Why most agency sites fail (and what ours got wrong)
After analyzing forty agency sites — including three versions of our own — a pattern emerges. Most agencies build for applause from peers, not for the client searching for their number on a Sunday night.
The brief is always the same: "Make it premium." So is the result: a hero animation, a marquee of client logos and a contact form nobody fills out.
We relaunched our own site three times in twelve years. Every time we thought we understood it. Every time the data told us something different six months later.
What actually convinces a client
The client is alone. It's 9 PM. They have a screenshot of your hero and two of competitors. They're not going to scroll. They're going to search for the words their CFO will ask about.
- A price indication — even a range builds trust.
- Recent, named work — logos alone aren't enough.
- Process — not the steps, but the choices you make for them.
- A real person they can email without a form.
Premium is confidence, not motion design
Our second site had every motion-design trick we could think of and a 0.6% conversion rate. Our current site is text-first, has one hero animation and converts at 3.1%. Premium doesn't mean cinematic — premium means confidence.
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