— About · Eugene, Oregon · Est. 2005
A small studio, twenty years deep, quietly making Oregon businesses look good online.
We're seven people in Eugene who care more about whether your site actually works than whether our portfolio wins design awards. Founder-led since day one. Same team for a decade. Zero account managers.
— The origin
Started in 2005. Still founder-led.
Annie Middleton founded 9 Planets in 2005 after eight years in web design and eight more as a remote worker in a time before anyone else was. She'd watched too many clients get abandoned by agencies that grew too fast, churned juniors, and forgot their original customers — and she wanted to build something smaller and more honest.
Twenty years later, we're still small. Still in Eugene. Still answering our own phones. And that's not a lifestyle choice — it's the whole product.
Most web agencies scale by hiring junior talent and putting an account manager between the client and the work. We scale by staying the same size, keeping every project founder-led, and treating long-term client relationships as the entire point of the business. A third of our clients have been with us for over a decade. That's not a metric agencies are supposed to brag about. We brag about it anyway.
— The long version
Twenty years, in milestones.
- 2005
9 Planets is founded
Annie leaves her previous agency to start a practice focused on small businesses. First clients: a Eugene CPA firm and a nonprofit. Both still clients.
- 2008
WordPress becomes our default
After years of hand-coded sites and bespoke CMSs, we commit to WordPress — a bet we've never regretted. Every site since has been WordPress.
- 2012
Paul joins as lead developer
Paul brings WordPress, PHP, JavaScript, and a quiet obsession with doing things correctly. Every modern 9 Planets site has Paul's fingerprints on it.
- 2015
Accessibility becomes a pillar
Sara joins, bringing WCAG expertise. We commit to building every site accessibly from day one — years before ADA web lawsuits would make it table stakes.
- 2018
Launched our hosting service
Too many clients were stuck with bad hosts. We built our own LiteSpeed-backed managed hosting so we could actually stand behind performance and security.
- 2021
Local SEO becomes its own program
Jennifer joins to lead local SEO and Google Business Profile management — because for most Oregon clients, GBP drives more leads than the website itself.
- 2025
Still small, still busy, still answering our own phones
Twenty years in, the model works. We design, build, host, and support — for the same small, senior team that's been doing it for a long time.
— The team
Seven people. No account managers.
Everyone on this page touches client work directly. When you email us, one of these humans replies. When you call, one of these humans answers. That's the whole trick.
-
Annie Middleton
Founder · Strategy & Operations
Founded 9 Planets in 2005. Remote-working since 1997. Runs discovery on every project and is the person you'll meet on your first call. Prefers phone to email. Still uses a real keyboard.
-
Paul M.
Lead Developer · Tech Support
WordPress, PHP, JavaScript, WCAG. Writes the code for every site we ship. Believes caching is a love language. Occasionally surfaces from a terminal.
-
Sara C.
Project Management · Accessibility
Keeps projects on time and sites WCAG-compliant. Leads our audits. If you're ever unsure what's happening with your project, Sara knows.
-
Beth M.
Copywriting & SEO
Writes copy that actually sounds like you, not like a template. Also handles on-page SEO for every new site we build.
-
Jennifer G.
Local SEO · Google Business Profile
Leads our monthly local SEO program and GBP management. Runs the review-and-reply workflow that keeps client reputation managed.
-
Jai, Brian & Ben
Security & Ops
Our security and ops team keeps client sites patched, backed up, and out of trouble. Mostly invisible — which is the goal.
— What we believe
Six things we actually mean.
Small is a strategy, not a stage.
We don't want to grow into a 50-person agency. Small is how we keep quality high, turnover low, and client relationships long.
Own your stuff.
We don't build sites you have to rent from us. WordPress. Your domain. Your code. Take it anywhere.
Accessibility isn't optional.
Every site WCAG 2.1 AA by default. Not because the law says so. Because it's the right way to build.
Be where you said you'd be.
Deadlines, call times, invoices. If we say Thursday, we mean Thursday. Small teams can do this; big ones rarely do.
Tell the truth about timelines.
SEO takes months. Websites take weeks. Accessibility takes real work. We'd rather lose a lead than lie to earn one.
The relationship is the product.
A launched site is the start, not the end. Most of our clients stick around for a decade because we treat it that way.
— Eugene, Oregon
We're part of the community we serve.
Most of our clients are within an hour of our office. When we recommend a plumber, we've actually used them. When we suggest a photographer, we've worked with them. When we build a site for a nonprofit, we often know the people it serves.
We support Oregon small businesses because we are one. That's not a brand position — it's the whole reason 9 Planets exists.
Want to work together?
Tell us about your project. First call is free, 30 minutes, and with Annie — not an account executive.