Best Web Design in Tempe, AZ (2026)

Web Design for Tempe, Arizona

A dense, youthful college city in Maricopa County anchored by Arizona State University, one of the largest public universities in the United States by enrollment. It grew up beside Tempe Butte, where 19th-century Hispanic settlers dug the region's first irrigation canals. Today it is defined by Mill Avenue nightlife, Tempe Town Lake, and pervasive maroon-and-gold Sun Devil culture.

AppWT works with Tempe, AZ businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Tempe

Also known as. Hayden's Ferry (original name). home of the Sun Devils. part of the "Valley of the Sun" (regional metro name).

History. Founded in 1867 as "Hayden's Ferry," named for a ferry crossing on the Salt River operated by Charles Trumbull Hayden. Renamed Tempe in 1878 after Englishman Lord Darrell Duppa, who compared the area to the Vale of Tempe in ancient Greece. The earliest settlers were Hispanic families from southern Arizona who built the first irrigation canals (the Kirkland-McKinney Ditch and the San Francisco Canal) and farmed near Tempe Butte. In 1885 the territorial legislature selected Tempe as the site of the Territorial Normal School, a teacher-training college. That school grew over decades and became Arizona State University in 1958.

Local economy. Education is a dominant force, centered on Arizona State University. Technology and electronics manufacturing, finance, and healthcare are major sectors. The city hosts corporate and regional headquarters and a large employment base tied to the university and downtown commerce. Tourism tied to Mill Avenue, Tempe Town Lake, and ASU events supports hospitality.

Culture and community. ASU Sun Devils college athletics are central to civic identity, with maroon and gold woven into local culture. Mill Avenue is the entertainment and nightlife spine, with more than 100 shops, restaurants, bars, and theaters. Signature festivals include the Tempe Festival of the Arts, Innings Fest, Reggae Rise Up, and Oktoberfest at Tempe Beach Park. The Marquee Theatre is a well-known live-music venue, and Tempe Town Lake hosts boat parades, fireworks, and outdoor events.

What makes Tempe distinct. The city hall is a glass-and-steel upside-down pyramid; architect Michael Goodwin said he conceived the inverted form while in the shower, and its self-shading shape makes it a passive-solar building. Tempe, like most of Arizona, does not observe daylight saving time and stays on Mountain Standard Time year-round. The name is pronounced "tem-PEE," not "tem-pay," which trips up many first-time visitors. Tempe Town Lake sits within the normally dry bed of the Salt River, impounded to create a permanent urban waterfront.

Tempe Landmarks and Local Life

• Tempe Town Lake and Tempe Beach Park
• Historic Mill Avenue district
• Hayden Butte - popularly "A Mountain," topped by a large gold letter "A"
• Mountain America Stadium (historically Sun Devil Stadium) - built into the butte in 1958
• Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium - designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
• Tempe Municipal Building - an inverted-pyramid city hall