What‘s a digital engine?
Throughout my experience building websites, there’s been a consistent bug in my ear: Is our work getting it done for the client? How are we measuring success?
It’s always frustrated me that, while we always work hard to make good choices for our projects, we’ve left those questions unanswered. This year, we’ve set out to fix this with a new service methodology, centered around what we’re calling the “Chek Digital Engine.”
The Problem
Our small studio witnesses gaps that can help make our work do more. Take this workstream as an example:
| Step | Studio | Client |
|---|---|---|
| Define goals | Not consulted | Defined internally |
| Set up tracking | Not consulted | DIY or skip |
| Create wireframe & copy | Drafts copy | Review |
| Design & build | Internal reviews | Approve |
| Add integrations | Not in scope | Defer or skip |
| Launch | Ship it | Socialize internally |
| Measure | Not in scope | Check analytics sometimes |
| Iterate | Reactive fixes | Wait until something breaks |
Every blank, every ‘not in scope,’ every ‘reactive fix’ is a place where the client is on their own.
Sure, we can build a good-looking page. Yes, we can confirm the form submissions are functional. But in an era where rapid iteration and constant testing are possible, is that enough? We don’t think so.
The Chek Digital Engine
We redesigned our workflow around three areas where we were leaving value on the table:
- Websites and Applications
- Site Performance & SEO
- Automation & AI
The shift required new roles, new rituals, and a measurement layer baked into every project from day one. With those optimizations, our workstream now looks like this:
| Step | Chek | Client |
|---|---|---|
| Define goals | Translate business goal into measurable outcome | Share business context |
| Set up tracking | Events, CRM routing, dashboard live before launch | Confirm what success means in the CRM |
| Create wireframe & copy | Structure, draft, pressure-test the CTA | One review pass |
| Design & build | Design, build, QA, performance | — |
| Add integrations | Form → CRM → Slack, lead scoring, nurture triggers | Grant access |
| Launch | Deploy, verify end-to-end, monitor 48h | — |
| Measure | Weekly review against the goal | Tell us what’s closing |
| Iterate | Test, refine, expand what works | Keep feeding back |
With the Chek Digital Engine, the cycle of discovery, development, and integration is self-feeding and rooted in delivering additional value beyond what we could do before.
Results
Early results across our retainer clients:
- Advantage Tennis Clubs is improving its Google Business profile ranking, resulting in a higher click rate from SERPs.
- The Exterior Living Company experienced substantial YoY sales growth in March and April 2026, driven by improvements in lead quality and volume.
- Sedgwick launched three new landing page templates backed by an integrated SEO dashboard, and dynamic forms tuned for international visitors.
More to come as we keep tuning the engine.