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Andrew M McCall

20 Traverse City Web Design Companies | A Complete Website Design List

There are many great options for web design and graphic design in Northern Michigan. The area is home to a number of talented designers who can create stunning websites and graphics that will help your business stand out from the competition. Whether you’re looking for a simple website or something more complex, you’re sure to find a designer in Northern Michigan who can meet your needs.

We break down 20 web design agencies in Northern Michigan to help you make the best decision possible for your next web design project.

1. Traverse City Web Design

Description: Traverse City Web Design practices “Goal Based Web Design.”
URL: Traverse City Web Design
Address: 136 East 17th Street Traverse City, Michigan, 49684 Type: Agency
Services:

Reasons To Choose: If you are familiar with Wordpress, or if you already have a Wordpress website, Traverse City Web Design will most likely be able to serve you. Their design fees are not stated on their website, but they do provide hosting feels. Their plans range from $35/month to $125/month.

Reasons To Avoid: There is a plethora of managed Wordpress hosting options out there for as little as $9.99/month. Some of the most popular managed Wordpress hosting providers are WP Engine, Flywheel, and Kinsta. If you are a small business, and your marketing needs are simple, I would consider using these options which will offer many of the same features seen here for hosting but for less since you will be managing some elements of the hosting yourself.

2. Traverse Web

Description: “Simple Web Solutions For Immediate Results”
URL: Traverse Web
Address: 1605 Shannie Lane, Traverse City MI 49696
Type: Agency
Services:

Reasons To Choose: Traverse Web offer a variety of different website design packages. Traverse Web offers a singular hosting plan which is simple. Traverse Web has several website design options to choose from. Their barebone package is a little expensive for what you get. That being said, their plans are scaleable. Wordpress is an option as well as ecommerce. They also offer an online support ticketing portal as well as traditional phone support.

Reasons To Avoid: Base website package has some nice features but is limited in the amount of pages you get for the cost. The next plan up solves this issue by offering Wordpress as an option. There are, however, agencies out there that offer wordpress plans for the same cost as the base package or less.

3. Byte Productions

Description: “Building A Better Web”
URL: Byte Productions
Address: 226 E. Sixteenth St. Suite C Traverse City, MI  49684
Type: Agency
Services:

Reasons To Choose: They don’t use Wordpress. Many Northern Michigan website design agencies use Wordpress for convenience of development and end-user experience. Byte Productions does not work with Wordpress. Wordpress is the only platform for content management systems.

Reasons To Avoid: They don’t use Wordpress. The question I would ask is what do they use? Wordpress may not be a great experience for all businesses. But an even worse experience is trying to move your website from a proprietary content management system to a new host. Often times, business owners will face a necessary growing pain. Running your business means having a website that is scalable and user-friendly.

Professional websites should be very portable. In the event your business decides to end it’s current hosting agreement, a proprietary hosting solution can be extremely difficult to port to a new web hosting service. Often times, sites have to be redeveloped from scratch, and adapters have to be written to convert the old database to a new database. This means additional costs for your business.

4. ProWeb Marketing | Hosting Solutions

Description: “The Solution For Your Online Presence”
URL: ProWeb Marketing
Address: 830 E. Front Street #324 Traverse City, MI 49686
Type: Agency
Services:

Reasons To Choose: They have a client center on their website. Again, if you are married to Wordpress they are another competitor in the field. They offer 3 new website packages. The lowest tier does not include search engine optimization but they do offer it. Mobile Responsive (though all web design firms should offer this at this point). They also offer form integration and Ecommerce services. This is great if you have customers who can take advantage of an ecommerce service.

Reasons To Avoid: If you don’t like Wordpress ProWeb Marketing may not be the best choice. If you are looking for a very basic website that is SEO optimized, there smallest tier is limited. Also, their smallest tier does not offer a custom quote form at $1000. Websites that are not SEO optimized and have no custom quote form are usually limited in visibility to searchers. Even if they find your site, how will they easily contact you?

5. Legendary Lion

Description: “WE BUILD ONLINE BUSINESSES A DIGITAL CREATIVE AGENCY FOR SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS”
URL: Legendary Lions
Address: 444 Cass St Suite A, Traverse City, MI 49684
Type: Agency
Services:

Reasons To Choose: If you are looking for a smaller digital creative team that can do many tasks, Legendary Lion may be a good fit. They appear to use Wordpress as their content management system of choice. They highlight Brand Design as one of their main services. They appear to have a heavy focus on the mental health industry.

Reasons To Avoid: Appear to focus on the mental health industry. No dedicated graphic designer. web and graphic design is handled by the web development team. The only mention of search engine optimization on their website is a blog post from 2012.

6. Flight Path Creative Digital Marketing

Description: “Full-Service Marketing & Brand Communications”
URL: Flight Path Creative
Address: 440 W Front St | Suite 200 Traverse City, MI 49684
Type: Agency
Services:

Reasons To Choose: Overall, very comprehensive service package. Good if you are a large company and need a lot of marketing support. Able to work with many mediums to help solve your problem. Comprehensive design services. An assortmant of marketing services for larger clients.

Reasons To Avoid: Geared towards larger companies that need comprehensive branding services. No web developer pictured on the home page. Multiple offices and focusing on international and west coast business.

7. Big Water Media

Description: “A Traverse City based agency specializing in custom Wordpress development.”
URL: Big Water Media
Address: 800 Cottageview Dr, Traverse City, MI 49684
Type: Agency
Services:

Reasons To Choose: Wordpress Development Expert, Email Hosting, Responsive Web Design, Affordable, functional website design. BW Media offers secure hosting options.

Reasons To Avoid: If you need professionally crafted content solutions, Big Water Media may not be the best choice. They offer SEO optimization but don’t advertise that they are SEO experts.

8. Current 120 | Website Design & Branding Agency

Description: “Your website should work alongside you to promote, convert, and grow your audience.”
URL: Current 120
Address: 625 Kenmoor Ave SE Ste 350, Grand Rapids, MI 49546
Type: Agency
Services:

Reasons To Choose: If you don’t want to work with Wordpress. Squarespace has tons of built in conversion features. Customization is becoming easier.

Reasons To Avoid: Locked into the Squarespace ecosystem. Squarespace will limit your ability to truly edit and expand your business. Many businesses use Squarespace and it is functional, however. Easy-to-use would be a cornerstone of Squarespace. That being said, you can easily drag and drop your own Squarespace website, especially if your website falls into the category of business cards. Not based in Traverse City, Michigan.

9. Blue Peak Web | Website Design & SEO Traverse City, Michigan

Description: “Turn your website into a full-time salesperson by outranking compeitors[sic] on Google”
URL: Blue Peak Web
Address: 401 W Front St #7, Traverse City, MI 49684
Type: Agency
Services:

Reasons To Choose: None, but they may have a very cheap rate.

Reasons To Avoid: There website is generally broken and their web design does not meet the criteria for a well designed website. The functionality of their home page is broken and that is the expectation that Blue Peak sets for potential clients.

10. A-Peel Design | Graphic Design Business In Traverse City

Description: “A-Peel Design is a creative studio based in Northern Michigan, led by designers Nick Walsh and Rachel Lord. We help business brands and artists market themselves through design, photography, and video animation. Our affordable creative services will help clients differentiate against their competitors and better appeal to target audiences.”
URL: A-Peel Design
Address: 140 E Front St #15, Traverse City, MI 49684
Type: Graphic Design Agency
Services:

Reasons To Choose: Small, local Traverse City, Michigan business. Boutique solution. Works with animation which is a bonus.

Reasons To Avoid: Niche graphic design firm which may not be a one-stop shop. Online marketing services may be limited.

11. Lake Effect Digital | Website Hosting | Client Solution Provider

Description: “When strategy and creativity meet, it’s an undeniable force.”
URL: Lake Effect Digital
Address: 415 Cass St Suite 1A, Traverse City, MI 49684
Type: Agency
Services:

Reasons To Choose: Full Service Digital Marketing Team. Content, Broadcast, and Live Events. Dedicated Graphic Designer & Website Designer. Knowledgeable about all aspects of digital marketing including search engines like Google.

Reasons To Avoid: Better suited for larger companies with individual branding needs.

12. Canvas 45 Website Design | Responsive Web Design

Description: We build amazing websites for small businesses and nonprofit organizations.
URL: Canvas 45 Website Design
Address: 4229 Mitchell Creek Dr, Traverse City, MI 49686
Type: Freelance Web Designer
Services:

Reasons To Choose: If you want to work with a local freelancer who can provide many services bundled into a cost effective solution.

Reasons To Avoid: Your business needs the power of a full-service marketing solution. Your project requires a complex hierarchy such as the need to integrate ecommerce, social media engagement, broadcast, and other digital marketing channels.

13. Contempo Solutions | Search Engine Optimization | Ecommerce

Description: “Grow Your Business On A Global Market”
URL: Contempo Design
Address: 1603 Barlow St. Traverse City, MI49686
Type: Freelancer
Services:

Reasons To Choose: If you are looking for a winery website - it is their speciality.

Reasons To Avoid: Small Company - May not be able to best serve larger clients or brands that need access to multiple marketing channels.

14. Oneupweb

Description: “Your Trusty, Full-Service Digital Marketing Agency”
URL: Oneupweb
Address: 1371 Gray Dr #100 Traverse City, MI 49684
Type: Agency
Services:

Reasons To Choose: Full Service Marketing Agency with all the bells and whistles

Reasons To Avoid: Full Service Marketing Agencies come with a Full Service Cost. Not ideal for smaller businesses.

15. West Bay Web | SEO And Internet Marketing

Description: “West Bay Web is a full service digital marketing agency in Traverse City Michigan, specializing in helping small businesses get found online. We’re experts at designing websites, branding, organic SEO, paid traffic growth, conversion rate optimization, and so much more.”
URL: West Bay Web
Address: 5095 S Colonial Dr, Traverse City, MI 49685
Type: Freelancer
Services:

Reasons To Choose: Specializes in Wordpress SEO. Can help you with ranking in tc.

Reasons To Avoid: Independent/Freelancer will most likely not be able to serve very large clients effectively.

16. Binary Trail

Description: “Making a great first impression has never been more important on the internet. We can help transform your website and online marketing into a streamlined system that truly helps you grow your business.”
URL: Binary Trail
Address: 236 E Front St, Traverse City, MI 49684
Type: Freelancer/Independent
Services:

Reasons To Choose: Smaller entity which may integrate effectively as a part of your team.

Reasons To Avoid: May not be suited for businesses that need complex marketing campaigns with multiple channels. If you need a strong web presence with many services, Binary Trail may be limited.

17. Knorr Marketing

Description: “Marketing is not just a clever ad campaign We believe in shaping and communicating your brand promise to effectively differentiate yourself from everyone else.”
URL: Knorr Marketing
Address: 3104 Logan Valley Rd Traverse City, Michigan 49684
Type: Agency
Services:

Reasons To Choose: Innovative Marketing Strategy known as “Surprize Guys Program”. Full Service Marketing Agency. Established Agency.

Reasons To Avoid: Larger agencies have more overhead costs and may charge more for their services. They may also offer services that are overkill for smaller companies.

18. Erin Waineo | Graphic Design

Description: “As an award-winning graphic designer, Erin’s career first took off in Grand Rapids by working at design agencies, Plenty Creative and Highland Group before her move to Traverse City where she launched Erin Waineo Design in 2011.”
URL: Erin Waineo
Address: 319 N. Elmwood Ave. Traverse City, Michigan 49684
Type: Freelance Graphic Designer
Services:

Reasons To Choose: You want to have a personalized relationship with a native Traverse City graphic designer.

Reasons To Avoid: You need a higher level of digital marketing and creative services.

19. Schrader Web Solutions

Description: “SCHRADER offers the most powerful marketing for your business. Custom design and content that ignites engagement and drives growth.”
URL: Schrader Web Solutions Address: 1568 State St #7, Grawn, MI 49637
Type: Freelancer
Services:

Reasons To Choose: A local freelancer with a proven track record. Bret always goes above and beyond for their clients.

Reasons To Avoid: You need the backing of a full service marketing agency. You are not comfortable working with a freelancer.

20. Maneuver Up Search Marketing

Description: “OUTMANEUVER YOUR COMPETITION”
URL: Maneuver Up
Address: 1828 E Eighth St, Traverse City, MI 49686
Type: Independent
Services:

Reasons To Choose: if you need a marketing service that values search engine optimization, lead generation and backlinking.

Reasons To Avoid: Mostly focused on on-page and off-page SEO as well as Pay Per Click Advertising.

There are a lot of web and graphic designers in Northern Michigan, but it can be tough to know who to choose for your next project. We hope this list of 20 designers can help you make an educated decision. All of the design agencies on this list are highly skilled and have a lot of experience. They all have different specialties, so you should be able to find one that is perfect for your project. Take a look at their portfolios and see what you think. We’re sure you’ll find someone that you love working with.

If you’re not sure where to start or what to do next, why not consult with an experienced professional like myself? I can help you figure out what you need and get started on the path to success.

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