Economic Development Website Design That Works as Hard as Your Community Does

We design and build websites for economic development organizations that need to perform — for site selectors, prospective businesses, and the talent your region is working to attract. The same team behind Say Yes to Dallas.

We Have Done This Before

Our team built the digital platform for Say Yes to Dallas — one of the fastest-growing regional talent attraction programs in the country. These are real results from that work.

98%Traffic Increase
2XCalculator Views
160kAnnual Visitors
50%Retention Lift

Why EDOs Need a Specialist, Not a General Web Agency

A talented generalist agency can build you a beautiful website. What they can't do is walk into the room already knowing what a site selector looks for, why talent attraction and business attraction require completely different messaging, or how a cost-of-living calculator can be the single most effective conversion tool on your entire site.

Economic development websites serve multiple demanding audiences at once — corporate executives making $50M+ location decisions, HR leaders recruiting talent across state lines, and entrepreneurs evaluating markets. Getting this right requires more than good design. It requires deep familiarity with the industry.

Generic agencies build websites. They don't understand site selection research.
Most EDO websites treat all audiences the same — and convert none of them well.
Without the right tools (calculator, maps, properties directory), your data advantage is invisible to the people who need it.
Every month your competitors have a stronger digital presence is another month they get chosen instead of you.

Built for Every Audience Your Community Needs to Reach

Your EDO website speaks to several very different people at once. We design for all of them.

Site Selectors
🏢

Corporate Location Consultants

Site selectors are professionals on a deadline. They know exactly what data they need — and a slow site or missing workforce numbers sends them to your competitor within 30 seconds.

We build for their workflow: workforce data, available properties, infrastructure, incentives — all within two clicks.

Businesses & Investors
📈

Expansion & Relocation Prospects

A company evaluating your region wants to understand your business climate before they pick up the phone — tax structure, talent pipeline, industry clusters, and recent wins.

We build business attraction pages that tell a persuasive story backed by real data, with conversion points that move prospects into your pipeline.

Talent & Workforce
🏙️

Future Residents & Workers

High-value workers research communities for months before making a move — comparing cost of living, schools, housing, and career opportunities. Your website needs to be part of that research.

We build quality-of-life sections and interactive tools that give talent seekers a real reason to choose your community.

Everything Your Region Needs to Win

Every project is different. Here are the tools and capabilities we bring to economic development website design.

🏙️

Workforce & Talent Site

Give talent a reason to choose you. We answer housing, school, and lifestyle questions before they ever talk to a recruiter — with pages built specifically for the audiences your region is trying to attract.

📊

Cost-of-Living Calculator

The highest-converting tool on any talent attraction site. Show prospects exactly how much further their salary goes when they choose your city — making your cost advantage tangible and shareable.

📍

Interactive Maps

Visual exploration of neighborhoods, commercial zones, industrial parks, and community amenities. We help prospects and site selectors understand your geography before they ever visit.

🗂️

Sites & Properties Directory

A searchable, filterable database of available commercial properties, industrial sites, and development parcels — built directly into your website so site selectors can find what they need without calling your office first.

🔍

SEO & AI Search Optimization

Built-in search engine optimization — URL architecture, schema markup, keyword-optimized copy, and technical configuration — so your community gets found by the people researching locations online and in AI search tools.

Lead Capture & CRM Integration

Strategic conversion points throughout the site connected to your pipeline. Business and talent inquiries flow directly to your team so nothing falls through the cracks.

From Strategy Call to Launch

Most EDO website projects take 10–14 weeks. Here's exactly what that looks like.

1

Strategy Call

We analyze your region, audiences, and goals. No high-pressure pitch — just an honest assessment of what your digital presence needs to do and how to get there.

2

Custom Proposal

We provide a complete map of what we'll build, the total investment, and the outcomes you can expect. No vague estimates — a clear scope before any work begins.

3

Build & Launch

Our team designs, develops, and launches your platform. We stay involved post-launch to monitor performance and make data-informed improvements in the first 30 days.

What Does an EDO Website Cost?

Most agencies won't answer this. We will. Every project is scoped individually, but here's an honest framework for what to expect.

Focused Site

$8k – $18k

5–8 pages · 10–12 week timeline

Best for: smaller EDOs, chambers, and orgs building or refreshing their digital presence.

Custom design & mobile-first development
Cost-of-living calculator
SEO-optimized structure & copy
Lead capture & CRM integration
CMS training & launch support

Full-Featured Platform

$40k – $80k+

20+ pages · 14–18 week timeline

Best for: state agencies, large regional EDOs, and investment promotion agencies serving multiple stakeholders.

Everything in Mid-Scope
Searchable sites & properties directory
Custom data applications & integrations
Multi-language support
Advanced analytics & reporting
Ongoing retainer options available

Not sure which tier fits? Book a 15-minute strategy call and we'll give you an honest recommendation based on your goals and budget.

Book a Free Strategy Call →

What Our Clients Say

Real results from the organizations that trusted us with their digital presence.

★★★★★

"We signed Max on to handle regular maintenance and development needs for our mid-size nonprofit organization, and he's gone above and beyond since. Our website's backend was essentially duct-taped together, and he's continually looked for opportunities to clean it up and optimize it. Plus, he recommended and took on a plan for SEO, which has yielded stellar results. He is incredibly responsive, kind, and great to work with. I highly recommend."

Dana Jennings
Dana Jennings Executive Vice President, Dallas Regional Chamber
★★★★★

"The WordPress project he helped me with had been 'given up on' by another developer and it provided me so much help that he brought it home for me ❤️ Can't recommend him enough!"

Jessica House
Jessica House TODOS DIGITAL

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything EDOs and community organizations typically ask before starting a website project.

Economic development website projects range from $8,000 to $80,000+ depending on scope. A focused 5–8 page site with a cost-of-living calculator and CMS starts around $8,000–$18,000. A mid-scope build with interactive maps and multi-audience content runs $18,000–$40,000. Full-featured platforms with a searchable sites and properties directory start at $40,000+. Book a free 15-minute strategy call and we'll give you an honest estimate for your specific project.
Most EDO website projects take 10–14 weeks from kickoff to launch. That breaks down as: strategy and discovery (2 weeks), design (3 weeks), development (4–5 weeks), and QA and launch (1–2 weeks). Timeline depends on content readiness — the more your team can provide early, the faster we move.
The most effective EDO websites include: clear pathways for each audience (site selectors, businesses, talent), a cost-of-living calculator, workforce data and demographics, available properties or site listings, interactive maps, incentive summaries, lead capture forms, and mobile-optimized design. The right mix depends on your organization's priorities and audiences — we'll help you figure that out on the strategy call.
A sites and properties directory is a filterable database of available commercial properties, industrial sites, and development parcels built directly into your EDO website. Site selectors can search and filter listings by size, location, zoning, utilities, and infrastructure — without ever calling your office first. For mid-to-large EDOs, this is often the most-used feature on the entire site.
Not necessarily — but specialized agencies understand site selection research, business attraction versus talent attraction messaging, and what data EDO audiences actually look for. Generic web agencies build technically competent sites that often miss the strategic and content requirements that make EDO websites actually perform. You'll spend less time educating a specialist and more time getting results.
Yes — redesigns are a significant part of our work. We start with an audit of your current site evaluating performance, SEO, content, user experience, and conversion before recommending an approach. Most redesigns preserve existing domain authority while dramatically improving structure, design, and search visibility.
SEO is built into every site we design — URL structure, schema markup, page speed, and keyword-optimized copy. We also configure every site so AI crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot) can index it, which is increasingly important as site selectors and talent researchers use AI tools in their research. Most clients see meaningful organic traffic growth within 4–9 months of launch. Learn more about how page speed affects site selector impressions and organic rankings.
Site selector optimization is a specific skill set we bring to every project. We know what data they look for (workforce, available sites, infrastructure, incentives), how they navigate under time pressure, and what missing information sends them to a competitor's site. Our discovery process always includes a site selector lens — reviewing information architecture and navigation before any design work begins.

Your Community Deserves to Be Chosen.

Let's build the platform that makes it happen. Schedule a free 15-minute conversation about your region's digital presence and what it would take to make it perform.

Book Your Free Strategy Call →