Web Design in Lexington, South Carolina

Lexington up close: notes for a small business website

Lexington is the seat of Lexington County, so the county courthouse and county offices are here. That is a county of 317,588 people and 15 cities and towns. Visitors who come in for county business often need something else while they are here: lunch, a copy shop, a notary, a mechanic. A page that says which parts of the county you serve helps the people who come in from outside Lexington. Get those few things right and the rest of the site can stay simple.

Lexington is on Interstate 20, so some of the people looking for food, fuel, lodging and repairs are just passing through. Travelers search from the road, decide fast and will not call to ask what you have. One screen with services, hours and location is all a driver has time for. That does not take a big website. It takes an honest one, with the details right.

Only 18 miles from Columbia, Lexington is part of the Columbia orbit: the average trip to work takes 25.2 minutes. Residents work out of town and book services in the evening or on weekends, usually from a phone. Make it obvious you are in Lexington and name the streets and subdivisions you serve; that is your advantage over the metro. Most of this is written once and kept current, which is precisely what the monthly changes by email are for.

Census facts about Lexington

Half the residents are older than 39.0 (the South Carolina median age is 40.2). Housing costs: a median home value of $297,700 and a median rent of $1,545 a month, against $259,000 and $1,180 in South Carolina. There are 9,778 households, and 68.7% of them own their home.

Writing a website for Lexington residents

Newcomers shape Lexington: 41.1% of residents were born elsewhere in the U.S., mostly the South, and only 47.6% in South Carolina. For them, your website is often the first contact with your business. Much of Lexington is newly built (median year 2002). New owners have no favorite local business yet.

93.5% of households have a broadband subscription. Customers here are used to checking a business online before they visit or call.

Weather in Lexington: plan the website around it

The nearest NOAA station with 1991-2020 climate normals, Columbia, is 6.7 miles from Lexington. It records an average high of 93°F in July and an average low of 35°F in January. Precipitation totals about 45 inches a year, with July the wettest month. The high reaches 90°F or more on about 81 days a year. Heat sets the rhythm: crews start early, afternoons belong to indoor activities, and the hottest weeks bring urgent searches. Put your seasonal services on their own page, so the right page is there when the weather turns.

How Lexington has changed since 2020

The estimates rise every year: 24,392 in 2021, 24,705 in 2022, 24,995 in 2023, 25,425 in 2024, 25,729 in 2025. Statewide, the change was +8.8%. Every family that moves in starts by searching for the basics, and the businesses with a website get that first look.

What kind of businesses Lexington has

ZIP code 29072, which covers Lexington and the area around it, had 1,799 business establishments with employees in 2023. A sample of that count, and what each kind of business needs online:

• Law offices, 55 in the count. What works online: practice areas on separate pages, the attorneys and a contact form for a first conversation.
• Quick-service restaurants, 62 in the count. What works online: today’s hours, the menu and photos that look like what customers get.
• Real estate offices, 50 in the count. What works online: a page about each area you cover and an easy way for buyers and sellers to reach the right agent.
• Beauty salons, 25 in the count. What works online: services with prices, photos of real work, the stylists and the hours.

Across Lexington County, County Business Patterns counted 7,391 employer establishments in 2023, and the Nonemployer Statistics add 23,729 businesses with no payroll, most of them self-employed owners. Compared with the U.S. as a whole, Lexington County leans toward vehicle dealers (158 establishments, 1.5 times the national share). For them, shoppers browse inventory and compare prices online, and the website should show inventory, financing information as allowed by law, service department hours and directions. Next on the list: rental and leasing businesses, 71 of them, at 1.6 times the national share. The jobs Lexington residents hold are mostly in education, health care and social assistance (24.2%) and professional, management and administrative services (14.2%). Most of these businesses are small, and the website does the job a front desk would do in a bigger company.

Towns near Lexington your website can name

Nearby incorporated places: Springdale (6.7 miles east), West Columbia (7 miles east), South Congaree (7.5 miles southeast) and Irmo (7.7 miles north). For flights, Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) lies 7 miles away. Congaree National Park is a short trip away: within 29 miles. 25 municipalities lie within 25 miles, each with its own customers. Lexington covers 12.6 square miles of land and 0.2 square miles of water, about 2,036 residents per square mile. List the towns you actually serve, such as Springdale and West Columbia, on your website; customers outside Lexington want to know before they call.

South Carolina and federal rules for small business websites

Some homework before launch:

• Cities and counties may impose a business license tax by ordinance, so check both the city and the county where the business operates; the standard license year runs from May 1 to April 30. In Lexington, that means asking Lexington County and the Town of Lexington. S.C. Code Ann. Sections 6-1-315 and 6-1-400 et seq. (Business License Tax Standardization Act)
• South Carolina’s statewide sales and use tax rate is 6%, and a county may add up to 1% in local sales tax if its voters approve it. South Carolina Department of Revenue
• A business that owns or licenses computerized data containing personal identifying information about South Carolina residents must notify the affected residents of a breach in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay. S.C. Code Ann. Section 39-1-90
• Out-of-state sellers have to collect South Carolina sales tax once they reach the state threshold: More than $100,000 in gross revenue from sales into South Carolina in a calendar year. Official source

This is general information, not legal advice; check with the South Carolina agencies, Lexington County, the town of Lexington or an attorney.

How Aria builds a Lexington website

Based in Curitiba, Brazil, Aria has been building business websites since 2008. We don’t have an office in Lexington: the whole process happens online, and the plan is the same $89 a month in any city.

1. Fill in the sign-up form (about 5 minutes) and send your logo, photos and texts by email.
2. Within 5 business days the website is ready on a temporary link, and you review it and ask for changes.
3. Once you approve it, the first monthly fee is issued and the website goes live on your domain.

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