Best Web Design in Kansas City, MO (2026)

Web Design for Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri sits where the Kansas and Missouri rivers meet and spreads across four counties, including a northern slice in Clay County. It is Missouri's largest city, about 508,000 residents, famous for hundreds of fountains, world-renowned barbecue, and a jazz legacy that produced Charlie Parker and the swinging Kansas City sound. Boosters call it the 'City of Fountains' and the 'Paris of the Plains.'

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

About Kansas City

Also known as. City of Fountains. Paris of the Plains. Heart of America. KC / KCMO.

History. Founded in the 1830s as a river port at the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas rivers. Incorporated as the Town of Kansas on June 1, 1850, reincorporated as the City of Kansas on March 28, 1853, and renamed Kansas City in 1889. The city straddles Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass counties, with its northern neighborhoods in Clay County. Its stockyards and railroads made it a major livestock and agricultural trading center, cementing the 'Cowtown' identity. During Prohibition, political boss Tom Pendergast's wide-open nightlife scene earned Kansas City the 'Paris of the Plains' nickname.

Local economy. The federal government is the single largest employer, including a large Internal Revenue Service processing operation (about 2,700 full-time workers). Honeywell operates the Kansas City National Security Campus (about 2,700 employees) manufacturing components for the U.S. nuclear program. Hallmark Cards is headquartered at Crown Center, and Kansas City hosts one of the twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks. Health care and technology are major sectors, and agribusiness remains part of the city's economic identity.

Culture and community. Kansas City-style barbecue is internationally famous; Henry Perry, the 'father of Kansas City barbecue,' began selling smoked meats from a pushcart in 1908, and institutions like Arthur Bryant's and Gates carry the tradition. The 18th and Vine district was a cradle of jazz; Kansas City-style swing flourished in the 1920s-40s and produced Charlie Parker (born in KC) and Count Basie. 18th and Vine is also home to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum; the Negro National League was organized in Kansas City in 1920. Kansas City is a passionate sports town: the Chiefs (NFL), Royals (MLB), Sporting KC (MLS), and the Kansas City Current (NWSL), whose CPKC Stadium is the first stadium purpose-built for a women's professional team.

What makes Kansas City distinct. Kansas City claims more than 200 working fountains, said to be second only to Rome, earning it the title 'City of Fountains.' It is often said to have more boulevards than any city except Paris, a big reason for the 'Paris of the Plains' nickname. The Nelson-Atkins Museum's four giant Shuttlecock sculptures, each about 18 feet tall, are scattered across its lawn like a badminton game with the building as the net. The Kansas City Current's CPKC Stadium, opened in 2024, is the first stadium in the world purpose-built for a women's professional sports team.

Kansas City Landmarks and Local Life

• National WWI Museum and Memorial - Liberty Memorial, the nation's official World War I museum, designated in 2004
• Country Club Plaza - Opened 1922, described as the first suburban shopping district in the United States, lined with fountains
• Union Station - Historic 1914 rail station now home to Science City, theaters, and dining
• City of Fountains - Kansas City maintains more than 200 working fountains across the city