Best Web Design in Madison, WI (2026)

Web Design for Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is Wisconsin's capital and home to the flagship University of Wisconsin, laid out on a narrow isthmus between Lakes Mendota and Monona so the state Capitol dome and the campus face each other across the water. Known for a progressive, college-town streak, it blends government, big-time Badgers sports, a legendary farmers' market, and an obsession with cheese curds and craft beer. Locals call it Mad City, and a former governor once joked it was '77 square miles surrounded by reality.'

AppWT works with Madison, WI businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Madison

Also known as. Mad City. Madtown. The City of Four Lakes. 77 Square Miles Surrounded by Reality.

History. The Ho-Chunk people knew the Four Lakes region as Taychopera; the area held Native settlement long before Euro-American arrival. In 1829 former federal judge James Duane Doty bought land on the isthmus between Lakes Mendota and Monona, intending to build a city. Doty renamed the site from 'Four Lakes' to Madison after President James Madison, and lobbied successfully to have the still-undeveloped location chosen as the Wisconsin Territory capital in 1836. Madison became the state capital when Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, the same year the University of Wisconsin was founded. Doty named many downtown streets after signers of the U.S. Constitution.

Local economy. UW Health is the largest employer in Dane County with roughly 22,000 workers. Epic Systems, the electronic health records giant based in suburban Verona, employs about 13,000 people. American Family Insurance, headquartered in Madison, employs around 12,500. State government and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which draws more than $1 billion in research funding, are major economic anchors. Exact Sciences, maker of the Cologuard cancer screening test, is a leading local biotech employer. Regional advanced manufacturing includes Trek Bicycles (Waterloo), Sub-Zero, and John Deere.

Culture and community. The Dane County Farmers' Market, held Saturdays on the Capitol Square, is the largest producer-only farmers' market in the United States, with 130-plus vendors weekly. Fresh cheese curds and craft beer are local staples, and the UW Memorial Union Terrace is one of the few U.S. campuses to serve beer on school grounds overlooking a lake. The Great Taste of the Midwest, one of the country's premier beer festivals, draws thousands to Olin Park. State Street, a pedestrian-friendly corridor, links the Capitol Square directly to the UW-Madison campus. University of Wisconsin Badgers Big Ten athletics, centered on Camp Randall Stadium, are a cultural cornerstone.

What makes Madison distinct. The phrase '77 square miles surrounded by reality' evolved from Governor Lee Dreyfus's 1978 quip; Mayor Paul Soglin proposed it as the official city motto in 2013, but the council rejected it. The satirical newspaper The Onion was founded in Madison in 1988 by UW-Madison students Tim Keck and Christopher Johnson. In 1979 students Leon Varjian and Jim Mallon staged a papier-mache Statue of Liberty appearing to poke out of frozen Lake Mendota, a prank later repeated in fireproof form. Soul legend Otis Redding died when his plane crashed into Lake Monona on December 10, 1967, just before a Madison show; it was the only engagement he ever missed. City building-height limits protect views of the Capitol dome, keeping downtown Madison low-rise by design.

Madison Landmarks and Local Life

• Wisconsin State Capitol - whose dome rises 284 feet to the gilded 'Wisconsin' statue and is the tallest structure in the city
• Monona Terrace - a lakefront convention and community center based on a Frank Lloyd Wright design and completed in 1997
• Memorial Union Terrace on the shore of Lake Mendota - famous for its sunburst chairs
• The Four Lakes: Mendota - Monona, Waubesa, and Kegonsa, plus Lake Wingra
• UW-Madison's Bascom Hill and historic campus core.
• State Street - the downtown pedestrian and cultural spine