Company Profile

Who Baytek is

Baytek is an Ottawa-based digital partner for associations, not-for-profits and other mission-driven organizations across Canada. We become part of their team, helping with everything from strategy and branding to their website and the custom applications and integrations behind it. Several of our partnerships have lasted more than a decade, through rebrands, website rebuilds and everything in between.

We’ve been doing this work since 1997. Strategy, design, development and support all happen under one roof, so the people who understand your organization stay connected to it over time.

Learn about our approach

Core Organization Facts

• Name: Baytek
• Founded: 1997, in Ottawa
• Headquarters: Ottawa, ON, Canada
• Where we work: Organizations across Canada, with deep roots in Ottawa’s association and not-for-profit community
• Team: 12 strategists, designers, developers and support specialists. Learn more about our people.
• Languages: Bilingual (English and French) and multilingual websites. Our team works primarily in English.
• Phone: 613.759.4423
• Email: hello@baytek.ca
• Website: https://baytek.ca

Who we’re a good fit for

We do our best work with organizations that:

• Serve members, stakeholders or the public
• Manage complex content, governance requirements or member-facing systems
• Need their brand, website and technology to work together instead of being handled by separate vendors
• Want a long-term partner who learns how they work, not a vendor for a single transaction

Team size doesn’t matter. Some of our clients have a communications team of one, and others are a single department within a large organization. What they have in common is more to do than their team has time or skills for. Maybe there’s no designer or developer in-house, a key role is vacant, or the people who would normally lead a project are focused on higher priorities. We bring strategy, design, development and support expertise alongside their team, so important work keeps moving.

Most of our clients are national associations, not-for-profits, regulatory bodies and professional member-based organizations. We also partner with mission-driven businesses in sectors like healthcare and technology.

When we might not be the right fit

We’d rather be upfront about this, because it saves everyone time. We’re probably not the right partner if you need:

• A quick, low-cost website built from a commercial template
• A one-time build with no plans to maintain or improve it after launch

How organizations usually come to us

Most of our relationships start with a specific need. These are the ones we hear most often.

How our relationships grow

Projects. Most relationships begin with a single project, like a rebrand, a website rebuild or a new member portal. It’s how we get to know each other.

After launch, there are two ways we stay involved. A Care Plan keeps the platform running. A Digital Partnership helps the organization move forward.

Care Plans are a good fit if you want your website secure, stable and up to date without having to manage it yourself. They include managed WordPress hosting on Canadian servers, core and plugin updates, security and uptime monitoring, daily backups, and help desk support for your team.

Digital Partnerships are a good fit if you want ongoing collaboration, not just maintenance. Part of our team’s time is reserved for you each month, and we plan together quarterly to keep important work moving, like workflow automation, interface improvements, new features and campaign support. The same people stay with you over time, so context isn’t lost between initiatives.

Most Digital Partnerships begin after we’ve worked together on a project, so both sides know it’s the right fit.

See what working together looks like

Selected work

See all work

What our clients say

Services at a glance

Every engagement is shaped around what your organization needs. These are the services we provide most often.

Design

• Brand audits, brand strategy and positioning
• Messaging guidelines and brand voice
• Logo and visual identity design
• Brand guidelines and rollout templates
• Website planning: site mapping, information architecture and user flows
• Website and web application UX/UI design
• Annual reports, brochures and print collateral
• Conference design: booths, banners, signage and handouts
• Presentation templates, social media graphics and email newsletters

Build

• Custom WordPress websites with tailored block editing
• Bilingual and multilingual websites
• Membership platforms and member portals
• Member directories, committees and restricted resources
• Events, registration and payment processing
• AMS, CRM and learning management system integrations
• Custom web applications and internal business tools
• Reporting and workflow systems
• Accessibility built into design and development

Support

• Technical Assessments for websites built by other vendors
• Care Plans with managed WordPress hosting on Canadian servers
• Core and plugin updates, security monitoring and daily backups
• Help desk support and training for internal teams
• Content and design updates
• Support for existing sites, including ones built with page builders like Divi or with Advanced Custom Fields
• Digital Partnerships with reserved monthly team capacity

How we build

We choose technology based on what your organization actually needs, then build it to last. Our team is more deeply rooted in development than most agencies, with a senior group of experienced developers, so we’re comfortable taking on complex technical challenges.

• Custom WordPress development: Custom designed and built themes with tailored block editing experiences and scalable architecture, never commercial templates
• Custom web applications: Member portals, workflow systems and operational tools built with Laravel and Vue.js or Ruby on Rails
• Integrations: Connections with AMS and CRM platforms, payment processors, learning management systems and other third-party APIs
• Accessibility: Designed and built to meet WCAG Level AA, in line with AODA requirements in Ontario, with Level AAA available when an organization requires it
• Hosting and support: Websites and custom applications hosted in Canadian data centres, with daily backups (30-day retention), uptime monitoring and help desk support

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Baytek do?

Baytek helps associations, not-for-profits and mission-driven organizations with brand strategy and design, website planning, design and development, custom web applications and integrations, and ongoing support. Many clients work with us across several of these areas over time.

Who does Baytek work with?

Mostly national associations, not-for-profits, regulatory bodies and professional member-based organizations across Canada. We also work with mission-driven businesses, including in healthcare and technology.

Is Baytek a web design company?

Yes, and a bit more. Website planning, design and development have been a core part of our work in Ottawa since 1997. Most clients also rely on us for branding, custom applications and long-term support.

Where is Baytek located?

Baytek is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, at 150 Elgin Street, Suite 1080, and works with organizations across Canada. We’re not affiliated with Bay Tek Entertainment, the arcade game manufacturer.

How long has Baytek been in business?

Baytek was founded in Ottawa in 1997.

Do you only work with Ottawa organizations?

No. We’re based in Ottawa, which is home to many national associations and not-for-profits, and we work with organizations across Canada.

How do engagements usually start?

Usually with a conversation about a specific need, like a rebrand, a website rebuild, a member portal or help with a website that’s become hard to manage. From there, many clients continue with a Care Plan, and some grow into a Digital Partnership.

What does Baytek’s process look like?

Every project moves through four phases. We start by understanding your organization, audience and goals through conversations, research and planning, including a Technical Assessment when there’s an existing platform. Then we design, build with long-term maintainability in mind, and stay involved after launch with training, support and continuous improvements. Throughout, you’ll always know where things stand, and we’ll flag risks early.

How we work

Do you take over websites built by other agencies?

Yes. We start with a Technical Assessment to understand how the site was built, identify risks and recommend the right support plan before we take responsibility for it.

Do you support websites after launch?

Yes. Care Plans cover hosting, updates, security, monitoring and help desk support. Digital Partnerships add reserved monthly team capacity for ongoing improvements and planning.

Do you host websites in Canada?

Yes. Our Care Plans include managed WordPress hosting on Canadian servers, and the custom web applications we build are hosted in Canadian data centres too. Hosting includes daily backups, uptime monitoring and security updates.

Do you build accessible websites?

Yes. Accessibility is part of how we design and build, not an add-on. We build to WCAG Level AA, which also supports organizations meeting AODA requirements in Ontario, and we think about screen readers, keyboard navigation, colour contrast and clear content from the start. If an organization needs Level AAA, we can design and build to that standard.

Brand colours and logos don’t always meet accessibility requirements on their own. When that happens, we’ll point it out and suggest ways to expand the palette so the website is accessible and still feels true to the brand.

Accessibility at Baytek: A Developer’s Perspective

Do you build bilingual websites?

Yes. Because we work with many national organizations, we regularly build bilingual English and French websites, and we’ve built multilingual sites in more than two languages. We set up the multilingual structure and either coordinate with your translator or import the translations you provide. If you don’t have a translator yet, we can connect you with the one we work with. Our team works primarily in English, so single-language sites are usually built in English.

Do you use templates or page builders?

Every new website and application we create is custom designed and custom built around how your organization works, so you never get something cookie-cutter. We don’t use commercial templates.

That said, we’re flexible about tools. We support and extend existing sites built with page builders like Divi or with Advanced Custom Fields, for example by adding a campaign or product page. When a client’s team will maintain the site themselves, we can also build with the tools they already know. For example, we’ve designed and built a site using Advanced Custom Fields because the client’s team already knew it well and would be supporting the site themselves after handover.

What technologies does Baytek use?

Mainly WordPress for websites, and Laravel, Vue.js or Ruby on Rails for custom applications, depending on what the project needs.

How much does a project cost?

Every project is scoped to the organization’s needs. We’re happy to talk through budget ranges in a first conversation.