Web Design in Hays, Texas

Which Hays businesses need a small business website

ZIP code 78610, which covers Hays and the area around it, had 1,004 business establishments with employees in 2023. Here is part of that mix, with what each website should show:

• Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors, 41 in the count. What works online: emergency availability in plain words, the towns you cover and license information.
• Gyms and fitness studios, 15 in the count. What works online: class schedules, membership options and a form for a first visit.
• Food trucks, 7 in the count. What works online: the menu, where to find you this week and a form for private events.
• Real estate offices, 28 in the count. What works online: the neighborhoods you know best, agent profiles and a contact form for buyers and sellers.
• Child care centers, 11 in the count. What works online: programs by age, daily routine, your hours and a form for families who want to visit.
• Hotels and motels, 10 in the count. What works online: rooms, photos, location and a contact form, so travelers can compare you outside the booking apps.

Across Hays County, County Business Patterns counted 5,891 employer establishments in 2023, and the Nonemployer Statistics add 25,793 businesses with no payroll, most of them self-employed owners. Hays County has 3.4 times the national share of breweries, wineries and distilleries: 28 of them in the 2023 count. In that line of work, visitors plan tasting trips around hours and directions, so the website should show what is on tap or in the bottle, tasting-room hours, events and directions. The county also has a strong cluster of clothing and accessories stores (176 establishments, twice the national share). Each of these businesses competes for the same search: someone in Hays typing what they need and picking from the results that look trustworthy.

Your Hays audience

The county around Hays, Hays County, counts 304,390 residents and 13 cities and towns. At the county level, where the estimates are more precise: the median household income is $89,097 and the median age is 34.1. Broadband reaches 92.9% of homes, and 10.3% of households are online only through a phone plan. Homeowners are 64.1% of households.

Towns near Hays your website can name

The closest municipalities to Hays are Buda (3.5 miles), San Leanna (3.5 miles), Mountain City (5.8 miles), Bear Creek (5.8 miles) and Sunset Valley (8 miles). Hays County’s county seat is San Marcos, 18 miles to the south. With 1,215 residents per square mile on 0.2 square miles of land, Hays is moderately dense by Texas standards. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) is 13 miles northeast of Hays in a straight line. Naming Buda, Mountain City and the other places you cover on a service area page tells customers outside Hays that you work there too.

Hays weather, in normals: August highs around 95°F, January lows around 39°F, measured at Dripping Springs, 9.7 miles away (1991-2020). Precipitation totals about 36 inches a year, with May the wettest month. The high reaches 90°F or more on about 106 days a year. Long, hot summers keep air-conditioning contractors, pool services and pest control busy, and customers search urgently when something breaks. Plan the website around your busy season: send the changes by email a few weeks ahead.

Hays: the numbers behind the market

The median home value is $327,300 and the median gross rent is $2,295 a month (Texas: $283,800 and $1,403).

Rules that apply to a Hays business website

Selling or advertising online does not change the rules, but a few apply to most Hays businesses:

• Texas charges a 6.25% state sales and use tax, and local jurisdictions may add up to 2%, for a maximum combined rate of 8.25%. Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
• A federal rule (16 CFR Part 465) makes it unlawful to write, buy or sell fake reviews and testimonials, so the reviews on a business website have to be real. 16 CFR Part 465
• Texas has no state-level general license, but city and county permits still apply, so check the local county and city government where the business operates. In Hays, that means asking Hays County and the City of Hays. Official source

General information, not legal advice: confirm the details with the agency that handles each item.

Hiring a web designer for your Hays business, without the meetings

Based in Curitiba, Brazil, Aria has been building business websites since 2008. Nobody from Aria will visit: you send your material by email, and you approve the website on a temporary link.

1. Fill in the sign-up form (about 5 minutes) and send your material by email.
2. Within 5 business days you get a temporary link with the whole website, built on a proven template with your brand.
3. Approve it, pay the first month, and the website goes live on your domain together with your business email.

After launch, changes to text, photos and prices are requested by email and are part of the monthly fee; quick questions go by email too.