Updated · Facts checked
Two languages from the first day
The City of Miami's numbers make a bilingual website the normal starting point rather than an extra.
- 77.2% of residents aged five and up speak a language other than English at home (2020 to 2024) [1].
- 71.5% are Hispanic or Latino, and 57.7% were born outside the U.S. [1].
- 489,812 residents in the July 2025 estimate [1].
Write the Spanish version for Miami readers, reviewed by someone fluent, rather than pasting a machine translation; prices, phone numbers and the license line must match in both. If you serve Little Haiti or North Miami customers, Haitian Creole may be the second language that matters more. Our Business Site ($599) includes two languages, and the Growth Site ($1,500) three.
Certificate of use, then the city receipt, then the county
The City of Miami adds a step that many other South Florida cities don't put first: the certificate of use.
- "Every business needs to obtain a Business Tax Receipt to operate in the City" [2].
- "Most businesses need a CU before they can get a BTR." Peddlers, food trucks and businesses with no physical location in the city but doing business there skip the certificate of use and apply for the receipt directly [2].
- Every business also needs a Miami-Dade County Local Business Tax Receipt [2].
None of these go on the website, but the business name, address and phone on your site should match them and your Google listing exactly.
Miami, or one of Miami-Dade's 34 cities?
Customers say "Miami" for a huge area, but the county is split into many separate governments, and your website should use the names people actually live in.
Miami-Dade County has 34 incorporated municipalities, and its unincorporated area alone has more than one million residents [3]. A plumber based in Hialeah, a caterer in Doral and a cleaner in Coral Gables all get searched as "Miami". On your service area section, name the cities and neighborhoods you really cover: in the city, places like Little Havana, Wynwood, Brickell, Allapattah, Coconut Grove and Little Haiti; around it, Hialeah, Doral, Coral Gables, Miami Beach and North Miami. A page per city makes sense only when the work there is different; see our service area guide.
Contractors: county licenses and hurricane-zone rules
Miami-Dade runs its own trade licensing alongside the state's, and it sits inside Florida's strictest building-code wind zone.
- The county's Construction Trades Qualifying Board oversees license types and scopes, and the county offers 110 types of license across electrical, mechanical, plumbing and building trades [4].
- Miami-Dade and Broward are the only counties in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone [5]. Roofers, window, door and shutter installers should say on the service page that they work to those requirements, if they do.
- Florida law requires your license number in every advertisement; our Florida license number guide shows where it goes, in both languages.
A sensible first site for a Miami business
For most local businesses here, a compact bilingual site beats a large English-only one.
- Restaurants, bakeries and cafés: menu as text in both languages, hours, map, ordering links. See our restaurant page.
- Trades: a page per main service in English and Spanish, the license line, the area list and a quote form. See HVAC and electricians.
- Starting out: a Landing Page ($99) or Starter Site ($249) in one language, adding the second when you upgrade.
Check what your current site does in about ten seconds with the free Website Check.
Questions from Miami owners
What owners in Miami-Dade ask us when planning a site.
Should the Spanish version be a separate website?
No. One site with an English and a Spanish version of each page, linked to each other, is simpler to keep current and lets search engines match each visitor with the right language.
My business is in Hialeah. Does the City of Miami's certificate of use apply?
No. Hialeah is a separate city with its own rules. The county receipt and the county trade licensing still apply.
Can you write the Spanish for me?
Yes. The crew writes both versions, and you see them in the free preview before you pay.
Keep reading
Related pages for the same kind of business, plus the guides and free tools that go with this one.
Sources
Every outside fact on this page comes from the sources below, read on the date shown. Prices and plans change; check the source before you decide.
- U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Miami city, Florida (read October 26, 2026). Population 489,812 (July 1, 2025); language other than English at home 77.2%; Hispanic or Latino 71.5%; foreign-born 57.7%.
- City of Miami, "Get a Business Tax Receipt (BTR)" (read October 26, 2026). Every business needs a receipt; most need a certificate of use first; exceptions; Miami-Dade County receipt also required.
- Miami-Dade County, "About Miami-Dade County" (read October 26, 2026). 34 incorporated municipalities; unincorporated area population over one million.
- Miami-Dade County, "County Licensed Contractor" brochure (read October 26, 2026). Construction Trades Qualifying Board oversees license types and scopes; 110 license types.
- Engineering Express, "What is the HVHZ (High Velocity Hurricane Zone) in Florida?" (read October 26, 2026). The HVHZ covers only Miami-Dade and Broward counties.