Our Story
We are a Seattle-based boutique web design & digital services agency specializing in high-performing mobile web apps for restaurant owners around the world.
Meet Steve (Founder)
My passion to help small restaurant owners comes from my past experience. Back in early 2000, I became a co-owner of a small successful cafe bistro in Seattle. But, after the tragic events of 9/11, my business was sinking and I eventually had to close. I just didn’t have the tools, experience or the resources to adapt to the new situation. I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
When I created First String Digital I wanted to help small restaurant owners just like me. With FSD we want to create more than just a website platform. Our goal is to create a tool to help increase your restaurant’s exposure to the public, attract new customers, and to build a community where experiences and resources can be shared.
My background in building websites started back in the mid-1990’s. Since then I have worked with numerous businesses ranging from environmental projects to commercial services to help increase website traffic and create new customers. My drive comes from developing creative solutions for everyday problems. I consider myself a ‘forever student’, eager to grow my knowledge in mobile website technologies and to stay in tune with the latest digital marketing strategies.
Becoming First String Digital
First String Digital was founded in the summer of 2018 out of a sincere desire to help small restaurant owners kick their web presence up a notch.
We were struck with how often we set out to research a new eatery on our mobile phones (as most people are these days) to find websites that are not optimized for a mobile experience. We found photos that were way too small to see any detail or images that were not optimized for mobile data restrictions causing load times to crawl. Menus were often PDF renderings that we, quite frankly, needed glasses to read! It shouldn't be this way.
There are so many restaurants unknowingly losing business because they have a lack-luster mobile web presence. First String Digital has set out to help fix that.
We, at First String Digital, focus on providing mobile-first (not just mobile responsive or mobile-friendly) web designs and implementations. Not only do our web builds rock on small screens, but everything your potential customers care about learning is right there! Front and center! Your menu: beautiful, easy to read, in HTML5. Your food and cocktails: in full-screen renderings so we can make out every delicious detail on our mobile device. Your location: geolocation integration with maps for easy directions, and hours/ days of operation that are clear and obvious. All these things make sure your restaurant is winning in the search rankings!
When your restaurant is showcased on the web, we help make sure you are nailing it on mobile and all digital channels!
Our Culture And Values
At First String, we believe websites are exceptional marketing tools that, when built with the latest technology, interesting and relevant content, and proven expertise, can deliver showstopping results for your business.
With that said, we run our company in a way that promotes and supports our desire to deliver showstopping results.
We focus on the quality and end-result of our work, not simply the amount of time punched on a clock.
We promote transparency in all aspects of our work, making close collaboration with our clients and each other a core value.
We promote a learning culture that requires us to push ourselves, take on challenges, obtain knowledge, embrace calculated risks, and iterate quickly without fear.
We are a 100% remote-work team, using the technology and tools available today to ensure we are easily accessible and available to our clients anywhere in the world.
We believe that in order to do inspired, creative, highly-productive work it is necessary to maintain a strong work/life balance. That means we pour everything we have into our projects but we also take time for our families, our community, and ourselves.
All of this helps us to build websites that will positively grow your business.
Thank you for taking the time to get to know us. We hope to meet soon!
