Best Web Design in Bentonville, AR (2026)

Web Design for Bentonville, Arkansas

Bentonville is a fast-growing city in the Ozarks of northwest Arkansas, best known as the birthplace and global headquarters of Walmart, the world's largest retailer. What began as a sleepy apple-country town on a courthouse square was transformed after Sam Walton opened his five-and-dime here in 1951, drawing a corporate ecosystem of vendors and transplants. Fueled by Walton-family philanthropy, the city has reinvented itself as a cultural and outdoor destination, home to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and more than 250 miles of mountain bike trails.

AppWT works with Bentonville, AR businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Bentonville

Also known as. Birthplace of Walmart. Mountain Biking Capital of the World. Home Office (local shorthand for the Walmart headquarters town).

History. Benton County was established in 1836, and the town, originally called "Osage" for the Osage Nation, was named for Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton, a champion of Arkansas statehood. Incorporated as a city on April 3, 1873, serving as the Benton County seat. Apple orchards dominated the early economy; Benton County led the nation in apple production in 1901. Sam Walton bought Harrison's Variety Store on the town square in 1950 and reopened it as "Walton's 5 and 10" on March 18, 1951, the seed of the future Walmart empire. The city's Confederate monument on the square was removed in September 2020 and relocated to a county park in 2023.

Local economy. Walmart Inc. has been headquartered in Bentonville since 1951 and is by far the largest employer; a new roughly 350-acre corporate campus began opening in January 2025. Over 1,100 Walmart suppliers maintain sales offices in the region, drawing satellite offices and transplants from across the U.S. and abroad. Other major employers include Northwest Health System, Mercy of Northwest Arkansas, the Bentonville School District, and Benton County government. Bentonville is among the fastest-growing cities in Arkansas; population rose about 75% from 2000 to 2010 and reached roughly 54,000 by the 2020 census.

Culture and community. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, founded by Alice Walton and opened in 2011, offers free general admission and anchors the city's arts identity. The Bentonville Film Festival, co-founded by actor Geena Davis and held annually since 2015, spotlights diversity and inclusion in film. A vibrant cricket scene grew from the city's Indian-born Walmart employees, including a widely covered PepsiCo-versus-Walmart match. The 21c Museum Hotel and the Scott Family Amazeum children's museum add to the downtown-square cultural district. Notable people tied to Bentonville include former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, and NBA player Malik Monk.

What makes Bentonville distinct. Bentonville openly bills itself as the "Mountain Biking Capital of the World," backed by 250-plus miles of custom-built trails and heavy Walton Family Foundation investment. Aviation pioneer Louise Thaden, the first woman to win the Bendix Trophy air race, hailed from Bentonville. The original 1951 five-and-dime storefront still stands on the square, preserved as a museum steps from Walmart's global operations. Historians have documented a 1920s Ku Klux Klan presence in the town, including local officials--part of the fuller, less-marketed local history.

Bentonville Landmarks and Local Life

• Walton's 5 & 10 on the town square - now home to the Walmart Museum
• Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art - set on wooded ravine grounds designed by architect Moshe Safdie
• Coler Mountain Bike Preserve - a 300-plus-acre trail park about a mile from downtown
• Slaughter Pen Trail system - an early cornerstone of the city's mountain-biking network
• The Razorback Regional Greenway - a roughly 36-mile paved trail connecting northwest Arkansas communities