It has never been easier to build a website. AI can generate one in minutes. Platforms and templates can have a business online by the end of the day. And, as Raluca Grosu of XIST2 readily admits, some of the results can look surprisingly good.
But looking good and working effectively for a business are not necessarily the same thing.
For Raluca, that distinction is becoming increasingly important – and it sits at the heart of the work she and the team at XIST2 are doing with businesses that need their digital presence to deliver something more than an attractive online brochure.
“Everybody can generate an AI website now,” says Raluca. “We’ve tried them ourselves and some of them are shiny and they do the job. If all you want is to be visible online quickly, you can have a website within hours.
“But we’re increasingly talking to businesses that have done that and then ask: why aren’t people finding me? Why am I not appearing in search? Why isn’t the website actually generating anything for the business?”
From Romania to Oxfordshire
Raluca’s route to XIST2 has given her a broad perspective on business, marketing and design.
Originally from Romania, she studied economics and marketing before beginning her career with a multinational energy and gas trading company. Her growing interest in marketing subsequently led her into a Romanian digital marketing agency.
Nine years ago, she moved to the UK.
Curious to understand the British education system and keen to add another dimension to her existing marketing expertise, Raluca returned to university, studying graphic design at the University of Bedfordshire.
Today she combines those different disciplines as Business Development Manager at XIST2, where she also looks after client accounts.
For Raluca, the appeal of the agency lies partly in its independence and partly in the depth of expertise within the team.
XIST2 has been operating for more than 20 years and several clients have been with the agency for more than a decade.
“That longevity says something about the work,” Raluca says. “We’re able to evolve as our clients and their businesses evolve.”
A website isn’t just about how it looks
The rise of AI and low-cost website builders could easily be viewed as a threat to traditional digital agencies. Raluca sees it differently.
The technology has certainly changed the market, but it has also helped expose the difference between simply having a website and having one that has been designed around a commercial objective.
For XIST2, that means considering far more than colours, photographs and layouts.
The team brings together commercial and marketing expertise, creative direction, user journey and conversion knowledge, web development and search strategy, including SEO and GEO (generative engine optimisation), which helps businesses appear in AI-generated answers.
That combined experience matters because a website has a job to do.
“People sometimes come to us after building something themselves because there’s nobody supporting them,” explains Raluca. “They don’t necessarily know how to edit it, why people aren’t visiting it or why it isn’t converting.
“Fast and cheap isn’t always the best answer. The question is what the website is actually doing for your business.”
Making the customer the hero
One recent conversation illustrates the point. XIST2 was approached by a financial adviser working with high-net-worth clients. The service itself was premium, but the website didn’t communicate that.
Its branding had become dated, the site wasn’t properly optimised for mobile and much of the content focused on the adviser himself. There was a disconnect between the quality of the real-world service and the impression being created online.
For somebody potentially deciding whether to entrust an adviser with significant family wealth or assets, that matters. But Raluca also spotted something deeper in the content.
“When somebody arrives on your website, they want to recognise themselves,” she explains. “They want to think: ‘That’s my problem. That’s what I’m trying to achieve. This person understands me.’
“If everything is about the business owner, you’re missing that opportunity.”
This isn’t usually because business owners are deliberately making their websites about themselves. Often they simply haven’t been shown another way.
Raluca’s approach is therefore consultative rather than critical: what do you like about your existing website? What works? What doesn’t? What do you want a potential customer to understand, feel or do when they arrive?
Those questions begin to turn a website from a brochure into a commercial tool.
Where does AI fit?
For Raluca and XIST2, the answer isn’t to resist AI.
It’s to use technology where it adds value while retaining the experience and judgement that technology alone cannot provide.
Modern websites also need to perform technically and increasingly need to be discoverable beyond traditional Google searches as people turn to ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools to research businesses, services and potential suppliers.
That means thinking about performance, structure, content, credibility, user experience and the signals that help search engines and AI platforms understand and trust a business.
The digital landscape may be changing rapidly, but Raluca believes that actually strengthens the argument for businesses to think strategically about their online presence.
Introducing XIST1
There is another change taking place at XIST2.
Historically, much of the agency’s work and positioning has centred on larger, bespoke website projects. Those remain an important part of XIST2, but Raluca wants smaller businesses to know there is now another option.
XIST1 has been created specifically with micro businesses in mind – typically organisations with fewer than ten employees for whom investing in a fully bespoke digital project may not make commercial sense.
The idea is to bridge the gap between a do-it-yourself template and a substantial bespoke build.
XIST1 offers a more cost-efficient website that can be deployed quickly – potentially within weeks or even days where the content is ready – while still giving businesses access to professional expertise and ongoing support.
It includes input around areas such as user journey, SEO, performance and ongoing website support.
“You might not need a completely bespoke website,” Raluca explains. “But that doesn’t mean you don’t need advice or somebody there to support you as your business develops.”
For the small business owner who doesn’t want to become their own web developer, designer, SEO specialist and digital strategist, that’s an important distinction.
The biggest website challenge might not be technology
Interestingly, after all the discussion about AI, platforms and technology, Raluca says one of the biggest obstacles to launching a new website remains distinctly human: content.
An agency can schedule its designers and developers, but the project still relies on the business supplying the words, images and information needed to bring it to life.
And a website project has a habit of exposing everything else that suddenly needs attention.
The team photograph is five years old. The business has moved offices. The branding no longer feels right. The services have changed. Nobody likes their headshot.
What started as “we need a new website” quickly becomes an opportunity to examine how the entire business presents itself.
And perhaps that illustrates Raluca’s wider point. A website is no longer simply a technical project. It’s an expression of the business behind it: who it serves, what makes it different, why somebody should trust it and, ultimately, why a prospective customer should take the next step. AI can undoubtedly help businesses get online faster than ever before. But knowing what to say, how to say it, who you’re saying it to and what you want them to do next?
That’s where experience still counts.
Find out more
Businesses interested in exploring either XIST2’s bespoke digital services or XIST1’s website solution for micro businesses can contact Raluca Grosu and the XIST2 team to discuss which approach is most appropriate for their needs.
Links:
https://xist2.com/
https://xist1.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/raluca-grosu/