Promethean Research

We shared some early research today on how digital agency leaders are thinking about the WordPress/WP Engine situation. Carl Smith covers some of the highlights in this video.

There have been some shifts recently in the #WordPress space. This has caused many agency leaders to question how the shifts could impact their business. We designed a quick (<3min) survey that will let us shed some light on the situation. Participate at the link in comments and get the results when they're ready!

AI Trends in Digital Agencies: A Double-Edged Sword Our latest report highlights the growing role of AI in digital agencies but with some surprising contrasts: 50% of respondents use AI for code generation, while 15% don’t leverage it for dev work at all. In design, AI is primarily used for image editing, yet 41% of designers avoid AI entirely in their design workflows. 11% of clients specifically request agencies not to use AI, often citing security concerns. These trends are adding complexity to agency workflows, forcing teams to constantly adapt, train, and learn—piling more pressure onto an already demanding industry. Report link in comments

What would you like to learn about digital agencies next year? Comment and LMK I'm working on Promethean Research's 2025 research calendar, and I'd love to expand the topics a bit. For context, this year, I published on the following: 1) Agency salaries with the Digital Services Salary Guide 2) Growth tactics and effectiveness with How Digital Agencies Grow 3) Operations tools with The Ultimate Agency Tech Stack 4) Financial and operational metrics with Bending, Not Breaking: The State of Digital Services 5) A revamped and updated industry report with the Digital Agency Industry Report 6) Changes in agency webdev/design with the Digital Agency Webdev Trend Report (Links to all in comments) Bonus question: Any new partners I should reach out to? I have some fantastic ones in Bureau of Digital, Productive, Celarity, Parallax, Codeable, Upsourced, BugHerd, and Small Agency Growth Alliance, but It'd be great to expand this list further.

We could tell 2023 was tough while we were in it, but now that the numbers are in, it’s clear that it was the most difficult year for agency growth since we began tracking back in 2015. Some firms avoided this general downturn and managed to grow 2-3x faster than average. The first section of this report explores the patterns those fast-growing firms shared. In later sections, we explore profitability and margin drivers and key trends shaping the agency landscape. Bending, Not Breaking: State of Digital Services 2024 includes: - Revenue growth rates - Service mix shifts - Service mix and vertical specialization - Pricing levels and methods - Clients and projects - Profitability and margins - Efficiency and utilization - Team dynamics - Artificial intelligence impact - Artificial intelligence implementation - Biggest agency challenges - In-housing concerns Full report available at link in comments

The way agencies build for the web is changing. We surveyed 116 digital agency leaders, developers, and designers to understand what's driving this change. Learn about how the key trends are shaping webdev and design work at digital agencies in the full report (link in comments) Huge thanks to our research sponsor Productive! If you're looking for an agency management solution, they're the one. And to our promotional partners: Codeable, Upsourced, Celarity, and BugHerd, who helped spread the word about the research!

AI and Automation are Shaping the Future of Web Development and Design According to our recent survey, 52% of respondents identified AI and automation as key trends driving efficiency in web dev/design. These tools are streamlining tasks, improving productivity, and changing client expectations around speed, project timelines, and pricing. Non-tech challenges like sales, client shifts, and economic factors are also heavily influencing the industry, with 25% of respondents saying they're having a major impact. Learn more about the major trends shaping webdev at digital agencies in the full report (Link in comments)

Join us! BugHerd, Promethean Research and Productive: 2024 Trends In Web Dev & Design On Thursday, October 3rd at 4pm ET / Friday, October 4th 6am AEST We’ll explore the various trends shaping how developers and designers approach web dev and design work today, including: The tools devs and designers are using to create for the web, how and where they’re using AI The average number and types of sites everyone’s working on (brochure, complex informational, e-commerce, web apps) Project hosting choices, low code / no code use and preferences, and CMS usage Upcoming emerging tech and trends that they’re most excited for Link to register in comments:

Learn how tool needs evolve as agencies grow and the top tools digital agencies use to run their shops.

Learn how digital agencies are actually compensating their talent across various roles. (Link in comments) This 59-page guide covers: How agency compensation rates and packages are shifting Raises in 2023 and expected raises in 2024 Changes in non-salary compensation (bonuses, profit sharing, etc.) Actual salary bands for: - Account management roles - Business development and sales roles - Design roles - Dev roles - Project management roles - Marketing roles (both internal and client-facing) - Agency operations roles Billable and non-billable weekly hours by functional group Standard PTO practices Average benefits provided Agency owner salaries, draws, and bonuses