Web Design in Shirley, Indiana

Why a Shirley website can’t be generic

Shirley is 15 miles northwest of Anderson, close enough that customers compare you with businesses across the metro. Residents work out of town and book services after hours, usually from a phone. Say clearly that you are local and name the streets and subdivisions you serve; that is your advantage over the metro.

Who is searching in Shirley

With broadband in 93.5% of homes, Shirley is a connected market. Shirley customers check a business online before they call or drive over.

Shirley is one of 8 municipalities in Hancock County, a county of 90,969 people. For a town as small as Shirley, the county figures are more reliable: the median household income is $93,186 and the median age is 40.0. 93.6% of households have broadband and 11.1% rely on a cellphone data plan alone. Homeowners are 79.5% of households.

Sizing up the Shirley market

A town that keeps changing

The Census Bureau’s annual estimates show Shirley going from 825 in 2020 to 851 in 2025 (3.2%). That compares with +2.8% for Indiana as a whole. New residents mean new customers who don’t have a favorite plumber, dentist or restaurant yet.

The businesses that compete for customers in Shirley

ZIP code 47384, which covers Shirley and the area around it, had 28 business establishments with employees in 2023.

In Hancock County, the Census counted 1,634 businesses with employees and 6,610 without a payroll in 2023; the second group is where a simple, affordable website changes the most. Hancock County has 1.6 times the national share of specialty trade contractors: 162 of them in the 2023 count. In that line of work, homeowners search by trade and town when something breaks, so the website should show one page per service, the towns you cover, license information and a quote form. Next on the list: trucking companies, 58 of them, at 1.7 times the national share.

The roads, towns and places around Shirley

Nearby incorporated places: Wilkinson (1.5 miles, pop. 414), Kennard (3.2 miles, pop. 447), Greensboro (6.2 miles, pop. 127), Markleville (6.2 miles, pop. 493), Cadiz (6.4 miles, pop. 162) and Knightstown (7.1 miles, pop. 2,165). Hancock County’s county seat is Greenfield, 12 miles to the southwest. With 2,357 residents per square mile on 0.4 square miles of land, Shirley is moderately dense by Indiana standards. The nearest airport with an IATA code is Anderson Regional Airport (IN) (AID), 15 miles north. 50 municipalities lie within 25 miles, each with its own customers. Naming Greensboro, Wilkinson and the other places you cover on a service area page tells customers outside Shirley that you work there too.

By the 1991-2020 normals of the Castle weather station (9.8 miles from Shirley), July highs average 83°F and January lows average 17°F. Precipitation totals about 44 inches a year, with June the wettest month. Freezing nights (32°F or below) come about 132 times a year. Cold winters bring furnace repair, snow removal, roofing and auto service, and the first freeze sends everyone searching at once. Seasonal updates help: new hours, a seasonal service, a storm notice, sent by email and included in the monthly fee.

Paperwork and rules for Indiana businesses online

Before your website goes live, it helps to have the basics of the business in order.

• Under ADA Title III, a business open to the public should make its website usable by people with disabilities, according to the Justice Department’s guidance. ADA.gov guidance

This is general information, not legal advice; check with the Indiana agencies, Hancock County, the town of Shirley or an attorney.

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

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 Shirley: 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. Your website is ready within 5 business days on a temporary link, so you can check every page before anything is published.
3. Approve it: the first monthly fee is issued and your domain starts showing the new site.

Changes after launch go by email and are included, and so do quick questions.