Website design in Fort Erie, from $1,800

A Fort Erie business is usually selling to four different people. There's the summer crowd down at Crystal Beach who found you on a phone about ninety seconds ago. There's the day-tripper who just came off the Peace Bridge and wants lunch before the drive to the Falls. There's the year-round local in Ridgeway or Stevensville who's been meaning to call you since spring. And there's the trade customer who only wants to know whether you've got the part in stock before they drive over.

One small website can answer all four, as long as it's built to answer questions in the first ten seconds. That's a different job from winning a design award, and it's a much cheaper one.

Most Fort Erie starter sites begin at $1,800.

What that gets a Fort Erie shop

A handful of pages that cover what you do, where you are, and how somebody reaches you. Your hours, your address, and a tappable phone number sit up top where a person standing on a sidewalk in the rain can find them. A page for each service you actually get called about. And the basic local search setup, so when somebody types your trade and the word Fort Erie into a phone, the machine has enough to go on.

If you need more than that, the price goes up and you'll get the number in writing first. Plenty of shops here never need more than the starter.

Seasons are part of the spec

Summer here runs on visitors. Winter runs on your neighbours and your trade accounts. The same shop can have two completely different customers depending on the month, and the website has to survive both without a rebuild in May.

The practical version of that: your hours page is going to be the most-read thing you own, and it will get read most often at exactly the moment you're too busy to update it. So treat it like the sign in your window. You should be able to change seasonal hours, a long weekend closure, or a "back Tuesday" note yourself, from your phone, in under a minute. Any site that needs a phone call to me for that has been built wrong.

Local resources worth knowing

If you're running a business in Fort Erie, Ridgeway, Crystal Beach, or Stevensville, the Greater Fort Erie Chamber of Commerce is worth your membership fee before it's worth your web budget.

The Town of Fort Erie handles business licensing and sign permits, and it's worth a phone call before you order anything with your name printed on it. And if your storefront is on Jarvis Street in Bridgeburg, the historic commercial main street, the shops on either side of you are the best source of referrals you'll ever have. A website supports that. It doesn't replace it.

Common questions

Do you only work in Fort Erie?

I'm based here, so Fort Erie is the easy drive, but the work goes across Niagara. See the full list of areas I build for: Port Colborne, Welland, Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Wainfleet, and more.

How long does it take?

Most of the timeline is you, honestly. Once I have your text, your photos, and your logo, the build moves quickly. If you're starting from a shoebox of prints and a hand-written price list, we'll sort that out together and it takes a little longer.

Do I own the site when it's done?

Yes, at every size. The domain gets registered in your business name, the hosting account is in your name, and the logins are yours. If you ever decide to move the site to somebody else, you can, and I'll help you pack it up.

What if I need more than a starter site?

There are three sizes. Starter runs $1,800, Grow runs $3,200, and Complete runs $5,500, with the full breakdown on the home page. Online booking, a real store, a members' area, all of that is doable, and you'll get the exact number in writing before we start.

Do you offer financing?

Yes. If spreading the cost works better for your business, say so when we talk and we'll set up a plan that fits.

Call 905.682.4642, or email [email protected], and tell me what you sell. If I miss your call, I'll call back the same day.