Web Design in Smithers, West Virginia

What a web designer should know about Smithers

Water covers 0.2 square miles inside Smithers, against 1.4 square miles of land. Water also means storms, insurance questions and repairs, and customers look for specialists. If your work is on or near the water, say which waters, marinas or shorelines you serve; it is what customers search for.

Website design Smithers: start with the customer

The county around Smithers, Fayette County, counts 38,165 residents and 10 cities and towns. For a city as small as Smithers, the county figures are more reliable: households have a median income of $53,194, and half the residents are older than 44.7. Broadband reaches 82.7% of homes, and 18.4% of households are online only through a phone plan. Homeowners are 77.7% of households.

How Smithers has changed since 2020

The trend since 2020 points down: 746 then, 694 in 2025. West Virginia as a whole changed −1.5% in the same period. A steady city rewards the business people can find and trust quickly.

A web designer’s view of Smithers’ businesses

Across Fayette County, County Business Patterns counts, among others:

• RV parks and campgrounds (5): site types, amenities, rules, a map and a contact form for availability.
• Funeral homes (5): your services explained with care, contact information and directions.
• Insurance agencies (19): the lines you write (auto, home, business, life), the carriers you work with and a quote request form.
• Full-service restaurants (29): a menu page you can update by email, your hours and a map, plus a contact form for events and large groups.
• Gift and souvenir shops (6): what you carry, store hours and an online store for the same monthly fee.

In Fayette County, the Census counted 710 businesses with employees and 1,883 without a payroll in 2023; the second group is where a simple, affordable website changes the most. 17 hotels, inns and other lodging operate in Fayette County, 2.9 times what the national mix would predict. In that trade, travelers compare rooms, rates and location; the website should give customers rooms with real photos, amenities, location and how to reserve by email or through your booking channel. The county also has a strong cluster of religious, civic and membership organizations (48 establishments, 1.8 times the national share). None of them needs a complicated site; they need one that answers the customer’s first questions honestly.

The city of Smithers in numbers

Smithers on the map

Within a short drive of Smithers you find Montgomery (1.3 miles northwest), Handley (4.5 miles northwest), Gauley Bridge (4.8 miles east) and Pratt (5.7 miles northwest). A 25-mile radius around Smithers takes in 21 other municipalities. Smithers covers 1.4 square miles of land and 0.2 square miles of water, about 482 residents per square mile. For flights, West Virginia International Yeager Airport (CRW) lies 22 miles away. The nearest large city is Roanoke, VA, 96 miles to the southeast. If you serve more than one town, your website can have a service area page that names each of them, so a customer in Handley or Gauley Bridge sees right away that you cover them.

The nearest NOAA station with 1991-2020 climate normals, London Locks, is 4.4 miles from Smithers. It records an average high of 85°F in July and an average low of 26°F in January. Precipitation totals about 46 inches a year, with July the wettest month. Freezing nights (32°F or below) come about 90 times a year. Mild weather keeps outdoor work going most of the year: landscaping, outdoor dining and recreation stay busy for months. If you offer emergency or same-week service in bad weather, say so in plain words and make the contact form fast to fill in.

How Aria builds a Smithers website

Aria is a web design company based in Curitiba, Brazil, building websites, online stores and business email since 2008. There are no visits or meetings in Smithers: you send your material by email, and you approve the website on a temporary link.

1. You sign up in about 5 minutes and email us your logo, photos and anything you want on the site.
2. We build it with your brand on a proven professional template and send a temporary link within 5 business days.
3. Approve it: the first monthly fee is issued and your domain starts showing the new site.

After it goes live, hosting, SSL, daily backups and security updates are handled for you, and you request content changes by email at no extra cost.

Rules that apply to a Smithers business website

These are some of the West Virginia and federal rules a small business with a website runs into:

• 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
• West Virginia’s state sales and use tax rate is 6%, and a municipality may add up to 1% more. West Virginia Tax Division

This is general information, not legal advice; check with the West Virginia agencies, Fayette County, the city of Smithers or an attorney.