We continue our journey searching for the best web design company in each state. Our fourth state (alphabetical order) is Arkansas. Since I’ve reviewed hundreds of local web design companies and thousands of local websites, I will gladly lend my expertise to the Arkansas locals looking for reputable web design companies.
The Rules: Reminder
I’m not reviewing every single website provided for web designers in Arkansas (what kind of free time do you think I have?). Instead, I will use popular search engines and highly sought search terms.
- Google – using the term “Best Web Design Company (state)”
- Bing – “Web Design Firms (state)”
- Duck Duck Go – “Web Design Agency (state)
- Clutch.co – “Top Web Design Companies (state)”
Since mobile design and browsing are important, I’m reviewing all of these sites on mobile.
Other things to consider:
- Speed
- Reviews
- Functionality
- Originality
This is part of my ongoing series – Best Web Design A-Z
Arkansas: The State
If you are like me, you first heard of Arkansas when Bill Clinton was elected president. If you are older (or better at geography), you might know Arkansas as a state located in the southern region – bordered by six states, including Missouri to the north, Tennessee to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Oklahoma, Texas, and Mississippi to the west.
In school, we all knew the capital of Arkansas was Little Rock (because it was fun to say). Little Rock is also the state’s largest city. Don’t you love it when things like that sync up?
Arkansas is known for its natural beauty, with numerous state parks and forests that offer opportunities for outdoor recreation. One of the most notable attractions in Arkansas is the Hot Springs National Park, which is located in the Ouachita Mountains. You guessed it! This park is known for the natural hot springs.
Another iconic feature of Arkansas is the Mississippi River, which runs along the state’s eastern border. It’s tough for me to admit (living in Ohio most of my life), but the Mississippi is the most famous river in the US – and Arkansas is all about this river. The river played a crucial role in the state’s history, serving as a major transportation route for goods and people. Today, visitors can take a riverboat tour to explore the Mississippi and learn about its importance to the region. Additionally, the river’s Delta region is known for its blues music heritage, and visitors can explore museums and music venues to experience this unique cultural tradition.
I learned more about Arkansas in the five-minutes of Google research than I knew in my 30+ years. Let’s hope our research also provides us with a ton of AMAZING web design companies. Let’s proceed down the Google River!
Best Web Design Company Arkansas – Google
Google results provide the Google Business Profile Map Pack and also organic results. We won’t be looking at Google Sponsored Ads or any informational results – simply web design companies.
WebJIVE
- Search: #1 on Google Business Profile for “Best Web Design Company Arkansas”
- Location: Little Rock, AR
- Website: web-jive.com
- Preferred CMS: WordPress
- Price Range: Not Listed
- Mobile PageSpeed: 64/100
- Google Reviews: 4.9 (29 reviews)
WebJive does a lot of things right. As I research more and more web design companies, I realize that we all tend to use Raleway font. There must be something appealing to us designers – or the templates we use from WordPress designers. Speaking of, I imagine they primarily make WordPress sites. By checking out their site map, this is what they are using. Im slightly biased because it appears we have a similar model. They seem to focus more on content than original designs. WordPress is perfect for that.
Like so many websites I find, there’s plenty of marketing speak and probably not enough personality or human elements. The website answered plenty of questions, but I didn’t see any faces or actual Humans we would be working with. They list features and services they offer, with corresponding paragraphs, but there were moments that I would have liked to see video options or the content it bite-sized-chunks.
WebJive was using some pretty solid SEO techniques with plenty of internal keyword linking and local pages highlighting their top cities served. I was happy to see their pricing for SEO, which starts at $395. They ask the right questions to determine website cost, but they don’t seem to give a price.
Not a bad website and the company appears to be legit. They tend to practice what they preach, so they should be on your list of potential candidates.
VisionAmp
- Search: #2 on Google Business Profile for “Best Web Design Company Arkansas”
- Location: Mountain Home, AR
- Website: visionamp.com
- Preferred CMS: Custom
- Price Range: $3,000-$10,000
- Mobile PageSpeed: 31/100
- Google Reviews: 5.0 (27 reviews)
VisionAmp is an impressive, boutique website that gets to the point and does it well. Why boutique? Well, there’s not a ton of pages or a bunch of filler content that gets in the way. They hit you with great graphics and headings that tell the story. They make websites that convert. They create custom sites based on the goals they uncover from the clients. Sounds like a great setup to me.
VisionAmp showcases their employees, but even better, they outline their values and what you can expect when working with their team.
Guess what?! They are even bold enough to show their prices. Bravo. They are priced above average, so you should expect a better than average website.
I always check to see if the website company is practicing what they preach. I was happy to see their blog is not dormant. I’m not one to know their internal strategy (and I’m also not pulling sitemap files), so I’m not sure about their page structure and if they need more pages. From a user perspective, they did a good job to get them in consideration.
SimpleMachine
- Search: #3 on Google Business Profile for “Best Web Design Company Arkansas”
- Location: Bentonville, AR
- Website: simplemachinedesigns.com
- Preferred CMS: WordPress
- Price Range: Not Listed
- Mobile PageSpeed: 27/100
- Google Reviews: 5.0 (35 reviews)
We travel to the home Sam Walton built to review Simple Machine. Right from the start, I love that they just tell me what they do.
“We build WordPress websites for small businesses”
As a user, is this what I want? If not, I go elsewhere. This is always my favorite approach.
The website was easy to use and easy to navigate. They offer web design, graphic design, and web hosting – i think. I say this because the web hosting link just directed me right back to the homepage. That’s a must fix. Everything else seemed to work well – portfolio, blog, and testimonials were fine.
My only issue with this site was the lack of human touch or imagery. This family business doesn’t show any family (or staff) on the mobile site. Maybe the images are hidden on smaller screens, but if that’s my first and only interaction with the website, they lost any emotional gain and trust I get from seeing real people. I think having an about page or a staff page – even if not thorough – would be a welcomed addition to the site. Without, they come off as any other lead generation website design company.
Web Design Firms Arkansas – Bing
Let’s forget to use “best” or “top”. How about we just find out what organic Bing results show up for web design firms.
Elevate Digital Designs
- Search: #1 on Bing for “Web Design Firms Arkansas”
- Location: Service Area Business (Northwest Arkansas)
- Website: elevatedigitaldesigns.com
- Preferred CMS: Not Listed
- Price Range: Not Listed
- Mobile PageSpeed: 21/100
- Google Reviews: 5.0 (12 reviews)
Elevate Digital Designs has a completely different vibes than most other web design companies and I’m all for it. Instead of your typical Raleway and Monsteret font, we get something different. The entire site has more of an earthy vibe. They zigged while others zagged. I think it makes them stand out.
The website covers their services, which details web design, e-commerce, SEO, and branding. They really nail the branding aspect and their work looks great. From an SEO standpoint, they are doing a lot of things right with their site structure – but I’m not entirely sure that they have enough content to prove, undoubtedly, that they are the best.
Do I know how much they cost? No. Do I know who is on their team? No. Do I think they would create a good product? Yes. But it looks like you need to schedule a meeting to know for sure.
Matmon
- Search: #2 on Bing for “Web Design Firms Arkansas”
- Location: Little Rock, AR
- Website: matmon.com
- Preferred CMS: Not Listed
- Price Range: Not Listed
- Mobile PageSpeed: 41/100
- Google Reviews: 4.8 (12 reviews)
Matmon is a professionally created website by a recognized Arkansas web design company. They website is clean and easy to navigate. I was a bit alarmed at first when I hit their homepage. The choice of white font blended with their hero photo, which had white elements, made me think there could be design issues throughout – but that was the only major issue I saw.
Matmon does a little bit of everything digital. They offer web design services, social media, SEO, WordPress hosting, and more. They have all of their services nested correctly (which is a positive for SEO) but would have loved a little more information about pricing or process.
We get a glimpse of the team and the owner. You can read all about the owner and understand his expertise and experience. I thought it was great how they listed their awards and accreditations. Just like Google, listing this information does wonders for a users ability to trust and feel a company is credible.
It looks like they gave up on blogging in 2016. I would just remove the dates or remove the option to view on the footer. Does a web design company need to blog? I don’t think so. But if you’re not going to update it, just hide the blogroll. Besides this little odd goof up, everything else checked out and I would be willing to talk about a new website.
Rock Two Associates
- Search: #3 on Bing for “Web Design Firms Arkansas”
- Location: Service Area Business (Arkansas)
- Website: rocktwoassociates.com
- Preferred CMS: WordPress
- Price Range: $700-$2000
- Mobile PageSpeed: 20/100
- Google Reviews: 4.5 (10 reviews)
Rock Two Associates does a great job of laying out their prices and what you get with each package. In a world of “make an appointment to find out the price”, Rock Two lays it out. They offer WordPress websites designed for small businesses in the Arkansas region. The team appears to be small, or at least they the looks of the “People” page – the owner and her dog. This agency seems to be more of a boutique web firm, unless they outsource a lot of the work.
From a design standpoint, the mobile version seemed slightly outdated. I felt like I was on an early mobile app. It wasn’t awful to navigate, but I had to check to see if this was a lead generation site or an actual company. A few images of people on the front page would clear that up.
Rock Two lists their projects and their process. I would feel comfortable working with them, but would just need to make sure our goals and deliverables align. Their pricing is reasonable, but I would wonder their approach with SEO and ranking. This, of course, is a big deal for many businesses.
Web Design Agency Arkansas – DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo won’t focus on local results – meaning we won’t be looking at any map packs. Let’s head right to the organic results.
Galifrey
- Search: #1 on Duck Duck Go for “Web Design Agency Arkansas”
- Location: Russellville, AR
- Website: galifrey.com
- Preferred CMS: Not Listed
- Price Range: Not Listed
- Mobile PageSpeed: 87/100
- Google Reviews: 4.9 (7 reviews)
It’s tough not to like a website company that’s also the home world of Doctor Who Time Lords (remember, I speak nerd) – so I went into this website with high hopes. Thankfully, they seem to deliver. The homepage did a great job navigating me to different areas of their site, with the most prominent call to actions being their services page and a tool that scans your website visibility. That’s exactly what you want to see from a company that’s promoting their ability to get you leads.
I started to worry that the human element would be missing but a few scrolls and I saw the owner and team. The subpages removed the “dark” theme – which is much better for readability. There was a mixture of embedded videos, icons, paragraphs, and bullet points. Someone knows how to design a website.
They do a lot of things. They mention quite frequently that they are a full-stack agency. I’m guessing that’s the keyword they really want to win. A full-stack agency can handle just about anything. But I’m really just looking for web design and SEO.
Galifrey know what they are talking about and actually showcase their skill with the website content, layout, and site structure. They are not very descriptive with pricing or tools they use (CMS) to build your website. They have an interesting feature where users can make their own website and just use their hosting. It seems to me they would prefer to help with the marketing after the website is built as opposed to create the website for you. That’s a hunch and also not a bad thing. Some agencies prefer the marketing phase.
Overall I enjoyed the design of the website and they passed my test. I would be comfortable using one of their tools to scan my site and/or book an appointment.
Arkansas Web
- Search: #2 on Duck Duck Go for “Web Design Agency Arkansas”
- Location: Little Rock, AR
- Website: arkansasweb.com
- Preferred CMS:
- Price Range: $3,000-$10,000
- Mobile PageSpeed: 22/100
- Google Reviews: n/a (0 reviews)
With a name like Arkansas Web, I was expecting a lead generation website. As I reviewed the three pages available to the public, I was thinking – yes, this is not a real company. Thankfully, there was a video embedded on the homepage and within seconds we saw an image of the owner.
To say this website is underwhelming is about right. There just isn’t enough information for me to feel confident that I trust this company or if they would do a good job. There was a broken image in the footer and I absolutely hate the recaptcha logo hovering in the lower right. Please use some CSS and hide this.
It’s impossible to know the price, the extent of their services, and who is working on your project. The website seemed thrown together. That’s not a good look for a web design company.
Utility Media
- Search: #3 on Duck Duck Go for “Web Design Agency Arkansas”
- Location: Kensett, AR
- Website: utilitymedia.com
- Preferred CMS: WordPress, SquareSpace, Wix
- Price Range: Not Listed
- Mobile PageSpeed: 42/100
- Google Reviews: n/a (0 reviews)
Utility Media has a slick, modern website. They follow the path of so many designers and rock that Raleway font. High five. The website is clean and I appreciate their graphics and portfolio examples. The website had a great start…but then I started running into some broken links.
I’m primarily looking for website services and the first “read more” link went to a 404. This was also the case for maintenance and support. I was able to land on these pages by using the navigation, but I’m always a bit hesitant after finding some pretty easy to spot errors on a web designers site.
I checked out their about page and they list the team, but you really couldn’t deep dive into their expertise unless you wanted to creep on their LinkedIn page. One of their bullet points was promoting that they didn’t have hidden costs…yet, I couldn’t find their prices. Who knows how much they cost?
The website looked good but a few critical issues would have me dropping them on my list of prospective design agencies.
Top Web Design Companies Arkansas – Clutch.co
SixtyOne Celsius
- Search: #1 on Clutch.co for “Top Web Design Companies Arkansas”
- Location: Hot Springs, AR
- Website: sixtyonecelsius.com
- Preferred CMS: Not Listed
- Price Range: Not Listed
- Mobile PageSpeed: 28/100
- Google Reviews: 5.0 (7 reviews)
Clutch.co was not producing the best results. A few of the earlier mentioned websites were listed, but then it was a Tennessee company and three companies that had broken or defunct websites. I finally landed on Sixty One Celsius, which was a nice design, but lacked a ton of content.
The company offers an assortment of marketing services including graphic design, digital marketing, and web design. The web design page had the basics – mentioned responsive design, WordPress, and SEO. They really didn’t go into the process, prices, or packages. You would have to go through and review their work to really get a better understanding.
The company page listed the team and they all look serious. Almost too serious for a creative agency. I’m not one to tell people to smile, but I almost felt intimidated by their headshots. They each had extensive bios, so you can at least see what they’ve done in their careers. Smart move by having their accomplishments listed. This will help their expertise when it comes to ranking.
Overall, the website was fine and the company seems legitimate enough to contact. I wasn’t sold from the website but it certainly didn’t disqualify them from my list.
MHP/Team SI
- Search: #2 on Clutch.co for “Top Web Design Companies Arkansas”
- Location: Little Rock, AR
- Website: mhpteamsi.com
- Preferred CMS: WordPress
- Price Range: Not Listed
- Mobile PageSpeed: 22/100
- Google Reviews: 4.3 (4 reviews)
Let’s start off by saying that I’m impressed by MHP Team SI. They’ve been around for 50 years, so they’ve seen the advertising world change right before their eyes. Their website is original and they seem to be originators. They have coined their own marketing terms and platforms. Most of their content seems 100% original and likely created in-house. Their content is unique to each page and they niche down, creating copy for each page that speaks directly to the target user. I was not able to detect anything with my BS meter.
Since I’m looking for Web Design companies, I will largely ignore their other services. I will take a look at the website and SEO services. Both of these pages were unique and explained the services and offerings. The web design page was pretty technical for a new user. Most of the bullet points outlined what they do, but it was tough to digest. I think this would be a great place for a video (like the main video on their capabilities page). SEO was a little easier to digest and understand.
As a user, I get hung up on their name. The name is either a mouthful of two companies. I guess it doesn’t matter when it comes down to service, but it’s an unnecessary question that a customer will have. Granted, I don’t know their history. Maybe these companies just merged, but it sounds like that happened in 2010.
Overall, I’m not sure the cost but I imagine if I just want a website, I’ll have to pay for a lot more. Then again, you might get a lot more – Professional video, photos, marketing advice, copyrighting, etc… It would be worth a discovery call with the team.
ION Agency Web Design
- Search: #3 on Clutch.co for “Top Web Design Companies Arkansas”
- Location: Batesville, AR
- Website: ionagency.com
- Preferred CMS: Not Listed
- Price Range: Not Listed
- Mobile PageSpeed: 38/100
- Google Reviews: 5.0 (3 reviews)
It’s really tough to discuss a web design company with five visible pages. The design, logo, colors, typography – all that – look good. The website took a bit longer to load on my LTE network, which is odd since there wasn’t any major media files, but overall I’m not complaining. But on the other hand…five pages.
If the pages were full of examples or content, I would be less critical, but we are literally talking about 250 words or less on each page. There were no signs of human involvement. No staff or mention of the owner. They discuss design, building, and scaling. That’s it.
They just don’t give me enough to feel confident to contact.
Who is the Best Web Design Company in Arkansas?
Google, Bing, Duck Duck Go, and Clutch.co delivered some quality results for Web Design and Marketing Agencies in Arkansas. Unlike Alaska, there’s plenty to choose from – all with pro’s and con’s.
The design of their website doesn’t matter to most looking for an affordable, high-quality website for their small business or brand – so I won’t get too carried away with my opinions. Granted, if there were fundamental elements wrong on the company website, that’s a huge red flag for me.
When reviewing over the 12 Best Web Design Companies (listed), I found myself going back to Galifrey, MHP/Team SI, SixtyOne Celsius, and Utility Media. All of these companies offer more than just Web Design. This is probably the case for most design companies. It’s probably not a good idea to just hire a web design company that doesn’t also specialize in SEO, photography, or branding. They all go together.
I think I would give MHP/Team SI a call. They did a great job explaining their process. Their SEO game is strong and conversion game even stronger. The website was clean, easy to navigate, and you can tell they are real (yes, they showcased some pictures of the team).
What I Learned from Browsing Arkansas Web Design Websites?
Arkansas is not a huge state with a huge population. They rank 34th in population. Even though they don’t have a ton of people – thus less web design companies – there were plenty of quality options to choose from.
The top firms that showed up in my search results all offered more than just websites. This made their own websites a bit more robust, allowing for users to learn more about their process. This also made it a bit easier to decide if they were legit or just “copied and pasted” the most popular web design phrases o their site. This probably also make them a bit more expensive.
The funny thing that I really realized during my search for Arkansas design companies was their lack of local SEO or Google reviews. We are talking about large companies with multiple offices and a pretty big staff with less than 10 Google reviews. This was just odd.
Overall, Arkansas, not a bad job when it comes to supporting local web design companies.
Does Having a Local Arkansas Web Design Company Matter?
Do I think you need an Arkansas Web Design Company to build you a website if you live or work in Arkansas?
Probably not.
Do I think you should just hire a West Virginia Web Design Company? No.
But, if you get sick and tired of searching through websites and making phone calls to get prices, at least this Web Designer in Wheeling, West Virginia will give you some transparency. We might not know exactly what it’s like to live and work in Arkansas, but if you want to open up your calendar for some conversations, we can make it work.
Most of the time it doesn’t matter where you get your website made. It really just matters that the designer and agency understands your goals and your target market.
If you want an experts opinion on a different local Arkansas Web Design Company, shoot us a message.
About the Author
Eric Hersey
Eric Hersey is a Wheeling Web Designer and Digital Marketing Specialist that has been working building websites for small businesses since 1999. He has been reviewing other web design company websites as part of his own going series (A-Z) to seek inspiration and also help brands from across the US find reputable, quality Web Design Firms and Agencies.
