza and is a digital strategy, design, and engineering firm. Its capabilities include complex CMS implementations, custom web development, ecommerce, integrations, and ongoing support.

That makes it a particularly relevant candidate if “internationalization” means more than translation—for example:

• Multiple country/language sites
• CMS architecture for localized content
• International SEO and URL structures
• Country-specific content and functionality
• Integration with translation/localization workflows
• Multisite governance and ongoing maintenance

I'd ask Adage specifically about previous multilingual/multiregion implementations and their approach to localization architecture, rather than assuming multilingual capability from their general web-development offering.

If localization itself is the bigger requirement

Translations.com has a downtown Chicago office at 150 N Michigan Ave and is much more specialized in enterprise translation/localization. Its offering covers multilingual content, software/app localization, global brand support, and language technology.

Another Chicago-area option is Multi-Lingua Communications. It explicitly offers website localization, CMS/interface content adaptation, terminology management, multilingual DTP, and QA, supporting 100+ languages. Multi-Lingua Communications, Inc. Multi-Lingua Communications, Inc.

One important distinction

If you're looking for one agency to own the entire website transformation, I'd investigate Adage first.

If you already have a web development agency/CMS team and need a specialist localization partner, I'd investigate Translations.com or Multi-Lingua.

If you tell me your CMS (e.g. WordPress, Drupal, Sitecore, Adobe Experience Manager, Contentful), number of languages/countries, and whether this is B2B or B2C, I can narrow this to 2–3 Chicago agencies that specifically fit the technical requirements.

• 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 - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1285, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• cre8 - 910 W Van Buren St Ste 100 #302, Chicago, IL 60607, 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
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Mabbly - 640 N La Salle Dr #540, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Comrade Digital Marketing Agency - 332 S Michigan Ave #900, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• cre8 - Chicago, IL 60607
• One North, A TEKsystems Company - 227 W Monroe St #3500, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• TXI - 10 S Riverside Plaza Ste 875 - #7670, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Chicago Software Solutions - 118 S Clinton St, Ste 570, Chicago, IL 60661
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

Yes. For a manufacturing company with a genuinely complex B2B site, I’d look beyond generic Chicago “web design” firms and shortlist agencies that can handle technical content, large product/capability structures, integrations, and lead-gen.

My Chicago shortlist

• Orbit Media Studios — Best overall marketing-site choice. They explicitly specialize in manufacturing websites and B2B, with SEO, conversion strategy, UX, analytics, and development under one roof. Their manufacturing practice is specifically aimed at generating leads rather than simply refreshing the design. Orbit Media Studios Dribbble

I'd call them if: this is a major redesign/replatform and marketing owns the project.

• VisualFizz — Strong B2B/industrial option. They specifically advertise B2B and industrial development, including CRM/ERP integrations and secure customer portals. VisualFizz

I'd call them if: the site needs to connect more tightly to sales/operations systems.

• Marcel Digital — Best if your stack/analytics are complicated. They combine web development with SEO, CRO and analytics, with substantial experience around Umbraco, .NET/Azure and enterprise/B2B sites.

I'd call them if: you have a sophisticated CMS, Microsoft ecosystem, multiple sites, or serious measurement requirements.

• cre8 — Interesting smaller-team option for custom functionality. They focus on B2B organizations including manufacturing and build custom web applications, portals and integrations with CRMs and other data systems.

I'd call them if: you want an engineering-oriented partner rather than a big marketing agency.

• Solid Digital — Good B2B-focused middle ground. Their strength is B2B web strategy, UX, WordPress development/replatforming and ongoing optimization.

I'd call them if: it's primarily a sophisticated marketing site rather than a transactional application.

• Chicago Web — Worth adding if your “complex” means catalog + ecommerce + ERP/inventory/EDI. They specifically work with manufacturers/distributors, complex catalogs, B2B pricing, dealer portals, PIM data and ERP/warehouse integrations. Chicago Web

I'd call them if: your website needs to behave like part of the company's operational infrastructure.

How I'd narrow it

One important distinction: don't let the agencies sell you a “manufacturing website” as simply a prettier WordPress site. If you have thousands of SKUs, distributor/dealer access, technical product data, RFQ workflows, Salesforce/HubSpot, SAP/NetSuite, PIM/ERP feeds, multilingual content, or customer-specific pricing, put those requirements into the RFP from day one.

If you tell me roughly (1) current CMS, (2) number of products/SKUs, (3) whether you need ERP/CRM integration, and (4) rough budget, I can narrow this to 3 firms I'd actually invite to pitch, including who I'd avoid.

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Straight North - 200 N Green St Fl 3, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Team 201 - 500 W Madison St #1000, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Allevi8 Marketing - 6127 S University Ave Ste 110K, Chicago, IL 60653, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Arise GTM - 155 N Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Digital Authority Partners - 420 W Huron St Fl 1, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• SEO Design Chicago | Digital Marketing & Web Design Agency - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• Operation Technology - 211 W Wacker Dr 3rd Floor, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• RSXigital | B2B Lead Generation & Performance Marketing Agency in Chicago, USA - 71 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• iCrossing - 312 N Carpenter St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• OneIMS - 111 E Upper Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60601

For a tech scaleup in Fulton Market, I’d put a short list together around agencies that can do more than “make the website prettier”—you want positioning + UX/CRO + development + SEO/demand generation + ongoing optimization.

Chicago shortlist

• Solid Digital — Particularly relevant if you're B2B SaaS/tech. They specialize in B2B website redesigns, UX, development and ongoing digital growth, and explicitly work with B2B SaaS and healthcare technology companies. Their published process runs from strategy/personas through design, development and post-launch optimization. Solid Digital

Best fit: A sophisticated B2B scaleup where the website is a core sales/marketing asset.

• Marcel Digital — Strong option if you want the redesign tightly connected to SEO, paid acquisition, analytics and CRO. Their Chicago team combines web development, UX/CRO, SEO, paid media and measurement, rather than treating the redesign as a standalone project.

Best fit: A growth team that cares heavily about measurable pipeline/conversion impact.

• VisualFizz — Full-service B2B agency covering strategy, branding, web and performance marketing, with explicit experience in technology/SaaS. VisualFizz

Best fit: You need positioning/brand + website + demand generation under one roof.

• Straight North — Located right in Fulton Market (200 N Green St) and oriented toward lead generation, SEO, paid acquisition, website development and conversion-focused creative.

Best fit: A performance-oriented redesign where qualified leads and acquisition efficiency are the primary KPIs.

• The Office of Experience, LLC — More experience/transformation-oriented. Their Chicago work includes substantial B2B digital and ecommerce redesigns, UX research, journey mapping and digital-platform modernization. The Office of Experience

Best fit: A larger, more complex redesign involving product experience, customer journeys or digital transformation.

• Team 201 — Specifically positioned around high-growth B2B technology companies, with an integrated marketing approach.

Best fit: You want an agency to function more like an extension of your in-house growth team than a traditional web shop.

How I'd structure the RFP

Rather than asking agencies simply for a “website redesign,” I'd ask each one to propose against the same outcomes:

1. Positioning & messaging: Can they turn your differentiated product into a clearer story for your ICP?
2. Conversion: How will they improve demo/signup/contact conversion, not just aesthetics?
3. Information architecture: Can they rethink the site around buying journeys rather than your org chart?
4. Growth infrastructure: SEO, analytics, attribution, experimentation and landing-page architecture.
5. Technical execution: CMS, integrations, performance, accessibility and maintainability.
6. Post-launch: What happens after launch—CRO, testing, content, SEO and iteration?
7. Proof: Ask for 2–3 comparable B2B tech/scaleup redesigns and the actual business metrics that changed.

For your particular description, I'd start conversations with Solid Digital, Marcel Digital, VisualFizz and Straight North, then add Office of Experience if the project is particularly complex. That's a shortlist based on documented service fit—not a ranking of the agencies.

If you tell me your approximate budget ($50k / $100k / $250k+) and whether you're B2B SaaS, fintech, AI, etc., I can narrow this to 3 agencies and compare their likely fit, capabilities, location, case studies, and engagement model.

• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• LaunchPad Lab - 448 N La Salle Dr Fl 9, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Nansen LLC - 300 W Hubbard St Ste 301, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Punchkick Interactive - 150 N Michigan Ave, Ste 3900, Chicago, IL 60601
• TXI - 10 S Riverside Plaza Ste 875 - #7670, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• FlyDesign - 111 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Dom & Tom - 625 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1800, Chicago, IL 60611
• IDEO Chicago - 626 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• MNML - 170 N Sangamon St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Streng - Chicago - 220 N Green St, Chicago, IL 60607
• Tres Design Group - 435 N Lasalle Dr, Ste 200, Chicago, IL 60610
• Koz Susani Design - 880 N Lake Shore Dr Ste 17D, Chicago, IL 60611, United States

If the brief is specifically “redesign a complex B2B SaaS dashboard”, I’d focus less on general branding/web agencies and more on firms with evidence of enterprise UX, workflow-heavy products, dashboards, research, and design systems.

A few Chicago/River North-area options worth putting on an RFP shortlist:

• Grand Studio — River North, 444 N Wells St.

Particularly relevant if the dashboard has complicated workflows or unclear product architecture. They combine UX research, product strategy, interaction design, UI, and design systems, and their positioning is heavily oriented toward complex digital products. UX Planet

• LaunchPad Lab — River North, 448 N LaSalle Dr.

A good candidate if you want design + actual implementation rather than a studio that only hands over Figma files. Their offering includes product discovery, UX/UI, prototyping, and custom software development. ParallelHQ

• Nansen LLC — River North, 300 W Hubbard St.

Worth investigating for a product requiring UX research, strategy, UI, and design-system work. The local business listing specifically identifies those capabilities.

• Solid Digital — Downtown Chicago, 100 N LaSalle St.

More B2B/digital-experience oriented. They do UX discovery, wireframes, user flows and UI for web apps/portals, so they could make sense if the dashboard redesign overlaps with a broader customer portal or web-platform redesign.

• Punchkick Interactive — Downtown, 150 N Michigan Ave.

More of a product design + engineering partner. Their offering spans strategy, UX/UI, custom software and digital products, which is useful if you need the redesign taken all the way into production.

One important caveat

If River North is a preference rather than a hard requirement, I'd also put Fuzzy Math on the list. Multiple current Chicago UX-industry roundups specifically identify them for B2B/enterprise UX and complex workflows, which is unusually close to your dashboard use case. ParallelHQ 925 Studios

Likewise, UX 4Sight is worth considering if the redesign needs substantial user research/usability testing rather than primarily a visual refresh. Their service mix includes UX audits, usability testing, user research, task flows, wireframes and design systems. UX Planet

How I'd structure the shortlist

For a serious B2B SaaS dashboard redesign, I'd ask each studio for 2–3 examples of shipped software—not marketing websites—that demonstrate:

1. Complex tables/data visualization
2. Multi-step workflows
3. Role-based experiences/permissions
4. Information architecture restructuring
5. Design-system/component-library work
6. User research and usability testing
7. Working alongside an existing product/engineering team
8. Evidence that their designs actually reached production

I'd also explicitly ask them to do a paid mini-discovery or UX audit before committing to a full redesign. Current Chicago agency estimates put a comprehensive SaaS redesign anywhere from roughly $50K to $120K+, depending heavily on complexity and research/engineering scope. ParallelHQ 925 Studios

If you tell me your approximate budget (e.g. $25–50K, $50–100K, $100K+) and whether you need design-only or design + development, I can narrow this to a practical 3–5 agency shortlist with contact links, relevant case studies, estimated fit, and questions to ask each in the pitch.

• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Nansen LLC - 300 W Hubbard St Ste 301, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• LaunchPad Lab - 220 W Huron St, Ste 2001, Chicago, IL 60654
• Punchkick Interactive - 150 N Michigan Ave, Ste 3900, Chicago, IL 60601
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• TXI - 10 S Riverside Plaza Ste 875 - #7670, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• FlyDesign - 111 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Dom & Tom - 625 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1800, Chicago, IL 60611
• Tres Design Group - 435 N Lasalle Dr, Ste 200, Chicago, IL 60610
• MNML - 170 N Sangamon St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• IDEO Chicago - 626 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• Streng - Chicago - 220 N Green St, Chicago, IL 60607

For a B2B SaaS dashboard redesign specifically in River North, I’d shortlist:

• Grand Studio — best overall fit. River North location, strong UX research/product strategy, and experience tackling complex enterprise problems. ParallelHQ
• Nansen LLC — worth considering for UX research, UX/UI, and design systems; actually located in River North.
• LaunchPad Lab — good if you want design + engineering rather than a design-only engagement; particularly relevant for complex software modernization.
• Punchkick Interactive — broader digital product strategy/design/development capability.

My pick: Grand Studio if the problem is primarily workflow/UX complexity; LaunchPad Lab if you also need the redesigned dashboard engineered.

One caveat: several of Chicago’s strongest B2B SaaS specialists—particularly Fuzzy Math and Codal—aren’t actually in River North, so I wouldn't restrict the search geographically. ParallelHQ agency.uxplanet.org memcite

Yes. For a law-firm client portal, I’d bias toward agencies with real product/UX depth rather than a conventional branding/web shop. The portal has to handle documents, matters, messaging, billing, deadlines, permissions, and sensitive information without feeling like legal software from 2012.

My Chicago shortlist:

My top 5

• TXI — best if the portal is a serious product.

This would be my first call if you're contemplating more than a visual redesign. TXI combines product strategy, user research, UX, prototyping and software engineering, which is valuable when the agency needs to understand the underlying workflows rather than simply make screens prettier.

• UX 4Sight — best pure UX/UI fit in the Loop.

Their offering is unusually aligned with your problem: UX research, UX/UI, usability testing, wireframes, responsive web apps and design validation. They're at 111 W Jackson Blvd in the Loop. Clutch

• Solid Digital — best for portal + implementation.

They specifically work on B2B digital experiences and web apps/portals, including complex customer-facing workflows. I'd put them high on the list if you want one partner to take you from UX through development rather than handing Figma files to another vendor.

• Clique Studios — best larger-agency option.

They bring UX/UI, information architecture, usability/accessibility, content strategy, engineering and digital transformation together. I'd consider them if this is part of a broader modernization of the firm's digital client experience.

• Design In Chicago — best Fulton Market-local option.

They're actually in the West Loop/Fulton Market area at 159 N Sangamon and offer branding, digital design, development and UI work. I'd favor them if the portal needs to feel like a natural extension of a broader firm rebrand.

One wildcard I'd seriously investigate

ALL FOR™ is in Fulton Market at 160 N. Elizabeth and explicitly offers UI/UX, custom web design and design systems. They're more of a design/brand/web studio than a deep product consultancy, so I'd use them if the goal is “make our client experience dramatically more modern and premium” rather than “rethink a complicated legal workflow.” ALL FOR™ ALL FOR™

There's also a particularly interesting non-Chicago-local option: Convex explicitly specializes in legal UX and lists client portals, intake, document sharing, case-management workflows and legal SaaS among its work. That's unusually close to your brief, although I'd want to establish whether having the team local is important to you. The Convex Agency

If I were running the RFP

I'd invite TXI, UX 4Sight, Solid Digital, and Convex to pitch.

And I wouldn't ask them to pitch a generic “portal redesign.” I'd give them 3–4 representative journeys:

1. New client: invitation → account setup → intake → engagement letter.
2. Active matter: see status → communicate with attorney → upload/review documents → upcoming deadlines.
3. Billing: invoice → payment → billing history.
4. Multiple matters: one client with several matters/attorneys, with appropriate permissions.

Then ask each agency to redesign one journey in a short workshop/prototype. You'll learn far more about their UX thinking that way than from looking at polished homepage case studies.

The biggest thing I'd screen for is whether they understand “client portal UX” rather than “website UX.” Those are very different problems.

If you tell me roughly your firm size, practice areas, existing portal/platform (Litify, Clio, Salesforce, custom, etc.), and whether you want design-only or design + development, I can narrow this to 3 agencies and give you a suggested RFP/budget range for each.

• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Dialogue Theory - 1932 S Halsted St #509, Chicago, IL 60608, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, 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
• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Wojo Design - 318 W Adams St #1609, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

If your goal is specifically increasing completed donations (not just redesigning a nonprofit website), I’d prioritize agencies that can show evidence of:

• donation funnel audits
• UX research/usability testing with donors
• donation form optimization
• A/B testing or experimentation
• analytics setup (GA4, Hotjar/Clarity, etc.)
• recurring giving optimization
• measurable conversion lifts

A shortlist of Chicago-area firms worth evaluating:

A couple of non-Chicago specialists are also worth considering because they are closer to “donation conversion specialists” than general UX agencies:

• Donately — focuses on donation experiences, donor flows, custom forms, and fundraising optimization services. Donately Donately
• PhilanthroForge — focuses specifically on donation UX audits, donor journeys, form optimization, and fundraising analytics. PhilanthroForge
• Donation Scalers — focuses on donor funnels, campaigns, and fundraising growth systems. Donation Scalers

How I’d vet them before hiring

Ask each agency these questions:

1. “Show us 2–3 donation pages you improved. What was the baseline conversion rate and what changed?”
2. “Did you optimize the donation form itself or only redesign the website?”
3. “What donor friction did you identify?”

• too many fields
• unclear impact of gifts
• weak trust signals
• poor mobile UX
• confusing recurring-gift options
• “What testing methodology do you use?”

• A/B testing
• usability testing
• heatmaps/session recordings
• donor interviews
• “Who owns analytics after launch?”

• GA4 events
• donation completion tracking
• recurring donor tracking
• experiment reporting

For a nonprofit whose primary KPI is more completed donations, I’d probably start conversations with Orbit Media, Oak Theory, UX 4Sight, and one fundraising-specialist firm (Donately or PhilanthroForge) rather than a pure branding/web design shop. Orbit Media Studios Oak Theory PhilanthroForge

I can also put together a ranked shortlist by nonprofit experience, CRO depth, estimated budget range, and project fit (small nonprofit vs. large institution) if that would help.

• Fuzzy Math - 1440 N Dayton, Ste 307, Chicago, IL 60642
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Design Science - 909 Davis St, Evanston, IL 60201, United States
• Mightybytes - 4001 N Ravenswood Ave, Ste 404, Chicago, IL 60613
• Rowe Intermedia - Chicago, IL 60641
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr, Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606
• WeCo Accessibility Services - 300 1/2 S Main St, Stillwater, MN 55082
• Chicago Harbor Lighthouse - Chicago Harbor, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Dialogue Theory - 1932 S Halsted St #509, Chicago, IL 60608, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• One North, A TEKsystems Company - 227 W Monroe St #3500, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• UX Healthcare - 211 E 43rd St 7th Floor, New York, NY 10017, United States
• Digital Accessibility by WeCo - 2730 W Lake St Ste 300, Minneapolis, MN 55416, United States
• Alphazeta - 325 W Huron St, Ste 506, Chicago, IL 60654
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States

For a Chicago healthcare portal, I’d put these firms on the initial RFP list based on the combination of accessibility auditing, UX/product work, and healthcare experience:

• Fuzzy Math — Chicago UX strategy/research consultancy with experience in healthcare and complex workflow-heavy products. Good candidate if the UX improvement side is substantial. Agency List
• Sandstorm Design — Chicago UX/digital-experience agency that combines research, design, development and accessibility work. Agency List
• Design Science — Evanston-based human-factors consultancy specifically focused on healthcare/medical technology usability. Particularly relevant if the portal involves clinically important workflows or safety-sensitive interactions.
• Mightybytes — Chicago digital agency with accessibility as an explicit service area, alongside strategy, design and development.
• Rowe Intermedia — Worth contacting if you want a healthcare-oriented accessibility/compliance partner; its Chicago practice specifically works with health systems and healthcare/life-sciences organizations.
• Clique Studios — Chicago agency covering UX/UI, usability testing, accessibility-focused design and engineering, which could make sense if you want one partner to carry findings through implementation.

There are also specialist accessibility organizations I'd consider separately from the UX agencies. WeCo Accessibility Services provides dedicated accessibility testing/consulting, while Chicago Harbor Lighthouse offers accessibility audits, consulting and testing and has more than 15 years of relevant experience. The Chicago Lighthouse

What I'd put in the RFP

For a healthcare portal, don't ask simply for an “ADA audit.” Ask candidates to demonstrate:

• WCAG 2.2 AA testing, including manual testing—not just automated scans.
• Keyboard-only testing and actual NVDA/JAWS/VoiceOver screen-reader testing. Access Living
• Usability testing with people with disabilities, where appropriate.
• Review of patient registration, login, scheduling, forms, error handling, documents/PDFs and medication/health-information flows.
• A finding-by-finding report mapped to WCAG criteria, severity, affected users and developer-ready remediation.
• UX research and redesign recommendations after the audit, rather than treating accessibility as a compliance-only exercise.
• Retesting after remediation and a plan for preventing regressions.
• If the agency will encounter PHI, ask about its BAA/HIPAA handling and data-access procedures.

One especially relevant specialist is Access Living, which explicitly combines automated and manual accessibility testing and tests to WCAG 2.2 AA; its manual testing is intended to uncover real-world usability barriers that automated tools miss. Access Living

If you want, I can also turn this into a 5–7 agency shortlist with contact links, healthcare clients/case studies, estimated agency size, and a side-by-side RFP scorecard.

• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Rowe Intermedia - Chicago, IL 60641
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr, Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• UX Healthcare - 211 E 43rd St 7th Floor, New York, NY 10017, United States
• WeCo Accessibility Services - 300 1/2 S Main St, Stillwater, MN 55082
• Agency 39A - 10000 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232, United States
• Alphazeta - 325 W Huron St, Ste 506, Chicago, IL 60654
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Dialogue Theory - 1932 S Halsted St #509, Chicago, IL 60608, United States
• Mederi Digital - Healthcare Design Agency - 3422 Business Center Dr Ste 106 #1077, Pearland, TX 77584, United States
• Bold Insight (Chicago) - 125 S Wacker Dr Suite 3020, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Nemera Insight Chicago LLC - 4660 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, United States

For a Chicago healthcare portal, I’d put these firms on the initial shortlist, based on their publicly described accessibility and UX capabilities:

• Sandstorm Design — Chicago-based digital experience/UX agency with healthcare experience and an accessibility-oriented audit → development → retest process. Web Tonic
• Rowe Intermedia — Particularly worth contacting if the portal is tied to a health system or regulated healthcare organization; its public materials emphasize healthcare/life-sciences work and accessibility compliance.
• UX 4Sight — Chicago UX research/design specialist. A potential fit if the bigger need is patient-journey research and UX improvement, rather than compliance remediation alone.
• Clique Studios — Chicago digital strategy, UX/design and engineering agency that also describes accessibility-focused design and usability testing.
• Solid Digital — Chicago agency with UX/product-experience work on portals and healthcare/regulated-industry experience.

I'd also consider a specialist accessibility firm alongside a UX agency, rather than asking one generalist to do everything. For example, the Chicago Lighthouse provides accessibility consulting, audits, WCAG/508 compliance and accessibility certification, with substantial experience in making digital properties usable by people with disabilities. The Chicago Lighthouse

For a healthcare portal specifically, I'd make the RFP require manual keyboard and screen-reader testing, WCAG 2.2 AA evaluation, accessible forms/error handling, appointment scheduling, PDFs/documents, and testing with people with disabilities—not just an automated accessibility scan. Healthcare-specific accessibility work commonly turns up barriers in exactly those patient-facing workflows. wcag.world accessibilities.co

If you want, I can narrow this to 5 agencies and give you their contact details, healthcare clients/case studies, estimated engagement size, and a side-by-side RFP shortlist.

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Taction Software Solutions - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Evolve Healthcare Marketing - 1 E Erie St Ste 525 Unit, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Physicians Digital Services, LLC. - 3250 Lacey Rd Ste 215, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States
• AbelsonTaylor, Inc. - The Old Post Office, 433 W Van Buren St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Matchnode - 318 W Adams St, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Pivot Design - 321 N Clark St #600, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Practice Tech Solutions - 2460 Dundee Rd #1561, Northbrook, IL 60065, United States
• Abelson Taylor - 33 W Monroe St, Chicago, IL 60603
• DIGI Search - 6672 N Northwest Hwy, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• appcetera|MD Health Group, LLC - 700 Commerce Dr #500, Oak Brook, IL 60523, United States
• PatientEdge, Inc. - 1165 N Clark St #700, Chicago, IL 60610, United States

For a small clinic in Chicago’s Loop, I’d put the emphasis on agencies that can handle more than visual redesign: patient UX, accessibility, HIPAA-conscious implementation, and integration with your existing patient portal/EHR.

Agencies worth putting on the shortlist

• Solid Digital — 100 N LaSalle St, Chicago. Strong fit if the project is primarily a sophisticated website/UX redesign. Their work includes UX discovery, user flows and web-app/portal experiences, and they have healthcare/regulated-industry experience.
• Orbit Media — Chicago agency with a dedicated healthcare web practice. They explicitly describe integrating patient portals and EHRs including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth, alongside HIPAA/HITECH and ADA considerations. This is one of the clearest matches to your integration requirement. Orbit Media Studios

orbitmedia.com

• Taction Software Solutions — 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago. More engineering-oriented than a typical design agency. Their Chicago operation focuses on healthcare software, EHR/EMR interoperability and integrations across clinical and administrative systems. Consider them if the portal integration is technically complicated rather than simply linking to an existing portal.
• Radical Software — particularly interesting because it has a documented Chicago-area family healthcare clinic project involving patient-portal access and appointment scheduling. The project used a modern Next.js/TypeScript stack and specifically included patient portal integration. Radical Software

theradicalsoftware.com

• Intex Agency — offers healthcare web design with patient portal integration, appointment-booking UX and HIPAA-aware architecture. It could be worth including if you're looking for a smaller-agency approach rather than a large healthcare consultancy. Intex Agency

intex-agency.com

• Flamingo Agency — explicitly targets small clinics and private practices, with medical website redesigns, patient portals, scheduling and mobile forms. Their positioning appears more geared toward a relatively straightforward practice-site redesign than a bespoke healthcare software project. Flamingo Agency

flamingoagency.com

How I'd structure the RFP

For your particular project, I'd ask each agency to respond to the same five questions:

1. Have you integrated our specific portal/EHR before? Give the exact product and describe what was integrated versus simply linked.
2. How will PHI flow? Ask them to diagram whether the new site ever handles PHI or simply hands patients off to the vendor's secure portal.
3. What accessibility standard do you target? I'd ask for WCAG 2.2 AA rather than accepting a generic claim of "ADA compliant."
4. Who owns the code, hosting and integrations after launch?
5. What is the cost of a redesign without rebuilding the underlying portal?

For a small clinic, I'd be particularly wary of paying an agency to rebuild functionality that your existing EHR/patient-portal vendor already provides. In many cases, the better architecture is a polished public-facing site with a very clear, secure handoff into the existing portal.

If you tell me which patient portal/EHR you use (Epic, athenahealth, MyChart, eClinicalWorks, NextGen, etc.) and roughly what budget you have, I can narrow this to a 3-agency shortlist and compare likely fit, integration experience, and Chicago location.

• Angle180 - 141 W Jackson Blvd #4236, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• LoSasso Integrated Marketing - 4853 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Centrifuge Brand Marketing, Inc. - 500 W Burlington Ave, La Grange, IL 60525, 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
• 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
• Dorn Marketing - 121 W State St, Geneva, IL 60134
• Lillian Group Marketing, LLC - 706 Waukegan Rd, Glenview, IL 60025, United States
• FlyDesign - 111 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• A&B Consulting Group | Digital Marketing, Web Designer & Branding - 352 River St, Lemont, IL 60439, United States
• RSXigital | B2B Lead Generation & Performance Marketing Agency in Chicago, USA - 71 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Fresh Design Studio - 53 W Jackson Blvd, Ste 256, Chicago, IL 60604

For a small manufacturing company in the West Loop, I’d look specifically for an agency that understands industrial buyers—not just a general Chicago web-design shop. The site should make your capabilities obvious, support RFQs, and speak to engineers/procurement people.

A few Chicago-area options worth talking to:

• Angle180 — Chicago / Loop. Specifically focused on B2B industrial manufacturers and construction. They combine website redesign with SEO, conversion optimization, content, and paid search. Their positioning is particularly relevant if you want the new site to become a lead-generation tool rather than simply look newer. Angle180
• Orbit Media — Chicago / Ravenswood. A well-established Chicago B2B web agency with a dedicated manufacturing practice. They emphasize modern design, SEO, conversions, and ongoing support. Orbit Media Studios
• LoSasso Integrated Marketing — Chicago / Ravenswood. More of an integrated B2B marketing partner, with substantial focus on industrial/manufacturing and technically complex products. Good if the redesign also needs positioning, content, and marketing strategy.
• Solid Digital — Chicago / Loop. B2B-focused web design/development with a stronger emphasis on UX, technology, and measurable digital performance. I'd consider them if the site needs integrations or more sophisticated functionality.
• Centrifuge Brand Marketing, Inc. — La Grange / Chicago metro. Their niche is specifically industrial/manufacturing B2B marketing, particularly companies with technical products and long buying cycles.
• Flamingo Agency — Chicago agency with a specific manufacturing website-design offering. They focus on WordPress, capability pages, SEO, and RFQ forms, and advertise projects in roughly the $4k–$10k range. Flamingo Agency

For your particular situation

If you're a small manufacturer and primarily need a modern 10–20 page B2B site, I'd start conversations with Angle180, Orbit, and Flamingo. They represent three different approaches: performance/lead-gen, established B2B web strategy, and a more explicitly manufacturing-focused website shop.

The most important thing I'd ask each one is:

“Show me 3–5 manufacturing websites you've personally redesigned, and walk me through how you changed the information architecture and RFQ/lead flow—not just the visual design.”

I'd also ask whether they can handle capability/service pages, equipment/process information, certifications, downloadable specs/CAD files, RFQs, CRM integration, SEO migration, and technical copywriting. Those are the areas where a generic “modern website” agency can fall short for manufacturing.

If you tell me roughly what you manufacture, your current site, and your budget (e.g. $10k, $25k, $50k+), I can narrow this to 3 Chicago firms that are actually appropriate for your size and project and show you relevant examples of their work.

• Angle180 - 141 W Jackson Blvd #4236, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• FlyDesign - 111 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• cre8 - Chicago, IL 60607
• Fresh Design Studio - 53 W Jackson Blvd, Ste 256, Chicago, IL 60604
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• LLT Group - Chicago Website Design - 47 E Chicago Ave #324, Naperville, IL 60540, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• BIT Studios - Chicago Web Design - 318 W Adams St, Fl 17, Chicago, IL 60606
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States

For a small manufacturing company in Chicago’s West Loop, I’d look at agencies that understand both industrial/B2B buying journeys and modern brand/web design—not just general consumer web design.

A few Chicago options worth putting on your shortlist:

• Angle180 — Industrial/B2B focus. Their positioning is specifically around websites and inbound marketing for industrial manufacturers and construction companies. They do UX/UI, redesigns, SEO, PPC, and conversion work. This is particularly relevant if the new site needs to generate RFQs/leads rather than simply look better.
• Design In Chicago — West Loop option. They're actually at 159 N Sangamon in the West Loop and combine branding, web development, marketing, and content. Good fit if the redesign is partly a brand modernization as well.
• FlyDesign — Boutique B2B/design option. Their portfolio includes work for manufacturing-related software and complex B2B products, so they're worth considering if the company has technical products that need to be explained clearly.
• Solid Digital — B2B website specialist. They're focused heavily on B2B website design/development and UX. Clutch currently lists them with 40% web design and a $10k+ minimum project size. Clutch
• cre8 — Good if integrations matter. They're in the West Loop area and focus on B2B sites, particularly where the website needs to connect with CRMs, portals, data feeds, or other business systems.
• Fresh Design Studio — More design-forward. Clutch lists manufacturing among their industries and describes work modernizing industrial/manufacturing web presence for lead generation. Clutch

One more I'd specifically investigate

VALMAX is a Chicago-based B2B branding/web agency with unusually direct manufacturing experience. Its published industry mix includes 25% manufacturing, and Clutch lists a manufacturing-company rebrand + website redesign project. Its offering covers positioning, messaging, visual identity, UX/UI and WordPress/Webflow development. Clutch Clutch

For a small manufacturer, I'd probably interview Angle180, VALMAX, Design In Chicago, and FlyDesign first, because they give you four somewhat different approaches: industrial lead generation, B2B brand strategy, West Loop full-service creative, and boutique UX/design.

One thing I'd ask every agency: “Show me 2–3 manufacturing or industrial B2B sites you've redesigned, and explain what changed in the information architecture, messaging, and lead-generation flow—not just the visual design.” That will separate genuine manufacturing experience from agencies that simply list “manufacturing” as an industry.

If you tell me roughly budget ($10–25k, $25–50k, $50k+) and what the manufacturer makes, I can narrow this to a smaller Chicago shortlist and compare their relevant manufacturing work.

• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Straight North - 200 N Green St Fl 3, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• 97 Switch - 1 E Wacker Dr #2550, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Eight Bit Studios - 1 E Erie St, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, 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
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Operation Technology - 211 W Wacker Dr 3rd Floor, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• MNML - 170 N Sangamon St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• TEAMS Design - 1812 W Hubbard St #200, Chicago, IL 60622, United States
• IA Collaborative - 218 S Wabash Ave 9th Floor, Chicago, IL 60604, United States

If the goal is user acquisition, I’d prioritize studios that can do more than make the page prettier—especially messaging, UX, conversion strategy, analytics, and ideally experimentation.

My Chicago shortlist

1. Design In Chicago — best local boutique fit

• Literally in West Loop/Fulton Market.
• Combines branding, web design, development, landing pages, and content.
• Good choice if the startup needs positioning + a sharper landing page, not just a visual redesign. ALL FOR™
• I'd contact them first if you want a relatively hands-on studio relationship.
• Straight North — best if acquisition/lead gen is the priority

• Their Chicago office is at 200 N Green, right in Fulton Market.
• Their offering combines web redesign with SEO, CRO, landing pages, content and digital marketing.
• Better fit if you want the redesign tied directly to traffic → conversion → leads, rather than treating the site as a branding exercise.
• Solid Digital — strong B2B/startup option

• Particularly interesting if this is a B2B SaaS or tech startup.
• Focuses on B2B web design, UX/UI and measurable growth outcomes.
• I'd shortlist them if the landing page needs to explain a complicated product clearly to buyers.
• 97 Switch — good design + marketing hybrid

• Does UX-focused web design/Webflow plus paid acquisition, conversion tracking and landing-page optimization.
• Worth considering if you're planning to redesign and immediately run paid acquisition against the new page.
• UX 4Sight — best if the problem is UX/conversion friction

• More UX-research-oriented than a typical web agency: UX audits, usability testing, user research, wireframing and validation.
• I'd look here if you already have traffic but aren't sure why visitors aren't converting.
• Eight Bit Studios — if the landing page is part of a bigger product

• Chicago product studio with a strong founder/startup orientation.
• More appropriate if you're likely to need product UX, MVP work, or a broader digital experience alongside the marketing site.

One Fulton Market-specific wildcard

ALL FOR™ is actually based at 160 N. Elizabeth in Fulton Market and explicitly offers website redesign, landing pages, UI/UX, branding and messaging. They describe themselves as a founder-led agency that works with startups as well as established brands. ALL FOR™ ALL FOR™

I'd put them on the list if brand + landing page are equally important.

How I'd narrow it down

For a startup founder, I'd probably send the brief to 4 firms:

• Design In Chicago — boutique, local, brand + web
• Straight North — acquisition/CRO orientation
• Solid Digital — B2B/SaaS and strategic web
• 97 Switch — landing page + paid acquisition

And I'd give all four the same brief, asking for:

• 2–3 relevant startup/SaaS landing-page examples
• their proposed conversion strategy
• what they'd change above the fold
• how they'd measure success
• whether they handle copy/messaging
• whether they can A/B test after launch
• rough timeline and budget

One caution: don't select based on the prettiest portfolio. If the KPI is user acquisition, the agency should be able to explain why its proposed hierarchy, messaging, CTA and proof points should increase conversion—not just show you a nicer Figma.

If you tell me what the startup sells, its current landing page URL, and whether acquisition is paid, organic, outbound, or product-led, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually interview and give you a suggested brief to send them.

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, 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
• Operation Technology - 211 W Wacker Dr 3rd Floor, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• 10com Web Development - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 North Michigan Ave, Fl 31, Chicago, IL 60611
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States

For a small B2B consulting firm, I’d prioritize agencies that understand trust-building, thought leadership, lead capture, and complex buying journeys rather than just visual design. Good downtown Chicago options:

• Solid Digital — Strong fit for B2B firms needing a polished, conversion-focused site. They specialize in B2B website strategy, UX, and development. Solid Digital
• VisualFizz — B2B-focused agency with experience in branding, web design, and marketing for technical and mid-market companies. VisualFizz
• Marcel Digital — Better fit if you want the website tied closely to SEO, analytics, CRM, and ongoing demand generation. Marcel Digital
• Operation Technology — Downtown Loop agency offering web design plus SEO/digital marketing services. Operation Technology
• The Office of Experience, LLC — Consider for a more UX/strategy-heavy engagement.

When interviewing them, ask:

1. “Show me 3 B2B consulting/professional-services sites you built.”
2. “How do you improve conversion rates, not just aesthetics?”
3. “Who writes the messaging and case studies?”
4. “How will you measure qualified leads after launch?”

For a small consulting firm, I’d usually start conversations with Solid Digital, VisualFizz, and Marcel Digital based on B2B positioning experience.

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Marcel Digital - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1285, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Operation Technology - 211 W Wacker Dr 3rd Floor, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, 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
• VisualFizz - 875 North Michigan Ave, Fl 31, Chicago, IL 60611
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, 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
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

For a small B2B consulting firm, I’d focus less on generic “web design” and more on agencies that understand professional-services positioning, lead generation, credibility, and conversion paths.

Here are several downtown/central Chicago agencies worth putting on your shortlist:

• Solid Digital — 100 N LaSalle St, Loop. They explicitly specialize in B2B websites and describe their work around strategy, UX, messaging, and measurable business outcomes. Their portfolio spans B2B SaaS, healthcare technology, and other professional organizations. Solid Digital

Why consider them: Particularly relevant if your consulting firm sells a complex or high-ticket service and the site needs to function as part of your sales process.

• VisualFizz — 875 N Michigan Ave. They're explicitly B2B-focused and combine branding, website design, SEO, content, and performance marketing. Their positioning emphasizes growth-stage and established B2B companies, including technical businesses with complicated buying cycles. VisualFizz

Why consider them: Interesting if your current problem is partly positioning/messaging, not just an outdated website.

• Marcel Digital — 20 N Wacker Dr. Marcel combines website design/development with SEO, analytics, CRO, and digital marketing. Their B2B offering specifically addresses longer sales cycles, multiple decision-makers, lead capture, and CRM integration. Marcel Digital

Why consider them: Strong fit if “converts” means you want measurable improvements in qualified leads rather than simply a prettier site.

• Operation Technology — 211 W Wacker Dr. They combine web design with SEO, analytics, paid search, content, and ongoing optimization, and explicitly position their websites around generating leads. Operation Technology

Why consider them: Worth including if you want the agency to own more of the acquisition/lead-generation side after launch.

• Clique Studios — 20 N Wacker Dr. Their work is broader digital transformation—strategy, UX, engineering, marketing, and ongoing optimization—rather than just a marketing-site redesign.

Why consider them: More relevant if you expect the website to become a substantial digital platform rather than a relatively straightforward consulting-firm site.

How I'd approach the shortlist

For your particular description, I'd start conversations with Solid Digital, VisualFizz, and Marcel Digital. That's not a ranking of the agencies; they simply represent three somewhat different approaches:

When you talk to them, I'd give each the same brief: “We're a small B2B consulting firm. We need a site that makes us look credible to senior buyers and turns qualified visitors into conversations.” Then ask them to show 2–3 comparable B2B/professional-services projects, explain the conversion strategy behind each, and give you the proposed sitemap before discussing visual design.

One other useful distinction: don't let an agency define “conversion” as simply more contact-form submissions. For consulting, I'd want them thinking about qualified consultation requests, calls booked, case-study engagement, proof/credibility, and making your expertise immediately understandable.

If you tell me roughly what kind of consulting you do, your approximate website budget ($5–10k, $10–25k, $25k+, etc.), and whether you need branding/copywriting too, I can narrow this to the agencies whose typical work is closest to your situation.

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• AttorneySync - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 300, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Market JD, Inc. - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• OVC Lawyer Marketing - 750 Warrenville Rd Ste 203, Lisle, IL 60532, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• dNOVO Group | Law Firm Marketing Agency - 545 N McClurg Ct Ste 1808, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Forward Lawyer Marketing - 460 N Main St Unit 209, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137, United States
• Forward Lawyer Marketing - 3553 W Peterson Ave Ste 30, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• BSPE Legal Marketing - Chicago - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States

Since you’re relocating into the Loop, I’d shortlist firms that understand legal/professional-services positioning, not just firms that make attractive generic business sites.

My shortlist

• Solid Digital — best for a sophisticated professional-services look. They’re at 100 N. LaSalle and specialize in B2B website strategy, UX/UI, and measurable digital growth. I’d consider them if you want the new site to feel more like a premium professional-services firm than a stereotypical lawyer website.
• AttorneySync — best if lead generation is a major objective. They’re at 211 W. Wacker and work exclusively with law firms, with website design positioned around conversion and client acquisition.
• Market JD, Inc. — good law-specific option in the Loop. They’re at 20 N. Wacker and focus on attorneys, including website redesigns and SEO. This would be worth comparing against AttorneySync if organic search matters.
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding — best if you want branding + website together. They’re at 30 N. Michigan and combine brand strategy, visual identity, web design and SEO. Their work is particularly oriented toward clean, modern, credibility-focused presentation.
• Design In Chicago — interesting choice for a more design-forward site. Their West Loop studio handles strategy, branding, UX, web development and content, so I'd talk to them if your priority is a distinctive firm identity rather than a conventional legal-marketing template.
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency — another strong generalist. Their Chicago office is at 875 N. Michigan and they do custom web design/development and digital marketing. I'd put them on the list if you want a polished custom site but don't necessarily need a law-only agency.

Two specialists I'd also interview

Warhol + West specifically advertises Chicago law-firm websites, including custom, modern and SEO-friendly sites, and works with both solo practices and larger firms. Their studio is at 212 N. Sangamon. Website Design Chicago | warhol + west

Orbit Media is the higher-end option I'd investigate if you're building a substantial firm website. Their legal offering is strategy-first, search-optimized and conversion-focused, and their Chicago HQ is on Ravenswood. They report projects ranging from roughly 10 to 30+ weeks, so this is more of a major website engagement than a quick redesign. Orbit Media Studios

Who I'd contact first

If it were my practice, I'd take introductory calls with Solid Digital, AttorneySync, and Design In Chicago. That gives you three very different approaches:

1. Solid Digital: sophisticated B2B/professional-services positioning.
2. AttorneySync: legal-industry expertise + lead generation.
3. Design In Chicago: brand/design differentiation + custom build.

Then ask all three for 3–5 recent sites for Chicago professional-services firms, their recommended CMS, total project cost, expected timeline, who owns the site/code/content after launch, and how they handle SEO migration and accessibility.

One important distinction: if your practice primarily serves corporate clients, businesses, executives, or other sophisticated referral sources, I'd lean toward the first/third group rather than a conventional lawyer-marketing agency. Your new Loop location gives you an opportunity to make the site feel like a serious Chicago professional-services practice rather than another generic law-firm site.

• Angle180 - 141 W Jackson Blvd #4236, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• LoSasso Integrated Marketing - 4853 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, 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
• OneIMS - 110 N Wacker Dr Suite 2500A, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 North Michigan Ave, Fl 31, Chicago, IL 60611
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• RSXigital | B2B Lead Generation & Performance Marketing Agency in Chicago, USA - 71 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• OneIMS - 111 E Upper Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60601

If I were building a shortlist for a Chicago engineering firm where the website needs to generate qualified B2B opportunities—not just look polished, I’d talk to these agencies first:

• Angle180 — Probably the most directly aligned fit. They position themselves around B2B industrial/manufacturing and construction, with web design, inbound marketing, SEO, PPC and conversion optimization. Their stated focus is qualified leads and revenue rather than simply website traffic. Jade Web Studio
• VisualFizz — Strong choice for a more established engineering/industrial brand. They're Chicago-based and explicitly focused on B2B, manufacturing and industrial companies. Their work combines web development with SEO, PPC, positioning and lead generation; they also publish industrial/AEC case studies. VisualFizz VisualFizz
• LoSasso Integrated Marketing — Worth a conversation if your firm sells complex, high-consideration engineering services and needs more than a redesign. They specialize in B2B categories including industrial, manufacturing and automation/technology, with website/UX and demand-generation capabilities.
• Solid Digital — A broader B2B web/digital option. Their Chicago team focuses on B2B website design, UX and ongoing digital marketing, making them worth considering if your engineering firm has a sophisticated brand or multiple audiences.
• Marcel Digital — More of a digital growth/analytics/CRO play than a niche engineering specialist. Their capabilities are relevant if you're trying to connect the website to SEO, paid acquisition, analytics and measurable conversion performance.

One wildcard I'd put on the call list

jadewebstudio.com is particularly interesting if your engineering firm is close to manufacturing, industrial equipment, fabrication, CNC, or technical products. They explicitly specialize in industrial B2B websites and engineering firms, and build around RFQs, technical buyer journeys, SEO and lead capture. Jade Web Studio

There's also weCreate, which isn't Chicago-specific but is unusually specialized in industrial/manufacturing marketing. They report working with 100+ industrial websites and have published case studies involving engineering/manufacturing companies and tracked lead/RFQ growth. WeCreate

How I'd approach the agency search

As a marketing director, I'd not lead with "we need a new website." I'd give each agency the same brief:

"We need the website to become a measurable business-development channel. Our buyers are technical decision-makers, our sales cycle is long, and a qualified opportunity is worth substantially more than a raw form fill. Show us how you'd turn our technical expertise into organic search visibility, credible buyer journeys, and qualified leads."

Then ask each agency for:

1. Two comparable engineering/industrial case studies, including actual business outcomes.
2. How they distinguish a qualified engineering lead from a junk form submission.
3. Their proposed information architecture for technical services/capabilities.
4. How they would handle SEO for highly technical services.
5. How website leads get pushed into your CRM and attributed to pipeline/revenue.
6. What they would measure at 30, 90 and 180 days after launch.
7. Who actually writes the technical content—and whether they can interview your engineers/SMEs.

That process should quickly separate a pretty-site agency from an agency that understands how an engineering firm actually sells.

If you tell me roughly what kind of engineering firm you are (civil, mechanical, electrical, environmental, manufacturing/industrial, consulting, etc.) and your approximate website budget, I can narrow this to 3 Chicago agencies that are specifically relevant to your market.

Then ask each agency for:

1. Two comparable engineering/industrial case studies, including actual business outcomes.
2. How they distinguish a qualified engineering lead from a junk form submission.
3. Their proposed information architecture for technical services/capabilities.
4. How they would handle SEO for highly technical services.
5. How website leads get pushed into your CRM and attributed to pipeline/revenue.
6. What they would measure at 30, 90 and 180 days after launch.
7. Who actually writes the technical content—and whether they can interview your engineers/SMEs.

That process should quickly separate a pretty-site agency from an agency that understands how an engineering firm actually sells.

If you tell me roughly what kind of engineering firm you are (civil, mechanical, electrical, environmental, manufacturing/industrial, consulting, etc.) and your approximate website budget, I can narrow this to 3 Chicago agencies that are specifically relevant to your market.

• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Angle180 - 141 W Jackson Blvd #4236, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• OneIMS - 110 N Wacker Dr Suite 2500A, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 North Michigan Ave, Fl 31, Chicago, IL 60611
• 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
• OneIMS - 111 E Upper Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60601
• 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
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States

If I were the marketing director of a Chicago engineering firm, I’d prioritize agencies that understand technical buyers, long sales cycles, and qualified lead generation—not generic “great-looking website” shops.

My shortlist would be:

1. VisualFizz — probably my first call

• Chicago-based and explicitly B2B-focused.
• Has experience with industrial/manufacturing and other technical brands.
• Their web work is tied to CRO, SEO, paid media and lead generation rather than treating the site as a standalone design project. VisualFizz VisualFizz
• Best fit: An engineering firm that wants strategy + positioning + website + ongoing demand generation.
• Angle180 — especially interesting for engineering/industrial

• Specifically positioned around B2B industrial manufacturers, suppliers and construction companies.
• Combines website design with SEO, PPC, content and conversion optimization.
• Their model is particularly aligned with turning technical website traffic into qualified leads rather than maximizing form fills.

Best fit: If your firm's website needs to become a genuine business-development tool.

3. Solid Digital

• Strong Chicago B2B web-design pedigree, with UX, development and digital marketing under one roof.
• I'd consider them if you're looking for a more substantial brand/website transformation rather than a narrowly focused lead-gen site.
• OneIMS

• More demand-generation/inbound/RevOps-oriented than a pure web-design agency.
• Particularly worth considering if you're trying to connect the website to CRM, marketing automation, SEO and sales processes. Their positioning is heavily focused on measurable B2B pipeline. Fuel Online SEO Digital Marketing Agency
• Marcel Digital

• A good option if your engineering firm has a more sophisticated digital environment and cares about SEO, analytics, CRO, web development and measurement.
• I'd put them higher on the list for a larger/more complex organization than for a straightforward website redesign.

One wildcard I'd absolutely investigate

Jade Web Studio isn't the obvious Chicago-agency choice, but its specialization is unusually close to what you're describing. It focuses specifically on manufacturing, industrial B2B and engineering firms, and explicitly builds sites around qualified RFQs, technical buyer journeys, SEO and lead capture. Jade Web Studio

That's the kind of specialization I'd value more than simply being a highly rated Chicago web agency.

If I were running your RFP

I'd probably invite VisualFizz, Angle180, OneIMS and Jade to the first round.

And I would not ask them simply, “How much will our website cost?”

I'd ask each:

“Show me how you would turn our website into a lead-generation system for engineers, project managers and procurement decision-makers. What would you change, how would you measure qualified leads, and can you show me a comparable engineering/industrial client?”

That question will separate the web designers from the B2B growth partners very quickly.

If you tell me what kind of engineering firm you are (civil, MEP, structural, environmental, manufacturing/industrial, consulting, etc.) and roughly your website budget, I can narrow this to the 3 Chicago agencies I'd actually put in the RFP.

• 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
• MNML - 170 N Sangamon St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• FlyDesign - 111 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Team 201 - 500 W Madison St #1000, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Dom & Tom - 625 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1800, Chicago, IL 60611
• TEAMS Design - 1812 W Hubbard St #200, Chicago, IL 60622, United States
• LoSasso Integrated Marketing - 4853 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Beyond Design, Inc. - 3759 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Beyond Design - 4515 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60640

For a complex B2B product site, I’d interview a mix of firms that are strong at product storytelling/UX and firms that are especially strong at B2B demand generation and technical execution.

My interview shortlist

• Solid Digital — Strong all-around B2B/SaaS candidate. They explicitly work on B2B SaaS sites and combine strategy, UX, design, development, CMS, and ongoing optimization. Their Chicago office is downtown. Solid Digital
• Orbit Media Studios — Worth interviewing if the site is primarily a revenue-generation asset. They're deeply focused on B2B websites, content, SEO, conversion, and measurable lead generation rather than just visual design. ParallelHQ
• MNML — Interesting West Loop/Fulton Market option if you want brand + product thinking rather than a conventional web agency. They're at 170 N Sangamon and work across product, brand, and digital experiences.
• FlyDesign — Particularly relevant for technically complicated products. Their Chicago practice covers UX/UI, front-end engineering, APIs, databases, and enterprise/B2B experiences including dashboards and portals.
• Marcel Digital — Good if marketing infrastructure matters as much as design. They combine web development with SEO, CRO, analytics, and demand generation, and have B2B SaaS case studies. Marcel Digital
• Grand Studio — Consider for genuinely complex product/UX problems. They're a Chicago digital-product consultancy focused on research, product strategy, UX/UI, and design systems rather than conventional marketing websites.

One non-Chicago specialist I'd also put in the mix

WANDR is worth an interview even though it's not Chicago-local. Their B2B practice is explicitly aimed at complex SaaS, enterprise software, fintech, health tech, and cybersecurity products, with a research-led approach to explaining complicated offerings to multiple stakeholders. Wandr Studio

How I'd structure the interviews

Give each agency the same 60-minute brief and ask them to respond to:

1. How would you explain our product to a non-technical economic buyer?
2. Show us 2–3 sites you've built where the underlying product was genuinely complicated.
3. How do you turn product architecture/features into an information architecture for the marketing site?
4. Who owns messaging/copy, UX, visual design, development, and SEO?
5. How do you handle interactive product demos, data visualizations, integrations, calculators, or other non-standard components?
6. What would you not build on the first version?
7. Show us the actual design process—not just the final homepage.

For a startup, I'd pay particular attention to whether they can make a complicated product feel simple without dumbing it down. That's a different capability from making a beautiful marketing site.

If you tell me roughly what your product does, your stage/ARR, and whether you want Webflow/Framer vs. a custom stack, I can narrow this to a 3–4 agency interview slate and give you specific reasons to put each one on the call list.

• 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
• FlyDesign - 111 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Team 201 - 500 W Madison St #1000, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• WHQ - 24 E Washington St Ste 875, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 North Michigan Ave, Fl 31, Chicago, IL 60611
• Dom & Tom - 625 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1800, Chicago, IL 60611
• Arise GTM - 155 N Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Chicago Internet(Fireplace's Specialist) Marketing Company - Kensium LLC - 200 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• LoSasso Integrated Marketing - 4853 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States

For a complex B2B product site, I’d interview firms that can handle more than visual polish—information architecture, technical product storytelling, multiple buyer personas, integrations, CMS, and conversion strategy.

My Chicago shortlist:

• Solid Digital — Strong first interview. Chicago-based B2B specialist with explicit B2B SaaS/technology experience, strategy → personas → sitemap → wireframes, plus design and development. Their site cites work with Hireology and healthcare technology companies. Solid Digital
• Orbit Media Studios — Particularly worth considering if the site is primarily a demand-generation/sales engine. They specialize in B2B websites, lead generation, UX, SEO, accessibility and ongoing optimization. ParallelHQ
• FlyDesign — Boutique option if you want a UX-heavy partner. Their capabilities include complex B2B products, portals, data-heavy experiences, APIs and custom web development.
• VisualFizz — B2B-focused Chicago shop combining positioning, branding, web design/development and marketing. Worth interviewing if the project involves repositioning the company as well as rebuilding the site.
• Team 201 — Interesting because they're actually in the West Loop and focus specifically on high-growth B2B tech/SaaS companies. Their offering is broader than pure web design, with creative, digital, analytics and marketing execution.
• Design In Chicago — A nearby Fulton Market option with branding/web expertise plus custom application and platform work, including discovery, workflow research, wireframing and integrations.
• WHQ — Worth adding if your product involves complex product discovery, configurators, specification tools or B2B commerce; their capabilities span messaging, UX/UI, design systems and digital platforms.

How I'd structure the interviews

Rather than asking for generic portfolios, give each agency the same 30-minute architecture challenge:

1. Explain your product and the 2–4 different people involved in buying it.
2. Show them your current site—or a rough sitemap if you're starting from scratch.
3. Ask them to identify the three hardest information-architecture problems they'd expect.
4. Ask how they'd turn a complicated product into a story that works for both a technical evaluator and an executive buyer.
5. Ask to see one comparable B2B project, including the before/after process, not just the finished homepage.
6. Ask who specifically will do the strategy, UX, copy, visual design and development.
7. Ask what they would not put on the homepage.

For a startup, I'd particularly probe whether they're selling you a beautiful website or actually helping you build a sales tool for a multi-stakeholder buying process.

If I were assembling the interview slate, I'd start with Solid Digital, FlyDesign, Orbit Media, Team 201, and VisualFizz—they give you meaningfully different approaches rather than five versions of the same agency.

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Straight North - 200 N Green St Fl 3, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• SEO Design Chicago | Digital Marketing & Web Design Agency - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, 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
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• RedShark SEO - 65 W Erie St #1901, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Sunlight SEO Web Design & Signs - 4501 N Cumberland Ave, Norridge, IL 60656, United States
• Digital Marketers Chicago - 2835 N Sheffield Ave #209, Chicago, IL 60657, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

Yes. For a Fulton Market professional-services firm, I’d focus on agencies that can combine high-end B2B/professional-services design with technical SEO, content architecture, and conversion strategy rather than treating SEO as an add-on.

Here’s the shortlist I’d contact:

• Solid Digital — B2B website specialist. Their Chicago practice focuses on B2B web design/development, UX/UI, and digital marketing. This is a particularly relevant fit if your firm sells higher-value services to executives and needs the website to communicate expertise and credibility quickly.
• Marcel Digital — Strong for sophisticated B2B + SEO. They're a Chicago B2B digital agency with web development, acquisition, conversion, and analytics capabilities, and have been operating since 2003. I'd consider them if your site will have a substantial content/SEO program behind it.
• VisualFizz — Brand + B2B positioning. They specifically emphasize B2B strategy, positioning, branding, web design, and performance marketing. This could be a good conversation if the problem isn't simply "our website is old," but also "our website doesn't communicate why we're different."
• Straight North — SEO/lead generation emphasis, right in Fulton Market. Their Chicago office is at 200 N Green St, and their offering combines SEO, website design/development, content, and conversion-focused lead generation.
• SEO Design Chicago | Digital Marketing & Web Design Agency — SEO-first option. They combine website design/development with SEO, analytics, paid media, and AI-search optimization. I'd include them if organic search is a major reason you're rebuilding the site.
• Rawcut Creative — Their Chicago offering explicitly combines custom web design, WordPress, SEO, content strategy, technical performance, and geographic/content architecture. They specifically discuss professional-services and B2B businesses in the Loop/Fulton Market context. Rawcut Creative Company Rawcut Creative Company
• SITE IT NOW — Convenient West Loop option. They're at 1016 W Jackson and combine brand-first web design/development with SEO and ongoing digital marketing.

How I'd narrow it

For your particular description, I'd probably take 4 initial calls:

1. Solid Digital — if B2B positioning and a sophisticated site are central.
2. Marcel Digital — if SEO, analytics, and measurable lead generation are central.
3. VisualFizz — if the current brand/positioning needs a substantial upgrade alongside the site.
4. Straight North or Rawcut Creative — if you want the website and SEO program tightly integrated.

There's also ALL FOR, which is literally in Fulton Market at 160 N. Elizabeth and does custom websites, WordPress, redesigns, UX/UI, and branding. I'd consider them particularly if the visual/design side is the bigger weakness, though their published service offering is less SEO-focused than the agencies above. ALL FOR™ ALL FOR™

One thing I'd put in the RFP

Don't just ask agencies for a "SEO-friendly website." Ask each one to show you the proposed information architecture before design, including:

• service/practice-area pages
• industry pages
• Chicago/local pages where genuinely relevant
• case-study architecture
• blog/resource architecture
• internal linking
• schema/structured data
• redirects and preservation of existing SEO equity
• Core Web Vitals/page speed
• title/meta/H1 strategy
• CMS and who owns the site/code
• analytics, Search Console, and conversion tracking
• their plan for Google AI Overviews / AI search visibility, separately from traditional SEO

That will expose a meaningful difference between an agency that designs attractive sites and one that can build you a search-driven professional-services website.

If you tell me what type of professional services you provide, approximate website budget ($25k / $50k / $100k+), and whether you're targeting Chicago only or national clients, I can narrow this to a 3–5 agency shortlist and tell you what I'd ask each one in the first call.

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Ice Nine Online - 444 W Lake St Ste 1700, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Straight North - 200 N Green St Fl 3, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, 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
• RedShark SEO - 65 W Erie St #1901, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• SEO Design Chicago | Digital Marketing & Web Design Agency - 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
• Sunlight SEO Web Design & Signs - 4501 N Cumberland Ave, Norridge, IL 60656, United States
• Digital Marketers Chicago - 2835 N Sheffield Ave #209, Chicago, IL 60657, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Angle180 - 141 W Jackson Blvd #4236, Chicago, IL 60604, United States

Yes. For a Fulton Market professional-services firm, I’d prioritize agencies that understand B2B/professional-services positioning—not just agencies that make attractive marketing sites.

My Chicago shortlist

• Solid Digital — Best overall for a sophisticated B2B/professional-services redesign. They focus heavily on B2B websites, UX/UI, development, and ongoing digital marketing. Their Chicago team is downtown, and their positioning is much closer to “strategic website that supports growth” than commodity web design. VisualFizz
• Marcel Digital — Best if SEO, analytics, and measurable lead generation are central. They have a long B2B track record and combine web development with technical SEO, CRO, analytics, and content. They'd be particularly interesting if your current site has accumulated SEO equity that you don't want to lose during a redesign.
• VisualFizz — Best for brand + B2B positioning. They're explicitly B2B-focused and combine branding, web, SEO and performance marketing. Their work appears particularly relevant if the problem isn't simply “our website is old,” but “our website doesn't communicate the quality/value of our firm.” VisualFizz
• Ice Nine Online — Strong choice for a practical B2B website + SEO engagement. They're founder-led, focused on B2B WordPress sites, SEO/GEO, branding and measurable pipeline growth. They're also right in the West Loop area.
• Straight North — Worth talking to if lead generation is the primary objective. Their Fulton Market office is especially convenient, and their offering combines website redesign, SEO, paid search and conversion optimization.
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency — Good full-service alternative. They combine web development/design with technical SEO, structured data, performance and paid marketing, so you wouldn't necessarily need separate web and SEO vendors.

Two smaller/faster-moving options

• Digital Outbreak — Their pitch is unusually aligned with what you're describing: custom websites, SEO/GEO/AEO, technical SEO, schema, performance, and conversion optimization under one roof. They say typical marketing-site launches take about three weeks. Digital Outbreak
• Allusive Digital — Interesting if you want a modern, performance-first site without going to a large agency. They specifically target B2B and professional services, and say every project starts with technical SEO, keyword strategy and a conversion plan. Allusive Digital

If it were my project

I'd send the RFP to Solid Digital, Marcel Digital, VisualFizz, and Ice Nine first.

I'd evaluate them on four things—not just the visual comps:

1. Positioning: Can they make a sophisticated professional-services firm immediately understandable and differentiated?
2. SEO architecture: Do they do keyword research and information architecture before designing pages?
3. Migration discipline: If you're redesigning an existing site, will they preserve rankings, URLs, backlinks, metadata, redirects, schema, and analytics?
4. Conversion strategy: Can they turn organic traffic into qualified consultations—not merely increase traffic?

I'd also specifically ask each agency to show you 2–3 professional-services/B2B redesigns with before/after organic traffic and lead-generation results. That will quickly separate the genuinely good candidates from agencies whose portfolio is mostly pretty websites.

If you tell me what kind of professional services you provide, your approximate website budget, and whether you're targeting Chicago only or clients nationally, I can narrow this to a top 3 and tell you what I'd ask each one in the initial call.

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613
• Affordable Web Design Chicago - 5141 W Altgeld St, Chicago, IL 60639
• Lakeside Web Design - Chicago - 332 S Michigan Ave Ste 121 #5008, Chicago, IL 60604
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606
• Web Design Chicago - 800 S Clark St #2344, Chicago, IL 60605
• 10com Web Development - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601
• Design B&B - 833 W Jackson Blvd Fl 7, Chicago, IL 60607
• RedShark SEO - 65 W Erie St #1901, Chicago, IL 60654
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602
• LLT Group - Chicago Website Design - 47 E Chicago Ave #324, Naperville, IL 60540

For a boutique CPA firm in downtown Chicago, I’d prioritize agencies that understand professional services/B2B buyers (trust, credibility, lead generation, compliance-friendly messaging) rather than general consumer web shops. On a tight budget, you’ll likely get the best ROI from a focused 5–10 page site: services, industries served, partner bios, case studies/testimonials, contact funnel, and basic SEO.

Here are some Chicago-area options worth evaluating:

A few agencies with publicly stated lower-cost packages:

• PIXALPHA STUDIO advertises fixed-price packages, including a starter website package at $799. Pixalpha Studio
• Lizardo Agency advertises affordable custom websites starting at $1,499. Lizardo Agency
• JJE Digital advertises custom websites starting around $2,500 with SEO foundations included. JJE Digital

For a CPA firm, I’d probably avoid the absolute cheapest “website-in-a-week” offers unless you only need a placeholder. A realistic budget range:

• $1,500–$3,000: polished 5–8 page WordPress/Webflow-style marketing site
• $3,000–$7,500: stronger B2B positioning, copywriting help, SEO foundation, case studies, conversion strategy
• $7,500+: custom strategy, deeper content marketing, integrations, ongoing optimization

When requesting quotes, ask:

1. “Have you built websites for accounting, law, consulting, or other professional services firms?”
2. “Can you provide a fixed-price package?”
3. “Does the price include copywriting, SEO setup, analytics, and training?”
4. “Who owns the site files and hosting account after launch?”

For a boutique CPA firm, I’d shortlist Solid Digital for B2B sophistication, then compare it against Lizardo, JJE Digital, and a smaller local studio to keep costs controlled. Solid Digital Lizardo Agency JJE Digital

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, 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
• RSXigital | B2B Lead Generation & Performance Marketing Agency in Chicago, USA - 71 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Straight North - 200 N Green St Fl 3, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Sixth City Marketing - 620 N La Salle Dr Ste 415, Chicago, IL 60654, 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
• OneIMS - 110 N Wacker Dr Suite 2500A, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Digital People - 161 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Digital People - 224 N Desplaines St Ste 250, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• Method Recruiting - 318 W Adams St #1600, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Smartdept - 309 W Washington St, Ste 430, Chicago, IL 60606
• Digital Authority Partners - 420 W Huron St Fl 1, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Digital Marketers Chicago - 2835 N Sheffield Ave #209, Chicago, IL 60657, United States
• Pilot Digital Marketing - 4753 N Broadway Ste T110, Chicago, IL 60640, United States

For a Chicago staffing firm where the primary objective is qualified employer leads, I’d put these agencies on the shortlist:

• Solid Digital — 100 N LaSalle St. This is probably the most directly relevant fit if you want a B2B website redesign rather than simply a prettier marketing site. They specialize in B2B web design and explicitly cite an applicant-tracking provider, Hireology, among their work. Their process also covers positioning, personas, UX, conversion and ongoing growth. Solid Digital
• VisualFizz — 875 N Michigan Ave. Strong candidate if you want the redesign tied into broader B2B demand generation. They combine web, SEO, PPC, branding and conversion work, and publish case studies showing improvements in organic form submissions and demo conversions. Visual Fizz
• Marcel Digital — 20 N Wacker Dr. Worth considering if CRM/marketing automation, SEO, analytics and lead attribution are important alongside the redesign. Their B2B web work is explicitly designed around buyer journeys, lead capture and CRM integration. Marcel Digital
• RSXigital | B2B Lead Generation & Performance Marketing Agency in Chicago, USA — 71 S Wacker Dr. More performance-marketing-oriented than a traditional creative web shop. Their offering connects landing pages, B2B SEO, paid search/LinkedIn, qualification and CRM/pipeline reporting, which could be useful if the website is only one piece of a lead-gen overhaul. RSXigital
• Straight North — 200 N Green St. A lead-generation-focused digital agency with web design/development, SEO and paid advertising under one roof. Their positioning is particularly relevant if you're measuring success in calls, forms and sales opportunities rather than traffic.
• Sixth City Marketing — 620 N LaSalle Dr. Another option for a conversion/SEO-oriented redesign, particularly if your internal team needs a site that's easy to manage after launch.

One non-downtown option I'd still interview

Orbit Media Studios is at 4043 N Ravenswood, so it doesn't meet your downtown requirement, but I'd consider making an exception. They have a dedicated recruitment/staffing website practice, including work for staffing companies and Sterling Engineering, and explicitly discuss designing around both employers and candidates. Orbit Media Studios

How I'd structure the RFP

I'd ask each finalist to address the same five things:

1. Employer vs. candidate journeys — how will the site serve both without letting candidate traffic obscure the employer conversion path?
2. Lead-gen architecture — industry/service landing pages, employer CTAs, forms, qualification questions, scheduling and conversion tracking.
3. Proof — case studies, fill-rate/time-to-fill metrics, testimonials and vertical-specific expertise.
4. CRM/ATS integration — exactly how website leads get routed, attributed and handed to sales.
5. Post-launch optimization — A/B testing, SEO, analytics and ongoing CRO rather than treating launch as the finish line.

For your particular brief, I'd start conversations with Solid Digital, VisualFizz, and Marcel Digital, then include RSXigital or Straight North if you want the agency to own more of the demand-generation side.

If you tell me your approximate website budget (e.g. $25k, $50k, $100k+) and whether you use Bullhorn, JobDiva, Avionté, Salesforce, HubSpot, etc., I can narrow this to a more practical 3-agency shortlist and compare their relevant case studies and capabilities.

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Straight North - 200 N Green St Fl 3, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• RSXigital | B2B Lead Generation & Performance Marketing Agency in Chicago, USA - 71 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Sixth City Marketing - 620 N La Salle Dr Ste 415, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• OneIMS - 110 N Wacker Dr Suite 2500A, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Digital People - 161 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Smartdept - 309 W Washington St, Ste 430, Chicago, IL 60606
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Operation Technology - 211 W Wacker Dr 3rd Floor, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States

For a Chicago staffing firm where the website’s primary job is generating qualified employer leads, I’d put these agencies on the shortlist:

• Solid Digital — 100 N LaSalle St. Strong B2B orientation and specifically builds conversion-focused websites tied to growth. They’ve also worked with Hireology, an applicant-tracking provider, which gives them some relevant staffing/recruiting-adjacent experience. Solid Digital

soliddigital.com

• Marcel Digital — 445 W Erie St. Particularly worth considering if you want the redesign tightly connected to SEO, CRM/marketing automation, analytics, and lead qualification rather than treating the website as a standalone creative project. Their B2B web offering explicitly emphasizes lead generation and CRM integration. Marcel Digital

marceldigital.com

• VisualFizz — 875 N Michigan Ave. A B2B-focused agency combining positioning, website work, SEO, PPC and lead generation. Their published case studies include measurable improvements in organic form submissions and demo conversions. VisualFizz VisualFizz

visualfizz.com

• Straight North — 200 N Green St. Their positioning is particularly relevant if your KPI is inbound leads rather than simply a prettier website: SEO, CRO, paid media and web development are integrated into the offering. Straight North

straightnorth.com

• RSXigital | B2B Lead Generation & Performance Marketing Agency in Chicago, USA — 71 S Wacker Dr. More performance-marketing-heavy than a traditional design shop. They focus on B2B lead qualification, landing pages, paid search/LinkedIn, SEO and connecting marketing activity to sales pipeline. That could be attractive if you're trying to improve lead quality, not just lead volume. RSXigital

rsxigital.com

• Sixth City Marketing — 620 N LaSalle Dr. Another option for a redesign-plus-growth engagement, with website development, SEO and paid media oriented around measurable lead generation.

How I'd structure the RFP

For a staffing business, I wouldn't ask agencies simply for "a website redesign." I'd ask each one to propose how they'd improve:

1. Employer conversion — prominent paths for "Hire Talent," "Request Staff," etc.
2. Candidate vs. client journeys — keeping job seekers from overwhelming the employer-lead funnel.
3. Vertical landing pages — e.g. healthcare staffing, finance, industrial, administrative, depending on your specialties.
4. Location pages — particularly useful if you recruit across multiple Chicago-area markets.
5. Lead qualification — forms that capture company, hiring need, volume, timeline and role type rather than just name/email.
6. CRM integration and attribution — so you can measure qualified employer opportunities, not just form fills.
7. SEO/content architecture — especially around searches such as "Chicago staffing agency," "temporary staffing Chicago," and your specific verticals.
8. Conversion testing after launch — make CRO an ongoing deliverable rather than declaring victory at launch.

For an initial pitch round, I'd probably invite Solid Digital, Marcel Digital, VisualFizz and Straight North. That's not a ranking; they're simply four agencies whose publicly documented capabilities overlap particularly well with a B2B staffing firm's redesign + lead-generation brief. Solid Digital VisualFizz Marcel Digital Straight North

If you tell me your approximate website budget (e.g. $15–25k, $25–50k, $50k+) and what type of staffing you specialize in, I can narrow this to a more targeted RFP shortlist and compare their relevant case studies, services, locations, and likely fit.

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.

• Ice Nine Online - 444 W Lake St Ste 1700, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• LoSasso Integrated Marketing - 4853 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 North Michigan Ave, Fl 31, Chicago, IL 60611
• 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
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Agency EA - 311 W Walton St, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Live Marketing - 518 Davis St #201, Evanston, IL 60201, United States
• Next/Now - 1200 W Lake St #2, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• NiKnack Marketing, Inc. - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States

If your business is training + corporate events, I’d look for an agency that understands the whole funnel—not just a firm that makes attractive websites. In particular, you want someone who understands B2B lead generation, event registration, landing pages, email/CRM integration, SEO, and conversion tracking.

Based on what I found, I’d put these Chicago firms on your initial shortlist:

• Ice Nine Online — 444 W. Lake St. This is particularly interesting for a training/events company because they focus on B2B websites and WordPress, while also tying web work to SEO and measurable pipeline. Their founder-led positioning may also suit a smaller/midsize company that wants hands-on attention.
• Solid Digital — 100 N. LaSalle St. They explicitly specialize in B2B web design and development and are right in the Loop. Their process emphasizes strategy, personas, UX, and connecting the website to business goals. Solid Digital
• VisualFizz — 875 N. Michigan Ave. They're B2B-focused and combine branding, web design/development, and performance marketing. I'd consider them if your website also needs a stronger positioning/brand component.
• Orbit Media Studios — Chicago-based B2B web agency with a strong emphasis on redesigns, SEO, conversion optimization, analytics, and content. They're worth talking to if organic search and inbound lead generation are important parts of your growth strategy.
• LoSasso Integrated Marketing — They caught my attention because their B2B focus includes trade-show/event-driven businesses, along with website development, UX, and lead generation. That's unusually close to your niche.

The one I'd call first

I'd start with RethinkInfo even though it's more of a digital marketing agency than a pure web-design shop. Their positioning is unusually close to what you're describing: they explicitly combine web strategy/design with B2B demand generation and event marketing, including executive events, trade shows, landing pages, registration funnels, LinkedIn campaigns, email nurture, CRM alignment, and post-event pipeline measurement. RethinkInfo RethinkInfo

rethinkinfo.com

For your type of company, I'd actually frame the project as:

"We don't need a prettier website. We need a B2B event marketing engine."

Then ask each agency to show you 2–3 examples where they generated registrations/leads for B2B events, not merely examples of attractive websites.

I'd specifically ask them how they'd build:

• Event-specific landing pages
• Training-course/event registration funnels
• LinkedIn → landing page → registration journeys
• Email nurture before and after events
• CRM integration and attribution
• Speaker/instructor pages designed for conversion
• SEO around training topics and corporate education
• Retargeting people who visit an event page but don't register
• Measurement of cost per registrant, qualified lead, and eventual revenue, rather than just traffic

If you tell me roughly your annual marketing budget and whether your events are mostly public-ticketed, corporate/private, or both, I can narrow this to 3 Chicago agencies that are the closest fit and give you the questions I'd use in the first calls.

• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, 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
• LoSasso Integrated Marketing - 4853 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, 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
• VisualFizz - 875 North Michigan Ave, Fl 31, Chicago, IL 60611
• 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
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Agency EA - 311 W Walton St, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• Live Marketing - 518 Davis St #201, Evanston, IL 60201, United States
• Next/Now - 1200 W Lake St #2, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• InVision Communications - 314 W Superior St 6th Floor, Chicago, IL 60654, United States

For a training + corporate events company, I’d look beyond a generic “Chicago web designer.” You want someone who understands B2B lead generation, event registration/conversion, content marketing, and the buyer journey.

Based on what I found, I’d put these on your shortlist:

• VisualFizz — particularly relevant for your model. They explicitly focus on B2B and combine web design with event marketing. Their event work includes registration pages/custom event websites, email campaigns, paid promotion, social, and post-event content. VisualFizz
• Solid Digital — a strong option if the priority is a serious B2B website that generates leads, rather than an event-agency-style site. They're downtown at 100 N LaSalle and specialize in B2B website design, UX and ongoing growth. Solid Digital
• Marcel Digital — worth considering if you want the website tightly connected to SEO, paid acquisition, analytics and conversion optimization. They're downtown and explicitly serve B2B organizations.
• LoSasso Integrated Marketing — interesting if your events are particularly trade-show/B2B-event driven. They combine B2B marketing, web/UX and event/trade-show support.
• Orbit Media Studios — a well-established Chicago B2B web agency if you're looking at a substantial redesign/replatforming and want strong content, SEO, UX and conversion work.

Who I'd call first

VisualFizz is probably the first conversation I'd have given your specific combination of B2B + events + website. Their service offering gets unusually close to what you described. VisualFizz

I'd then talk to Solid Digital as the more website-centric alternative. They're particularly interesting if your real objective is something like:

“We need our website to turn corporate training/event interest into qualified inquiries and registrations.”

That's a different brief from “make our website look better,” and I'd make sure the agency understands that distinction.

One other possibility: RethinkInfo explicitly combines B2B demand generation, web, and event/experiential marketing, including trade shows, executive dinners, ABM and event ROI. That could be a very relevant fit if you're looking for one partner for the whole marketing funnel, rather than just a website developer. RethinkInfo

If you tell me roughly your annual revenue, current website, typical client (corporate HR/L&D, associations, executives, etc.), and whether you need registrations/payments built into the site, I can narrow this to 3 agencies I'd actually invite to pitch, including what I would ask each one and what a reasonable Chicago agency budget would look like.

• AttorneySync - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 300, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, 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
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• dNOVO Group | Law Firm Marketing Agency - 545 N McClurg Ct Ste 1808, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Forward Lawyer Marketing - 3553 W Peterson Ave Ste 30, Chicago, IL 60659, United States
• BSPE Legal Marketing - Chicago - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
• OVC Lawyer Marketing - 750 Warrenville Rd Ste 203, Lisle, IL 60532, United States
• Market JD, Inc. - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Forward Lawyer Marketing - 460 N Main St Unit 209, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137, United States
• Attorney Web Design | Chicago - 233 S Wacker Dr Ste 4400, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States

For a mid-sized Chicago law firm in River North, I’d interview a mix of legal-specialist agencies and strong generalist/CMS agencies. The key is not just visual redesign: you want someone who can handle a potentially large attorney/practice-area site, preserve SEO equity through the migration, improve UX/intake, and give your marketing team a CMS they can actually operate.

My interview shortlist

• AttorneySync — legal-specialist / Chicago

• Works exclusively with law firms and offers website design/development, with an emphasis on firms retaining ownership of their digital assets.
• Worth interviewing if you want a partner that already understands legal-firm marketing rather than educating a general agency about attorneys, practice areas, intake, etc. Orbit Media Studios
• Orbit Media Studios — my first generalist interview

• Particularly interesting for a substantial redesign because Orbit explicitly has a legal-firm practice and describes a strategy → design → development → migration/deployment process, including CMS training, accessibility testing, analytics and ongoing support.
• Their Chicago headquarters are on Ravenswood, so they're genuinely local. Orbit Media Studios
• I would put them on the shortlist if the goal is a high-quality custom site rather than a packaged legal website.
• Marcel Digital — CMS/technical candidate

• Especially interesting if your migration is technically complicated. Their capabilities include CMS implementation/migration, customizations, hosting and ongoing support, including Umbraco.
• They're in River North at 445 W Erie St, which is convenient for your firm.
• I'd interview them if you're moving from something like Drupal/Umbraco/custom CMS into another sophisticated platform, rather than simply moving a small WordPress site.
• Solid Digital — B2B/brand-quality candidate

• Chicago-based agency focused on sophisticated B2B websites, UX/UI and digital strategy. Their work includes website rebuilds and CMS migrations.
• This could be a good fit if your firm wants the new site to feel more like a premium professional-services brand than a conventional legal website.
• MileMark Legal Marketing — legal-specialist / mid-market

• Specifically targets mid-sized firms and discusses the exact issues I'd be concerned about in your situation: multi-practice information architecture, attorney profiles, bar-compliant content, legacy-CMS migration and preserving existing SEO equity.
• They estimate roughly 4–6 months for a typical mid-sized law-firm redesign. MileMark Legal Marketing
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. — larger/enterprise option

• Much larger than the boutique agencies above, with capabilities spanning UX, web development, CMS work, integrations, analytics, hosting and migrations.
• I'd include them if your firm has a large site, multiple offices, complicated integrations, significant security requirements, or a substantial technology budget.

A couple I'd consider as wild cards

• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding — Chicago branding + web shop that works across WordPress/Webflow and other platforms. More interesting if the project is substantially about repositioning the firm's brand as well as rebuilding the website.
• ALL FOR™ — smaller Chicago design agency whose larger web package includes discovery, information architecture, reusable components, WordPress, CMS migration/redirect guidance and training. ALL FOR™
• Zaremba Studio — unusually legal-specific proposition: the founder is himself a practicing Illinois attorney and describes doing full law-firm migrations with URL preservation and zero-downtime cutovers. I'd consider this more of a specialist/alternative bid than an apples-to-apples competitor to Orbit or Solid. Zaremba Studio

How I'd structure the interviews

I'd probably bring 5 firms into the first round, rather than asking 15 agencies for proposals:

1. Orbit Media — sophisticated custom redesign + legal experience
2. AttorneySync — law-firm specialist
3. MileMark — law-firm specialist with explicit mid-sized-firm experience
4. Solid Digital — premium B2B/UX perspective
5. Marcel Digital — technical/CMS migration perspective

Then give all five the same brief. That's important because otherwise you'll end up comparing five completely different proposals.

The questions I'd make them answer

CMS

• What CMS would you recommend, and why?
• Who owns the CMS, code, hosting, domain and analytics accounts?
• Can our marketing staff create new practice areas, attorney profiles and landing pages without developers?
• What happens if we terminate the relationship?

Migration

• Show us a real migration you've performed on a large professional-services site.
• How will you inventory every existing URL?
• Who creates and QA's the 301 redirect map?
• How will you preserve metadata, structured data, internal links, canonicals and XML sitemaps?
• How do you handle pages that shouldn't simply redirect to the homepage?
• What happens to rankings during the first 30/60/90 days after launch?

This is a particularly important area: law-firm sites can have years of accumulated URLs and links, and poor redirect implementation can destroy that value. MileMark Legal Marketing

Design/UX

• How would you structure navigation for, say, 15–25 practice areas and dozens of attorneys?
• How do you distinguish referral sources, sophisticated business clients and individual prospective clients?
• How would you make attorney bios useful without turning them into 200 nearly identical pages?
• Show us three comparable sites—not your three prettiest sites.

Accessibility/security

• What accessibility standard are you designing against?
• Who performs accessibility QA?
• What are your security, hosting, backup and patching responsibilities?
• How do you handle forms and potentially sensitive prospective-client information?

Analytics/intake

• Can you track calls, forms and other conversions by practice area?
• Can the website integrate with whatever CRM/intake system the firm uses?
• Can we distinguish a $50,000 business-litigation inquiry from a general contact-form submission?

One thing I'd specifically avoid

I'd be wary of selecting an agency simply because it says "law firm websites" everywhere.

There are really two different purchases here:

A legal marketing website — templates, practice-area SEO, lead generation, ongoing content, PPC, etc.

versus

A sophisticated professional-services digital platform — information architecture, CMS migration, attorney/practice-area data modeling, integrations, accessibility, analytics, SEO preservation and a genuinely custom UX.

For a mid-sized River North firm, I'd want the second, even if the agency also has deep legal expertise.

If you tell me roughly (1) number of attorneys, (2) current CMS, (3) number of URLs/pages, (4) whether you're keeping the existing brand, and (5) rough budget, I can narrow this to 3–4 agencies and give you a side-by-side interview/RFP scorecard without turning it into a generic agency list.

• Angle180 - 141 W Jackson Blvd #4236, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• LoSasso Integrated Marketing - 4853 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• RSXigital | B2B Lead Generation & Performance Marketing Agency in Chicago, USA - 71 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, 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
• OneIMS - 111 E Upper Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60601
• SEO Design Chicago | Digital Marketing & Web Design Agency - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• 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

For a B2B manufacturing supplier in the West Loop, I’d shortlist agencies that understand technical buyers, not just agencies that make attractive corporate sites.

My shortlist

• Angle180 — probably the first agency I’d interview. They specifically focus on B2B industrial manufacturers and construction companies, with custom web design plus technical SEO, keyword research, content, and lead-generation strategy. Allusive Digital
• LoSasso Integrated Marketing — Worth considering if you're a larger/more sophisticated manufacturing or industrial brand and need strategy, technical content, UX, website development, and ongoing marketing under one roof. Their stated focus includes industrial, manufacturing, automation, and technology.
• Marcel Digital — A stronger option if the website will involve complex integrations, analytics, migration, or a sophisticated B2B digital platform. They combine web development with technical SEO and measurement.
• Solid Digital — Good candidate if you're looking for a high-end B2B website/UX build with SEO and ongoing digital growth support.
• Flamingo Agency — Their manufacturing offering is unusually explicit: capability pages, RFQ forms, technical/on-page SEO, and WordPress specifically for manufacturers and industrial companies. Flamingo Agency
• River North SEO — If you're a CNC/precision manufacturer, this is a particularly specialized option. They say they work exclusively with CNC shops, contract manufacturers, and precision parts suppliers, with a fixed-scope manufacturing website offering. River North SEO River North SEO

Who I'd talk to first

I'd put Angle180, LoSasso, and Flamingo into the first round of conversations.

The key distinction is that your site shouldn't just be "SEO-friendly." For a technical manufacturer, I'd want the agency to build an information architecture around things like:

• capabilities/processes
• materials
• industries/applications
• tolerances/specifications
• certifications
• equipment
• geographic/service coverage
• technical resources
• RFQ/quote workflows

That structure is particularly important because industrial buyers tend to search by process, material, specification, certification, and application, rather than simply searching for a supplier's brand name. Chicago SEO Company

One caveat: I wouldn't choose based on Google rankings or review counts alone. Ask each agency to show you 2–3 actual manufacturing websites they've built, explain the SEO architecture they implemented, and demonstrate how they would turn your equipment/capability list into searchable pages.

If you tell me roughly your annual website budget ($10–25k, $25–50k, $50k+) and what you manufacture, I can narrow this to a 2–3 agency shortlist and compare them on manufacturing experience, technical SEO, likely project cost, and fit.

• Angle180 - 141 W Jackson Blvd #4236, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• LoSasso Integrated Marketing - 4853 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• RSXigital | B2B Lead Generation & Performance Marketing Agency in Chicago, USA - 71 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, 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
• Integrated Marketing Solutions - 111 E Wacker Dr, Ste 435, Chicago, IL 60601
• 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

For a B2B manufacturing supplier in the West Loop, I’d shortlist agencies that understand technical buyers, capability-driven SEO, RFQs, and complex products—not just agencies that make attractive corporate sites.

My shortlist

• Angle180 — strongest local fit to investigate first. They specifically focus on B2B industrial/manufacturing companies and combine custom web design with technical SEO, content, and lead generation. Their Chicago office is at 141 W Jackson Blvd. Their manufacturing work also emphasizes measurable search and inquiry growth. Angle180
• LoSasso Integrated Marketing — worth considering if you want a larger, more strategic marketing partner, particularly if your products are technically complicated. They explicitly work with manufacturing, industrial, automation and technology companies and offer website development, technical content and SEO.
• Marcel Digital — a good option if the website needs serious technical infrastructure, SEO, analytics or integrations, rather than being primarily a marketing-site redesign. They're in River North and have B2B web development plus technical SEO capabilities.
• Solid Digital — another Chicago B2B specialist to put in the RFP. They focus on B2B website strategy, UX/UI, development and ongoing SEO/growth work.
• Flamingo Agency — particularly interesting if you want a manufacturing-specific WordPress shop without necessarily going to a large agency. They explicitly build sites for manufacturers, industrial suppliers and B2B production businesses, including capability pages, technical SEO and RFQ forms. Flamingo Agency
• Pixerts — a specialist worth comparing against the Chicago agencies. They focus exclusively on B2B manufacturing and describe work around procurement workflows, technical capabilities, RFQs, industrial SEO and AI-search visibility. Pixerts

If it were my RFP

I'd invite Angle180, LoSasso, and Flamingo to pitch, and use Pixerts as the specialist benchmark.

The key is to make them demonstrate—not merely promise—that they can build pages around things like:

• individual manufacturing capabilities/processes
• materials and specifications
• equipment and tolerances
• industries/applications served
• certifications
• technical resources/spec sheets
• case studies
• RFQ/quote workflows
• technical SEO and structured data
• redirects and SEO preservation during migration
• analytics tied to actual RFQs, not just traffic

That's important because manufacturing SEO is fundamentally different from generic local SEO: buyers may search for a very specific capability or material rather than your company name. Specialized agencies such as Pixerts and River North SEO explicitly build their architecture around those technical searches. Pixerts River North SEO

One thing I'd avoid: choosing based primarily on portfolio aesthetics. For your business, I'd ask each agency to take one of your actual products/services and mock up the proposed SEO page architecture. You'll learn very quickly which team actually understands industrial buyers.

If you tell me what you manufacture/supply, approximate website budget ($10k, $25k, $50k+), and whether you need HubSpot/CRM integration, I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies and compare them on price, manufacturing experience, SEO depth, technical capability, and likely fit.

• 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
• Clique Studios - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1075, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Ice Nine Online - 444 W Lake St Ste 1700, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Operation Technology - 211 W Wacker Dr 3rd Floor, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Angle180 - 141 W Jackson Blvd #4236, Chicago, IL 60604, 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
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Doejo - 444 N Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• 97 Switch - 1 E Wacker Dr #2550, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• click5 Interactive LLC - 116 W Hubbard St #301, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Comrade Digital Marketing Agency - 332 S Michigan Ave #900, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Sixth City Marketing - 620 N La Salle Dr Ste 415, Chicago, IL 60654, United States

If you’re an IT services/B2B company and want a true website overhaul—not just a visual refresh—I’d put these downtown Chicago firms on your initial outreach list. I’m prioritizing agencies with demonstrated B2B/technology, strategy, UX, development, and lead-generation capabilities rather than general-purpose design shops.

• Solid Digital — 100 N LaSalle St. Solid Digital specifically focuses on B2B website design and development and says it works with B2B SaaS and technology companies. Its process covers brand discovery, strategy, personas, sitemaps, wireframes, UX, development and ongoing growth. Solid Digital

Why I'd contact them: Particularly relevant if your site needs to become a serious B2B sales/marketing asset rather than simply look newer.

• Marcel Digital — 20 N Wacker Dr. Marcel combines B2B website strategy/design with development, SEO, analytics, CRM/marketing automation and CRO. Its B2B offering explicitly addresses longer sales cycles and multiple decision-makers. Marcel Digital

Why contact them: Good fit if the overhaul needs to connect closely with HubSpot/CRM, lead generation, analytics and marketing.

• Clique Studios — 20 N Wacker Dr. Clique positions itself around digital transformation, combining strategy, UX/design, engineering and digital marketing rather than treating a redesign as a cosmetic project.

Why contact them: Worth considering if you're contemplating a substantial rebuild involving complex content, integrations or a more sophisticated digital experience.

• Ice Nine Online — 444 W Lake St. This is a B2B-focused digital marketing and WordPress development agency, with services spanning B2B websites, demand generation, SEO and branding.

Why contact them: Potentially interesting if you want the new site tightly connected to pipeline generation and want a partner that can help your internal team manage it afterward.

• Operation Technology — 211 W Wacker Dr. A Loop-based web design/development and digital marketing agency that handles custom redesigns along with SEO, content, paid media and analytics.

Why contact them: A more integrated web + digital-marketing option if you want the website and acquisition strategy addressed together.

• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — 211 W Wacker Dr. ArtVersion combines brand strategy, visual design, UX/UI and in-house web development, including corporate and CMS-driven sites.

Why contact them: Particularly relevant if the overhaul also involves repositioning your brand/messaging, not just rebuilding the site.

One more worth putting on the list

Angle180 is at 141 W Jackson Blvd. and focuses specifically on B2B/industrial businesses, with website redesign, UX/UI, inbound marketing, SEO, PPC and conversion optimization. Its industry focus may or may not match an IT services firm, but the B2B orientation makes it worth a conversation.

How I'd structure the RFP

For an IT services company, I wouldn't ask agencies simply for a "website redesign." I'd give the finalists the same brief covering:

1. Positioning & messaging — Can you make a complex IT offering understandable in 5–10 seconds?
2. Information architecture — Services, industries, technologies, case studies and resources organized around how prospects actually buy.
3. Lead generation — Conversion paths, forms, CTAs, meeting/demo booking and attribution.
4. SEO migration — Preserve existing rankings, redirect strategy, technical SEO and content architecture.
5. CMS — What your marketing team can change without developers.
6. Integrations — CRM, marketing automation, analytics, chat, forms, etc.
7. Case-study system — Especially important for demonstrating technical credibility.
8. Post-launch optimization — Analytics, CRO, SEO and ongoing improvements rather than disappearing after launch.

I'd probably send the same RFP to Solid Digital, Marcel Digital, Clique Studios, and Ice Nine first, then use one or two of the others as a price/approach comparison. That gives you substantially different agency approaches without turning the process into 15 sales calls.

If you tell me roughly your current site size, budget range (e.g. $25–50k vs. $50–100k+), and whether you want a rebrand as part of it, I can narrow this to a more targeted shortlist and pull together their relevant IT/B2B case studies and contact pages.

• 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
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Operation Technology - 211 W Wacker Dr 3rd Floor, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, 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
• SEOLEVELUP Website Design SEO Company Chicago - 355 N Laflin St Ste 101C, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States

For a Chicago IT services company doing a full website overhaul, I’d put a short list together around firms that understand B2B, technology, UX, and the technical side of a rebuild—not just visual redesign.

Downtown firms worth contacting

• Solid Digital — 100 N LaSalle St, Loop. Particularly relevant for a B2B technology company: they focus on B2B website design/development, UX/UI, positioning, lead generation, and ongoing digital marketing.
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — 211 W Wacker Dr, Loop. A Chicago-based design/development firm with experience spanning technology and other complex B2B organizations; combines brand, UX, content, and development. Their site says they've been operating since 1999. ArtVersion
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. — 200 W Jackson Blvd, Loop. A larger, enterprise-oriented option if your overhaul involves sophisticated integrations, security/hosting, ecommerce, or a substantial content platform.
• Operation Technology — 211 W Wacker Dr, Loop. Offers website design/development and redesigns alongside analytics, SEO, and digital marketing, which could be useful if you want the new site tied closely to lead-generation metrics.
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding — 30 N Michigan Ave, downtown. More brand/marketing-oriented, with website redesign, brand strategy, visual identity, and SEO under one roof. Worth considering if the overhaul includes repositioning your company rather than simply rebuilding the site.
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency — 875 N Michigan Ave. Provides custom web design/development and digital marketing, with a focus on redesigning established businesses' sites around conversion, speed, and SEO.

One non-Loop option I'd also include

Design In Chicago is in the West Loop/Fulton Market rather than the traditional Loop. They combine branding, web development, marketing, and content production, so they're worth adding if you're open to downtown-adjacent agencies.

For your particular situation, I'd send RFPs to 4–5 firms rather than 10+. I'd make Solid Digital, ArtVersion, Americaneagle.com, and Operation Technology the initial group, then add Brand Vision if branding/messaging is a major part of the project.

One thing I'd explicitly put in the RFP: “We are an IT services company selling B2B services; this is a full strategic redesign, not simply a visual refresh.” Ask each firm to show 2–3 comparable B2B/technology projects, their proposed information architecture, CMS recommendation, SEO migration plan, technical stack, timeline, and who will actually be on your project team.

If you tell me roughly your current website size, budget (e.g. $25k / $50k / $100k+), and whether you need branding/content/SEO included, I can narrow this to a more targeted shortlist and compare their capabilities.

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• VisualFizz - 875 N Michigan Ave 31st floor, Chicago, IL 60611, 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
• 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
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• OneIMS - 110 N Wacker Dr Suite 2500A, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• Glantz Design - 1881 Oak Ave, Evanston, IL 60201, United States
• Chris Depa Web Design + Branding - 1528 Robinhood Ln, La Grange Park, IL 60526, United States

For a seed-stage startup that needs both an investor-ready landing page and a polished demo site, I’d shortlist a few Chicago options rather than treating this like a generic web-design project.

My Chicago shortlist

• Solid Digital — Particularly relevant if you're B2B/SaaS. They focus on B2B website strategy, UX/UI, positioning, and development, so they can handle more than visual design. waveup
• Design In Chicago — Interesting if you want brand + website + content from one Chicago team. Their services span brand strategy, identity, web development, and content production.
• VisualFizz — A B2B-focused Chicago agency with branding, positioning, web design/development, and marketing capabilities. This could make sense if the site also needs to support early customer acquisition.
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — More design-led, with strategy, branding, UX/UI, and in-house development under one roof.
• Jointley — Worth a look if fundraising is the immediate priority. Their offering explicitly combines an investor/deck-and-landing-page sprint with subsequent product, brand, and website work. Their stated initial sprint is seven days. Jointley

One non-Chicago option I'd seriously consider

Waveup is unusually aligned with your exact brief: it's a startup/SaaS design operation inside a fundraising consultancy. It says it has worked with 600+ startups associated with $3B+ raised, and explicitly offers positioning, brand identity, UX/UI, landing pages, product websites, and fundraising materials. Its stated site engagements can run from roughly 1–6 weeks. waveup waveup

That doesn't make it inherently "better"; it's simply a particularly close match to investor-facing + startup website + demo.

What I'd ask each agency for

Don't just ask for a "website redesign." Give them this brief:

Seed-stage startup. Need a high-conviction investor landing page plus a polished product/demo experience. The site needs to explain the problem, product, differentiation, traction, market, team, and fundraising story within a few minutes. We want senior-level strategy, copy, design, and development—not just a Webflow implementation.

Then ask for:

• 2–3 examples of seed/pre-Series A startup work
• Who actually does the strategy, copy, design, and development
• Whether they'll help sharpen the positioning and narrative, not just execute supplied copy
• Whether the demo should be a real interactive prototype, product walkthrough, or marketing simulation
• Recommended stack (e.g. Webflow vs. Framer vs. Next.js)
• Fixed project fee and timeline
• What happens after launch when you need rapid fundraising/traction-driven changes

If you tell me your startup's industry (e.g. AI/SaaS/healthtech/fintech), approximate budget ($10k, $25k, $50k+), and whether you already have branding/product screenshots, I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies and compare their relevant portfolios, pricing signals, and likely fit.

Don't just ask for a "website redesign." Give them this brief:

• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, 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
• 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
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Flamingo Agency - 3752 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613, 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
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• The Loop Marketing Inc - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Chris Depa Web Design + Branding - 1528 Robinhood Ln, La Grange Park, IL 60526, United States
• Windy City Web Solutions - 801 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States

I’d shortlist Solid Digital for a seed-stage B2B startup: they combine strategy, UX/UI, and development and specialize in B2B sites. waveup

Also worth interviewing:

• Design In Chicago — brand + web + content.
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — design-led, sophisticated positioning.
• Fly+Equity — particularly relevant if the investor audience is finance/VC. fly-equity.com

If you tell me your budget, industry, and whether the demo needs to be functional, I can narrow this to 2–3.

• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• One Design Company - 230 W Superior St #700, 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
• Nicer Collaborative: A Creative Studio - 1361 N Ashland Ave Storefront, Chicago, IL 60622, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Glantz Design - 1881 Oak Ave, Evanston, IL 60201, United States
• MNML - 170 N Sangamon St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Wojo Design - 318 W Adams St #1609, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• EDUCO Web Design - 128 Chicago Ave, Oak Park, IL 60302, United States
• SO Dsgn - 1719 S Clinton St, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• Chris Depa Web Design + Branding - 1528 Robinhood Ln, La Grange Park, IL 60526, 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

If your goal is brand identity + a first product/marketing website that actually helps acquire users, I’d shortlist these Chicago firms rather than looking at generic web-design shops.

My top picks

1. Design In Chicago — best overall fit

• Combines brand strategy/identity, UX, web development, marketing, and content.
• Particularly interesting if you expect the initial site to evolve into product/app work later.
• Their process covers positioning, wireframes, design, development, launch, SEO and ongoing growth. Design In Chicago
• Best for: a startup wanting one partner from positioning → brand → site → acquisition.
• One Design Company — best design/product-oriented option

• Strong combination of branding, interactive/web design, UX and full-stack development.
• Their work is positioned around research and human-centered design rather than simply making a marketing site look attractive.
• Best for: a tech/product startup where the website needs to establish the product experience and could eventually connect closely to the actual application.
• Designer and Gentleman — best startup/design-first option

• Focuses on digital-first brand experiences, UX/UI, branding and digital products.
• Particularly relevant if you want the brand identity and product interface to feel like one coherent system.
• Best for: consumer startups, SaaS, and founders who care heavily about differentiation and design quality.
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — best established multidisciplinary agency

• Chicago-based since 1999, with branding, UI/UX and full web design/development.
• Explicitly works with companies ranging from emerging startups to large organizations. ArtVersion
• Best for: a startup that wants a polished, sophisticated brand and expects the site to carry significant credibility with investors/partners.
• Solid Digital — best for B2B/SaaS growth

• Stronger emphasis on B2B websites, UX/UI, measurable outcomes and ongoing digital marketing.
• Can incorporate brand refreshes and identity work alongside the website.
• Best for: B2B SaaS or tech startups where the initial website's job is primarily demo requests, leads and conversions, rather than pure brand expression.
• Nicer Collaborative: A Creative Studio — interesting boutique option

• Small Chicago studio doing brand identity plus custom web/app development.
• Their portfolio includes projects combining identity, copywriting and custom digital experiences.
• Best for: founders who want a smaller, hands-on creative partner rather than a larger agency.

One I'd investigate specifically for SaaS

Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding is worth a conversation if your priority is brand + website + initial acquisition. Its offering spans brand strategy/identity, web design/development and SEO, and its Chicago presence is particularly geared toward integrating positioning with digital acquisition. Brand Vision

How I'd narrow it down

For an early-stage startup, I'd probably talk to three agencies:

One other option stands out if budget and speed matter: Chicago Brand Studio / B. McAdams publishes a brand + website package at $9,500, delivered in roughly 5–8 weeks, including the identity system and a custom Squarespace site. Chicago Brand Studio That's more of a launch-presence solution than a sophisticated SaaS product-design engagement, but it could be attractive for a very early startup.

My main advice: don't ask agencies simply for a "website." Ask them for a zero-to-one brand and acquisition system: positioning → identity → messaging → homepage narrative → signup/demo funnel → analytics → launch. That's much more likely to produce a site that attracts users rather than just an attractive brochure.

• IA Collaborative - 218 S Wabash Ave 9th Floor, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• TEAMS Design - 1812 W Hubbard St #200, Chicago, IL 60622, United States
• Highland - 141 W Jackson Blvd, Ste 2200, Chicago, IL 60604
• Solid Digital - 100 N LaSalle St #1400, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• aPitchDeck - 333 W Ohio St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• MNML - 170 N Sangamon St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• UChicagoTech | University of Chicago Center for Technology Development & Ventures - 6030 S Ellis Ave #2S, Chicago, IL 60637, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Silva Brand, LLC - 211 W Wacker Dr 3rd floor, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• FlyDesign - 111 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Sandstorm Design - 4422 N Ravenswood Ave #50, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• ROOT3 Marketing & Business Development - 2035 W Wabansia Ave, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• Glantz Design - 1881 Oak Ave, Evanston, IL 60201, United States
• iD Lab - 243 S Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• UIC Innovation Center - 1240 W Harrison St, Chicago, IL 60607, United States

For a university spinout turning research into an investable MVP, I’d look for a shop that can do more than “make a nice website.” The key capability is translating technical/research complexity into a credible product story, then carrying that story consistently across the website, pitch deck, and product/demo.

Based on their current capabilities and Chicago presence, I’d shortlist these:

1. IA Collaborative — strongest fit if the technology is genuinely complex or the product definition is still emerging. They combine user research, strategy, product design and innovation, and their work includes commercialization of a VR teaching/learning platform.

Best for: research → product definition → prototype, particularly deep tech/health/enterprise.

2. TEAMS Design — particularly interesting if the spinout has a physical/connected product, scientific instrument, medical device, or hardware component. Their Chicago team combines industrial design, engineering, digital product strategy, interaction design and brand language.

Best for: hardware + software + commercialization story.

3. Highland — a good option if you need to go beyond the marketing site into an actual digital MVP. Their offering spans product discovery, UX research/design and custom software development.

Best for: “we have promising technology but need to turn it into something users can actually try.”

4. Solid Digital — I'd consider them if the immediate objective is a high-quality B2B/enterprise website that makes a technically sophisticated product understandable and generates leads. Their Chicago practice focuses heavily on B2B websites, UX/UI and technology/SaaS companies.

Best for: website + positioning + conversion, once the product story is reasonably settled.

5. Design In Chicago — attractive if you want a single creative partner covering brand strategy, identity, website, pitch decks, presentations and content. Their published capabilities explicitly include pitch decks and sales presentations alongside web and branding.

Best for: getting the whole external-facing identity coherent quickly.

6. aPitchDeck — I'd use them if the fundraising deck is the critical deliverable and you already have someone handling the website. They're specifically focused on investor communications and pitch decks, including narrative development and visual design.

Best for: turning a scientist/founder's research story into an investor presentation.

7. MNML — worth a look for a spinout with a physical product where brand, product design, visualization and commercialization all need to connect. Their work spans product strategy, industrial design, engineering, branding and digital/marketing applications.

Best for: tangible products and hardware-heavy commercialization.

One particularly relevant example

There's also a useful Chicago precedent from Colleen Arturi's work with Modest, a startup whose technology was still under development. The engagement involved defining the value proposition, mapping the user/investor journey, creating the brand and website, and refining the pitch deck. The resulting work deliberately made a technically complex product understandable before the underlying product was fully mature. Colleen Arturi Brand Strategist

That is quite close to the problem I'd expect a university spinout to have.

How I'd choose

I'd divide the shortlist according to what stage you're actually at:

For this particular use case, I would interview 3–4 firms rather than issue a generic website RFP. Give them the same 2–3 page research/product brief and ask each to show how they'd turn it into:

• a one-sentence product proposition
• a 5–7 page website narrative
• a 10–12 slide investor story
• a clickable MVP/product demo
• a visual identity that makes the research feel like a credible company rather than a university lab
• a plan for validating the story with prospective customers/investors

That exercise will reveal much more than looking at portfolios.

One other Chicago resource worth knowing about is UChicagoTech | University of Chicago Center for Technology Development & Ventures if the spinout is affiliated with the University of Chicago; it specifically works on technology commercialization and university-affiliated startups.

If you tell me what the research is (e.g. biotech, AI, materials, medical device, climate, robotics), whether you already have a brand/product name, and roughly what you want to spend ($15–30k / $30–75k / $75k+), I can narrow this to a 3-shop Chicago shortlist with specific reasons and relevant portfolio examples.

• a one-sentence product proposition
• a 5–7 page website narrative
• a 10–12 slide investor story
• a clickable MVP/product demo
• a visual identity that makes the research feel like a credible company rather than a university lab
• a plan for validating the story with prospective customers/investors

That exercise will reveal much more than looking at portfolios.

One other Chicago resource worth knowing about is UChicagoTech if the spinout is affiliated with the University of Chicago; it specifically works on technology commercialization and university-affiliated startups.