Web Design in Ely, Minnesota

Before you build: what Ely looks like from a business owner’s chair

Heating oil and kerosene still heat 42.0% of homes in Ely (Minnesota: 1.3%). Fuel delivery, furnace service and chimney work are steady local trades here, and customers look for them before the cold arrives. A page per service, written the way customers say it, plus the area you cover, works better than a single long list. The website is where all of this turns into a decision, so it pays to get the basics right.

In Ely, 20.4% of workers walk to their jobs, a rare share for Minnesota. In a dense, walkable place, the nearest good option usually wins. Give walking directions and the nearest transit stop on the contact page, with a photo of the storefront.

Ely by the numbers

Ely counts 1,780 households; 63.4% own their home. At $43,901, Ely’s median household income sits about 51% under the Minnesota figure ($89,062); customers here compare before they spend.

Census estimates put Ely at 3,260 in 2020 and 3,231 in 2025, a stable city. That compares with +2.2% for Minnesota as a whole. When the population is steady, businesses grow by taking customers from competitors, and the website is often where that choice happens.

Getting to and around Ely

Within a short drive of Ely you find Winton (2.9 miles northeast), Babbitt (18 miles south), Tower (20 miles west) and Hoyt Lakes (26 miles southwest). The nearest large city is Duluth, 79 miles to the south. Ely Municipal Airport (LYU) is inside Ely. Ely covers 2.9 square miles of land, about 1,105 residents per square mile. Duluth, seat of St. Louis County, lies 79 miles to the south. Customers in Winton and Hoyt Lakes will ask the same thing: do you work here? A service area page answers before they have to.

St. Louis County had 200,518 residents in 2025 and 27 incorporated municipalities.

Local competition in Ely

The Census counted 252 establishments with employees in 2023 in ZIP code 55731, which includes Ely and its surroundings. Here is part of that mix, with what each website should show:

• 11 custom home builders: a portfolio page per home, the steps of working with you and a contact form for buyers who are still comparing builders.
• 8 hotels and motels: rooms, photos, location and a contact form, so travelers can compare you outside the booking apps.
• 3 clothing stores: new arrivals, store hours and an online store for the same monthly fee.
• 8 real estate offices: market areas, how you work with buyers and sellers and a contact form.
• 6 full-service restaurants: the current menu with prices, hours, the address with a map and photos of real dishes.
• 3 auto repair shops: the services you do, the makes you work on, hours and a form to describe the problem.

Across St. Louis County, County Business Patterns counted 5,360 employer establishments in 2023, and the Nonemployer Statistics add 12,853 businesses with no payroll, most of them self-employed owners. 308 nursing and residential care facilities operate in St. Louis County, about five times what the national mix would predict. In that trade, families research care for a relative; a good site gives customers levels of care, photos of the facility, licensing information and how to arrange a visit. The county also has a strong cluster of hotels, inns and other lodging (129 establishments, 2.9 times the national share). Ely’s working residents are concentrated in education, health care and social assistance (21.3%) and arts, entertainment, recreation, lodging and food service (16.7%). Every one of them is a search away from a customer in Ely.

Reading the Ely customer

Nonprofits employ 19.5% of Ely’s working residents. Nonprofits buy services too: printing, catering, cleaning, IT and event space.

Government jobs account for 19.6% of employed residents. Public employees keep regular hours, and many book services around them.

A year of weather in Ely

Ely weather, in normals: July highs around 79°F, January lows around -7°F, measured at Ely, 1.3 miles away (1991-2020). About 31 inches of rain and melted snow fall in a normal year, most of it in September. Freezing nights (32°F or below) come about 200 times a year. Cold winters bring heating calls, snow plowing and winter car trouble, and the first freeze sends everyone searching at once. A website that changes with the season help: winter hours, summer specials, storm-season notices, requested by email at no extra charge.

Small business website, start to finish

Aria works from Curitiba, Brazil, and has built websites for businesses since 2008. Everything is done online, so businesses in Ely get exactly the same plan as anyone else.

1. Start with the online sign-up, which takes about 5 minutes.
2. Within 5 business days the website is ready on a temporary link, and you review it and ask for changes.
3. Approve it, pay the first month, and the website goes live on your domain together with your business email.

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

Running a website from Ely: the Minnesota rules

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

• Minnesota’s state sales tax is 6.875%: a 6.5% general rate plus the 0.375% increase required by the Minnesota Constitution. Cities, counties and special districts add local sales taxes on top of it. Minnesota Department of Revenue
• Out-of-state sellers have to collect Minnesota sales tax once they reach the state threshold: 200 or more retail sales from outside Minnesota to destinations in Minnesota in the prior 12-month period, or retail sales totaling more than $100,000 in the prior 12-month period. Minnesota still keeps the 200-sale test. Minn. Stat. 297A.66, subd. 1(c)

This is general information, not legal advice; check with the Minnesota agencies, St. Louis County, the city of Ely or an attorney.