Website Help for Bismarck Area Businesses

Bismarck has plenty of web designers and agencies within the city. That makes sense for the capital and one of the larger business centers in the state. But I still work with businesses in the area when they're looking for something specific: a no-nonsense approach to getting their website working properly.

The clients I've helped in Bismarck usually fall into a few categories. Either they're smaller operations that don't fit well with larger agencies, or they've had problems with a previous developer and need someone to clean things up. Sometimes they just want straightforward hosting without surprise fees or complicated billing.

When Websites Stop Working Right

A surprising number of small business websites have fundamental problems that nobody ever fixed. Pages that load slowly because they're pulling data they don't need. Forms that don't actually send anywhere. Mobile layouts that break on certain screen sizes.

These aren't always obvious problems. The site might look fine on a desktop computer in the office, but half the people trying to visit it on their phones are leaving before it loads. Or the contact form looks like it works, but the messages are going to an old email address nobody checks anymore.

I've also dealt with a lot of hosting confusion. A business pays for hosting through one company, has their domain registered somewhere else, and their email is through a third provider. When something breaks, nobody's quite sure who to call. Consolidating that setup and making it manageable is part of what I do.

Building Sites That Don't Need Constant Attention

Most small businesses don't want to think about their website every week. They need it to work reliably without constant updates or maintenance. That's why I tend to build semi-static sites when they make sense.

A semi-static site doesn't mean it's old-fashioned or limited. It means the code is clean and efficient, without unnecessary complexity. For a business that needs to show their services, location, and contact information, it's the most reliable option. It loads fast, it doesn't break when software updates, and it costs less to maintain over time.

For businesses that need e-commerce, membership systems, or regular blog updates, WordPress is still the right choice. But a lot of businesses don't actually need those features. They just need a professional website that represents their business well and doesn't cause headaches.

Email and DNS Issues

Email problems are more common than they should be. A business has email working fine, then they change something with their hosting or domain, and suddenly messages stop going through. Or they end up in spam folders because the DNS records were never configured properly.

Fixing email usually involves setting up SPF and DKIM records correctly, making sure the domain is pointed to the right mail servers, and verifying everything is actually working the way it should. It's not complicated work if you know what you're doing, but it can be confusing if you don't.

I handle that kind of thing regularly. When I set up hosting for a client, email is part of the process. It should just work, and it should keep working.

Long-Term Reliability

I've been doing this work for over two decades, mostly with businesses in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota. A lot of my clients are in trades or agriculture, running small operations without dedicated IT staff. They need someone they can call when something breaks or when they need to make changes.

That's the kind of relationship I've built with most of the businesses I work with. They're not looking for cutting-edge design trends. They're looking for a website that does its job and a hosting setup they don't have to worry about. If that's what you need in Bismarck or the surrounding area, I can help.