Who I Am
About
Websites built for people who care how things are made.
Fast, easy to use, and built to last - by one person who tells you straight what it takes to get there. If you take your own work seriously, you'll probably like how I do mine.
- 26+Years building for the web
- 14 yearsLongest client still calling
- 31Sites under ongoing care
- 33Five-star Google reviews
- 01
No tech-speak
Web is my trade, not yours. I'll explain things in plain language and take the time to make sure it makes sense - I'd rather you understand it than be impressed by it.
- 02
Rent or own?
Building on a rented platform is like putting up a shop on someone else's lot. Stop paying and it's gone. What I build is yours - your domain, your files, and a site that can move to any host. No platform in the middle that can change the deal.
- 03
A plan that fits
Not everyone needs the same thing, or is at the same stage. There's usually a way to make it work for where your business is right now.
- 04
I work to a standard
I trained as a designer before I was a developer, so the finish matters to me - the spacing, the load time, the way it behaves on a phone. And after twenty-six years there's a process behind it, so the quality doesn't depend on what kind of week I'm having.
behind the desk
Hi, I'm Doug.
Most people don't want a website. They want the phone to ring.
I've been building for the web since 2000, and that's been my measuring stick the whole time. Twenty-six years in, I still design, build, and oversee every project myself. I still pick up the phone. And I still think a clear conversation beats a fifty-page proposal.
I have a BFA in Visual Communications from the Alberta College of Art & Design (now Alberta University of the Arts), where I specialized in design and illustration.
Straight-up Digital is one person: me. Your project doesn't get handed to an account manager, and it doesn't get passed down the line while I move on to the next thing. You talk to the person doing the work - and I'm still here when the site needs something in year three.
Away from the desk, I've been married to my lovely wife Leah since 2005. She makes and sells her own work, and we've got two kids: Niyah (the musical theatre lover) and Kai (the world history buff). We spend a lot of weekends road-tripping around Canada - Jasper, coffee in hand, questionable playlist, perfection.
That's who you're hiring when you hire this studio: one person, one family, and a reputation I can't afford to spend carelessly.
Douglas Seidl, BFA
Owner, designer, developer, and everything else.
no surprises
The stuff most studios make you ask for.
- pricingFrom $2,999
That's a one-time build, yours to keep, and you get a fixed number before anything starts. There's also an all-in monthly plan that covers the build and everything after it, from upkeep to growth - ask me about that one.
- process4 steps
- We talk
- Blueprint
- Build
- Launch
You see and approve the work at each step, and nothing moves forward until you've signed off on the one before it.
- communicationEmail first
Email is the primary way we communicate, or a scheduled call when it's quicker to talk it through. The work itself lives in one project hub, so files, feedback and approvals stay in one place instead of buried in a thread.
- timeline3–8 weeks
Start to launch on a typical site. Scope sets the range, and how fast content and approvals come back decides whether you're closer to three weeks or closer to eight. If your project sits outside that range, a landing page at one end or a much bigger build at the other, you'll know early.