VisionFriendly.com

What VisionFriendly.com does

VisionFriendly.com is a full-service digital agency founded in 1998 and headquartered in Naperville, Illinois, operating as a private, founder-owned firm (now rebranding to Blackbird Digital following the June 6, 2024 passing of founder Rob Wenz). The company delivers custom WordPress website design and development, e-commerce development, graphic and logo design, and a full digital marketing stack (SEO, PPC, social media management, email marketing, and analytics). It also operates a proprietary managed hosting environment on its own server infrastructure with a 99.9% uptime SLA, RAID redundancy, and direct connections to eight major backbone providers, alongside a custom WordPress security and update maintenance plan and a client self-service portal (MyVF.com) plus dedicated webmail (MyVFmail.com). Across its history the firm has created more than 700 websites and hosted more than 1,700 sites.

The technology stack is a conventional Microsoft- and open-source web development estate — ASP.net, C#, PHP, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, WordPress, nopCommerce, Microsoft PowerShell, Elastic, Lucene, and jQuery — with all design, development, and support delivered in-house by a 11-50 person Naperville-based team. The customer base spans SMB and mid-market clients across healthcare, senior living, e-commerce, construction, hospitality, real estate, manufacturing, professional services, and aviation, concentrated in the Chicago metropolitan area and broader Midwest U.S.

Revenue is generated through three mechanics: (1) one-time project fees for custom website design, e-commerce builds, and graphic/logo work; (2) recurring monthly subscriptions for managed hosting ($21.95-$79/month), WordPress security plans ($44.99-$154.99/month), and SEO retainers; and (3) managed-service retainers for PPC, social media management, email marketing, and analytics. Pricing is published for hosting and security tiers but quote-based for design, development, and marketing retainers. Distribution is purely direct — phone-based inside sales, website contact forms, in-person consultations, and a small in-house business development team — with no resellers, marketplaces, or third-party channels. The company is recognized on Expertise.com (Best Naperville Web Developers 2021, Top Naperville Advertising Agencies 2021) and maintains a Trustpilot review profile.

Name

VisionFriendly.com

Legal name

VisionFriendly.com

Website

https://visionfriendly.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

VisionFriendly.com (rebranding to Blackbird Digital) is a Naperville, Illinois-based full-service digital agency providing custom website design, development, SEO, managed hosting, and digital marketing services to SMB and mid-market businesses across diverse verticals in the Chicago metro area and broader Midwest.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Marketing Agency Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Website design services
• Web development agency
• Search engine optimization
• Managed website hosting
• Digital marketing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Naperville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Website Design & Development Services: Custom website design, graphic design, logo design, and e-commerce development billed as one-time project fees. The company creates bespoke websites from scratch tailored to each client's brand and business requirements.
2. Website Security & Maintenance Plans: Monthly/quarterly subscription plans for WordPress update maintenance, security monitoring, malware removal, hack repair, and priority customer support. Plans billed quarterly with three tiers: Basic WP Plan ($44.99/mo), Standard WP Plan ($84.99/mo), and Ecomm Pro Plan ($154.99/mo).
3. Managed Website Hosting: Monthly subscription hosting plans providing server space, 99.9% uptime, 24/7 support, SSL encryption, daily backups, and SFTP/FTPS/FTP access. Three tiers: Basic Feature Plan ($21.95/mo), Feature Plus Plan ($31.95/mo), Server Platinum Plan ($79/mo).
4. PPC / Paid Search Advertising Management: Managed Google Ads and paid search campaigns where the company charges management fees for campaign strategy, keyword selection, ad copy, and ongoing optimization. Clients pay directly for media spend to Google.
5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Services: Ongoing SEO services including keyword research, on-site optimization, content strategy, and ranking improvement — billed as managed service retainer.
6. Social Media Management: Social media strategy, content creation (graphics, copy, video), posting, and advertising campaign management for clients. Billed as managed service retainer.
7. Email Marketing: Email campaign design, creation, and deployment services for existing customer bases.
8. Domain / SSL Management: Domain registration management and SSL certificate provisioning and renewal services, typically bundled with hosting plans.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

VisionFriendly.com is a full-service digital agency based in Naperville, Illinois that designs, builds, and markets websites for small and mid-sized businesses. Its core deliverables are custom responsive website design, e-commerce development, custom software integrations, and ongoing digital marketing services (SEO, PPC, social media, email), all backed by proprietary managed hosting with 99.9% uptime and 24/7 in-house support.

Product overview

VisionFriendly.com is a full-service digital agency offering a comprehensive suite of website design, development, and digital marketing services. The core product portfolio includes Website Design (custom responsive designs built from scratch) and Custom Development (complex integrations, data transfers, and performance optimization), complemented by E-Commerce Development for online stores. The marketing module encompasses Search Engine Optimization (SEO), PPC/Advertising (Google Ads management), Social Media Management, Email Marketing, and Website Analytics. Support services include Website Hosting (three tiers: Basic at $21.95/mo, Feature Plus at $31.95/mo, Server Platinum at $79.95/mo), Website Security Plans (Basic WP at $44.99/mo, Standard WP at $84.99/mo, Ecomm Pro at $154.99/mo), Domain/SSL Management, and Website Accessibility compliance. The company has also offered Template Websites as a more affordable option. Founded in 1998, the company rebranded to Blackbird Digital with over 700+ websites created and 1700+ websites hosted since 2000.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Website Design

Quantifiable outcome

• 25% increase in site visitors year-over-year for Benton House after website redesign and SEO
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Wix: DIY website builder with built-in SEO, marketing, and AI design tools targeting SMBs — represents the commoditized, self-service alternative that pressures the low end of VisionFriendly's design market.

Direct peers

• Huemor: Boutique web design and development agency with an integrated digital marketing practice, focused on mid-market B2B and e-commerce — comparable in scale and integrated service delivery.
• Avalanche Creative: Midwest-based digital agency providing web design, branding, SEO, and digital marketing to SMB clients — regional boutique comparable similar in size and integrated service model.
• Lounge Lizard: Long-tenured digital agency offering website design, branding, SEO, and digital marketing — comparable full-service creative+marketing positioning to VisionFriendly's 25-year-old track record.
• Thrive Internet Marketing Agency: Full-service digital agency providing web design, SEO, PPC, social media, and hosting-adjacent services to SMBs and mid-market clients — closely overlapping VisionFriendly's integrated service model.
• Coalition Technologies: Mid-sized digital agency specializing in web design and development, SEO, PPC, and e-commerce — a near-functional comparable to VisionFriendly's core offerings for SMB and mid-market clients.
• Straight North: Chicago-based full-service digital marketing agency offering SEO, PPC, web design, and integrated digital services to mid-market clients — directly comparable in geography and service mix to VisionFriendly.com.
• Blue Compass Interactive: Midwest-based full-service digital agency offering web design, SEO, and digital marketing to mid-market clients — closely aligned with VisionFriendly's regional positioning and service mix.

Broad incumbents

• iCrossing: Global digital marketing agency under Hearst offering SEO, paid media, web development, and analytics to enterprise clients — a broad incumbent whose SEO/marketing capabilities overlap with VisionFriendly's.
• Bounteous: Large digital experience agency providing strategy, design, development, and analytics to enterprise clients — broader incumbent that competes for the upper end of VisionFriendly's mid-market pipeline.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/Visionfriendly
• Facebookfacebook.com/visionfriendly
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/visionfriendly.com/mycompany
• Instagraminstagram.com/visionfriendly

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 VisionFriendly.com