Best Web Design in Bellingham, WA (2026)

Web Design for Bellingham, Washington

Bellingham is the seat of Whatcom County, a laid-back bayside college town wedged between the San Juan Islands, Mount Baker, and the Canadian border just 21 miles to the north. Built on coal, timber, canneries, and shipyards, it reinvented itself as an outdoor-recreation and craft-beer haven that produced indie bands like Death Cab for Cutie and Odesza.

AppWT works with Bellingham, WA businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Bellingham

Also known as. "City of Subdued Excitement" (official nickname). Residents are called "Bellinghamsters".

History. The first white settlers, Henry Roeder and Russell Peabody, arrived from California in 1852 and established a sawmill on Bellingham Bay. Coal was discovered south of Whatcom Creek in an area called Sehome (now downtown) in 1854, launching the Bellingham Bay Coal Company. The 1858 Fraser River gold rush funneled an estimated 75,000 people through Whatcom County. The modern city was created on December 28, 1903, by consolidating four separate settlements: Bellingham, Whatcom, Fairhaven, and Sehome. The bay was named in 1792 by explorer George Vancouver for Sir William Bellingham of the Royal Navy. Darker chapters include the 1907 anti-South-Asian Bellingham riots and the June 10, 1999 Olympic Pipeline explosion, which killed three people in Whatcom Falls Park.

Local economy. Top employers include PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center (about 3,116 employees), the Lummi Nation, Western Washington University (about 2,060), Bellingham School District, and the nearby BP Cherry Point Refinery (about 975). Historic industries such as coal mining, lumber mills, shipyards, and fish canneries have largely given way to healthcare, education, and outdoor-tourism sectors. The city serves as a gateway for skiers, hikers, kayakers, and sightseers heading to Mount Baker and the North Cascades.

Culture and community. The Ski to Sea Race, held since 1973, is a seven-leg relay running from the Mount Baker Ski Area down to Bellingham Bay. The Bellingham Festival of Music each July presents orchestral and chamber concerts. The city had 15+ breweries within its limits by 2020 and a nationally recognized craft-beverage scene. Bellingham launched the careers of nationally known bands including Death Cab for Cutie, Odesza, and The Posies, and is home to indie labels such as Estrus Records.

What makes Bellingham distinct. Mount Baker Ski Area holds the world record for a single season's snowfall: 1,140 inches in the winter of 1998-1999. Bellingham reportedly has the lowest average sunshine of any U.S. city, yet fewer fully overcast days than Seattle or Olympia. At about 48.75 degrees north latitude, the city experiences astronomical twilight for entire nights from roughly June 14-28. It is the northernmost U.S. city with a population above 90,000 in the contiguous United States.

Bellingham Landmarks and Local Life

• Whatcom Falls Park - a 241-acre park with four waterfalls and hiking trails
• Mount Baker Theatre - a 1927 Moorish/Spanish-style venue that is the largest performing-arts hall north of Seattle
• SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention - holding rare electrical and radio artifacts from about 1580 to the 1950s
• Whatcom Museum of History and Art and the historic Fairhaven district.
• Mount Baker Ski Area in the surrounding county.