CLD
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersMaidenhead, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What CLD does
CLD (Clever Little Design Limited) is a privately held, founder-led digital marketing agency headquartered in Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom. Founded in 2005 and registered in England and Wales (company number 05989072), the firm operates with 11–50 employees and delivers website design and development, SEO, paid search (PPC), social media management, lead generation, UX design, and brand strategy services. Its primary technology platform is Craft CMS, supplemented by ExpressionEngine for multi-site implementations and Shopify / Craft Commerce for e-commerce, with Webflow offered for lighter marketing sites. The agency holds Google Partner status and positions itself as a specialist in content-driven design and multi-locale CMS architecture, evidenced by its delivery of a 14-site global platform for Hytera and multi-market EMEA sites for Johnson & Johnson.
CLD serves a horizontally segmented client base spanning enterprise (NVIDIA, Johnson & Johnson, Hytera, Autoscribe, Storage Giant, ZAP Data Hub) and SMB / non-profit clients (London Bridge Experience, Norwegian Log Buildings, Orangutan Appeal UK, Hamilton Specialist Referrals, Park Sports), with particular depth in healthcare, life sciences, technology, and B2B verticals. Revenue is generated through a mix of project-based engagements (£3,500–£150,000 per website project, time-and-materials billing) and productized monthly retainers — Starter at £1,800, Growth at £3,500, and Pro at £5,000 — alongside website maintenance services from £100/month. Standard terms are a 12-month minimum contract with three months' notice. The go-to-market model is consultative and inbound-driven, leveraging a blog, SEO, case-study portfolio, free website audit, and discovery calls.
The firm has operated continuously for approximately 20 years without external institutional investment, acquisitions, or leadership transitions, indicating a stable, owner-operated profile. Its distribution model is direct-to-client B2B with international delivery capability demonstrated through existing enterprise engagements, though its primary operational footprint remains the UK.
CLD firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CLD
- Legal name
- Clever Little Design Limited
- Website
- https://cld.agency
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CLD industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Marketing Services
- NAICS
- Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)
- SIC
- Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)
- akta.pro industry
- Appointment Setting & Sales Development (SDR/BDR) ServicesBusiness & Public Services/Marketing, Advertising & PR Services/Direct Marketing & Lead Generation (Email, Telemarketing, Demand Gen)
Keywords
Where CLD is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Maidenhead
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
CLD business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- Monthly Retainers: Recurring monthly retainer services offering ongoing digital marketing support, website maintenance, and optimization. Tiers include Starter (£1,800/month), Growth (£3,500/month), and Pro (£5,000/month). Hours roll over to the following month.
- Project-Based Services: Time and materials billing for website development projects, calculated according to Scope of Work. Standard daily fee rates based on 7.5 hour days. Website projects range from £3,500 to £150,000.
- Website Maintenance: Ongoing website management and optimisation services from £100/month, including dedicated project manager, creative designer, and developer support.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Starter Retainer for businesses new to digital marketing |
| Subscription | Monthly | Growth Retainer for businesses scaling with limited budgets |
| Subscription | Monthly | Pro Retainer for businesses with ambitious goals in competitive sectors |
| Subscription | Monthly | Website Maintenance ongoing management |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Website Development Projects |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Website Audit |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
CLD product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CLD is a digital marketing agency that designs and develops websites, and runs digital marketing campaigns for B2B businesses. Core services include website design and development on Craft CMS, search engine optimisation (SEO), paid search (PPC) management, social media management, lead generation strategy, UX design, and brand strategy. The agency sells these through monthly retainers (£1,800–£5,000/month) and project-based engagements (£3,500–£150,000), supplemented by ongoing website maintenance from £100/month.
Product overview
CLD (Clever Little Design) is a digital marketing agency offering a comprehensive suite of services organized around website development and digital marketing. Their core offering includes Website Development, Lead Generation Strategy, Paid Search (PPC), Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Social Media Management, UX Design, and Brand Strategy. The agency specializes in Craft CMS and Craft Commerce as their primary technology platforms for building bespoke websites and e-commerce solutions. Services are available through project-based work (website projects ranging from £3,500 to £150,000) or monthly retainer programs (Starter at £1,800, Growth at £3,500, and Pro at £5,000), with additional website maintenance services starting from £100 per month.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Lead Generation Strategy Strategic consulting service focused on generating qualified leads for B2B businesses, including audience research, conversion rate optimisation, and campaign strategy.
- Paid Search (PPC) Pay-per-click advertising management across Google Ads, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, and remarketing platforms to drive targeted traffic and conversions for B2B clients.
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Organic search optimisation services including local SEO, on-page SEO, off-page SEO, site migration, and digital PR to improve search rankings and online visibility.
- Social Media Management Social media services including community management, content generation, engagement, follower growth, and scheduling across multiple platforms.
- Website Development Custom website design and development services for B2B businesses, including front-end and back-end development, UX design, conversion rate optimisation, and hosting.
- Craft CMS Implementation Specialist Craft CMS implementation services leveraging the platform's content modelling, multi-site, and localisation capabilities for complex bespoke web projects.
- UX Design User experience design services focused on creating intuitive, user-friendly interfaces and improving website usability and conversion rates.
- Brand Strategy Brand identity development services including brand workshops, positioning statements, straplines, tone of voice development, and corporate identity design.
- Monthly Retainer Plans Recurring monthly retainer services offering ongoing digital marketing support, website maintenance, and optimisation, with tiered pricing (Starter, Growth, Pro) and rolling-over hours.
- Website Maintenance Ongoing website management and optimisation service from £100 per month, including a dedicated project manager, creative designer, and developer support.
- Free Website Audit Complimentary audit tool that benchmarks website health and performance against the top three competitors to identify improvement opportunities.
Quantifiable outcome
- 279% increase in online quotes for Storage Giant
- +8 more outcomes
Companies that use CLD
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
CLD technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Feature3 records
CLD partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and supporting.
- Froidevaux and PartnerminorCLD partnered with Froidevaux and Partner in Switzerland to create an educational portal (Animas Academy) for people with Type 1 Diabetes. The portal content was created with the help of a scientific committee to oversee medical relevance.
- Craft CMScoreCLD is a Craft CMS specialist agency and the preferred CMS platform for their website development projects. They leverage Craft's multi-site and localization capabilities for enterprise clients requiring multiple regional websites.
- ShopifycoreCLD uses Shopify for standard e-commerce solutions alongside Craft Commerce for custom e-commerce requirements.
- ExpressionEnginesupportingCLD used ExpressionEngine's multi-site capabilities for the Animas EMEA website project to enable content sharing across UK, Germany, and Netherlands sites.
- GooglecoreCLD manages Google Ads campaigns (Google Search, Display, YouTube, LinkedIn) for clients and uses Google Analytics for website performance tracking.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
CLD competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- KlientBoost: PPC, SEO, and CRO agency specializing in performance marketing with a strong outbound/lead-gen GTM model akin to CLD's.
- Vertical Leap: UK-based SEO and digital PR agency with content marketing and paid search offerings. Directly comparable on SEO-led lead generation client base.
- Ladder: Digital marketing agency focused on growth-driven design, SEO, and paid media for B2B and SaaS clients — directly comparable on service mix and client type.
- Hallam: UK-based full-service digital marketing agency offering SEO, PPC, web design, and content strategy for B2B clients. Closely comparable in size, geography, and service portfolio to CLD.
- Brainlabs: Data-driven digital marketing agency offering paid media, SEO, and CRO for enterprise clients. Overlaps with CLD's performance-led approach and channel mix.
- Koozai: UK digital marketing agency specializing in SEO, PPC, and content for SME and mid-market clients. Similar scale, service mix, and UK home market to CLD.
- Directive: B2B performance marketing agency focused on SaaS and tech clients; offers paid media, SEO, and CRO similar to CLD's enterprise delivery.
- The Marketing Practice: B2B marketing agency with global footprint delivering demand generation, content, and account-based marketing programs. Overlaps with CLD on lead generation and B2B campaign execution.
Emerging players
- Builtvisible: UK-based SEO and digital PR specialist agency. Smaller and more focused than CLD on organic search and content, but a credible competitor for SEO retainers.
Broad incumbents
- Deloitte Digital: Global digital transformation arm of Deloitte serving Fortune 500 clients with strategy, creative, and technology at far greater scale. Provides an enterprise alternative that CLD occasionally competes against.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
CLD social profiles
Digital presenceCLD financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CLD leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
CLD funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CLD M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CLD
What does CLD do?
CLD is a digital marketing agency that designs and develops websites, and runs digital marketing campaigns for B2B businesses. Core services include website design and development on Craft CMS, search engine optimisation (SEO), paid search (PPC) management, social media management, lead generation strategy, UX design, and brand strategy. The agency sells these through monthly retainers (£1,800–£5,000/month) and project-based engagements (£3,500–£150,000), supplemented by ongoing website maintenance from £100/month.
Is CLD a public or private company?
CLD is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was CLD founded?
CLD was founded in 2005. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is CLD based?
CLD is headquartered in Maidenhead, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does CLD make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Monthly Retainers are the primary driver. The others are project-Based Services and website Maintenance.
Who are CLD's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are KlientBoost, Vertical Leap, Ladder, Hallam, Brainlabs, Koozai, Directive and The Marketing Practice. Builtvisible is listed as an emerging player. Deloitte Digital is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does CLD have an API?
No public API is recorded for CLD.
What industry is CLD in?
CLD's product category is Digital Marketing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAKAD, Appointment Setting & Sales Development (SDR/BDR) Services. Its NAICS code is 541810 and its SIC code is 7330.