Historic Main Street St. Charles, MO
The Challenge
Historic Main Street in St. Charles, Missouri is a popular tourist destination known for its historic architecture, unique shops, restaurants, and entertainment. With more than 150 businesses along Main Street, most of them small and family-owned, the district relies heavily on centralized marketing and digital presence to attract visitors and drive foot traffic.
Small businesses on Main Street had been struggling to compete with larger retailers due to limited resources and fragmented online representation. There was no single, modern digital hub where visitors could discover businesses, explore events, plan their trip, and find what the district had to offer. The existing online presence did not reflect the vitality of the district or give businesses the visibility they needed.
The Solution
In January 2021, St. Charles Main Street partnered with Munibit to build a dedicated visitor website using Munibit's Main Street website platform. The new site gave the organization a low-maintenance, mobile-friendly solution to virtually showcase the entire district, including a business directory, event calendar, guided tours, property listings, fundraising, and more.
The Munibit team built and customized the visitor website and launched it within a few weeks. To promote the new site, St. Charles Main Street used social media, QR codes, and embedded links on the County and Chamber of Commerce websites, extending its reach across the region.
The Outcome
Launched a modern, mobile-friendly visitor website within one a few weeks of launch
150+ businesses now have a centralized, professional digital presence
Interactive business directory makes it easy for visitors to discover local shops and restaurants
Event calendar keeps visitors informed about community events and activities throughout the year
Guided tour feature helps visitors explore the district and discover hidden gems
Property listings provide a resource for prospective tenants and business owners
Increased tourism and revenue for small businesses along Main Street
Staff manages the platform without ongoing developer involvement
Built-in payment tools allowed the foundation to fundraise online and raise over $50,000 in 1 year.
View St. Charles Main Street Foundation’s live website here: www.stcmain.org
“The Visitors Website created with Munibit has provided a reliable marketing resource for small businesses. The website has helped to display St. Charles Main Street in a modern and interactive way, making it easier for visitors to plan their next stay and discover hidden gems along Main Street. Overall, the partnership with Munibit has been a great success for St. Charles Main Street and has helped to boost the local economy.”
Munibit serves hundreds of main streets & municipalities across the country.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes. Munibit builds websites for main streets, chambers of commerce, special districts, and visitor organizations in addition to municipalities and counties. The platform includes tools specifically designed for these organizations, including business directories, interactive maps, guided tours, event calendars, property listings, fundraising, and more.
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A well-organized visitor website gives tourists a single destination to discover local businesses, find events, plan guided tours, and explore the district before and during their visit. Munibit's Main Street platform includes all of these features built in, giving organizations like St. Charles Main Street a professional, low-maintenance way to market their district online.
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Historic Main Street in St. Charles launched their Munibit visitor website within just a few weeks. Most websites launch within 12 weeks (depending on size). Munibit provides a readymade website structure for main street and visitor organizations that can be customized and launched quickly, without waiting on a design agency or managing a complex development process.