Same five criteria as the Seattle listicle: pricing transparency, owned-vs-rented platform, response time and direct designer access, real client results published, and local Eastside market fit.
Bellevue has a higher general price floor than Seattle for service-business web work — partly because more Eastside agencies are positioned as "Bellevue agencies" rather than "Seattle small business shops." Polish and agency-feel branding matter more here, which is reflected in pricing across the list.
I've put ChegTech at #6 specifically because I don't have a Bellevue case study yet. My named client work is in South Hill (Pinnacle Air Control), Seattle (IGo Green Enterprises), and Bonney Lake (Velare Remodeling) — adjacent markets, same work, but I'd rather not pretend I've already established a Bellevue track record.