Siteworx

Siteworx, LLC was a United States digital consultancy and web development agency founded in 2002 by Tim McLaughlin and Rand Kramer. The company provided strategy, design, technology implementation, content and experience management, digital commerce, analytics, and ongoing website support for large commercial and institutional clients. Its work was oriented toward organizations with complex brands, multiple audiences, substantial content libraries, international operations, and demanding integration requirements. The agency became particularly associated with enterprise digital transformation projects rather than consumer-facing packaged products. Its client portfolio included Time Warner Cable, Citrix, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, the American Diabetes Association, RSM US, the Public Broadcasting Service, National Geographic, AOL, U.S. News, and the United States House of Representatives. A significant early milestone came in 2007, when Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group selected Siteworx to build and manage MandarinOriental.com. That engagement helped establish the consultancy's reputation for delivering sophisticated digital experiences for internationally recognized organizations. Siteworx expanded its work across content management, responsive and mobile experiences, online publishing, customer engagement, and commerce. It developed or supported projects using platforms including Adobe Experience Manager, Adobe Analytics, Adobe Target, Intershop, and Sitecore. In 2010, the agency worked on the redesign and relaunch of Diabetes.org for the American Diabetes Association. Other notable projects included a mobile and multilingual redevelopment of MandarinOriental.com, a centralized campaign platform for RSM US and its predecessor McGladrey, and a redesign of the PBS press room. Several of these projects received industry awards. The company attracted investment from Los Angeles-based private-equity firm Riordan, Lewis & Haden in 2012. In 2013, Siteworx received the National Capital Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth's Corporate Growth Company of the Year award in the $25 million to $75 million category. Tim McLaughlin was also named a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award that year. In 2014, Adobe Systems named Siteworx its North American Regional Partner of the Year, while Intershop appointed it a strategic partner for implementations involving Intershop's omnichannel commerce platform and Adobe Experience Manager. Siteworx was also recognized as a Sitecore Certified Solution Partner. Siteworx rebranded as Shift7 Digital in 2018, marking the end of the Siteworx name as the agency's principal operating identity. Shift7 Digital was acquired by Merkle, a Dentsu company, in 2023. Accordingly, Siteworx is best understood as a predecessor brand and former operating identity within the history of a digital consultancy that later continued under Shift7 Digital and then within Merkle.

Siteworx was established in 2002 by Tim McLaughlin and Rand Kramer as a digital consultancy focused on helping organizations build and operate substantial online presences. Rather than selling a standardized software product, the company combined consulting, creative, technology, implementation, and support services. Its target customers included large companies, nonprofit organizations, public-sector bodies, media institutions, and hospitality groups whose websites required extensive content, integration, localization, campaign management, and long-term operational support. The business secured its first enterprise client in 2007, when Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group engaged Siteworx to create and manage MandarinOriental.com. This relationship became an important reference point for the agency's expansion into high-profile enterprise accounts. Over the following years, Siteworx assembled a portfolio that included Time Warner Cable, Citrix, the American Diabetes Association, RSM US and its predecessor McGladrey, PBS, National Geographic, AOL, U.S. News, and the U.S. House of Representatives. Its work covered multiple stages of the digital lifecycle. Siteworx planned and redesigned websites, developed responsive and mobile experiences, implemented content-management systems, supported online publishing, integrated commerce platforms, and helped clients use analytics and targeting technologies. In the Mandarin Oriental project, the agency redeployed the hotel group's website for desktop and mobile use, added language capabilities, integrated Conde Nast's Destination MO online magazine, and built a custom feature known as My Stays. For the American Diabetes Association, Siteworx contributed to the redesign and relaunch of Diabetes.org in 2010. The PBS press-room redesign and the RSM US website project demonstrated the agency's work in publishing and professional services. The RSM platform brought together Adobe Experience Manager, Adobe Analytics, and Adobe Target around a centralized campaign structure. Siteworx's growth attracted outside capital in 2012 from Riordan, Lewis & Haden, a Los Angeles private-equity firm. The company received additional recognition in 2013, when the Association for Corporate Growth's National Capital Chapter selected it as its Corporate Growth Company of the Year in the $25 million to $75 million category. Tim McLaughlin was also named a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In 2014, Adobe Systems recognized Siteworx as its North American Regional Partner of the Year. Intershop made Siteworx a strategic partner for work integrating Intershop's omnichannel commerce platform with Adobe Experience Manager, and the agency also held Sitecore Certified Solution Partner status. Awards and client outcomes were a visible part of the company's profile. Siteworx appeared in EContent Magazine's list of companies considered important to the digital content industry and in KM World's list of significant knowledge-management companies for three consecutive years. The agency and its client work received more than 25 Interactive Media Awards and 22 Davy Awards, along with recognition from the Art Directors Club of Metro Washington and a Gold Stevie Award in the business category. Specific client projects cited in connection with awards included Diabetes.org, the RSM or McGladrey website, and the PBS press room. In 2018, Siteworx rebranded as Shift7 Digital. The change made Siteworx a legacy name rather than the active public-facing brand. Shift7 Digital was subsequently acquired by Merkle in 2023. Since Merkle operates as part of Dentsu, the acquisition connected the former Siteworx business to a much larger global marketing and customer-experience network. Siteworx is therefore a defunct brand identity whose capabilities and organizational continuity are most directly represented by Shift7 Digital and its later integration into Merkle.

• 2023

  Shift7 Digital acquired by Merkle

  [1]Siteworxen.wikipedia.org

  Merkle acquires the successor business, linking the former Siteworx operation to Dentsu.

• 2018

  Rebrand to Shift7 Digital

  [1]Siteworxen.wikipedia.org

  The Siteworx brand is replaced by Shift7 Digital.

• 2014

  Platform-partner recognition

  [1]Siteworxen.wikipedia.org

  Adobe names Siteworx its North American Regional Partner of the Year, and Intershop appoints it a strategic partner.

• 2013

  Corporate growth and entrepreneur recognition

  [1]Siteworxen.wikipedia.org

  Siteworx wins an Association for Corporate Growth corporate growth award, while Tim McLaughlin becomes an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist.

• 2012

  Riordan, Lewis & Haden investment

  [1]Siteworxen.wikipedia.org

  The private-equity firm invests in Siteworx to support the consultancy's growth.

• 2007

  First enterprise client

  [1]Siteworxen.wikipedia.org

  Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group engages Siteworx to build and manage MandarinOriental.com.

• 2002

  Siteworx is founded

  [1]Siteworxen.wikipedia.org

  Tim McLaughlin and Rand Kramer establish Siteworx as a digital consultancy.

An enterprise-focused digital consultancy serving large organizations with complex website, content, commerce, analytics, and customer-experience requirements.

• Professional services · 2002

  Enterprise digital consulting

  Siteworx provided consulting and implementation services for organizations undertaking major website and digital-experience projects. The work could span discovery, information architecture, user-experience design, technical architecture, platform implementation, content migration, analytics, and ongoing operational support. Its emphasis was on complex enterprise environments rather than a consumer software product sold directly under the Siteworx name.

• Web development

  Enterprise websites and mobile experiences

  The agency designed, redeveloped, and managed large public-facing websites for hospitality, nonprofit, professional-services, media, and corporate clients. Projects included responsive and mobile delivery, multilingual capabilities, publishing workflows, custom functions, and integrations with client systems and external content sources.

• E-commerce services · 2014

  Digital commerce integration

  Siteworx supported digital-commerce and omnichannel initiatives, including strategic and technical integration work involving Intershop's commerce platform and Adobe Experience Manager. The offering addressed the connection of commerce, content, customer experience, and marketing functions across digital channels.

• Content and marketing technology

  Adobe and Sitecore platform services

  Siteworx implemented and supported enterprise marketing and content technologies, including Adobe Experience Manager, Adobe Analytics, Adobe Target, and Sitecore. These services enabled content management, measurement, personalization, campaign coordination, and digital experience optimization.

• 2013RSM US centralized campaign platform

  United States

  Siteworx redesigned the RSM US website, then operating under the McGladrey name, around a centralized campaign platform using Adobe Experience Manager, Adobe Analytics, and Adobe Target.

  Outcome. The website received an Interactive Media Award for Best in Class in the Professional Services category.

  Source
• 2012MandarinOriental.com redevelopment

  International

  Siteworx redeployed Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group's website for desktop and mobile, adding language capabilities, integrating Destination MO online magazine content, and developing the My Stays platform feature.

  Outcome. The project expanded the hotel's digital experience across devices, languages, editorial content, and guest-stay functionality.

  Source
• 2011PBS PressRoom redesign

  United States

  Siteworx redesigned PressRoom.pbs.org for the Public Broadcasting Service.

  Outcome. The project received a Communicator Award of Excellence and a Davy Silver Award in publishing.

  Source
• 2010Diabetes.org redesign and relaunch

  United States

  Siteworx worked with the American Diabetes Association on a redesign and relaunch of Diabetes.org.

  Outcome. The website received an Interactive Media Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Health/Nutrition category.

  Source

• 2023

  Acquisition of Shift7 Digital by MerkleM&A

  Background

  Shift7 Digital represented the continuation of the consultancy previously known as Siteworx.

  Action taken

  Merkle acquired Shift7 Digital.

  Aftermath

  The former Siteworx operation became connected with Merkle and its parent company, Dentsu.

  Source

• 2018

  Rebrand from Siteworx to Shift7 DigitalStrategy

  Background

  After more than a decade operating as Siteworx, the consultancy changed its brand identity.

  Action taken

  The business adopted the name Shift7 Digital.

  Aftermath

  Siteworx became a legacy brand, while the successor business continued and was later acquired by Merkle.

  Source

1. 1Siteworxen.wikipedia.org