How we turned a long-overdue refresh into a rediscovery of who we are.

This story’s a little different… because this time, we were the client.
After years of helping growing companies find their story and build brands that feel like them, our own site stopped feeling like Accelity. It still worked, just not for who we’d become. 

So we did what we ask our clients to do: got uncomfortable, turned the mirror inward, and walked ourselves through the full process, from the first what-if to the final push before launch.

We build brands that show companies who they are. This time, it was our turn.

The spark: When the brand outgrew the site

It started during our 2023 summer town hall meeting—an idea that kept circling back to itself: “What if we rebranded?”

At first, it felt like one of those “someday” ideas. But it came up again and again, across departments and conversations. We’d been growing fast, doing bold work and launching brands we were proud of. Yet every time we looked at our own website, something felt off. It didn’t sound, or look, like the agency we’d become.

By the start of the next year, it was impossible to ignore. Our brand had moved forward, but its digital representation had stayed behind.

After tackling an internal rebrand, we took a hard look at our site. That bright yellow that once screamed energy? It had started to feel flat. It reminded us of where we’d been, not where we were going. And while the site covered some of our services, it didn’t showcase the newer areas—like branding and website development—where we’d built a strong portfolio. We were also ready to expand beyond the B2B SaaS space where we’d gotten our start.

And, like a lot of agencies, we’d slipped into a cycle of not taking care of our own marketing. As our CEO Jackie put it:

Our CEO & President break down the “why” behind our rebrand on The Art of Entrepreneurship podcast →

That was the turning point. We realized our brand deserved the same creativity, strategy and attention to detail we pour into every client project. So we turned the spotlight on ourselves and got to work.

The shift: What it took to build a site that finally fits

From the beginning, this project was about more than a new look; it was about building a site that could grow with us. 

Our goals were clear: make the site easier to navigate, faster to update and more aligned with how visitors actually explore our work. We wanted a modular system our web developer could manage in-house, content structured for both humans and search engines, and a foundation that performs as well as the websites we create for clients.

Content audit with ruthless editing

Ten years of pages went on the table. We cut what didn’t serve the journey, merged duplicates and rewrote thin content so every page earned its place.

Component-driven design system

Before designing full-page mocks, we created a reusable set of cards, hero blocks, CTAs, pricing rows, testimonial modules and long-form sections. It meant fewer one-offs, faster builds and cleaner QA.

Structured copy + SEO from the start

Each template shipped with field-level guidance for H1s, intros, scannable subheads, FAQs and internal links. We mapped target terms to pages to avoid cannibalization and set up schema where it mattered.

Accessibility and performance baked in

Color contrast, focus states, motion preferences and image optimization were all handled up front. The site is as fast and inclusive as it is good-looking.

A CMS the team actually wants to use

Global styles, locked spacing and plain-language fields keep the brand consistent while making edits quick and low-stress for anyone on the team.

A quick note on brand: Yes, the refreshed look needed to apply cleanly to the site, but the priority was function. The system above makes the brand easier to build upon, allowing function and brand to coexist in harmony.

The build: Testing our own website process

Building our own site while testing new tools and new processes was a special kind of challenge. We followed our process… then broke it where we had to. 

Between client launches and a packed event season, we moved from rebrand to live site in roughly six months, a sprint that reminded us what it’s like to be in our clients’ shoes.

We learned a lot along the way, lessons that now make our client website work even stronger:

• Make the vision tangible early. Real-world mockups (social posts, key screens, headlines) build alignment faster than a logo and palette alone.
• Lock the website style sheet up front. We have to document buttons, cards, grid, motion, interactive states early to avoid rework later.
• Wireframe as a team sport. Design and copy plan structure together so messaging and UI land in the same conversation
• Plan for real-life resourcing. Building our own site showed us what it feels like when priorities compete. That experience made us even better at helping clients balance timelines, budgets and goals.


We learned what it feels like to be in it—where clients get overwhelmed, and where small changes feel big. That empathy elevated how we work.

The launch: A site that finally feels like us

When the site went live, it felt like an exhale—the kind that only happens when something long in the making finally clicks.

We’d spent weeks building anticipation, starting with a New Year’s teaser that hinted something big was coming. Over the next few weeks, we dropped glimpses of our refreshed brand and design direction, each one sparking more curiosity and excitement. By launch day, clients, partners and friends were more than excited to see what we’d built for ourselves.

The new site didn’t disappoint. The colors pop. The layout breathes. The copy sounds like us: direct, cheery and helpful.

The response was immediate and overwhelming. We got rave reviews across the board. Clients we already work with asked for similar treatment. Prospects reached out about their own brand and web projects. 

The new site doesn’t just look good, it works. Our new brand and website have opened doors, deepened relationships and given the team something we could point to and say, “Yep, that’s us.”

A work in progress (by design)

Like every site we build, ours isn’t “done.” And that’s exactly how it should be.

Since launch, the site has continued to evolve. We’ve tuned accessibility, adjusted motion, and expanded pages that deserve more depth, like our services and industry sections. Six months in, we launched our blog to give our content a true home base. 

As we’ve lived in the new brand, we’ve made copy and design tweaks to reflect what we’ve learned about how it performs in the real world.

Now, our focus is on iteration and optimization. We’re monitoring analytics and SEO performance to identify opportunities to improve conversions and visibility, and we’re adapting the site to meet new generative engine optimization (GEO) standards so it’s discoverable in both search and AI-driven results.

Because that’s what good websites do: they grow, adapt and evolve right alongside the brand.

Show the world what you can do

Our new site did more than tell our story; it reminded us what we’re capable of. And it brought new business through the door.

Now, let’s build a website that does the same for you.

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