Full Service Web Design Agency
web design – branding – digital marketing – strategy
Rip Current is the fastest growing web design, digital marketing and brand building agency in the Myrtle Beach, Garden City, Surfside, Pawley’s Island & Mount Pleasant areas of South Carolina. We understand your brand needs to stand out in order to thrive. This is why we develop comprehensive and integrated solutions to drive loyal customers to your brand.
growth is not an accident – it is strategically planned
How well do you know your own brand? How well do others know it? We perform a thorough analysis of your brand, and your “secret sauce.” Together, we will build strategies that will attract new customers, retain current ones and create loyal brand advocates for life.
We design beautiful and creative websites that do more than just occupy space on the web. A website can be a powerful tool in your business arsenal, or it can lay dormant – not really doing anything for anyone. We ensure your website engages users, moves them through sales/lead funnels, and provides the best user experience.
Once we have you positioned for greatness, we will develop a comprehensive digital marketing strategy to drive qualified visitors and buyers to your store and website. This will include focused and precise organic search, email marketing, customer relationship building and more!
(really cool) stuff we can do for you
At Rip Current, we have learned that our customers would rather have everything under one roof. So, we began employing the brightest minds and best talent in a wide range of digital disciplines. The result? You can truly have it all!
Let’s dream something really BIG together!
Many of our clients share the same lament when considering a web design project, digital marketing or working with an agency in general. We don’t blame them. Most agencies bore you with outdated PowerPoints, blab on and on through countless meetings and generally make you want to scream.
On average, a Rip Current website redesign project is measured in weeks, not several months or a year – and with as little intervention on your part as necessary. After all, you are busy – isn’t that why you hired us in the first place?
the more you know about us, the better
Is this going to be expensive?
That’s a loaded question! Why don’t we put your mind at ease and offer a quick “ballpark” figure for you. The website you are looking at now (RipCurrentWeb.com) is what we consider “entry-level” – Yep, that’s right! Our own website is quick and easy to navigate and mobile friendly. We could have thrown a few dozen random pages at you but you wouldn’t read them anyway. No one does. You want to get your core offerings out there in an easy to understand way, and move forward on developing a mutual business relationship.
Plus, spending less time on ourselves left more time for us to develop our customer’s sites, and more time for your website and digital marketing strategy. Win-win.
So, back to pricing: a site like ours would take 2-3 weeks (give or take) and would cost you around $2,800 – $4,500. Of course, the price would increase accordingly for custom content creation, custom web applications, eCommerce integration, etc. But, suffice it to say, that’s about what it would cost you. Web design is not easy to speculate, each client is very different.
For larger, more complex sites that rely heavily on database integrations for third party API’s (Like Geico.com, very large real estate websites, or large hotel booking websites, etc) the cost usually starts around $10,000.00 and we’ve even ran well into the six figure mark to develop custom web applications for fortune 500 companies.
Again, it all depends. After a quick chat by phone, Zoom, email, IM, etc. we would be able to give your company a really close final estimate on what it would cost. There is nothing more people hate than waiting weeks to get a proposal they would never be able to afford anyway. We hate that, and know you do too! We are 100% transparent and easy to work with.
But I can’t afford a new website! What do I do?
At Rip Current Web Design, you have nothing to worry about. We offer in-house, zero-forever interest financing for all web design services.
How it works (a scenario)
You need a new website. Rip Current Web Design agrees that you would benefit from a complete redesign. You want to integrate an eCommerce solution, have custom functionality, an a custom motion graphic explainer video, etc. Your total for the web design and ancillary costs is around $8,000.00. The problem is, You are a little tight on cash flow right now; however, your situation won’t improve if you don’t start generating more revenue. You are starting to feel defeated.
Luckily, Rip Current mentions to you they have awesome payment terms! Rip Current tells you they will do the complete redesign, and only charge you $500.00 per month for 16 months. During that 16 months, Rip Current will host, manage, and support the website in every way – it is the same agreement as if you paid outright. Once 16 months have passed, you can opt to move your site you now completely own away from Rip Current, or continue working with us (you won’t want to leave, trust us).
As a bonus, during that 16 months, if you have several really profitable months (which, you will, because we are involved), you may decide to spend some money on more advanced digital marketing efforts, or add some additional functionality to the site, maybe spend some money on fortifying your social media – or, you may simply want to pay off the balance early.
The great part is – it is completely up to you! Our mission is to increase your sales – we’re not going to let the fact you may not be able to drop a few grand on a new site get in the way of that. This arrangement is also a great way to get to know us better, and see first hand all of the ways we can assist in your branding, digital marketing and web design needs.
We are completely flexible. We typically agree to almost any monthly payment terms. So, let’s talk!
Rip Current + You = Happiness!
How long will it take?
The amount of time it will take to complete your web design, digital marketing, content strategy, seo, etc. project depends on so many factors. Some of our clients only need a new website, others need a complete digital marketing strategy, a new website, custom application development and eCommerce solutions. As with pricing, the more complex, the more it will cost and the longer it will take.
So, what’s reasonable? Well, a site like the one you are viewing now (www.RipCurrent.com) could probably be completed in a couple of weeks, provided you already have decent copywriting. At the beginning of 2019, we worked on a project for an international client that took about 4 months. This particular client had over 9,000 pages of content that needed indexing, restructuring and integrated with several third party API’s.
The best thing we can do is talk a few minutes by email, Zoom or phone and get a feel for where you are at – and where you want to go. We would be able to give you a rough estimate on time (and cost) almost immediately after.
What if I don’t know what I need?
You’re not alone. In fact, unless you are a web design and digital marketing agency contacting us for a project – why on earth would you know what you needed? That’s where trusting our decades of experience and solid team of engineers, thinkers, problem solvers and creative types comes in. We can tell you exactly what you need – but only after understanding your business better.
If anyone tells you “You need a new website design” or “You should be going after these keywords” – they are full of it. Unless they intimately know and understand your business, they know nothing. They are simply trying to sell you something. Buyer beware!
We will ask you a list of questions that have been created from our experience, and using our Artificial Intelligence Marketing Engine AIMETM to precisely determine what your company can benefit from the most. For some, it may just be a new website design. For others, their website is fine as is – and their dollars would be far better spent creating engaging content, and fortifying their social media presence. The only way to know for sure is to have a quick chat by phone, email, Zoom, IM, etc.
Why is your company called "Rip Current"
Rip Current Web Design utilizes our experience and strategy “pulls” customers to your door…like a Rip Current!
Hahaa! Sounds good, but not really the truth. We just like the name. We love the ocean – it is our passion – and most of the good ocean-based website names were already taken…
See? Complete transparency from day one!
Does Rip Current have a cool office?
No, Rip Current Web Design does not have a “cool office” unless, of course, someone turns the thermostat way down. In fact, we disagree with the “dated” attempt to “wow” our clients with trinkets. We’ll explain:
Awards:
Yes, we’ve been awarded tokens of achievement, but we threw them in the trash. Those don’t equate to what an agency can do for their clients. Here’s a secret: if you pay money to enough industry organizations and go to enough boring “lunch and learns” they practically hand those things out anyway. Our award is knowing that your company is reaching goals, making more money, expanding your brand, and has a beautiful & functional website.
Culture:
If you contact a website design and development agency, and they start to shove their company culture down your throat, please run. Please. All partners at Rip Current Web Design came from agencies in large cities that attempted to force “company culture” on it’s employees and clients. After all, do you actually care if an agency has a foosball table? A espresso machine? A bar? A animal running around pooping on everything? Seriously?
How many times were you forced to watch an agency try to prove they are human by shooting Nerf guns in the office, or telling you they have “company nights?” It is sad. Very sad. In the end, the agency should be focused on one thing, and only one thing – making your company better – each and every second they can.
Office:
Some agencies like to show off their strange art, weird knick-knacks and sports memorabilia. That’s great (again, forced concept of trying to look cool), however, guess who’s paying for all that “wow” factor? YOU are. The client is paying for them to feel like they have a cool office. We invest everything back into training, educating ourselves on the latest and greatest in web design, development, and seo. We also invest what would be spent on random office crap into local schools, charities and relief for those who need it most. At Rip Current Web Design, we’d rather buy a needy child a lunch than some worthless office furniture.
If there is ever time and money left over and your company is highly profitable and reaching all set goals – we’ll take you out, and buy you a drink.
If that sounds like your kind of people, then give us a shout.
What if I don’t like the new website?
First off, you will. Trust us. It will be a creative and highly functional, beautiful website; one that is reflective of the amazing brand you’ve already worked so hard to create. Second, Rip Current Web Design will work on it until you love it. In fact, we only change a percentage up front, and we will not accept final payment until you are 100% satisfied with your new site. If all else fails, and we can’t make you happy – we will provide 50% of anything paid. This is huge, because we would be at a great loss financially. To be honest, this has never happened.
Will I always have to depend on you?
At Rip Current Web Design, you will never depend on us. Think of us as part of your company team. You may not see us standing around your water cooler (unless that’s your thing), but rest assured, we are there as your ongoing partner for as long as you need us. We never simply design a website and leave, nor do we create a stellar digital marketing plan and abandon you.
On the flip side of that, if you ever decide we are no longer a good fit – you will have zero trouble handing off your assets to another agency. We use applications, frameworks, languages, API’s, and design suites like Adobe – so, any quality front end web designer, back end web designer, digital marketer, application developer, etc. will be able to take everything we’ve created and run with it without any down time.
Why should I use Rip Current?
We are happy to answer that question. First, it is important to understand the core of who we are as a company…
Okay, you get the point…the real reason you should work with Rip Current is because we do all of those things and we do them better than anyone else. Most importantly – we do these things not because they are services we can hopefully charge you for, but instead we utilize only what is necessary to give your company the best chance for success as possible.
Our only focus is long-term partnerships, and knowing year after year – we are increasing your revenue, your loyal brand advocates, your reputation, and truly making a difference in the evolution of your company. It is not about us, it is about your company.
You take pride in what you have built, and here at Rip Current, we do as well. Our reputation is directly dependent on the results we provide for you. If you win, we win. If you lose – we lose. Our fates are intertwined. So, just know we take your results very seriously.
That is why you should choose Rip Current web design and digital marketing services.
What areas do you serve?
Rip Current provides website design services, seo services, digital marketing, brand strategy and multimedia services in Myrtle Beach, Garden City Beach, Surfside Beach, Pawleys Island and Mount Pleasant.
Will I own my website and other materials?
Yes, silly!
Everything we create is yours to keep. You own it. In fact, everything we create – from your website to logos, graphics, content, applications, etc. are all backed up and stored in a special cloud drive that your company has administrative access to. It will always contain the latest file versions for anything we do for you. It is just good practice…never know when the zombies might take over and eat the computers.
We even go a step further and play nice. If you ever decide to stop working with us, we will work well with the new agency to make sure they understand everything, and can take over without causing any disruptions in your business.
Do I actually need a new website?
It depends.
If your current website has well-structured information, is easy to access on mobile, loads fast and accurately represents your brand – then the answer is “no.”
So many times, we hear our clients say they are shopping around for affordable options for a new website. Typically, they have already heard lots of options – from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands. Then, they ask us about pricing.
We tell them the same thing; “first, let’s take a look at your current website and answer two important questions”
Here are those questions:
Here’s our take on it – if your goal for creating a new website is just to say you have a new website and it won’t provide increased revenue, brand loyalty, greater value to users – then your dollars may be better focused on other forms of sales channels. This is why we perform a comprehensive analysis of your current digital assets. We need to know without a doubt that creating a new website will immediately benefit your company in a meaningful way.
Of course, there are exceptions to that rule – if you still have a basic HTML site that is not mobile friendly, or you want to integrate a complex eCommerce solution into a site with outdated code and possibly some security issues – then it is probably inevitable you will need a new website.
So, we hope that answers your question. To summarize – creating a brand new beautiful website with lots of “bells and whistles” does not necessarily mean you will increase revenue, or benefit form a redesign is any way. If people already love your brand, then don’t change a thing (unless it is a security/mobile friendly thing). Even some of the ugliest websites on the web have visitors in the hundreds of thousands a day.
Can I host my site/domain with Rip Current?
Yes, you can – for a very small fee. No, it is not mandatory.
We see a lot of our clients wanting to host their website on their own servers. This is fine, however, we cannot guarantee performance and uptime with your website. We have special hosting space on redundant cloud servers with 100% uptime, and lightening fast SSD drives. When hosting with us, we also utilize a CDN to ensure even in the most extreme cases – like the server farms in the entire USA go offline – your site is still up. Pretty cool, huh?
Also, all of our core development files are backed up in an Amazon GovCloud account in AWS service suite. This means our servers are bullet proof, flood proof, hurricane proof, tornado proof, and zombie proof. They are under 24/7 armed surveillance in undisclosed locations. Why? Because they are the same servers that the US Department of Defense, FEMA, Homeland Security, and NASA hosts their files on.
We also ensure PhP versions, Apache, MySQL, and any other web servers/applications are kept up to date and patched.
We do all of this for about $50 a month.
Who will manage my site?
Typically, we manage our client’s websites along with social media, advertising, digital marketing, etc. While we can certainly train your team to add content and do basic changes, it really isn’t in your best interest. If you are not experienced in website design and programming, at the very least it can take you days to complete something that would take us minutes to do. At the worst, you might really break something and could end up being very costly in time and money to fix.
It is probably better if you focus on what you do best, and let us focus on all the digital, technical geeky stuff.
Can you get me on the first page of Google?
No, we can’t “get” you on the first page of Google. ANYONE that tells you they can are flat-out LYING to you.
If you want to show up on a billboard along Ocean Highway, you pay a fee and voila! You are on the billboard. With Google, it doesn’t work that way. There are many moving parts that need to be accounted for and perfected in order to rank higher than your competition.
What we can promise you: Google lives by its own algorithm, and we fully understand Google’s algorithm. Every member of our team holds certifications in Google Analytics, AdWords, GSuite, etc. Once all key data requirements are met, there is a very good chance your company will be on the first page of Google search, and perhaps even the first result. Again, there are NO GUARANTEES.
We can say this: we have ranked all of our digital marketing clients on Google’s page one of SERPS for most of their top preferred keywords – even on a national scale. We also have a remarkable track record in ranking our clients very high/top results for local search.
Do you do video? Photography?
Yes! We have multimedia professionals that are ready to start your photo shoot, take product photos, create interactive and engaging video and even professional audio engineers and voice over talent.
If you are ready to take your business to the next level, let’s talk!
Do you outsource any work?
Yes! If we only relied on our immediate geographical area for talent, that would be a VERY small pool to drink from. Remember, the best of everything for your company is our number one priority. If we outsource a special video effect to a guy or girl we know that used to work for Industrial Light & Magic, because it will result in the most amazing final work, then we will do so without even thinking twice.
About 99% of our website design and digital marketing is done in-house by our own internal creative teams. However, if there is a complex database integration, or we need to Query and Analyze large data sets, we may outsource that part of a project to a data scientist.
In the end, the only thing that should matter is the fact your website, digital marketing plan and final results exceed your expectations and are delivered at or below your budget.
That’s the Rip Current way.
Will I have a dedicated point of contact?
Yes! From the very first day of your project to the day of launch – and even after, you will have a dedicated contact at Rip Current. Typically, that same contact is with you the entire way, making sure your project goals and milestones are on schedule. In addition, we send an invitation to our internal Slack teams where you can view internal messaging about your project, view progress, make suggestions, comments, etc. It is as if you are right here in the office with us!
Do you provide multilingual translation services?
Yes! Currently, we can translate English to Mandarin, English to Spanish, English to German – all by individuals who speak those languages as a first language. If another language translation is requested, we can outsource those pages to be translated. We work with many third party services (including ADA) to make your website as accessible as possible.
There is one exception. We will never (ever) translate a site to Canadian. We will not make things easy for these people. Never.
we would love to hear from you
(843) 256-3866
OFFICE LOCATION:
Rip Current Web Design
1413 Hwy 17 S #1316
Surfside Beach, SC 29575