Web Design in Dunbar, West Virginia

Dunbar up close: notes for a small business website

Interstate 64 runs through Dunbar. Highway traffic brings freight: trucking, repair, towing and truck services work for customers from far away. One screen with services, hours and location is what a traveler needs.

Mining, oil and gas matter in Kanawha County: 35 establishments with employees in the 2023 count, three times the national share. Field crews look for services from a phone, on short notice. Say clearly the area you cover, your equipment and how to request work.

Dunbar’s small businesses and what their websites need

The Census counted 187 establishments with employees in 2023 in ZIP code 25064, which includes Dunbar and its surroundings. Some of the local businesses in that count:

• Quick-service restaurants, 8 in the count. What works online: the menu with prices, hours and the closest cross streets.
• Counseling and mental health practices, 3 in the count. What works online: who you work with, how sessions work (in person or online) and a discreet contact form.
• Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors, 3 in the count. What works online: emergency availability in plain words, the towns you cover and license information.
• Auto repair shops, 3 in the count. What works online: the services you do, the makes you work on, your hours and a form to request an appointment.

County-wide, Kanawha County counts 4,396 businesses with employees and 9,462 self-employed or nonemployer businesses (2023). Compared with the U.S. as a whole, Kanawha County leans toward oil and gas producers (15 establishments, about six times the national share). For them, operators and suppliers vet contractors carefully, and the website should show your capabilities, safety record and the fields or basins you work in. 25.6% of employed residents work in education, health care and social assistance, and 15.4% in retail trade. Every one of them is a search away from a customer in Dunbar.

The customers behind the numbers in Dunbar

Half the homes in Dunbar were built before 1955. Older homes need constant upkeep, and owners search for help when something breaks.

79.9% of the people in Dunbar were born in West Virginia, against 67.4% statewide. In Dunbar, word of mouth still works, and the website is where a recommendation gets confirmed.

Broadband reaches 79.1% of households in Dunbar (86.1% in West Virginia), and 7.7% get online only through a phone plan. A light website that loads quickly on a phone matters here.

A year of weather in Dunbar

By the 1991-2020 normals of the Charleston WFO weather station (4 miles from Dunbar), July highs average 86°F and January lows average 23°F. About 48 inches of rain and melted snow fall in a normal year, most of it in July. Freezing nights (32°F or below) come about 116 times a year. Cold winters bring heating calls, snow plowing and winter car trouble, all searched in a hurry when the first cold snap arrives. If you offer emergency or same-week service in bad weather, state it clearly and keep the contact form short.

What the Census counts in Dunbar

Median household income in Dunbar is $58,379, in line with the West Virginia median ($59,608). The typical resident is 42.9 years old, versus 42.7 statewide. Housing costs: a median home value of $119,600 and a median rent of $935 a month, against $162,600 and $872 in West Virginia. 62.1% of the city’s 3,688 households own the place they live in.

The roads, towns and places around Dunbar

Within a short drive of Dunbar you find South Charleston (2.4 miles), St. Albans (4.5 miles), Nitro (4.9 miles), Charleston (5.8 miles), Poca (8.3 miles) and Bancroft (11 miles). Gauley River National Recreation Area lies within 47 miles of Dunbar. The nearest airport with an IATA code is West Virginia International Yeager Airport (CRW), 7.8 miles east. The city sits on the Kanawha River. Kanawha County’s county seat is Charleston, 5.8 miles to the east. List the towns you actually serve, such as Charleston and Nitro, on your website; customers outside Dunbar want to know before they call.

Kanawha County had 172,381 residents in 2025 and 16 incorporated municipalities. Across Kanawha County, the median household income is $60,943 and the median age is 43.8. 88.2% of households have broadband and 11.1% rely on a cellphone data plan alone. 71.1% of households own their home.

West Virginia and federal rules for small business websites

A website doesn’t need a special license, but the business behind it follows the same West Virginia rules as any other.

• West Virginia’s state sales and use tax rate is 6%, and a municipality may add up to 1% more. West Virginia Tax Division
• West Virginia law requires a business to notify consumers when a breach exposes their unencrypted personal information; notices are sent to the Attorney General’s office at DataBreachNotice@wvago.gov. W. Va. Code Sections 46A-2A-101 to 46A-2A-105
• 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

This is general information, not legal advice. Your county, your city hall or an attorney can confirm what applies to you.

From sign-up to a live website

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

1. Start with the online sign-up, which takes about 5 minutes, and send your material by email.
2. Within 5 business days you get a temporary link with the whole website, built with your logo, colors and photos.
3. Only after you approve do you pay the first monthly fee; then the site is published on your domain.

Hosting, the SSL certificate, daily backups and security updates are on us, and content changes you send by email are included.