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You hired a website design company in Michigan. You got a clean layout, some stock photos and maybe even a logo refresh. But your phone still isn’t ringing. The traffic’s dead. And you’re wondering if the problem is your business or the people who built your website.
Let’s make this simple: if your web designer doesn’t understand your industry, your site won’t get you leads. It won’t build trust. It won’t speak to the pain points that matter to your customers. And it won’t help you grow. So how can you tell if you’ve been handed a generic design by someone who never took the time to understand what you actually do?
We see websites with no specificity constantly. A roofing company with the same stock photo of a handshake used on a dentist’s site. If your homepage could be swapped with another business’s just by changing the logo, your web designer phoned it in.
Industry understanding isn’t just about visuals. It’s about language, structure, user flow and credibility signs that make sense for your customer base. A basic site might check the box, but it won’t get you new business.
Every industry has a different sales cycle, a different customer mindset and different trust triggers. If your copy reads like it came from a template, or worse, AI, you’re losing people before they take a proper look at your business.
Take the construction industry as an example. Customers want to see past projects, understand timelines and know you’re licensed and local. On the other hand, when it comes to healthcare, they want professionalism, compliance and real credentials. In e-commerce? It’s product trust, fast answers and mobile flow. If your site doesn’t anticipate those expectations, your designer never took the time to learn how your customers think.
You’d be shocked how often we see contact forms as the only point of engagement. For industries where quotes, consultations or product configurations are key, that’s a major red flag. If your designer didn’t recommend service-specific conversion points, like intake forms for medical, quote builders for trades or booking tools for service industries, it means they didn’t bother learning how your customers actually take action.
And let’s not even get started on websites without one and just a phone number. If you’re the one doing all the follow-up legwork, your site isn’t doing its job.
SEO services aren’t just about ranking high; they’re about showing up for the right searches. A web designer who doesn’t understand your industry likely didn’t optimize your site for the phrases your customers are typing in. If you’re a Michigan-based CPA and you’re not showing up for “small business accounting Michigan” or “tax help Midland MI,” that’s not just a miss, it’s a waste of money.
We audit sites every week that were built by full-service firms that promise SEO, when they’ve ignored local relevance and high-intent industry phrases. If your search visibility is nonexistent, your designer wasn’t thinking strategically.
Every industry is saturated online. If your site doesn’t highlight what makes you different, customers won’t spend time figuring it out for themselves; they’ll just move on. A good web designer should study your competitors, ask what your customers complain about and position your messaging to stand out.
If your site looks like your competitors’, uses the same vague claims, and doesn’t have a unique voice, it’s not working for you; it’s working for them. This is where design becomes marketing. If your web partner doesn’t understand that, they’re costing you growth.
At Hierographx, we don’t stay at the baseline. We dive deep into your field, study your competition and design with your customers in mind. That’s why our clients don’t just get good-looking websites; they get ones that convert.
Whether you’re a local contractor, B2B supplier, healthcare provider or SaaS startup, we tailor your entire digital experience to what your audience actually needs. Your language. Your buyer journey. Your pain points. That’s the difference between a website that just sits there and one that works 24/7 for your business.
✅ Look for strategy-first agency. Ask how they approach new industries. A good agency will get curious before getting creative.
🧠 Ask who’s doing the research. If it’s not part of the process, they’re guessing..and guesswork is expensive.
📈 Check their results, not just visuals. A beautiful homepage doesn’t mean it converts. Ask about bounce rate drops, traffic lifts or lead gen wins.
💬 Have an actual conversation. The right partner will ask better questions than you expected. The wrong one just wants to sell you a site.
Sure, but there’s a difference between Googling your field and understanding how to speak your customers’ language. If your site feels generic, your leads will be too.
We get it. It’s frustrating to invest in a site that doesn’t perform. But fixing something half-baked rarely works. We’ll audit what you’ve got and we’ll recommend a rebuild that doesn’t waste your future traffic or budget.
Not at all. In fact, it’s what makes your website stand out. Users want to feel understood fast. If your visuals and content don’t reflect how your industry operates, they’ll move on.
Once you’re ready to move forward with a redesign. Most of our clients see early-stage strategy and design within weeks, because we’re not patching together old pieces. Starting from scratch is actually faster and more effective than repairing broken frameworks.
Send us your URL. We’ll take a look and tell you if your site is actually hurting your business with our free consultation. If it is, we’ll give you a plan and a fresh start that’s built the right way, from the ground up.
Captivate your audience and enhance brand perception with our custom website design services, creating an unforgettable digital experience.
Captivate your audience and enhance brand perception with our custom website design services, creating an unforgettable digital experience.
