Blog - EthanBDev vs Marketing Agencies That Dabble in Web
Marketing agencies often sell websites as an add-on. The result is usually a template site dressed up as custom work. Here is what to watch for.
By Ethan Breitkreutz
Comparisons
The "we can do that too" pitch
A marketing agency pitches a BC company on SEO, Google Ads, and social. Then someone asks, "can you do the website too?" The answer is always yes. Whether they actually have a developer on staff is a different question.
What usually arrives is a WordPress theme with the company logo dropped in, sold at custom-site prices.
How marketing agencies do web
Their core competency is campaigns, content, and media buying. Those are real skills. Web is often a secondary offering handled by a junior person, a contractor, or a template the agency reuses across clients.
To be fair, some marketing agencies have excellent dev teams. Most do not. The red flag is when the same agency offers SEO, paid ads, social, branding, video, and web — with one small team.
Where it breaks down
- No real engineering depth. Custom features, integrations, and performance tuning require a developer who lives in code every day. Marketing generalists cannot do that.
- Template under the hood, custom price on top. You pay $10k–$20k for a site that is mostly a theme.
- SEO talk, SEO rot. They know SEO best practices but implement them on a slow stack that undercuts the rankings they are trying to win.
- Mixed incentives. If they also run your ads, a faster-converting site cuts their billable spend. Not always aligned with your interest.
See my work
I do one thing: build software and websites. Look at Curbchat, the Realtor Coaching App, Teleta Vox, and the Empire Blog CMS for a sense of range.
Why I am different
I am a developer. Not a marketer who also codes. My whole day is spent building fast, modern web applications on Next.js.
I work with marketing agencies all the time. When they need a real developer behind the site, I am the one they bring in. You can skip the middle layer and hire me directly.
Based in Kelowna. Same-day replies. Direct line, no account manager. Fair pricing because there is no agency overhead. Code you actually own.
FAQ
Should I use separate shops for marketing and web? Usually yes. A specialized developer builds a better site. A specialized marketer runs better campaigns. They can work together without being the same company.
Can you work alongside my marketing agency? Yes. I do this often. I handle the build and technical SEO, they handle campaigns and content.
How do I tell if a marketing agency actually has developers? Ask who specifically will write the code. Ask to see their GitHub or recent build examples. Ask if the site will be custom code or a theme. Their answers will tell you.
What if my marketing agency offers a "free" website? Nothing is free. Either it is priced into your retainer, or it is a template you outgrow in a year. Usually both.
Do you also do SEO? I handle technical SEO — site speed, schema, structured data, crawlability. Content SEO and ads are better handled by specialists. Reach me through the contact page and I will tell you who I trust for those.
Pick the right specialist
The site is the foundation. Get it built by a developer. Layer marketing on top. Look through the portfolio and the industries I work in.
If this is too much to evaluate on your own, reach out — I'll give you a straight answer about whether I'm a fit, even if it means pointing you elsewhere.
Need something like this built for your business?
Custom tech solutions for Kelowna and the Okanagan.