Madison and the 2026 US website report
Madison's official bird is plastic. Your website doesn't have to be.
Madison has too few mapped businesses for a sample of its own, so we won't pretend to grade it. We tested 1,274 independent business sites across 31 US cities, and here's what those results suggest a Madison business should check.
Madison's official city bird has been the plastic pink flamingo since 2009, a nod to the 1,008 of them that turned up on Bascom Hill in 1979. A city that puts a fake bird on the books knows exactly what it's doing. We'd expect the same reader to know a stock photo when she sees one.
That reader comes in several kinds, as we see it. A Madison business can be selling to students, state employees and visitors at once. Information jobs in Dane County run about 2.9 times the national share, and median household income in the city is $78,050. Our guess is that plenty of people here spend the day at a good screen and have views on what a website should do. A page has to sort them quickly, then show something real to each.
We have no Madison scores to offer. Every figure on this page comes from our 31-city sample, which isn't a national average and says nothing about any Madison business, yours included. Across those 1,274 sites, the median mobile speed score was 61, and main content took a median 7.4 seconds to appear. Check your own site, then see what a better one involves if you need it. If it only needs mending, repairs start at $149.
Measured November 7, 2026
We tested 1274 US business websites on a phone.
Independent businesses across 31 US cities. Madison has too few businesses we could confirm at a local address for a sample of its own, so these are those cities' numbers, not Madison's. Totals only: we do not name anyone. How we tested.
61 of 100
Median mobile speed score
Middle half: 49 to 73
7.4 seconds
Until the main content shows
On a simulated mid-range phone
82% of sites
Took over 4 seconds
1011 of 1228 tested
10% of sites
Let a visitor book online
125 of 1274 sites
Scores for Madison are from our own test, described under How we tested.
What it means
What our 31-city sample can tell Madison.
The faults a careful reader sees first.
Across our 31-city sample, 757 of 1,228 homepages failed the contrast check, meaning some text fell short and not all of it. 47% had headings that skip levels. 46% had links with no name a screen reader could announce. We can't say how Madison's sites do. If yours has these, they're cheap to mend, in our opinion.
A long wait on a phone.
1,011 of the 1,228 sites we measured across those cities took longer than four seconds to show main content. 92 reached the good speed band. That's on a simulated mid-range phone, one run per site. Someone at Art Fair on the Square has a phone and a place to be, so run your own test, and look for the cause if it's slow.
Few ways to write in.
Across the 31 cities, 72% of homepages had tap-to-call, 31% had a lead form, which can be a newsletter sign-up, and 10% had a booking tool. 45% offered a phone link and no form or booking tool that we counted. Our guess is that a student or a state employee at a desk may prefer to type. Check that your homepage lets them, and confirm that it works.
Trades don't all fail alike.
In our 31-city sample, 88% of the 310 health sites had tap-to-call, against 58% of the 144 food and drink sites. Lead forms ran 37% on the 343 professional-services sites. Those are sample-wide numbers for your trade and not Madison's, so treat them as a list of questions. A health practice and a restaurant shouldn't ask the same thing of a homepage.
How US sites ask for the business
923 US sites
400 US sites
125 US sites
576 US sites
Most common failures
- Text with too little color contrast62%
- Uses third-party cookies54%
- Headings that skip levels47%
- Links with no discernible name46%
- Browser errors logged in the console38%
- Links with vague text ("click here")32%
Free tool
How does your site compare with what we found?
Give it your address and you get a graded report in about twenty seconds. It runs its own checks, so its grade isn't comparable with our speed scores. These three you can check yourself, against what we counted in the 31 cities:
- 72% have a tap-to-call link
- 82% have a search description
- 45% tell search engines what kind of business they are
Who does business in Madison
Who's reading, and what they'd want from the page.
Software, data and B2B firms
Information jobs run about 2.9 times the national share in Dane County, and Epic Systems is among the area's major employers. We'd expect a buyer from this world to judge a vendor's tools quickly. We have no measurement for this group.
The site has to: show what the product does, say who it's for, and let a reader get to a demo or a price without a sales call.
SaaS website designClinics and private practices
Education and health services is a main industry, and UW Health and SSM Health are among the major employers. Across our 31-city sample, 25% of the 310 health sites had a homepage lead form and 10% had a booking tool.
The site has to: give a new patient a clear first step. What a form may collect is a question for your adviser.
Healthcare website designRestaurants and shops near Capitol Square
Art Fair on the Square is held on Capitol Square each July, and leisure and hospitality is a main industry. Across our 31-city sample, the 144 food and drink sites took a median 8 seconds to show main content.
The site has to: put hours and the menu or stock on the first screen, and keep event-week changes current.
Restaurant website designLaw, accounting and professional offices
State and local government is a main industry, and the State of Wisconsin is among the major employers. We'd expect plenty of careful readers. Across our 31-city sample, 78% of the 343 professional-services sites had tap-to-call.
The site has to: name the people and the work, and give a reader a way to ask in writing.
Law firm website designGyms, coaches and race-season trades
IRONMAN Wisconsin comes in September and the Crazylegs Classic on the last Saturday of April. Across our 31-city sample, 15% of the 103 fitness sites had a booking tool on the homepage.
The site has to: show the schedule and the price, and take a booking from a phone.
Fitness website designMadison by the numbers
286,233
Population (July 2025 estimate)
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 city population estimates (July 1, 2025; base April 1, 2020)+4.2%
Population change, April 2020 to July 2025
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 city population estimates (July 1, 2025; base April 1, 2020)$78,050
Median household income (2020-2024)
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year summary file, table B19013 (Madison city)18,541
Business establishments (Dane County, 2025)
BLS QCEW 2025 annual averages, Dane County, WI (establishments and employment by supersector)14.7%
Speak a language other than English at home (2020-2024)
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year summary file, table C16001 (Madison city)$372,900
Median home value (2020-2024)
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year summary file, table B25077 (Madison city)Businesses online
In a 2025 Clutch survey, 83% of small businesses had a website (national scope, no city or state breakout). Statewide, 49% of Wisconsin small businesses use an AI platform (state scope, U.S. Chamber survey, June 2025).
Clutch survey press release, 2025 (copy on TMCnet, August 21, 2025)Before you spend a dollar
Take the plastic out first.
- 1
Retire the stock photo.
Your own people, your own shop, your own work. Nothing in our test measures this, so it's only our opinion, but it costs little. A design upgrade can often swap them in without a rebuild.
- 2
Sort the readers on the first screen.
If you sell to students, state employees and visitors, say so with one link for each. Don't make any of them read what's meant for the others. Which of them converts is something you can test.
- 3
Set a weight limit.
The median homepage in our 31-city sample weighed 3.08 MB, and 383 of 1,228 came in under two megabytes. Pick your number before the photo shoot. Resized pictures are where we'd start.
- 4
Write it for a reader.
In our view, the audience here will take a real paragraph over a slogan. Say what you do and what it costs, if you can. Content work can help, though it should sound like you.
- 5
Build the tool if your buyers expect one.
A B2B firm may do better with a working calculator or portal than with another page of adjectives. Custom web applications start at $575, with the price depending on complexity.
Local marketing
Where we'd spend, in order.
Search opportunities
What Madison types, and who's typing it.
Our read of what buyers here need answered, not search-volume figures.
“Lunch near Capitol Square during Art Fair”
One page with hours, a menu and how to find you answers it. Update it before July.
What a restaurant site needs“Accountant in Middleton or Monona”
A person typing this has a place in mind. If you serve it, say so plainly.
Sites for financial firms“Coach for IRONMAN Wisconsin training”
A question with a date attached. A page with a schedule and a price is most of the answer.
Sites for gyms and coaches“Software vendor with a working demo”
This buyer will try the thing before reading about it, we'd guess. Put the demo where it can be found.
Sites for software firms
What it costs
The prices. No flamingo surcharge.
Madison pays what everyone pays: $1,500 to $5,750 for a fixed-price website of up to 70 pages, from $2,500 for an online store, and from $149 for a repair. All of it is published.
Website, up to 10 pages
$1,500
fixed price
Website, 11 to 20 pages
$2,250
fixed price
Website, 21 to 50 pages
$3,750
fixed price
Website, 51 to 70 pages
$5,750
fixed price
- Online storeFrom $2,500
- Web app, portal or integrationFrom $575***
- Mobile appFrom $3,750
- SEO, local marketing or PPCFrom $575 a month***
***Pricing depends on complexity. ***Pricing depends on complexity, setup and budget. Ad spend is paid to the ad platform directly.
See every priceThe Madison playbook
Five things to check, since we haven't.
- 1
Take two readings.
The health check on this page gives you a graded report on its own checks. Google's PageSpeed Insights on mobile gives you a speed score to set beside the median of 61 across our 31-city sample. Don't mix up the two, and don't read that median as Madison's.
- 2
Read your site with low contrast in mind.
PageSpeed Insights lists contrast failures by element. Fix those, then the links with no names. Design fixes cover this kind of thing.
- 3
Try it three ways.
Come at the homepage as a student, a state employee and a visitor. Each should find what they came for in a screen or two. A school or tutor may have one reader. A restaurant near the Square likely has all three.
- 4
Name your neighbors.
List the places you really serve on your site and in your Google Business Profile. Only the true ones.
- 5
Count what comes in.
Conversion tracking counts calls and forms apart, so that a year from now you'll have Madison numbers of your own. We'd like that better than the ones we have.
Recent work
Modern builds we've shipped.
MacroExits
Marketplace · Web Application
A marketplace for buying and selling small digital businesses, with the numbers in daylight and two AI analysts on every listing.
Bleuwave Commercial HVAC
Full-Stack Build · Commercial HVAC & Chillers
A commercial HVAC site rebuilt on Next.js, written for the facility manager whose building is down at 2 a.m., with a knowledge base deep enough to find the exact machine on the roof.
Bleuwave Construction
Full-Stack Build · Commercial & Residential Contractor
A veteran-owned Phoenix contractor that self-performs everything under $100,000, built around the one promise clients actually care about: the people who quote the job are the people who show up.
American Roofing & Waterproofing
Roofing & Waterproofing
A WordPress roofing site rebuilt from scratch on a full custom stack, near-perfect PageSpeed and an instant-quote engine that books inspections while crews are on a roof.
They helped us turn a loose idea into a working digital product — asked sharp questions, found the hidden workflow problems, and built a system our staff could use without a long training curve.
They made the technical side feel clear.
We talked about goals first — then platforms, content, search, and automation.
Start here
Tell us what you need in Madison.
Pick what you want and the price appears on the spot. The developer follows up, not a salesperson.
Prefer to talk? (480) 525-7582.
See what your project costs. It takes about a minute.
Rather talk? (480) 525-7582. 0% financing on any project, 25% down. See all pricing
Madison website questions, answered.
Why doesn't this page have Madison's own scores?
Madison has too few mapped businesses for a sample of its own. Every measured figure here comes from 1,274 independent sites across 31 US cities. Madison is on that list, with too few sites to report alone. So the numbers say what's common in those cities and nothing about any business here.
Is that a national average?
No. It's a sample from a fixed set of US cities, drawn from public listings, and it doesn't represent the country. We use it to show what to look for. For your own numbers, start with a test of your own site.
Do stock photos really matter?
We didn't measure it, so this is opinion. We think a real picture of your work does more than a handsome stranger holding a clipboard. It costs a morning with a phone or a photographer, and swapping them in is seldom a big job.
We sell to other businesses. Is a website enough?
Sometimes. In a county where information jobs run about 2.9 times the national share, we'd expect some buyers to want a working tool, not only a page. Custom applications and integrations are there if you need them.
What does a website cost for a Madison business?
Our published prices are $1,500 to $5,750 for a site of up to 70 pages, from $2,500 for an online store, and from $149 for a repair. Every price is on one page.
How do I compare my site with your figures?
Google's PageSpeed Insights uses Lighthouse, as we did, so its speed score is the one to set beside our medians. Our free Website Health Check is a separate graded report. Scores move between runs, so test more than once. We name no business in this report.
Method
How we tested.
We started from OpenStreetMap business listings across 31 US cities, independents only, and kept 1274 businesses that publish a street address in their city on their own site. We left out national chains, referral sites, parked or broken domains, and sites that block automated tests, along with anything we built ourselves.
Each homepage got one run of Google Lighthouse 12.6.0: mobile form factor (412 x 823 screen emulation), Lighthouse default simulated throttling (150 ms round trip, 1.6 Mbps throughput, 4x CPU slowdown), headless Chrome, one run per site. 1228 runs completed. A second pass in headless Chrome looked for tap-to-call links, forms, booking tools and search markup, on the homepage only, so a form on a contact page or an email link doesn't count. A form with an email, phone or message field counts as a lead form, which means a newsletter sign-up can count too. Business markup means JSON-LD naming one of the common local-business types, so another format or a more general type isn't counted. Testing ran on November 7, 2026, several sites at a time on one machine.
A lab test is one controlled load, which makes sites comparable with each other. It does not measure any real visitor's experience, and one run per site carries noise. Tests ran several at a time on one machine, and a busy machine lowers speed scores and lengthens blocking time, so we reran the tests taken when it was busiest. Read those two figures as rough, and small gaps as noise. Listings skew toward businesses someone has bothered to map, so read this as a careful sample, not a census.
- US businesses kept
- 1274
- Speed runs completed
- 1228
- Tested
- November 7, 2026
- Speed test
- Lighthouse 12.6.0
Sources for the facts on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 city population estimates (July 1, 2025; base April 1, 2020)
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year summary file, table B19013 (Madison city)
- BLS QCEW 2025 annual averages, Dane County, WI (establishments and employment by supersector)
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year summary file, table C16001 (Madison city)
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year summary file, table B25077 (Madison city)
- Clutch survey press release, 2025 (copy on TMCnet, August 21, 2025)
Beat the median.
Fifteen minutes, plain English, and a number in writing. If we are not the right fit, we will say so.