Best Web Design in Columbia, MO (2026)

Web Design for Columbia, Missouri

Columbia is a fast-growing central Missouri college town built around the University of Missouri, the first public university west of the Mississippi River. Education, healthcare and insurance drive its economy, and its downtown pulses with student-fueled culture, from the century-old Booches burger joint to the internationally known True/False documentary film festival. Locals call it "CoMo," and it consistently ranks among the most-educated cities in America.

AppWT works with Columbia, MO businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Columbia

Also known as. CoMo. The Athens of Missouri. College Town, USA.

History. The settlement began as Smithton in 1819, then relocated east across Flat Branch Creek after wells proved hard to dig in bedrock; it was renamed Columbia and became the Boone County seat in 1821. Columbia incorporated in 1826. The University of Missouri was chartered in Columbia in 1839 as the first public university west of the Mississippi River and the first state land-grant university in the region. In 1923 James T. Scott, a Black university janitor, was lynched by a mob of roughly 2,000 people, one of the state's most infamous racial atrocities. Columbia lay directly in the path of totality for the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse. An EF1 tornado struck the area in April 2025, causing downtown damage.

Local economy. Education, healthcare and insurance are the economic pillars; the University of Missouri is the single largest employer with roughly 8,700 workers, followed by MU Health Care. Veterans United Home Loans, headquartered in Columbia, employs several thousand people locally. Columbia Public Schools is another top-tier employer. The city is a corporate birthplace for Carfax, Shelter Insurance, Veterans United Home Loans, MidwayUSA and EquipmentShare. Columbia has been Missouri's fastest-growing municipality, expanding nearly 40% since 2000 to about 130,000 residents.

Culture and community. The True/False Film Fest is an internationally regarded documentary festival built around downtown's Ragtag Cinema. The Roots N Blues Festival (now Treeline Music Festival) is a major annual music event at Stephens Lake Park. Booches, a bar and pool hall established in 1884, is famous for its griddle burgers served on wax paper and has been featured in national media. Shakespeare's Pizza is a beloved locally founded pizzeria and college-town institution. The Missouri Tigers play football at Faurot Field (capacity about 62,600) and basketball at Mizzou Arena. Columbia hosts the Show-Me State Games, one of the largest amateur state games in the United States.

What makes Columbia distinct. The University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) is the most powerful university research reactor in the United States and a leading supplier of medical radioisotopes. Devil's Icebox Cave in Rock Bridge park is the only known natural habitat of an eyeless, de-pigmented flatworm species (Kenkia glandulosa). About half of adult residents hold a college degree and roughly a quarter hold advanced degrees, making it one of the most-educated cities in the country. The city is home to three colleges at once, University of Missouri, Stephens College and Columbia College, feeding its "College Town, USA" identity.

Columbia Landmarks and Local Life

• Jesse Hall and The Columns on the University of Missouri's Francis Quadrangle
• Rock Bridge Memorial State Park
• The MKT Trail (a rail-trail once ranked among the nation's best urban trails)
• The 10-story Tiger Hotel downtown
• MU Museum of Art and Archaeology (free admission)
• North Village Arts District