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Horry County, SC · Web Design
Small Business Website Design in Horry County: Websites for a Building Boom
Horry County is building quicker per resident than 99% of counties, and that changes what a small business needs from its website. Before you commit to small business website design in Horry County, look at the field you would be joining. GetPhound builds custom WordPress websites with design mockups first and a dedicated project lead from the initial call to launch.
Numbers for this market
Horry County's Small Business Field: How Many, How Fast, How Big
Local Website Competition Index
76.9/ 100
Position 140 out of 1,822 counties that have at least 20,000 residents, and 94 among the 400 markets on this website. Scores run from 0 to 100: the higher the number, the more small businesses per resident and the faster the field is changing. The calculation, step by step
We score each U.S. county-equivalent with 20,000 or more residents on how many small local businesses (the shops, practices and contractors that run on a small-business website) share its residents and how fast new ones keep arriving. Horry County scores 76.9, which is busier than most.
Look past the score and two features set Horry County apart: it is building new homes faster than most for its size, and it is growing quicker than most counties. Below, each measure gets its own tile, so you can see which ones drive the score.
- Small shops per 10,000 residents (under 10 employees) 50.5 Beats 88% of counties
- New-business pace: employer locations in all industries, 2017 to 2022 +13.4% Beats 90% of counties
- Portion of locations with fewer than 5 staff 58.4% Sits above 50% of counties
- Established players: locations with 20+ employees, share 13.5% Outranks 96% of counties
- Named places with 2,500+ residents 5 Tops 80% of counties
- Net population change since the last Census +13.2% Beats 99% of counties
- Typical household income (2023 est.) $68,684 Sits above 56% of counties
- New housing approved in 2025, per 10,000 residents 163.8 Tops 99% of counties
Each bar marks where Horry County sits among all 1,822 counties of 20,000 or more people. Built from: the Census Bureau's population estimates, County Business Patterns (2017 and 2022), Census income estimates and building permit data.
Where the customers are
Where Horry County's Customers Live
Residents by town, using the Census Bureau's current estimates. Customers search by town name, so each place is a separate audience and a possible page on your site. If you are comparing web design in Horry County, ask how each of these towns will be covered.
| Town or city | Population (2023 estimate) | Portion of the county |
|---|---|---|
| Myrtle Beach | 39,697 | 10% |
| Conway | 27,985 | 7% |
| North Myrtle Beach | 20,303 | 5% |
| Surfside Beach | 4,321 | 1% |
| Loris | 2,749 | 1% |
| Aynor | 1,051 | 0% |
Data: the Census Bureau's population estimates. The list mixes incorporated cities, towns and census-designated places; for cities split between counties, the figure covers just the part inside Horry County.
The local picture
Why New Construction in Horry County Matters for Your Site
Horry County builds a lot for its size: 6,511 housing units were authorized in 2025, 163.8 per 10,000 residents, more than in 99% of counties. New homes bring households that have never used a local business, and a website is how a new resident learns what you do and whether you serve their street.
Population: 397,478, the 188th largest of 3,143 U.S. counties, up 13.2% since the 2020 Census.
No single place dominates Horry County: the largest, Myrtle Beach, accounts for roughly 10% of residents, and the list continues with Conway (27,985), North Myrtle Beach (20,303), Surfside Beach (4,321) and Loris (2,749). Each town is a separate set of customers a site can speak to directly.
Roughly 76% of the population (300,472 people) lives beyond the limits of any town, so a website that lists only town names skips them; the county and the roads between towns deserve a mention too.
Building activity
Horry County Permits Hold Steady Year After Year
Building permits issued for housing units. Data: Census Bureau permit files by county. Permits are approvals, not finished homes.
Annual permits have stayed in a narrow band, 6,511 units in 2025 and 6,970 in 2021, which is 163.8 per 10,000 residents, a higher rate than 99% of counties. Eight months into 2026, 4,423 units have been permitted, compared with 4,827 over the same eight months of 2025 (−8.4%).
Among construction-linked categories, real estate agents and brokers (5.0x typical) and landscaping services (1.5x typical) carry the most small-business competition in Horry County. New households look up local services from their phones, so a site that is live and straightforward before they arrive meets them first, and a refresh is easier to schedule in a slow season than a busy one.
Who visitors compare you with
Which Horry County Categories Are Most Crowded With Small Businesses
Start with the table: for each of fifteen categories it shows how many locations Horry County has, how thickly the small ones are packed compared with a typical county, how the count moved over the period, and how many have 20 or more staff. Keep it beside you when you weigh website design for Horry County businesses.
Kind of businessBusiness locationsHow thickly small businesses sit versus a typical countyGrowth or decline 2017 to 2022Established locations, 20+ staff
Real estate agents and brokersBusiest 501 +64.8% 14
Janitorial services 120 +31.9% 14
Full-service restaurantsMost established 578 +2.3% 247
Physicians offices 257 -1.2% 40
Beauty salons 100 +25% 0
Law offices 197 +2.6% 9
Landscaping services 195 +16.8% 11
Accounting and CPA firms 57 -6.6% 0
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors 158 +0.6% 13
Roofing contractors 21 -25% 0
Residential remodelers 130 +41.3% 5
Electrical contractors 84 +31.3% 5
Insurance agencies and brokerages 138 +16.9% 0
Dentists 90 +1.1% 5
General automotive repairLeast crowded 71 +1.4% 0
The crowding column divides small locations (under 10 employees) per 10,000 residents by the median among U.S. counties with at least 20,000 residents. The dark tick on each bar marks 1.0x, the typical county. County Business Patterns establishments for 2017 and 2022; they say nothing about websites. See the method
The real estate agents and brokers category is where small-business competition is thickest in Horry County: 501 locations, 470 of them with fewer than ten employees, at 5.0 times the typical county's density of small locations, up 64.8% since 2017. Running ahead of a typical county as well: janitorial services (94 small locations, 2.3x) and full-service restaurants (219 small locations, 2.0x). The general automotive repair category is the roomiest: 0.8x typical across 71 locations, a place where a distinctive website is easy to spot.
That same category is also adding locations fastest (up 64.8%), so its field is still filling in. The heaviest concentration of 20-plus staff locations is in full-service restaurants, at 247 of 578 (43%).
This is a headcount of businesses and nothing more: no website audits, no visitor numbers, no promises about what a website will produce. Treat a crowded category as a reason to plan for standing out and a thin one as an opening.
Markets like this one
Horry County Next to Its Closest Look-Alikes
Of the 400 markets on this website, these six are the best matches for Horry County. The match blends size, income, small-business density, established employers, the number of towns and building activity.
| Market | LWCI | People | Since 2020 | Net new employer locations since 2017 | Locations under 10 staff, per 10,000 residents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horry County, SC (you are here) | 76.9 | 397,478 | +13.2% | +13.4% | 50.5 |
| Chatham County, GA | 70 | 303,655 | +2.8% | +12.7% | 45.8 |
| Sussex County, DE | 64.8 | 263,509 | +11% | +13.4% | 37.4 |
| Lee County, FL | 90.3 | 834,573 | +9.7% | +18% | 60.7 |
| Washington County, AR | 74.5 | 261,549 | +6.4% | +12.8% | 40.5 |
| Bay County, FL | 75.9 | 190,769 | +8.9% | +9.8% | 51.1 |
| Baldwin County, AL | 80.5 | 253,507 | +9.4% | +16% | 46.6 |
Look-alikes are chosen from our 400 markets by weighing size, income, density of small employers, established employers, number of places and building activity. See the sources above.
Closest on paper: Chatham County, GA, at 70 against Horry County's 76.9. The most distant of the six is Lee County, FL, at 90.3. If you are weighing Horry County website design, treat the table as a picture of how alike the competition is, not as a forecast for your site.
From market to site
Real Estate Websites in Horry County: What Matters
The real estate agents and brokers category has the thickest small-business field in Horry County, so the website has a specific job to do. Real estate sites are judged on how they show a market: neighborhood pages, agent profiles with real photos, local expertise written for each community and a plain way to start a conversation.
The website is also where visitors land after any search or referral. We build ours with tidy code and structure them for SEO, and pair them with RankGuarantee™ local landing pages and AI search work when a business wants more visibility.
Step by step
How Website Design Works for Horry County Businesses
A typical project runs about four to six weeks, opening call to launch.
Discovery
You tell us what the website has to achieve, which features you need and the looks you like.
Planning
The project manager sits down with the developers and converts the discovery notes into a written plan for the build, so the build begins from a shared plan.
Design and build
The developers build a first pass from the approved mockups on WordPress. You review it, we revise it, and we prepare for launch.
Launch day
Before the site goes live we run a final compatibility test across browsers and devices. A standalone project also gets a training video.
The pieces of a custom website
Horry County Web Design: Custom WordPress, Mockups and a Project Manager
One team start to finish
From opening call to launch you work with a dedicated project manager and developers, and support comes from a U.S.-based team.
SEO-ready structure
Pages are quick, tidy and organized for SEO. Because speed, reliability and security can affect SEO, we treat them as part of design, and clean pages are easier for AI tools to read. About RankGuarantee™.
Hosting, maintenance and ownership
You own the website outright, with full control and access, while we host it on managed WordPress, monitor it and apply updates and security patches. See hosting and website maintenance.
Web design in Horry County, website design, a web design company, a custom WordPress site: different names for the same job of building a site that is fast, straightforward and built for your customers.
Pricing
What a Website Costs in Horry County: Plans and Pricing
The price of a website follows its scope, meaning pages, special functionality and content. That is why we quote each project after a short call, with no flat price posted. Book a call with our CEO.
Website project, no plan required
No Organic Growth plan is required. You get mockups, a custom WordPress build, up to 30 development hours, a dedicated project lead and a training video once the site is live. More on website design.
Part of Organic Growth Gold and Platinum
The Gold and Platinum plans come with a custom website we host and maintain for you, alongside RankGuarantee™ landing pages, content and AI search work. A website is not part of Silver. Everything is month to month, with no setup fee and no contract. Compare the plans.
Try your own numbers
Is a Web Design Company in Horry County Worth It? Run the Numbers
Whether a new website pays off in Horry County depends on your numbers, not an average. Type in your quote and figures to see how many extra customers cover the build and hosting.
Questions
Horry County Web Design: Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a website cost in Horry County?
It comes down to scope: the number of pages, the features (bookings, forms, a store, a member area) and how much content has to be written or photographed. We do not post a flat price, so after a short call with our CEO you get a custom quote for your build. A typical project runs about four to six weeks, first call to launch. If you select Organic Growth Gold or Platinum, a fully managed custom website is included.
How soon can my Horry County business have a new website?
Expect about four to six weeks start to finish. Four stages carry each build: discovery, planning, development and launch, including a first draft for your review and a round of revisions. In a field as crowded as real estate agents and brokers in Horry County, it is worth starting early so the new website is live before your busy season.
Is Horry County a competitive market for small business websites?
More than most places. Horry County registers 76.9 on our Local Website Competition Index, sitting at 140th of 1,822 counties with 20,000+ residents, and 94th among the 400 markets on this site. Small-business competition peaks in real estate agents and brokers, at 5.0x the typical county. Most competing businesses are tiny: 58.4% of local locations have fewer than five employees. In a field this full, a site that stands apart and answers questions fast counts for more. If you are comparing small business website design in Horry County, this is the market you would be joining.
Which kinds of local businesses crowd the field in Horry County?
Ranked by employer locations, the biggest categories in Horry County are full-service restaurants (578), real estate agents and brokers (501) and physicians offices (257). Against a typical county, the most crowded with small businesses are real estate agents and brokers (5.0x) and janitorial services (2.3x). How large a category is says how many other sites a visitor may weigh against yours, and nothing about how yours will do.
Do I own the site you build, and who is my contact?
Yes, you own the site, with full control and access, so there is no renting it from us. A dedicated project manager and developers stay with you from the initial call through launch, and support comes from our U.S.-based team.
What do site hosting and maintenance cover?
Hosting means managed WordPress with updates and performance monitoring. Maintenance means keeping WordPress, themes and plugins current, applying security updates as soon as they are released, running a post-update check after routine updates, and reviewing content a few times a year. Your domain name is a separate purchase, managed apart from hosting.
Can a new website help with Google and AI search in Horry County?
It gives you a stronger base. We build sites with clean code and a structure made for SEO, since page speed, reliability and security can affect SEO. For more visibility we pair it with RankGuarantee™ local landing pages, and Organic Growth adds AI search (GEO) work. No one controls what a search engine or an AI assistant shows, so we make no promises about either.
Do I need an Organic Growth plan to get a website?
Not at all. A website can be a standalone project. If you do select Organic Growth Gold or Platinum, a fully managed custom website with hosting and maintenance is included, but Silver does not. Plans run month to month and carry no setup fee or contract.
Can one website cover several towns in Horry County?
Yes. Horry County has 5 towns and cities above 2,500 residents, with Myrtle Beach, Conway, North Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach and Loris at the top, and a custom site can hold one page per service per town. The structure is decided in planning, ahead of the first mockup, and RankGuarantee™ landing pages can add more towns afterward.
Next door
Customers Beyond Horry County: Neighboring Counties
Your service area may spill over the line. Here are the counties nearest Horry County, by distance between centers:
- Marion County, SC lies 25 miles away, with 28,508 people and an index score of 19.5
- Columbus County, NC sits 31 miles out, with 50,121 people and an index score of 42.8
- Georgetown County, SC is 39 miles away, with 65,731 people and an index score of 73.8
- Dillon County, SC lies 40 miles out, with 27,698 people and an index score of 17.1
Sources and method
Where Every Horry County Number Came From
Nothing on this page comes from our own client accounts. It is built from public Census Bureau files and one formula applied to all counties, so Horry County can be set next to any other. You will not find our own traffic, ranking or conversion numbers here either, since results vary by business.
- Date builtOctober 19, 2026
- Data filesCensus population estimates for 2023, the 2017 and 2022 editions of County Business Patterns, SAIPE income estimates for 2023, building permit files covering 2021 through 2026 to date, and the Gazetteer files for county centers.
- MethodThe exact calculation of the Local Website Competition Index and each figure drawn from it can be found on the method page. See where each market lands in the index.
- Something look off?Email hello@getphound.com and we will look the figure up again in the source.
Contact Us
Let's Talk About Horry County Web Design for Your Business
What does your business sell, and which part of Horry County should it reach? Our CEO will go over your website on a short call before quoting it. You can reach us at 610-825-4363 or hello@getphound.com. Weighing website design for Horry County businesses against other options? A short call is the quickest way to compare.