Web Design in Long Beach, Mississippi

What a web designer should know about Long Beach

The city of Long Beach has been around since 1905; that is more than a century of local history. In a place with that much history, families tend to stay with the businesses they know, and a newer business has to earn trust one job at a time. An About page with names, dates and faces carries more weight here than a list of adjectives.

Long Beach households and how they shop

45.2% of the people living in Long Beach were born in another state, the largest group from the South. Newcomers find plumbers, dentists and restaurants by searching, not by asking a neighbor. Self-employment is strong in Long Beach: 12.5% of workers run their own business (9.4% statewide). A simple, professional website is often the first upgrade a solo business makes.

With broadband in 92.8% of homes, Long Beach is a connected market. Online research comes before the phone call.

The Long Beach climate, from a business owner’s view

Long Beach weather, in normals: July highs around 90°F, January lows around 44°F, measured at Gulfport Naval Ctr, 2.8 miles away (1991-2020). About 68 inches of rain and melted snow fall in a normal year, most of it in July. About 44 days a year hit 90°F or more. With this much rain, roofing, gutters and drainage work never run out of calls, often on short notice. Plan the website around your busy season: a short email with the new text is all it takes.

Long Beach’s small businesses and what their websites need

295 businesses with employees operated in 2023 in the ZIP code centered on Long Beach (39560), according to the Census Bureau. A sample of that count, and what each kind of business needs online:

• Auto body shops, 5 in the count. What works online: photos of repairs, how you handle insurance claims and a form to request an estimate.
• Full-service restaurants, 19 in the count. What works online: a menu page you can update by email, your hours and a map, plus a contact form for events and large groups.
• Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors, 9 in the count. What works online: the services you offer, the towns you cover and a form for service calls that lands in your email.
• Veterinary clinics, 5 in the count. What works online: services, hours, the team and a contact form for appointment requests.
• Tax preparation offices, 3 in the count. What works online: your services, what documents to bring, seasonal hours and a contact form.

Harrison County as a whole had 4,368 employer establishments in 2023 and another 17,419 nonemployer businesses, the one-person shops and independent contractors that often have no website at all. 124 clothing and accessories stores operate in Harrison County, twice what the national mix would predict. In that trade, shoppers browse before they visit; the website should give customers new arrivals, brands, sizes and store hours, or an online store.

What the Census counts in Long Beach

The median household income in Long Beach is $70,332, about 25% above the Mississippi median of $56,447. Of the 6,983 households in Long Beach, 65.7% are homeowners. Half the residents are older than 39.6 (the Mississippi median age is 38.6). The median home value is $215,200 and the median gross rent is $1,215 a month (Mississippi: $169,800 and $954).

Long Beach gained 505 residents between July 2020 and July 2025. That compares with −0.2% for Mississippi as a whole. Growth like this brings new households that look for local services online before they ask a neighbor.

Long Beach and its neighbors

The closest municipalities to Long Beach are Pass Christian (5.2 miles), Gulfport (7.2 miles), Diamondhead (11 miles), Bay St. Louis (12 miles) and Waveland (14 miles). Harrison County’s county seat is Gulfport, 7.2 miles to the northeast. Long Beach covers 10.2 square miles of land and 3.7 square miles of water, about 1,690 residents per square mile. Long Beach sits about 26 feet above sea level. For flights, Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport (GPT) lies 6.6 miles away. Naming Bay St. Louis, Diamondhead and the other places you cover on a service area page tells customers outside Long Beach that you work there too.

The legal basics for Long Beach businesses online

Some homework before launch:

• A trade name must match your legal name or a fictitious business name registered with Mississippi. Miss. Code Ann. §75-93-1 et seq.
• Fake or bought reviews are illegal under a federal rule in force since 2024 (16 CFR Part 465): post only real ones. 16 CFR Part 465
• Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, businesses open to the public must make their goods and services accessible to people with disabilities, and the Justice Department’s guidance says that includes their websites. ADA.gov guidance
• Mississippi’s regular retail sales tax rate is 7%. Groceries dropped to 5% on July 1, 2025. Local add-ons exist only at the city level: Tupelo adds 0.25% and Jackson adds 1% on certain sales. A sales tax permit from the Department of Revenue is required before doing business, one per location. Mississippi Department of Revenue

This is general information, not legal advice; check with the Mississippi agencies, Harrison County, the city of Long Beach or an attorney.

Affordable web design: what you get and how it works

Aria is a web design company based in Curitiba, Brazil, building websites, online stores and business email since 2008. Everything is done online, so businesses in Long Beach get exactly the same plan as anyone else.

1. Start with the online sign-up, which takes about 5 minutes.
2. Review the website on a temporary link, ready within 5 business days, and request any changes by email.
3. Approve it, pay the first month, and the website goes live on your domain together with your business email.

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