Web Design in Alice, North Dakota

Alice weather and a seasonal business

Alice weather, in normals: July highs around 81°F, January lows around -1°F, measured at Casselton Agronomy Farm, 17 miles away (1991-2020). About 24 inches of rain and melted snow fall in a normal year. Freezing nights (32°F or below) come about 182 times a year. Cold winters bring furnace repair, snow removal, roofing and auto service, and the first freeze sends everyone searching at once. 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 big is the Alice market?

Designing a website around Alice’s customers

Alice is one of 27 municipalities in Cass County, a county of 201,794 people. Census estimates for a city this size carry a wide margin of error, so the county is the better guide: households have a median income of $75,555, and half the residents are older than 32.8. 89.6% of households have broadband and 10.6% rely on a cellphone data plan alone. 52.0% of households own their home.

Where Alice customers come from

The closest municipalities to Alice are Enderlin (9.8 miles, pop. 860), Buffalo (11 miles, pop. 188), Fingal (11 miles, pop. 86), Sheldon (12 miles, pop. 94), Tower City (13 miles, pop. 273) and Nome (14 miles, pop. 48). Alice covers 1.0 square miles of land, about 44 residents per square mile. A 25-mile radius around Alice takes in 16 other municipalities. For big-city shopping and services, Fargo (136,275 residents) is 35 miles away. The county seat, Fargo, is 35 miles east. Naming Enderlin, Buffalo and the other places you cover on a service area page tells customers outside Alice that you work there too.

Who you compete with in Alice

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

• Beauty salons: 91. Their website should show services, the stylists, photos of their work and a way to ask for an appointment.
• Chiropractic offices: 60. Their website should show what a first visit looks like, your hours, the insurance you accept and a way to request an appointment.
• Residential property managers: 68. Their website should show the services for owners, the areas you manage and a contact form for owners and tenants.
• Child care centers: 97. Their website should show programs by age, daily routine, your hours and a form for families who want to visit.
• Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors: 90. Their website should show maintenance plans, the brands you service and a request form that works on a phone.

In Cass County, the Census counted 5,988 businesses with employees and 15,228 without a payroll in 2023; the second group is where a simple, affordable website changes the most. Compared with the U.S. as a whole, Cass County leans toward durable goods wholesalers (262 establishments, 1.6 times the national share). In that business, trade buyers want catalogs and terms, and the website should show product lines, brands carried, service area and how to open an account. Recreation and amusement businesses are also overrepresented (90, 1.4 times the national share). Each of these businesses competes for the same search: someone in Alice typing what they need and picking from the results that look trustworthy.

Affordable web design for Alice, done remotely

Aria is a web design company based in Curitiba, Brazil, building websites, online stores and business email since 2008. We don’t have an office in Alice: the whole process happens online, and the plan is the same $89 a month in any city.

1. Start with the online sign-up, which takes about 5 minutes, and send your material by email.
2. We build it with your brand on a proven professional template and send a temporary link within 5 business days.
3. Ask for adjustments by email, approve, and after the first monthly fee the site goes live on your domain.

After launch, changes to text, photos and prices are requested by email and are part of the monthly fee; quick questions go by email too.

North Dakota and federal rules for small business websites

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

• North Dakota’s state sales tax rate is 5% for most retail sales, and cities and counties may levy their own sales and use taxes on top of it. North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner
• 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 North Dakota agencies, Cass County, the city of Alice or an attorney.