We help businesses build, connect, and operate their digital systems.
That can mean a better website, a new ecommerce experience, custom software, workflow automation, stronger marketing infrastructure, or ongoing technical support.
We work across design, development, marketing, automation, and technology operations, so the individual pieces work better together.
Chicago area. Working nationwide.
Different kind of agency
Not everything belongs in a marketing department.
- Some problems need design.
- Some need development.
- Some need infrastructure.
- Some need automation.
- And some need someone to look at the entire process and ask why it works that way in the first place.
THICKRIM brings creative, technical, and operational work together so we can solve the actual problem instead of forcing every problem into the same service.
What we do
Build what customers see. Improve what employees use. Connect what happens in between.
Web & Commerce
We design and develop websites, ecommerce experiences, landing pages, and digital interfaces built around how the business actually works.
- Website strategy and design
- Website rebuilds and redesigns
- WordPress and CMS development
- Ecommerce and online stores
- Landing pages and conversion pages
- Content and copywriting
- UI and UX design
- Accessibility and performance
Software & Automation
When an off-the-shelf tool does not quite fit, we build the missing piece or connect the systems you already have.
- Custom web applications
- Internal tools and dashboards
- Customer and dealer portals
- MVPs and product development
- APIs and integrations
- CRM and business-system connections
- Workflow automation
- AI-assisted tools and knowledge systems
Brand & Growth
We help businesses present themselves clearly, get found, generate demand, and understand what is actually producing results.
- Brand identity and logo design
- Print and marketing collateral
- Signs and vehicle graphics
- Local SEO
- Google Business Profile
- Search engine optimization
- Google Ads and paid media
- Email marketing
- Reputation and review management
- Analytics and reporting
Technology & Operations
The systems behind the business need ownership too. We support the infrastructure, accounts, platforms, and ongoing technical work that keep digital operations reliable.
- Hosting and website maintenance
- Monitoring and uptime
- Backups and recovery
- Security and access management
- Domains and DNS
- Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace
- Business email and collaboration systems
- Cloud infrastructure
- Ongoing technical support
- Emergency and incident response
- Computers, networks, and business IT
How we work
Diagnose. Build. Operate.
Diagnose
We start with the business, not the software.
We look at the current systems, workflows, customer experience, bottlenecks, technical constraints, and what the business is actually trying to accomplish.
Build
Then we design, develop, integrate, automate, migrate, or improve what is needed.
That could be a website, an application, an internal workflow, a marketing system, or several connected pieces.
Operate
Launch is not the end of the work.
We can stay involved with hosting, monitoring, maintenance, marketing, analytics, infrastructure, automation, support, and continued improvement.
Existing systems
We work with what you already have.
Modernization does not always mean starting over.
We can step into an existing website, ecommerce store, CRM, Microsoft environment, marketing stack, cloud setup, or internal workflow and work from there.
- When the existing platform fits, we make it work better.
- When systems need to communicate, we connect them.
- When there is a legitimate gap, we build around it.
What we work in
- Web, ecommerce & digital experience
- WordPress · WooCommerce · Shopify · BigCommerce · Medusa · Next.js · React · Webflow · Framer
- CRM, sales & customer operations
- HubSpot · Salesforce · Odoo · Twenty · Pipedrive · Zoho · GoHighLevel
- Automation & integrations
- n8n · Zapier · Make · Power Automate · REST APIs · GraphQL · Webhooks
- Marketing & analytics
- Google Ads · Meta Ads · GA4 · Google Tag Manager · Search Console · Klaviyo · CallRail · Looker Studio
- Business systems & collaboration
- Microsoft 365 · Google Workspace · Teams · SharePoint · Slack · Notion · Airtable
- Infrastructure & data
- Cloudflare · Vercel · Supabase · Docker · Linux · PostgreSQL · MySQL · Redis
- Payments & commerce operations
- Stripe · Square · PayPal · subscriptions · payment links · ecommerce checkout systems
- AI & knowledge systems
- OpenAI · Claude · Gemini · Ollama · private models · RAG · AI agents · knowledge systems
And when the right tool does not exist, we build the missing piece: custom applications, internal dashboards, APIs, automations, integrations, and operational systems designed around the business.
About
Small enough to stay close to the work.
THICKRIM is led by Kyle Willis, a designer and developer whose background spans agency work, automotive technology, logistics systems, consumer brands, internal applications, and production web platforms.
That mix of creative and technical experience shapes how we work today. We care about how something looks and feels, but also what happens after someone fills out the form, where the data goes, how the system is maintained, and whether the technology is actually making the business easier to run.
We stay intentionally lean and bring in additional specialists when a project requires them. Clients work closely with the people responsible for solving the problem rather than passing through layers of account management.
Who we work best with
Businesses that have outgrown one-off fixes.
We tend to be most useful when:
- Your website has become important to the business.
- Multiple systems need to work together.
- Your team relies on manual processes or workarounds.
- Marketing needs better tracking and attribution.
- Your existing software no longer fits the workflow.
- You are managing too many disconnected vendors.
- Nobody internally owns the full digital operation.
- You need technical capability without building a large internal team.
- You have something that is difficult to categorize but clearly needs to work better.
Engagements
A defined project when that is enough. Ongoing support when it is not.
Projects
Websites, applications, redesigns, ecommerce builds, migrations, integrations, automation, branding, and other defined work.
Ongoing Services
Hosting, maintenance, SEO, advertising, automation, analytics, monitoring, support, and continuous improvement.
Technical Partnership
Broader ongoing involvement across web, software, marketing systems, infrastructure, vendors, and technology decisions.
Rescue & Advisory
Audits, inherited projects, troubleshooting, planning, migrations, incidents, and systems that need a clear path forward.
Bring us the problem.
- A website that is not doing enough.
- A process held together by spreadsheets.
- Software that no longer fits.
- Systems that do not communicate.
- A project somebody else left unfinished.
- An idea you are not quite sure how to build.
You do not need to know which service it belongs under.
Tell us what is going on, what you are trying to accomplish, or what you wish worked differently. We will help determine the next move.
- New projects
- [email protected]
- Support and existing work
- [email protected]
Chicago area · Working nationwide