Top Chicago Web Design Company Since 2009

Idea Marketing Group is a Chicago web design company known for custom web design and digital marketing. Idea was founded on July 15, 2009, starting in a tiny office located in the West Loop on Van Buren. Over the years, we’ve built hundreds of websites and managed marketing campaigns reaching millions of people for top brands and companies in Chicago.

Our custom websites generate more awareness, more leads, and better results. Simply put, we eat, sleep, and breathe websites.

Why is custom web design important for Chicago companies?

Companies should look at their websites as the foundation for all digital marketing campaigns. It is where all your marketing channels feed into. With a properly built website, you are reducing the spending needed on other channels resulting in long-term savings and improved opportunities to generate more revenue through custom website development. The 5 most important reasons to consider custom web design are:

  • Built for your needs and operations
  • Easy and fast to update
  • Long term marketing savings
  • Better conversion rates and opportunities
  • Faster loading speeds for engagement

What is included in the web design process?

We strive to cover every detail of web design and will guide you through the entire process. Our goal is to minimize your time investment, as we’ll be the ones to drive the project forward as well as take on all of the heavy lifting.

We take the time to learn your story, your challenges, and your goals through team meetings and regular phone calls. This ensures we talk through all questions and maintain vision alignment. The following are the main phases of each website development project:

  • Website Roadmap – a long term plan for the build today and for the future
  • SEO Strategy – what to focus on and where
  • Content – we’ll help write it and edit it
  • UI/UX – responsive, mobile-friendly designed layouts
  • Website Development – custom web design on WordPress including APIs & Databases
Website Launch Marketing Tips

How do we measure ROI on web design projects?

We know that well built websites are an investment for local Chicago companies. An investment that can make or break a company’s market budget and impact the overall revenue.

Leads

What is the monthly average of inbound leads? Which page did they originate from? Can geographic patterns be identified? Are there common pain points that can be leveraged for website content?

Search Rankings

Is the website built in a way to maximize your search engine marketing efforts? Do you have SEO focused landing pages?

Page Load Speed

How long does it take for a page to load? Do you know what your averages are? What elements are slowing down the website?

Device Use

What percentage of visitors are using mobile devices? Is the website built to engage your users on the devices they use most?

Engagement

What is the average time spent on pages? What is the average page views per visit?

Chicago Web Design Projects

See example website projects and digital marketing campaigns below for companies in Chicago.

Objective

Lack of SEO Optimization and Low Search Results Ranking

The first issue that Show Your Logo was experiencing is a common issue for many websites, the lack of SEO optimization and its negative impact on page ranking. When your site doesn’t appear on the first page of search results you’re potentially missing out on thousands of traffic clicks. Our client wanted a website that was optimized for search engine results and would get their page in front of a larger audience. Show Your Logo needed a comprehensive SEO strategy.

A Poor Website Experience for Users

Another issue that Show Your Logo discussed with our team of custom web design experts was the overall experience of their website users. Factors like website navigation were costing them conversions. Overall the Show Your Logo website left a lot of opportunities for improvement that would keep users engaged on the page and ultimately lead to more sales.

Users typically decide whether a website is good or bad within the first few fractions of a second into the interaction. If the first impression is negative users are less likely to use, recommend or trust the site, the opposite also holds true.

Solution

Manufacturing Marketing Strategy and Custom Web Design To Solve SYL’s Problems

Our consistent approach to web design user experience would lead to improvements in the Show Your Logo website through custom web design, manufacturing SEO  strategy, and PPC Ads management (Google Ads).

Our goals were to improve:

  • User interface to encourage new user conversion
  • Reduced cognitive load on users
  • Lower bounce rates
  • Consistency across website content and CTAs
  • Drive conversion with a PPC campaign
Custom Web Design

Custom Web Design Optimized for User Experience

We began building a custom web design using WooCommerce that would improve site functionality and simplicity of use for our client. Our custom WordPress website developers created completely custom features like an importer tool that converts products from a client-supplied Excel spreadsheet into WooCommerce product types and converts each product to a dynamic page. This intuitive feature creates efficiencies that reduce the time the Show Your Logo team spends on updating inventory offerings. Our in-house web development team also created custom client portal pages for quick reference and reordering.

Our custom web design team also worked on the front end, building a search function that allowed advanced search filters so customers could more easily find the product(s) that interested them. We continued the user features improvement process with an additional quick quote feature that could be used from any of the single product pages. Another feature we included in the new Show Your Logo website was the ability for clients to upload their own artwork.

Improving the UI/UX of an E-Commerce Website

Next, our expert digital marketing experts used their knowledge of best practices to improve the overall user journey and website experience. Our team utilized engaging photos that easily catch the user’s attention and support the general stylistic concept of building a visual hierarchy. Product images on the website help convey how the finished results would look and help set customer expectations.

We continued to organize the site using images and collapsible navigation tools that reduced the amount of distracting content. This led users where they needed to go more quickly and directed them to paths that would result in action items.

As part of the user navigation, we implemented several clear Call To Action (CTA) buttons throughout the website. These actionable items included “Quick Quote,” and “Shop All Products” buttons that drive users to desired actions. We created internal consistency by using the same colors and style for CTAs throughout the website so users would quickly and easily discern them.

Implementing these CTAs and simplified user journeys greatly improved the overall website experience and functionality. Users could now find desired products and information with ease, keeping them on the site. By highlighting and leading users to desired actions they’d convert to customers more easily. These updates helped strengthen our integrated web strategy for Show Your Logo.

SEO

Implementing an SEO Strategy as Part of Our Manufacturing Marketing Services

To address page ranking and lack of SEO optimization our web marketing team researched keywords and phrases that would optimize the SYL website. Our SEO experts implemented keywords in meta tags and titles to improve the website page’s search engine rankings.

As our team improved the use of phrases in technical tags and website written copy, our team also implemented an SEO and content marketing strategy. This strategy included creating monthly SEO-focused content to improve search engine rankings for specific keywords and attract more website traffic.

As a result of our website improvements and SEO strategy efforts, the SYL website saw a 36% increase in new website visitors the following year.

Monthly Content as part of our SEO Manufacturing Plan

In addition to the website SEO improvements, our team was also commissioned to create monthly SEO content for our client to further improve their search engine rankings.

This SEO focused content can be location pages, additional web pages, case studies, or monthly blog content.

The variety in our SEO content options allows us to be more responsive to Show Your Logo’s needs. The monthly content focuses on specific valuable SEO phrases and opportunities that our continuous SEO research uncovers.

Monthly SEO content will improve the rankings for these phrases over time and drives even more traffic to the Show Your Logo website.

Google Ads

PPC Ad Management of the Clients Google Ads Campaign

We also worked on creating a Google Ads campaign that would also drive traffic to specific pages for SYL. As part of our PPC ad management services, our team reviewed the keywords and bidding strategy to determine the most valuable keywords for Google PPC ads.

We organized the campaigns into specific product groups so that each of the Google PPC ads would target the most relevant keywords and reach targeted audiences. Our team also improved other key factors within the ad setup to optimize the Google Ads quality score.

With ongoing PPC ad management and optimization, we built better campaigns that would drive more traffic to the website through clicks, and also increase conversions. Within the first year, our top campaigns saw drastic improvements in factors such as CTR and Clicks. Overall Google PPC ad clicks increased by 206% in the year following our adjustments.

Objective

A Non-Profit Website Design that Wasn’t Driving Social Action

BPI Chicago reached out to a local Chicago web design company, Idea, to create a nonprofit web design for the WordPress Content Management System. BPI was looking for a new website that would help inform people who are concerned with public interest law.

The new custom web design needed to feature clear, easy navigation that highlighted critical information. Users needed to be encouraged to get involved or take action in the form of donations. The previous website was not driving the kind of results that our clients needed to help initiate serious social reforms.

BPI Chicago also needed a website that was easy to manage and update as needed. On the social justice front, things can change rapidly and the BPI Chicago team needed to be able to adjust their website and promote new information quickly. Their current nonprofit web design did not provide the mobility that BPI Chicago wanted as a forerunner in social equity causes.

Website load speeds across different platforms were also a major priority for BPI. Social justice causes tend to attract a younger demographic, which means that those users would likely be accessing BPI’s information through a mobile device. Therefore, the website needed to be optimized for mobile devices, and load quickly.

Another major pain point for BPI Chicago was its current search engine ranking. If their website was not ranking for their targeted keywords, they were missing out on donations, volunteers, and awareness for their organization. They needed a website that would rank higher in the search results. A lack of SEO strategy was hurting the success of their current non-profit web design.

Solution

Driving Social Change with an Integrated Web Strategy

Idea’s experts in non-profit web design approached this project with an integrated web strategy focus. Our Chicago web design team would address the issues facing BPI by proposing a new website that would support its mission. The new website would address the current issues BPI Chicago was facing and give their team greater control over their content and messaging.

Our team would also help remedy their technical and non-technical SEO so the new custom WordPress website would reach a larger audience through better search result ranking. Combined with the new website these adjustments would drive much higher traffic levels to their website and reach their desired target audience.

Custom Web Design

Implementing an Integrated Web Strategy with Top Non-Profit Web Design

This custom WordPress website would reflect the passion of their organization while presenting a professional look by leveraging modern web design themes. In addition to better reflecting their organization, their new website featured an improved UI/UX design that helped visitors find the info relevant to them. The improved organization and navigation of the website build trust with their target audience and generate better conversion rates. Trust is an extremely important factor for non-profit web design.

We built the website with the BPI team in mind, making sure that the website was easy to manage and update as needed without bogging down the website’s functionality. The BPI team could easily manage the new website without fear of breaking or slowing down the website.

The new BPI custom web design also benefits from much faster load speeds, which would also reduce bounce and increase engagement. Each page loads quickly whether the user is on a mobile or desktop device.

Our experts in non-profit web design also ensured that mobile optimization was a priority, meaning users would have the same high-quality website experience across various devices.

SEO

Optimizing SEO as Part of Our Integrated Web Strategy

While our custom web design team worked on updating the website to perform more efficiently and provide a better user experience; our team of SEO experts got to work making sure that it would rank well in search engine results. SEO improvements are a key element of a successful integrated web strategy.

We spent time completing research and analysis to find the best keyword opportunities for BPI Chicago to rank. Once we’d identified the ideal keyword list we implemented these across the website to help their pages start ranking as part of our comprehensive SEO strategy.

Throughout the new website copy, we’ve included the careful use of numerous SEO phrases that help improve BPI’s search engine rankings. These phrases help draw more traffic to the website and increase BPI’s reach.

We also made sure to improve the technical SEO of BPI’s website. This means including the right keyphrases in various title tags and descriptions, headers, and of course alt tags. Each of these attributes plays a big role in the overall integrated web strategy.

By covering all of these various areas of technical SEO the website’s overall SEO score greatly improved. The new BPI Chicago website has a score of 100 in SEO and Best Practices on Google Page Insights. With a custom web design and a top SEO strategy, BPI’s website had become a true asset to the organization.

Website Design Award

Bringing Home a Prestigious Award for Our Non-Profit Custom Web Design

After our work on BPI’s custom web design the website was entered in a prestigious web design competition that features thousands of entries from more than 60 countries, the annual Web Excellence Awards. The non-profit web design category featured numerous unique social justice and non-profit websites competing for the top award. A panel of website and activist experts consulted to determine the activism category winner, our very own non-profit web design entry, BPI Chicago.

Our custom web design work for our client won a Web Excellence award and was featured on the competition’s website for one full year. This created valuable backlinks and brought even more attention to the BPI cause.

Objective

Build Brand Presence & Amplifying SEO Opportunities Through Custom Web Design

Brickfrom sought Idea Marketing Group to help them reach their goal of building trust by improving training and product knowledge for contractors, distributors, architects, and homeowners. They wanted to retain their leading position in the concrete industry.

Our custom web design team met with Brickfrom to discuss their goals and aspirations for their custom web design. It’s important to Idea that we thoroughly discuss our client’s needs. In doing this we ensure our team understands the scope of the client’s issues and what would be key to the project’s success.

We gained a better understanding of Brickform’s custom web design needs through our insightful meetings. Not only does gaining a greater understanding of our client’s problems and future plans help offer solutions, but the integrated web strategy solutions become more meaningful and specific. Understanding their long-term business goals allows our team to construct projects that will function as the base foundation for future projects and expansions.

The Brickfrom team explained to us they desired a custom manufacturing website that would embody their brand while providing important tools and information to their typical prospects. Previously, their products were located on a shared website and they wanted a stand-alone website to represent them. The new custom website would improve its user experience, build its brand presence, and leverage its organic SEO to improve its rankings. Doing this would build trust between Brickfrom and its contractors and distributors.

As with all Idea Marketing Group clients, we developed a comprehensive strategy based on deep client research, competitor insights, and industry analysis. We knew that our expert team could deliver the results Brickform desperately needed. Our team laid out our project plan to address their online brand presence, SEO opportunities, and user experience.

Solution

A Custom WordPress Website to Solve Brickform’s Problems

A new custom web design would help attract more contractors to the site to help educate and train. In addition, the custom WordPress website would maintain the loyalty of distributors by giving them a sales tool for product resources, and lastly will provide homeowners and architects with a resource for renovation ideas.

Our team pitched the new website and explained how it would solve each of the issues facing Brickform, while also decreasing page load speeds and improving their ease of website management. Overall this project would deliver a website that worked as an asset for the Brickform brand.

 

Custom Web Design

Custom Web Design Increases Brand Presence, Leverages SEO Opportunities, and Optimizes User Experience

We began with analyzing Brickfrom’s current customer journey and evaluating its user experience performance. Our custom web design team analyzed the site and cleaned up the website functions to improve site responsiveness with a focus on mobile views. We ensured the Brickform website would rank high in the areas of search engine evaluation to improve overall ranking and give them an edge over competitors. As leaders in the manufacturing web design industry, we knew the importance of leveraging their search engine opportunities to increase their market share, organic search, and relations and sales.

As part of the new custom web design our team needed to implement unique features to meet our client’s goals. Our dev team organized and updated the technical documents to improve the ease of access for their customers. Now, customers can quickly find the information they are searching for with ease. Overall the new custom WordPress website offers the functionality Brickform needs to improve its user experience.

Idea optimized Brickfroms distributor locations page by building a distributor locator map to help clients find Brickform products in their area. The distributor location solution helps maintains the existing loyalty of distributors by giving them a sales tool for product resources. This optimized solution solves Brickfrom’s existing website issue of needing clean and clear navigational points throughout their customer journey. Now website users will experience quick access to technical information, increasing the trust between Brickfrom and its prospective customers.

On the website itself, we began including relevant content on training and product knowledge by creating a solid resource library with lead generation tools. This content library allowed our client to educate their audience and showcase their unique products and quality. Now website users can learn cutting-edge decorative concrete techniques from technical experts, former contractors, and professional trainers with decades of experience. This new content not only provides on-site engagement but can be pushed or featured on additional sites that drive both SEO and additional web traffic.

Idea Marketing Group also recommended that Brickfrom showcase how-to videos to help educate their users. Implementing the training videos helps educate mostly homeowners but also provides insights to architects and contractors. In addition, contractors can now use the site as a quick educational resource while on the job or training new employees. Videos are vital for training, without them Brickfrom had a lack of specific resources which was deterring the user.

SEO

A Concrete Manufacturing SEO Strategy

As part of the new custom WordPress website, our team leveraged improved SEO as part of an integrated web strategy. SEO can be broadly divided into two categories: technical and non-technical.

Technical SEO refers to the process of optimizing a website’s backend infrastructure to improve its search engine visibility. This is a vital part of website optimization because it helps search engines crawl and index a website’s pages more effectively. In other words, technical SEO ensures that search engines can easily access and understand a website’s content, which can help boost its search engine rankings.

By using expert technical SEO on the Brickform website we are able to improve its search engine rankings, which can increase the chances of potential customers finding the website. Higher search engine rankings can lead to more organic traffic, which can lead to higher conversions and revenue. We understand that technical SEO is incredibly important for new web designs as it can ensure that the website is built on a solid foundation that will result in higher search engine rankings and attract organic traffic.

SEO is not just limited to technical optimization, it is equally as important to optimize website copy and content for search engines. SEO copywriting involves creating website content that is optimized for specific keywords and phrases that people search for on search engines. The goal of SEO copywriting is to create content that not only appeals to readers but also ranks well on search engines.

By including relevant keywords and phrases in the Brickform website copy and content we help improve each website page’s search engine rankings, making it more visible to their target audience. Our comprehensive SEO strategy includes both technical optimization and SEO copywriting that help clients like Brickform achieve their website and marketing goals and reach a larger target audience.

Website Support

Continued Website Support After Custom Manufacturing Web Design

Our team of experts was able to create a custom manufacturing web design for Brickfrom that boosted their brand presence, user experience, and amplified the SEO opportunities they wanted. The new site was better organized and created a direct user journey that was simple to navigate. Site visitors could now easily find the technical information they were interested in and through the implementation of effective CTAs and multiple click points for vital pages, which drove a better user journey for concrete systems.

With the new custom web design, more distributors, contractors, and homeowners would discover the Brickform site, spend longer engaging with the content, and a higher rate would convert to leads. Today Brickfrom site users spend an average engagement time of two and a half minutes. Brickfrom continues to rely on the Idea Marketing group for website support in add-ons and updates for their custom WordPress website.

When the project was completed our work didn’t stop there. We take the time to train our clients on obtaining the most value from their new site by educating them on how to use it to its full potential. If Brickfrom needs additional website support or maintenance the experts on our team are always available. All of Idea’s clients have direct access to our exceptional customer support manager Haley Langer. When Haley is not addressing our client’s needs she works diligently to review the site, offer suggestions and create add-ons and updates to help Brickfrom stay the leader in the decorative concrete industry.

Certified for SEO + Advertising

Idea Marketing Group

Free Website Redesign Checklist

Are you preparing for an upcoming website redesign? Maybe this is not your first rodeo or this will be your first website project. No matter your experience level, this checklist will help you prepare for your new website.

Website Redesign Planner

Chicago Web Design Company with In-House Experts to Help Your Business Rank Higher + Generate Revenue

We are a web design company in Chicago. For over a decade, we’ve designed websites for brands reaching millions of users every month. We have a proven process for custom web development by looking at every detail of a build, while thinking ahead how it will grow and evolve. You will not find any cookie-cutter templates here. Our web designers, developers, and content writers turn websites into strategic and engaging customer experiences. We help Chicago companies thrive online.

Website Strategy

Companies that want to improve or start fresh with a website redesign should always start with a well-defined plan. Together, we will create a blueprint to be used for your website build.

  • Define Goal KPIs
  • Uncover Opportunities
  • Identify Solutions
  • Develop a Website Architecture
  • Build a Brand Board
  • Map Out User Journey
  • Perform Competitive Research

Website Content + SEO

We begin with in-depth research and planning before crafting search engine optimized copy for your website. We will simplify your visitor’s decision-making and improve call-to-action conversions.

  • Define Messaging Tone and Feel
  • Establish a Keyphrase SEO Strategy
  • Write Targeted Website Content
  • Identify Call To Action Messaging
  • Create Website Wireframes

CRM Integrations

We’ve worked with a variety of CRMs as well as different types of use cases. If there is an API, we have it covered or set help in creating an API as well as leverage Zapier.

  • Salesforce
  • Hubspot
  • Zoho
  • Pipedrive
  • SugarCRM
  • Microsoft Dynamics

Database Integrations

Simplify operations by connecting databases to populate content directly on your website. We can write scripts to import and handle a wide variety of data types and needs.

  • Product Catalogs
  • Specification Tables
  • Data Records
  • User Management
  • Cron Jobs for Automated Updates

Custom Web Design with WordPress

Where all of your marketing channels feed into. With a properly built website, you are reducing the spend needed on other channels resulting in long-term savings and improved opportunities to generate more revenue.

  • Responsive Layouts with UI/UX Best Practices
  • Custom Web Design, No Poorly Made Templates
  • Code Optimization for Loading Speed
  • Usability Testing + Browser Compatibility
  • 1 on 1 Website Training

Website Support + Improvement

Websites, browsers, and user behavior is always changing. We provide plans to support website needs with routine maintenance as well as continuously improving websites to beat and stay ahead of the competition.

Idea Marketing Group is truly an example of excellence. Great design, fast turnaround, friendly team – Bridgford loves Idea!

‐ Bridgford Foods - Chicago Food Manufacturer
Bridgford Website Design Testimonial

Everyone at Idea Marketing is very receptive and easy to work with. We always felt like our ideas and feedback were valued and welcomed.

‐ US Glove - Sports Gear Manufacturer
US Glove Web Design Testimonial

My organization worked with Idea Marketing to build a new website that better showcases who we are… We are happy and satisfied customers.

‐ The Grove, Inc. - Chicago Hospitality Group
The Grove Web Design Testimonial

Idea Marketing has been our company’s website host for many years, and we are very pleased with their services.

‐ The Patio - Chicago Restaurant Group
The Patio Web Design Testimonial
Idea Marketing Group

Free Marketing ROI Assessment

If you’re struggling to generate digital marketing ROI, our quick survey will show where you can make impactful changes. Understanding why your marketing isn’t working is the first step to fixing it.

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Chicago Web Design Company

Our First Chicago Web Design Office

A look back at our first office space located in the West Loop of Chicago. We spent a year in this location before moving to a larger office space in the Western Suburbs. This area has drastically changed and another building was erected in the parking shown.

Web Design FAQ for Projects in Chicago

Do you have experience in our industry?

Most likely. Since 2009, we’ve built hundreds of websites within various industries. No matter the company, we invest the time to learn your story, your challenges, and your goals to provide recommendations to maximize your marketing ROI. We do know web design inside and out as well as user behavior. Pair those together and we get results, no matter the industry.

We build custom websites paired with digital marketing strategies to grow your customer base and improve inbound lead generation.

How much does a website cost?

This is a loaded question that requires a bit of a loaded answer. Websites today are complex marketing tools that require a team of specialists which also know the area. Our Chicago Web Design Company is comprised of the following specialists, all in-house employees based in the US and mostly in Illinois.

  • Project Manager
  • Account Strategist
  • Designers
  • Front-end Developers
  • Back-end Developers
  • Content Writers
  • SEO Specialists

Similar to building a home, it first requires a plan to ensure every detail is covered. We like to call it a website roadmap.

We approach every website build in phases. The first phase is a deep interview of your company with pertinent members of your team to answer key questions to help uncover pain points, understand your goals, identify opportunities, as well as analyze the companies you are up against.

Next, we take the recommendations and knowledge gained during the first phase to craft a well-defined strategy for the custom website build. This includes the website architecture, target user personas, user journeys, brand messaging/voice, and SEO strategy which allows us to more accurately define a scope of work for the remainder of the build following the roadmap.

We will have a detailed plan as to what will be needed to build a website that not only meets your current needs but also provides a system to grow and scale helping to land your next big sales opportunities.

With all of that being said, our custom websites start at $30,000. You will not find any cookie-cutter templates here and all work is done in-house by our full-time employees. We are a highly rated Chicago web design company with hundreds of online reviews.

How much to spend on marketing?

Setting an annual marketing budget can be a challenge and there are many factors to take into consideration. A quick way to generate a rough figure is to base it on the annual revenue of the company. An average percentage for B2B ranges from 6% to 12% of gross revenue as recommended by eMarketer’s Marketing Spending, assuming the sales margins are in the range of 10% to 12%. If we use these rates, below are quick examples of recommended marketing budgets.

Recommended Marketing Budgets
  • Gross Revenue $2,500,000 x 0.12 = $300,000/year or $25,000/month
  • Gross Revenue $5,000,000 x 0.10 = $500,000/year or $41,650/month
  • Gross Revenue $10,000,000 x 0.08 = $800,000/year or $66,665/month
  • Gross Revenue $25,000,000 x 0.06 = $1,500,000/year or $125,000/month

These are considered conservative numbers, as companies who are in aggressive growth stages will often spend up to 20% of their revenue on marketing as well as B2C, which is typically higher than B2B. Companies that are just starting out will need to set a higher percentage than those that are more established. Measuring the success of any marketing campaign is critical. Budgets should be spent wisely and spread out to cover various types of advertising.

What is the average timeframe to build a website?

Our proven process has been continuously improved over many years of collaboration and best practices requiring each phase to be completed and approved before starting the next. We will schedule bi-weekly calls and ensure we’re on track with the project build.

Typically, the website timeframe from start to finish is about 5-7 months. The following are the stages that follow our website build:

Website Advisory Plan> Team Strategy Meeting> Define Goal KPIs> Uncover Pain Points> Website Recommendations + Solutions> Competitive SWOT Analysis10 Business Days
Website Strategy> Website Architecture> Target User Persona(s)> User Journeys> Brand Messaging / Voice> Keyphrase SEO Strategy> Define Scope of Work for the Website Build~1 Month
Website Build> Content> User Interface Designs> Frontend Website Development> Backend WordPress Development
> Launch and Final Testing
~3 – 6 Months
Included WordPress Training
> One-on-one or group training> WordPress training guide
> Typically plan for 60-90 minutes
After Launch

What is recommended for marketing budget allocation?

Gartner CMO Spend Survey released an in-depth look at marketing budget allocation for 2021, below are the findings. It is important to be aware that marketing spending is impacted by the general nature of the business, competition, and consumer behavior.

Owned Media20%Website, Email, Mobile
Paid Digital21%Search Ads, Display Ads
Earned Digital22%SEO, Social Media
Offline Ads10%Publications, Direct Mail
Affiliates9%Partners, Distributors
Events8%Trade Shows

Another quick rule of thumb for marketing budget allocation is the 70-20-10 rule.

  • 70% of your budget is allocated toward marketing strategies you know work well
  • 20% of your budget is allocated toward new strategies aimed at helping you grow
  • 10% of your budget is allocated toward experimental strategies

What are some businesses with a large number of reviews for web design in Chicago, IL?

Idea Marketing Group is highly rated for web design in Chicago with over 60 five-star reviews on Google, over 20 positive reviews on Clutch.co, and featured in several publications. See additional reviews of Idea Marketing Group, a Chicago Web Design Company.

Here are a few other highly rated web design businesses in Chicago who do solid work:

  • Orbit Media Studios: A well-established web design and development agency known for creating visually appealing and functional websites. They have a strong focus on user experience and offer services such as web design, development, content strategy, and SEO.
  • Solid Digital: Solid Digital is a full-service digital agency offering web design, development, and digital marketing solutions. They have a team of experts that specialize in creating custom websites tailored to the unique needs of their clients.
  • Duo Consulting: Duo Consulting is a digital agency that specializes in Drupal web development and strategy. They have a strong focus on user-centered design and offer services such as web design, development, and ongoing support.

What is the difference between a web design agency vs web design company?

The terms “web design agency” and “web design company” are often used interchangeably, but there can be subtle differences in how they operate and the scope of services they offer. Here’s a general distinction between the two:

Web Design Agency

A web design agency typically refers to a company that provides a range of creative services beyond just web design. They often have a broader scope and expertise in multiple areas of digital marketing and branding. In addition to web design, they may offer services such as web development, graphic design, branding, digital marketing, content creation, and user experience (UX) design. Web design agencies often have a larger team with diverse skill sets to cater to a wide range of client needs.

Web Design Company

A web design company, on the other hand, tends to focus primarily on web design and development services. They may have a smaller team that specializes specifically in designing and building websites. Web design companies typically emphasize their expertise in creating visually appealing and functional websites that align with the client’s objectives. While some web design companies may offer additional services like SEO or content creation, their primary focus is on the design and development aspects of websites.

In summary, a web design agency typically offers a broader range of services beyond web design, encompassing various digital marketing and branding aspects. A web design company, on the other hand, primarily focuses on designing and developing websites. However, it’s important to note that the specific services and capabilities can vary among different companies, so it’s essential to research and evaluate their offerings before making a decision.

We are a Chicago Web Design Company with a small mix of agency services that are still website focused like Google Ads and email marketing to help drive traffic.

What is responsive website design?

Responsive website design is an approach to web design and development that aims to create websites that adapt and respond to different screen sizes and devices. With a responsive design, a website’s layout, content, and images automatically adjust and reorganize to provide an optimal viewing experience on various devices, including desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

The key principles of responsive website design include:

  1. Fluid Grids: Responsive design uses flexible grid systems that allow content to dynamically adjust its layout based on the screen size. This ensures that elements on the page maintain proper proportions and spacing.
  2. Flexible Images: Images within a responsive website are also designed to scale and resize according to the screen size, preventing them from overflowing or appearing too small. This ensures that images remain visually appealing and optimized for different devices.
  3. Media Queries: Media queries are CSS techniques used to apply different styles and layouts based on the characteristics of the device or screen size. By using media queries, developers can define specific rules for different screen resolutions and adapt the website’s design accordingly.
  4. Mobile-First Approach: A mobile-first approach is a design philosophy that prioritizes the mobile experience when creating a responsive website. The website’s layout and content are initially designed for smaller screens and then progressively enhanced for larger devices. This ensures that the website is optimized for mobile users, who often have more limited screen space and different interaction patterns.

Benefits of responsive website design include:

  1. Improved User Experience: Responsive websites provide a seamless and user-friendly experience across different devices. Visitors can easily navigate and consume content without needing to zoom or scroll horizontally, resulting in a positive user experience.
  2. Increased Mobile Traffic: With the increasing use of smartphones and tablets, having a responsive design helps attract and retain mobile visitors. Responsive websites are more likely to rank higher in search engine results, as search engines prioritize mobile-friendly websites.
  3. Cost and Time Efficiency: Building a responsive website eliminates the need to create separate designs and codebases for different devices. This reduces development time and costs associated with managing multiple versions of the website.
  4. Future-Proofing: As new devices and screen sizes emerge, a responsive design provides flexibility and adaptability, ensuring the website remains accessible and visually appealing across various devices.

In summary, responsive website design allows websites to automatically adjust and optimize their layout and content for different devices, resulting in a better user experience and improved accessibility.

Founded in 2009. Idea Marketing Group is a top Chicago web design agency that works intimately with consumer brands and manufacturers to help build, maintain, and market websites. See the award-winning work or a specific service like manufacturing web design.