According to the Chinese GB50011-2001 code and the recommended provisions of FEMANEHRP and EUROCODE 8, by using shear wave velocity and borehole data, the site classification is evaluated for a typical soft soil site on the Yantai seacoast. The site seismic ground motion effect is analyzed and the influence of the coastal soil on design ground motion parameters is discussed. The results show that the brief site classification can not represent the real conditions of a soft soil site; the soft soil on the coast has a remarkable impact on the magnitude and spectrum of ground motion acceleration. The magnification on peak acceleration is bigger, however, due to the nonlinear deformation of the soil. The magnification is reduced nonlinearly with the increase of input ground motion; the spectrum is broadened and the characteristic period elongated on the soft soil site.