Who builds your website, and who we actually are
A remote team building websites for Des Moines businesses, owned by a company that has been doing this since 2011. No Iowa office, and this page explains exactly what that means.
Since 2011 · You own everything · No Iowa office, and we will not pretend otherwise
Last updated July 2026
Elisabeth Samuels, Founder and Web Development Lead
One named person, with a real record — not a stock photograph of a team that does not exist.
Websites here are built by Elisabeth Samuels, Founder and Web Development Lead. She founded Salterra in 2011 and leads web development for Des Moines Web Design Co.
She has more than twelve years in professional web development, and the work spans web design, graphic design, development and server management — which matters more than it sounds, because it means the person scoping your site understands what happens after it launches rather than handing it to somebody else at that point.
She owns Salterra, LLC and SEO Spring Training, LLC.
The reason the pricing on this site looks the way it does goes back to why she started the company in the first place — in her own words, years before this domain existed:
“Elisabeth Samuels started Salterra, a place that was neither fancy nor pretentious. Quality work at a fair price.”
That is the whole argument this site makes, and it was not written for a marketing page.
Des Moines Web Design Co is a Salterra company
This is the part most agencies would put in a footer, so we will put it here instead.
Des Moines Web Design Co is owned and operated by Salterra Digital Services — legally Salterra, LLC — which has been building websites since 2011. It is not an independent Iowa agency, and there is no separate Des Moines team behind it. The people who build your site are the Salterra team.
We are telling you this on purpose. A brand that publishes its prices and its exclusions cannot reasonably be coy about who it actually is, and a lot of local-looking web design brands are a national operation with a city name attached. That model is not inherently bad — but you should be told, and most people are not.
What it means for you in practice. You get a company that has been doing this since 2011 rather than a new business with a local address. You do not get someone who can meet you for coffee. We think that trade is a good one for most small businesses, and if you disagree, hiring somebody genuinely local is a legitimate decision and we have said so on every city page on this site.
What we do not do, and who we are not right for
A short list, because it saves everyone time.
- We have no office in Iowa. If meeting in person matters to you, hire somebody local — that is a real reason, not a technicality
- We cannot do Google Business Profile or map-pack work, because that needs a verified address in the area and we do not have one
- We do not run ad accounts or buy media. If that is what you need, we will say we are not the right people
- We do not design logos. If you need one we will point you at somebody who does branding properly rather than draw one badly and charge you
- We do not publish client testimonials, because we do not have a first-party review process yet and inventing one is not an option
None of that is modesty. Each one is something a competitor will happily imply they do, and being clear about it up front is cheaper for both of us than discovering it in week three.
The way a build actually runs
You tell us what the business does and roughly how many pages you think you need. You get a price and a timeline in writing — not after a discovery call, and not as a range that moves later.
You approve a real design before anything is built. Changes at that stage are included and not counted, because that is the entire point of approving a design rather than a mood board. After approval the build starts, and a structural change from that point is quoted before we do it, because it means rebuilding finished work.
Four to six weeks, and the range is honest: the build takes days, the calendar is set by how fast approvals and content come back.
At the end you get the logins and a recorded walkthrough of your own finished site, so whoever ends up editing it can watch it again later. The domain is in your name, the hosting is under your billing, and if you leave we export the site and send it on, free.
Tell us what you sell. Get your number.
Send us what your business does and roughly how many pages you think you need. You will get the number and a timeline in writing.
Reviews of our parent company, Salterra
Des Moines Web Design Co is built and backed by Salterra Digital Services — our parent company, designing and ranking websites since 2011. These are genuine reviews of Salterra’s work, from the same team that will build yours.
Salterra has built 3 or 4 websites for me. They take the time to find out what I want, and are quick to let me know when there are improvements that can be made. In addition, Salterra does absolutely top-notch SEO — I’ve seen excellent results repeatedly.
Terry, Elisabeth and Moraelin are doing an outstanding job designing and marketing our website — their knowledge is amazing! We’d had other websites over the years with little success. SW Distinctions is now being seen and orders are being placed.
After a valiant attempt to create our own website, Elisabeth came to the rescue. She went above and beyond in creating the site and helping us go live — a much fresher, more professional look.
Not only did their web design team deliver, but their SEO services deliver better results than any provider in the past. Thanks!
Beautiful, professional-looking website! I got quotes from other SEO companies, but Salterra stood out above the rest.
I can’t say enough about Terry and his expertise. He helped quickly diagnose a site-speed issue and helped us fix it fast. I highly recommend Terry and Salterra!