Working with Fargo Area Businesses

Fargo has enough businesses that most can find a web designer within the city limits. That's different from a lot of places I work with in North Dakota. Still, I've helped businesses in and around Fargo when they've needed a straightforward website or when their previous setup stopped working the way it should.

The advantage of working with someone outside the metro isn't about location. It's about fit. Larger design firms often have minimum project sizes or long timelines. If you're a small operation that needs something functional without a six-month process, that's where I come in.

Most of the Fargo-area clients I've worked with run smaller operations: a family-owned shop, a specialized contractor, a service business that doesn't need a fancy site but does need one that works. They're looking for someone who can handle the technical side without overcomplicating things.

Solving Common Website Problems

A lot of the work I do isn't building sites from scratch. It's fixing problems with existing ones. Slow loading times are common, especially when a site has been patched together over the years with plugins and add-ons. Sometimes a business is stuck with a site they can't update themselves, or their previous developer disappeared.

Email is another frequent issue. A business changes hosting providers or lets a domain expire, and suddenly their email stops working. Sometimes the problem is DNS records that were never set up correctly in the first place. Fixing those issues isn't glamorous work, but it matters when you're trying to run a business.

I've also helped businesses get out from under hosting plans that don't make sense. Paying two hundred dollars a month for a basic website isn't reasonable, but it happens more often than it should. Moving to simpler hosting can cut costs significantly without sacrificing reliability.

Semi-Static Sites for Straightforward Needs

If you don't need e-commerce or a blog you update daily, a semi-static site usually makes more sense than WordPress. It loads faster, requires less maintenance, and doesn't break when a plugin updates. For businesses that just need a professional online presence with basic information, it's a better fit.

That doesn't mean the site looks basic. It means the underlying code is simpler and more reliable. You can still have a modern design, contact forms, and all the features most small businesses actually use.

For businesses that do need WordPress, whether for online sales, appointment booking, or frequent content updates, I build those too. The difference is I only recommend it when it's actually necessary.

Hosting That Doesn't Cause Problems

Good hosting should be invisible. You shouldn't think about it unless something goes wrong, and things shouldn't go wrong often. I use VPS hosting that's fast and stable, with automated backups and SSL certificates included.

When I host a site I built, there's no confusion about who handles what. If something breaks, I fix it. There's no back-and-forth with a hosting company trying to blame the developer, or a developer blaming the host. That kind of accountability matters when you need your site working.

Practical Support for Local Businesses

I've worked with businesses across North Dakota and into Minnesota for years. Most of my clients are in trades, agriculture, or small-scale service businesses. They don't have IT departments, and they don't want to become web experts. They just want their site to work and their email to be reliable.

That's the kind of work I do. If you're in Fargo or the surrounding area and need a website that does its job without drama, that's something I can help with.