Best Web Design in Seattle, WA (2026)

Web Design for Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest, seat of King County, set between Puget Sound and Lake Washington beneath the gaze of Mount Rainier. It is a lush, evergreen 'Emerald City' that gave the world Boeing jets, Starbucks coffee, grunge rock, and tech giants Amazon and Microsoft (in neighboring Redmond).

AppWT works with Seattle, WA businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Seattle

Also known as. The Emerald City. Jet City. Rain City. Queen City.

History. Settlers of the Denny Party landed at Alki Point in 1851 and soon relocated to the deeper harbor of Elliott Bay, founding the settlement that became Seattle. The city is named after Chief Si'ahl (Chief Seattle), a leader of the Duwamish and Suquamish peoples who were the region's original inhabitants. Seattle was incorporated in 1869 and acquired the nickname 'Queen City,' which endured until the 'Emerald City' nickname was adopted in 1982. The Great Seattle Fire of 1889 destroyed much of the downtown business district, which was then rebuilt at a higher grade, leaving the old street level below (today's Underground). The 1897 Klondike Gold Rush made Seattle the key outfitting port and 'Gateway to the Gold Fields' for prospectors headed to Alaska and the Yukon.

Local economy. Amazon is headquartered in Seattle and is the state of Washington's largest private employer, having surpassed Boeing. Boeing, founded in Seattle in 1916, made the region an aerospace capital and gave rise to the 'Jet City' nickname. Microsoft (in nearby Redmond), Starbucks, Costco, and Nordstrom are among the region's Fortune 500 corporate anchors. Information technology is the region's largest economic sector by output, alongside professional and scientific services, government, and manufacturing. The University of Washington is a major employer and research institution, supporting a strong life-sciences cluster.

Culture and community. Seattle is the birthplace of grunge, the early-1990s rock movement led by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains. The city's deep coffee culture traces to the original Starbucks (founded 1971) plus a thriving scene of independent roasters and cafes. At Pike Place Market, fishmongers famously toss whole fish to fill customer orders. Major pro teams include the Seahawks (NFL), Mariners (MLB), Kraken (NHL), and Sounders FC (MLS). Signature festivals include Bumbershoot, the Northwest Folklife Festival, and Seattle Center Festal's roughly two dozen free ethnic cultural festivals.

What makes Seattle distinct. The original Starbucks in Pike Place Market, opened in 1971, retains its early floors, fixtures, and counters, unlike the chain's tens of thousands of other locations. The Market Theater Gum Wall, begun around 1991, is a brick alley wall caked in chewed gum; about 2,350 pounds of gum were scraped off in a 2015 cleaning, and it has been re-covered since. A decommissioned Boeing 747 fuselage has been incorporated into a South Lake Union high-rise development as a tribute to the city's aviation heritage. Seattle's Pioneer Square 'Underground' is a network of passageways that were street level in the 19th century before the post-fire regrade raised the streets above them.

Seattle Landmarks and Local Life

• The Space Needle - a 605-foot observation tower built for the 1962 Century 21 World's Fair, is the city's defining symbol
• Pike Place Market - spanning nine downtown acres, is one of the oldest continuously operating public farmers markets in the U.S. and home to the original Starbucks
• The Fremont Troll - an 18-foot concrete sculpture beneath the Aurora Bridge, clutching a real Volkswagen Beetle
• The Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) and the historic Pioneer Square district.
• Gas Works Park - a public park built on the site of a former coal-gasification plant on Lake Union