Best Web Design in Birmingham, AL (2026)

Web Design for Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham, the seat of Jefferson County and Alabama's largest city, rose so fast on iron and steel after 1871 that boosters called it 'The Magic City.' It was one of the few places on earth where coal, iron ore, and limestone all lay close together, and it later became a pivotal battleground of the Civil Rights Movement. Today the city runs on medicine, banking, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

AppWT works with Birmingham, AL businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Birmingham

Also known as. The Magic City. Pittsburgh of the South. The Ham.

History. Birmingham was founded in 1871 during Reconstruction by the Elyton Land Company, which merged several communities including Elyton and borrowed the name of England's industrial city of Birmingham. With coal, iron ore, and limestone all nearby, the city boomed as a steel and iron center and produced more than half the pig iron used in the United States in the early 1900s. The 56-foot Vulcan statue was cast from local iron for the 1904 World's Fair to advertise Birmingham's iron industry. On September 15, 1963, a bomb at the 16th Street Baptist Church killed four young girls, a turning point in the national Civil Rights Movement.

Local economy. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (university plus health system) is the largest employer in Alabama, with about 28,000 employees and an annual economic impact exceeding $12 billion. Birmingham is a leading banking center and world headquarters of Regions Financial Corporation, the largest banking employer in the state. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama is headquartered in the city. Medical research and biotechnology, centered on UAB, transformed the economy beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, moving it beyond its industrial steel roots.

Culture and community. Birmingham has a nationally recognized food scene, from soul-food institutions like Niki's West (since 1957) and Eagle's Restaurant (since 1951) to barbecue and soul spots like SAW's. Chef Frank Stitt's Highlands Bar and Grill has won multiple James Beard Awards and helped put Southern fine dining on the national map. The city celebrates its musical heritage at the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, and it houses the Birmingham Museum of Art. Birmingham hosted The World Games in 2022.

What makes Birmingham distinct. Vulcan is the largest cast-iron statue in the world and, when built, was the second-tallest statue in the United States behind the Statue of Liberty. Rickwood Field, opened in 1910, is the nation's oldest professional ballpark; it was home to the Barons and the Negro-league Birmingham Black Barons. The 'Magic City' nickname came from growth so rapid it seemed to appear as if by magic; the city was also called the 'Pittsburgh of the South.' Greater Birmingham has the most diversified economy of any metro area in Alabama, ranging from finance and medicine to heavy industry.

Birmingham Landmarks and Local Life

• Vulcan statue on Red Mountain - the largest cast-iron statue in the world at 56 feet and 60 tons
• Sloss Furnaces - a National Historic Landmark and blast-furnace museum
• 16th Street Baptist Church and the surrounding Civil Rights District - including Kelly Ingram Park
• Rickwood Field (1910) - the oldest surviving professional baseball park in the United States
• Birmingham Museum of Art