Websites for small businesses across Maine
I work remotely, so a business in Aroostook County gets the same service as one down the street. Maine has a few things that shape what a good site needs.
What matters for a Maine site
- Seasonal businesses
- Camps, inns, farm stands, ice cream shops, outfitters: many Maine businesses open for part of the year. The site shows your season dates plainly and keeps working when you are closed, so people planning next summer can still find you.
- Rural signal
- Mobile coverage is weak in much of the state. A page that loads fast on a weak signal is not a nice extra here. I keep pages small and test them on a slow connection.
- Older readers
- Maine has one of the oldest populations in the country. Clear, large text that people can enlarge, and a site that works with a screen reader, serve a big share of your customers.
Accessibility and the law
- Private businesses
- The ADA covers businesses open to the public, and the Department of Justice has said that includes websites. It has not set one technical standard for them. WCAG 2.2 AA is the usual standard, and it is what I build to.
- Towns and public bodies
- In 2024 the Department of Justice set WCAG 2.1 AA as the standard for the websites of state and local governments. If you build for a town, a school or a public agency, that rule applies.
What the free check looks for
The free check reads your front page in a few seconds. These are the results that matter most here.
- Many separate scripts, which make a page slow on a weak rural signal.
- Pinch-zoom switched off, which stops older readers from enlarging text.
- No viewport tag, so the page shows as a shrunken desktop page on a phone.
- No structured data, so Google has less to go on for a local search.
- Served over plain HTTP.
Run the free check. The full review goes through every page for $9.
What you get, and what it costs
- You pay what you think the site is worth, from $100. It is the same site at every price.
- Every account, from the domain to the hosting, is in your name.
- It loads fast, works on every phone, and works with a screen reader and a keyboard.
- No trackers, and nothing about your customers is sold.
- If you want me to keep it safe and current, the care plan is $9 a month. It is optional.
Questions
- Do you work with businesses anywhere in Maine?
- Yes. Most work happens remotely by email and phone, so distance does not matter.
- My business closes for the winter. What should the site say?
- Your season dates, plainly, and when you open again. The site keeps working while you are closed, so people who plan ahead can still find you.
- Does my small business website need to be accessible?
- The ADA covers businesses that are open to the public, and the Department of Justice has said that includes their websites. It does not name one standard for private businesses. WCAG 2.2 AA is the usual one, and every site I build meets it.
See what your site needs
Start with the free check of the site you have. If you have no site yet, tell me about your business and I will reply.