Cybernautic

What Cybernautic does

Cybernautic is a privately-held custom web design and digital marketing agency founded in 1998 and headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois. The firm designs, develops, and hosts custom websites on its proprietary Editor CMS, deployed on AWS infrastructure and extended with integrations for CRM, email (Constant Contact), reviews, analytics, and accessibility tooling. An in-house team of approximately 24 covers strategy, design, development, and digital marketing under a single delivery model, operating from four Illinois offices (Bloomington, Chicago, Champaign, Peoria).

The company serves a heterogeneous customer base spanning small businesses through Fortune 500 enterprises across 11 named verticals including real estate, healthcare, non-profit, agriculture, education, construction, restaurant, finance, luxury, landscaping, and law firms. Named enterprise customers include Caterpillar, Kellogg's, Chick-fil-A, the National Association of Realtors, La Cornue, and Lynx Grills, alongside a long-tail of SMB engagements.

Revenue is generated through a mix of one-time project fees for custom web design (ranging from roughly $4K to $100K+ per build), recurring SEO subscriptions at $450-$1,450 per location per month, PPC management fees set at 30% of media spend, hosting retainers, an Accessibility Widget subscription ($50-$150/month), and digital billboard advertising. The model layers recurring contractual revenue on top of project work, with recent product launches (Accessibility Widget, Editor Audit Log, 5-Star Review Generation, Visibility Blueprint Framework) tilting the mix further toward subscription-style services.

Name

Cybernautic

Legal name

Cybernautic, Inc.

Website

https://cybernauticdesign.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cybernautic is a privately-held custom web design and digital marketing agency founded in 1998, headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois. The firm builds custom websites on its proprietary Editor CMS with AWS hosting, serving SMBs and enterprises across 11 industry verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Web Design and Digital Marketing Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (54143), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Web Content Management (WCM) & Experience Platforms (Content Services) (HDAEAGAK), Network Architecture & Design Services (BPAEAEAA)

Keywords

• Custom web design
• Web development services
• Search engine optimization
• Pay-per-click management
• Website hosting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Bloomington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Web Design Services: One-time custom web design and development projects ranging from small business packages to enterprise-level custom solutions. Pricing based on project scope and complexity with budgets ranging from $4,000 to $100,000+
2. SEO Services: Monthly recurring SEO service with three tiers: Basic ($450/mo), Standard ($950/mo), and Comprehensive ($1,450/mo) per physical location
3. PPC Management: Monthly management fees at 30% of ad spend with minimum fees ranging from $350 to $1,000 depending on plan tier (Launch, Growing, Expanding)
4. Web Hosting: Cloud-based hosting powered by AWS included with website projects, featuring 99.9% uptime and 24/7 monitoring
5. Accessibility Widget: Monthly subscription for accessibility compliance tools: Basic Widget at $50/mo or AI-Powered Widget at $150/mo
6. Digital Billboard Advertising: Digital billboard advertising on company's own 12ft x 24ft billboard with 22,500 daily impressions

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Cybernautic designs, develops, and hosts custom websites for businesses and organizations using its proprietary Editor content management system and AWS cloud infrastructure. The company bundles website design projects with recurring web marketing services (SEO, PPC, review generation) and offers standalone subscription products including an AI-powered accessibility widget and digital billboard advertising space.

Product overview

Cybernautic is a custom web design and digital marketing agency founded in 1998, headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois, with additional offices in Chicago, Champaign, and Peoria. Its core offering is a proprietary website platform built on a custom content management system (Editor CMS) with AWS cloud hosting, SSL security, and 24/7 monitoring. The platform's primary products are Custom Web Design and the Small Business Web Design Package as the two design tiers, supplemented by add-on modules: Online Payment Processing (Stripe-powered), Employment Application, Custom Online Forms, Customer/Employee Portal, Document Center, Custom Map/Locator Tool, Third Party Integrations, Editor Audit Log, and the Accessibility Widget (offered in Basic and AI-Powered tiers). Web marketing is delivered through three module products: Search Engine Optimization (three pricing tiers), Pay-Per-Click Management (three plan tiers), and 5-Star Review Generation. Cybernautic also provides digital billboard advertising through The Cybernautic Billboard. Industry-specific website solutions are offered across 11 verticals: Real Estate, Healthcare, Non-Profit, Agriculture, Education, Construction, Restaurant, Finance, Luxury, Landscaping, and Law Firms — each leveraging the same underlying CMS and add-on modules tailored to the industry's needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Web Design Full-service custom website design and development service uniquely designed and built on Cybernautic's proprietary Editor CMS, with cloud-based AWS hosting, SSL security, and ongoing technical support. Includes custom design, conversion optimization strategy, and integrations for SEO and web marketing. Project budgets range from $4,000 to $100,000+.
• Small Business Web Design Package Cost-effective website package designed for small businesses and non-profits, including a fully responsive mobile site, Editor CMS, AWS hosting, SSL certificate, branded email, daily backups, and up to 5 page layouts.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Monthly recurring organic search engine optimization service with three tiers (Basic at $450/mo, Standard at $950/mo, Comprehensive at $1,450/mo per physical location). Covers technical optimization, on-site content, off-site citation management, local SEO (Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Maps, Yelp), keyphrase rank reporting, and monthly performance reporting.
• Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Management Google Ads management service with three plan tiers (Launch, Growing, Expanding) charging 30% of ad spend with minimums from $350 to $1,000. Includes keyword research, competitive analysis, conversion tracking, landing page creation, and monthly reporting.
• 5-Star Review Generation Automated review generation service that sends branded email and SMS review requests to customers and collects/display reviews from Google, Facebook, and 250+ platforms. Includes social proof widgets and Google schema markup for local SEO.
• Accessibility Widget Website accessibility widget ensuring ADA and WCAG 2.1 compliance. Basic Widget ($50/mo) covers contrast, text sizing, highlight links, and accessibility statement. AI-Powered Widget ($150/mo) adds AI/ML-driven automatic alt text generation, keyboard navigation, screen reader, language selector, and broken link remediation.
• The Cybernautic Billboard Digital billboard advertising on a 12ft x 24ft dynamic sign in Bloomington, IL generating 22,500 daily impressions, supporting conditional content based on weather and live data integration.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,333% increase in conversions for La Cornue through custom product visualization tool
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers26 records

Segments12 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration16 records

AI capability4 records

Feature9 records

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Squarespace: Squarespace is a leading DIY website builder platform serving SMBs, creatives, and small online retailers. Competes indirectly with Cybernautic by enabling non-technical customers to build websites independently, putting pressure on lower-end custom design packages.
• Bluehost (via Newfold Digital): Bluehost offers website hosting, domain registration, and website building tools serving SMBs globally. While not a custom design agency, it competes for the same small business customer base seeking affordable web presence, often serving as a DIY alternative to Cybernautic's small business design package.
• HubSpot (CMS Hub / Marketing Hub): HubSpot offers a comprehensive CRM, CMS, and marketing automation platform used by agencies and in-house teams. Represents the platformization alternative to custom-built agency solutions like Cybernautic's Editor CMS, often used as a substitute for custom web design.

Direct peers

• Lounge Lizard Worldwide: Lounge Lizard is a digital agency specializing in custom web design, branding, and digital marketing for SMB and enterprise clients. Comparable business model to Cybernautic with similar emphasis on bespoke design and integrated marketing services.
• SmartSites: SmartSites is a digital agency providing custom web design, SEO, PPC, and web marketing services. Comparable to Cybernautic in offering integrated design-and-marketing engagements with tiered recurring SEO/PPC packages for SMB customers.
• Cardinal Digital Marketing: Cardinal Digital Marketing is a performance marketing agency offering SEO, PPC, web design, and content marketing for healthcare and multi-location clients. Comparable vertical focus (notably healthcare) and recurring SEO/PPC service structure to Cybernautic.
• Huemor Design: Huemor is a B2B web design agency providing custom website design, development, and conversion-focused digital marketing. Comparable in custom (non-template) design philosophy and B2B/mid-market positioning.
• Coalition Technologies: Coalition Technologies is a full-service web design and SEO agency delivering custom design, development, and digital marketing. Comparable in vertical-agnostic SMB and mid-market focus and integrated design-plus-SEO offering.
• Straight North: Straight North is a Chicago-based digital marketing agency offering custom web design, SEO, and PPC services with integrated marketing packages. Closely comparable to Cybernautic with overlapping Midwest geography, SMB focus, and integrated service model.
• WebFX: WebFX is a full-service digital marketing agency offering custom web design, SEO, PPC, and conversion optimization services to SMB and mid-market clients. Highly comparable business model to Cybernautic with similar integrated design-plus-marketing offering, though at significantly larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cybernautic
• Facebookfacebook.com/Cybernautic
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cybernautic-design
• Instagraminstagram.com/cybernautic

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cybernautic