What shapes a website for the American market
Most of what distinguishes a US website project is invisible on the page. It sits in how the site behaves for a screen reader, for a visitor from California and for the sales system behind the form.
| Topic | What it means for your website | Decide early |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, courts and the Department of Justice expect the website of a business open to the public to be usable by people with disabilities. WCAG at Level AA is the reference, and demand letters over inaccessible sites are common | The standard you will meet, and who tests it before launch |
| Privacy by state | Around twenty states had comprehensive privacy laws in effect when this page was reviewed. Depending on your size and audience, they ask for a notice, a way to opt out of the sale or sharing of data and, in several states, respect for an opt-out signal sent by the visitor's browser | Which states' laws reach you, and how opt-outs are honored |
| Tracking, chat and recording tools | Session recording, chat widgets and advertising pixels have drawn lawsuits under state wiretap and privacy laws, California's in particular, when they capture what visitors do without clear notice | Which third-party tools load, when, and what the visitor is told |
| Email and text sign-ups | Marketing email has to identify the sender and offer an unsubscribe. Marketing texts need prior written consent, and carriers ask businesses to register before they send | The wording beside each sign-up box, and where consent is stored |
| Health, children and finance | A site that handles health information, speaks to children under 13 or advertises credit meets sector rules on top of the general ones. Washington State has its own law on consumer health data | Whether any page or form falls under a sector rule |
| Connected tools | Buyers expect a form to create a CRM record, a booking to land in a calendar and a download to start a follow-up. The site is one part of a sales system | The CRM, scheduling and email tools the site must feed |
| Spanish | Spanish is the second most spoken language in the country. Some businesses add Spanish pages for the services where it matters most | Whether a Spanish version is in scope, and who writes it |
Journeys we build into American websites
Four journeys that most US business sites need. The last one is the newest, and the one most often missing.
Search to booked meeting
For B2B companies whose buyers research before they talk to anyone.
- Buyer searches for a solution
- Lands on a page that answers the question
- Fills in a short form
- CRM record created with its source
- Meeting booked from the confirmation page
- Rep receives the context
Local service request
For contractors, clinics and professional firms that serve a defined area.
- Customer searches nearby
- Opens the page for their city or service
- Calls or requests a quote
- Request confirmed by text, with consent
- Job scheduled
- Review requested afterwards
Accessible publishing
For marketing teams that add pages every week.
- Editor drafts a page in the CMS
- Headings and image descriptions required
- Automated accessibility check run
- Issues fixed before approval
- Page published
Privacy choices
For any site that uses advertising or analytics tools.
- Visitor arrives with a browser opt-out signal
- Advertising tags held back
- Privacy choices link shows the current state
- Access or deletion request submitted
- Request logged and answered
What we build
Accessible design and code
Color, type, keyboard paths and markup designed to WCAG AA and tested with assistive technology, not patched by an overlay.
Privacy controls
Notices, opt-out handling and tag loading rules matched to the state laws that apply to you.
CRM and tool integration
Forms, bookings and downloads connected to your CRM, calendar and email platform, with the source of every lead kept.
Search and content structure
Pages organized around what buyers search for, with clean markup and structured data.
Speed on every device
Light pages measured on real phones and held to a performance budget as content grows.
A platform that fits
A recommendation between a site builder, WordPress and a custom build. Our comparison of Next.js and WordPress for business websites sets out the trade-offs.
What we need from you
- The states you sell in, and the kind of customers you serve
- Access to the current site, its analytics and your CRM
- The list of third-party tools and tags on the site today
- Brand assets and the content you want to keep
- Your counsel's view on privacy notices and consent wording
Ownership and licensing terms are defined in the project agreement.
A readiness checklist for a US website project
Before design starts
0 of 8 checkedWhat to do next
Tell us what the site has to produce, which tools it has to work with and where your customers are. We will reply with a structure, a platform recommendation and the compliance points that apply to you. Start a conversation or book a 30-minute call.
Common questions
Does our website have to be ADA compliant?
If your business serves the public, plan on it. The statute does not mention websites, yet courts and the Department of Justice have treated them as covered, and claims are frequent. No technical standard for private businesses is written into the law, so WCAG at Level AA has become the practical benchmark. Building to it from the start costs far less than repairing a finished site after a demand letter.
Do we need a cookie banner in the United States?
Not in the European sense. No federal law requires consent before analytics cookies. What state laws require is a clear notice and a working way to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal data, and several states expect sites to honor an opt-out signal from the browser. Some sensitive data needs consent first. Many companies show a banner anyway, to make those choices easy to find.
Which platform should a US business website be built on?
It depends on who edits the site and what it has to connect to. A site builder suits a small marketing site, WordPress suits content-heavy sites with many editors, and a custom front end earns its cost when speed, integration or design go beyond what templates allow. We recommend the simplest option that meets the brief. Our Webflow and custom development comparison goes deeper.
Can you connect the site to our CRM and marketing tools?
Yes. Forms can create or update records in the CRM you use, with the page, campaign and consent attached. Bookings can go to a scheduling tool, and sign-ups to your email platform. We map the fields with your sales team first, since most lost leads come from a form that saves to the wrong place or drops the source.
Where to go from here
Related serviceWebsite DesignWebsites designed as studio projects, with concept work to browse