Design TLC

What Design TLC does

Design TLC, LLC is a privately held WordPress website design and development agency headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, founded and led by Tara Claeys. The firm specializes in custom websites for two vertical segments: independent K-12 schools and nonprofit organizations, delivering projects that range from $8,000 to $50,000+ with occasional six-figure engagements. Its core technology stack is built on WordPress with Beaver Builder as the primary page builder, supplemented by Gravity Forms, GiveWP, The Events Calendar, Yoast SEO, Smash Balloon, Mailchimp for WordPress, MemberPress, and WP Accessibility, and the firm conducts WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility auditing and remediation as a documented capability. Design TLC is an official Blackbaud Partner (joined February 2025) and integrates with Blackbaud's K-12 database systems for directories, athletics, and calendars, alongside integrations with GiveWP, The Events Calendar, Mailchimp, Smash Balloon, and Google Analytics.

The business model combines one-time project revenue from custom website builds with recurring revenue from TLC Website Care Plans (monthly/annual maintenance subscriptions), supplemented by an annual pro bono engagement under the "TLC from the Heart" program. Go-to-market is sales-led and direct, with prospective clients initiating projects through a "Get Some TLC" inquiry form; the firm supports demand generation via content marketing (blog), an industry podcast (Mindful School Marketing), webinars, social channels, and case studies. Operations run on a distributed contractor model with team members who have worked with the founder for 3 to 10 years, enabling pricing roughly one-half to one-third that of comparable agencies while maintaining award-recognized output (MarCom Gold 2024, two Hermes Creative Golds in 2025, InspirED Brilliance Silver 2025, Arlington Chamber of Commerce Best Business 2025).

Name

Design TLC

Legal name

Design TLC, LLC

Website

https://designtlc.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Design TLC is a privately held, Arlington, Virginia-based WordPress website design agency that builds custom, accessibility-focused websites for K-12 independent schools and nonprofit organizations, using a distributed contractor model under founder Tara Claeys.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Website Design and Development Projects: One-time custom website design and development projects for schools and nonprofits. Pricing ranges from $8,000 to $50,000+ depending on scope, complexity, and unique client needs. Some pro bono work is also provided annually.
2. Website Care Plans / Ongoing Maintenance: Recurring monthly or annual website maintenance and support plans (TLC Website Support Plans) providing ongoing maintenance, updates, and support for existing client websites.
3. TLC From the Heart (Pro Bono): Annual pro bono web design services for a selected nonprofit organization, including website redesigns and SEO enhancements. This is a charitable service rather than a revenue stream.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Design TLC is a WordPress website design and development agency that builds custom websites for K-12 independent schools and nonprofit organizations. The firm provides end-to-end services including website redesigns, accessibility auditing and remediation (WCAG 2.1 Level AA), software integrations such as Blackbaud, and ongoing maintenance through tiered Website Care Plans. Pricing for design projects ranges from $8,000 to $50,000+, with separate recurring monthly/annual maintenance subscriptions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TLC from the Heart: Pro bono initiative where Design TLC selects a nonprofit organization each year to receive free web design services.
• TLC Discovery
• TLC Planning
• TLC Solutions

Products and services

• Custom School Website Design

Quantifiable outcome

• Won MarCom Gold Award (2024) for The Winsor School website — selected from over 6,500 international entries
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BlackbaudcoreTechnology or Integration · 4 February 2025Design TLC joined the Blackbaud Partner Ecosystem as an official Blackbaud Partner, enabling seamless integration with Blackbaud's platforms for schools. This partnership allows Design TLC to offer custom website solutions that integrate with Blackbaud's database systems for directories, athletics, and calendars. Design TLC is listed on the Blackbaud Marketplace.
• E&A Co. (Edit Barry and Allison Le)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Collaborative partnership on The Winsor School website project. Edit Barry of E&A Co. provided strategic marketing messaging while Allison Le provided creative design direction. This was a specific project collaboration rather than an ongoing partnership.
• Beaver BuildercoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024Design TLC identified accessibility gaps in the Beaver Builder page builder plugin and communicated them to the developers. The Beaver Builder team committed to releasing an update to address accessibility concerns identified by Design TLC. Design TLC uses Beaver Builder extensively for client site management.
• Lead Team PartnersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLead Team Partners membership. Design TLC is listed as a member of Lead Team Partners, a professional network or partner program for service providers.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Blackbaud: Blackbaud is the dominant software provider for K-12 and nonprofit back-office systems (databases, payments, CRM). It is simultaneously a partner (via the Blackbaud Partner Ecosystem) and a broad incumbent whose in-house website products compete for the same school and nonprofit budgets as Design TLC.
• WebFX: WebFX is a large full-service digital marketing agency offering web design, SEO, and content services. It is not verticalized to schools and nonprofits but is a broad incumbent that competes for mid-market web redesign budgets in the same general price band as Design TLC.
• Bonterra: Bonterra (formerly Network for Good and others) is a large nonprofit technology provider spanning fundraising, CRM, and grant management. It is an adjacent incumbent whose suite overlaps with the donor management, fundraising, and website needs of Design TLC's nonprofit clients.

Direct peers

• The Cyphers Agency: The Cyphers Agency is a marketing and web agency serving independent schools, with deep experience in admissions marketing and school websites. It is a directly comparable agency to Design TLC for the K-12 independent school segment.
• Mighty Citizen: Mighty Citizen is a branding, marketing, and web agency that focuses heavily on nonprofit and association clients. It is a directly comparable agency to Design TLC on the nonprofit side of the portfolio, with similar positioning around mission-driven organizations.
• CampusSuite: CampusSuite is a website CMS and content platform purpose-built for K-12 schools and districts. Like Design TLC, it focuses exclusively on education-sector websites and competes head-to-head for independent school redesign business.
• Elevation Web: Elevation Web is a digital agency specialized in marketing and website design for K-12 independent schools. It targets the same buyer (school marketing and admissions leaders) and competes with Design TLC for independent school redesign and development projects.
• Finalsite: Finalsite is a long-standing provider of websites, communications, and enrollment tools specifically for K-12 independent and private schools. It is the most direct competitor to Design TLC in the private school website market, competing on the same buyer profile and overlapping feature set (CMS, mobile, accessibility, integrations).
• Edlio: Edlio provides K-12 website, communication, and content solutions, including a school CMS, mobile apps, and mass notification tools. It directly competes with Design TLC for the same K-12 district and school buyer, with particular overlap on accessibility, mobile experience, and integration with school back-office systems.

Emerging players

• SmartSites: SmartSites is a full-service digital agency offering web design, SEO, and PPC. While not verticalized to schools and nonprofits, it is a frequent competitor in the small-to-mid-market website redesign space and could surface on Design TLC RFPs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCV94nC6oYJ_IZnqYwgiXy1Q/videos?disable_polymer=1
• Facebookfacebook.com/designtlc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tlc-design
• Instagraminstagram.com/designtlcweb

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Design TLC