What Formation Design Group does

Formation Design Group, LLC is a privately held, founder-owned web development and graphic design agency headquartered at 2115 NW 113th St, Vancouver, Washington (legal entity formed in Washington State). The firm was founded in 1989 as a graphic design agency and expanded into web development in 1996; it now operates with 11–50 employees serving small and mid-sized businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies in the Pacific Northwest and nationally. Its portfolio spans logo and identity design, brochures, packaging, newsletters, and signage on the creative side, and full-service website builds, content management, e-commerce, maintenance, hosting, security, SEO, and disaster recovery on the digital side.

The firm's technical foundation is built around Joomla CMS as the primary platform, with WordPress as a secondary option, deployed on dedicated servers leased from Rochen (which also hosts the official Joomla website) and SiteGround — both hosts are described as optimized for these platforms with measured 50–200% speed improvements and 99.9% uptime. Supporting infrastructure includes Amazon S3 for offsite backups (up to 10 retained per site), Amazon Route 53 for managed DNS, and SmarterMail for add-on email hosting with SpamExpert filtering. Security architecture features dual firewall installation, automated SSL, malware scanning, and sub-24-hour threat response. Recurring-revenue products include tiered annual hosting ($159.95 Basic, $199.95 Professional, custom Enterprise) and maintenance/security subscriptions, layered on top of project-based web and design work quoted in budget tiers from under $5K to over $25K.

The go-to-market motion is sales-led and direct: a structured "Start a Project" intake form on the website captures leads by project type, timeline, and budget; free consultations and in-person meetings are offered; and demand is supplemented by organic SEO, an online portfolio, Facebook/Twitter presence, and word-of-mouth referrals. The company is privately held with no institutional investment, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed acquisitions or funding rounds.

Name

Formation Design Group

Legal name

Formations Design Group, LLC

Website

https://formationsdesign.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Formation Design Group is a Vancouver, Washington-based, founder-owned web development and graphic design agency serving small and mid-sized businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies nationally with Joomla/WordPress websites, hosting, maintenance, and creative services since 1989.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Web Design and Development Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430)

akta.pro primary industry

Content Studio & Creative Resourcing (In-house/Embedded Teams) (BPAFAIAJ)

Keywords

• Web development services
• Graphic design services
• Website hosting
• CMS implementation
• Brand identity design

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Web Development Services: Full service website development including content management, web business applications, e-commerce, site maintenance, hosting, and email services. Projects are quoted based on scope with budget tiers ranging from under $5k to over $25k
2. Graphic Design Services: Creative design services including logos, brochures, business cards, newsletters, signage, packaging, advertisements, annual reports, and corporate outsourcing work for in-house design teams
3. Website Hosting: Annual premium hosting packages on dedicated servers optimized for Joomla and WordPress. Three tiers available: Basic ($159.95/year), Professional ($199.95/year), and Enterprise (custom pricing). Includes SSL certificates, Amazon S3 backups, and optional SmarterMail email hosting
4. Maintenance Services: Ongoing technical maintenance for websites including security updates, malware monitoring, software updates, database optimization, and component license fees. Also includes monthly time reserved for content updates
5. Security Services: Site security services including dual firewall installation, malware scanning, security checks, and compliance archiving to Amazon Web Services S3 storage

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Formation Design Group is a design and development firm that builds websites (primarily on Joomla CMS and WordPress) and produces graphic design collateral such as logos, brochures, packaging, and newsletters. The firm also delivers related services including website hosting on dedicated servers, ongoing site maintenance, security and disaster recovery, and search engine optimization for businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies.

Product overview

Formation Design Group offers a unified portfolio of digital services centered around web development and graphic design. The core offerings are Web Development Services (websites built on Joomla CMS or WordPress) and Graphic Design Services (branding, marketing collateral, corporate outsourcing). These are supported by integrated add-on modules including Site Maintenance, Site Security, Website Hosting (offered in Basic, Professional, and Enterprise tiers), SEO Services, and Disaster Recovery & Compliance Archiving. The company operates a platform-plus-modules model where hosting packages tier from Basic ($159.95/year) to Professional ($199.95/year) to custom Enterprise level, all leveraging third-party infrastructure including Amazon S3 for backups, SiteGround for server hosting, and SmarterMail for email services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.9% uptime on hosted websites
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers25 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• RochencoreTechnology or IntegrationRochen leases dedicated servers to Formations Design Group that are fully optimized for compatibility and speed for Joomla and WordPress. Rochen hosts the official Joomla website, which is why Formations has chosen them as their hosting provider. Servers deliver 50-200% speed improvement compared to other hosts with 99.9% uptime.
• SiteGroundcoreTechnology or IntegrationFormations leases servers from SiteGround which specializes in WordPress and Joomla hosting with excellent and fast support. SiteGround server firewalls are optimized for these platforms with response time to block major security threats generally less than 24 hours.
• Amazon Web Services (S3)coreTechnology or IntegrationAmazon S3 is used for offsite backups of Joomla and WordPress sites, with up to 10 backups stored per site. Also used for compliance archiving and record keeping. Amazon Route 53 DNS is used for premium DNS management with 100% uptime guarantee.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Automattic (WordPress.com): Operator of WordPress.com, the hosted version of the CMS Formations builds on. Represents both a partnership-adjacent incumbent and a competitive alternative for clients considering managed platforms over custom builds.
• Squarespace: DIY website builder platform serving the same small business and creator segments Formations targets. Represents the alternative path SMBs increasingly choose instead of custom agency work.
• WebFX: Larger digital marketing agency with web development, SEO, and hosting offerings. Overlaps in core services but operates at significantly greater scale with broader service portfolio.
• Wix: Major DIY website builder with templated design, e-commerce, and hosting. Competes directly with Formations for the small business website market.

Direct peers

• SmartSites: Web design, development, and SEO agency serving SMB and mid-market clients with recurring maintenance contracts. Closely comparable in service stack and SMB focus to Formations.
• Big Drop Inc: Full-service digital agency providing web design, branding, and graphic design services. Comparable in offering portfolio and target customer base to Formations.
• Disruptive Advertising: Digital agency offering web design, paid media, SEO, and CRO services to mid-market clients. Comparable in web design + marketing focus though broader in scope.
• Thrive Internet Marketing Agency: Web design, development, and SEO agency with hosting and maintenance services for SMB and mid-market clients. Directly comparable service mix to Formations.
• Lounge Lizard: Mid-sized digital agency offering web design, web development, branding, and hosting services to SMB and enterprise clients. Directly comparable in service mix and customer profile to Formations Design Group.

Regional players

• Blue Frog Marketing: Portland, Oregon-based digital marketing and web design agency serving Pacific Northwest SMBs. Comparable offering with regional overlap in Formations' home market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/formations_dev
• Facebookfacebook.com/formationsdesign

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Formation Design Group