This paper presents a simplified Nonlinear Sway-Rocking model as a preliminary design tool for seismic soil-structure interaction analysis. The proposed model is intended to capture the nonlinear loaddisplacement response of shallow foundations during strong earthquake events where foundation bearing capacity is fully mobilised. Emphasis is given to heavily-loaded structures resting on a saturated clay half-space. The variation of soil stiffness and strength with depth, referred to as soil non-homogeneity, is considered in the model. Although independent springs are utilised for each of the swaying and rocking motions, coupling between these motions is taken into account by expressing the loaddisplacement relations as functions of the factor of safety against vertical bearing capacity failure (FSv) and the moment-to-shear ratio (M/H). The simplified model has been calibrated and validated against results from a series of static push-over and dynamic analyses performed using a more rigorous finitedifference numerical model. Despite some limitations of the current implementation, the concept of this model gives engineers more degrees of freedom in defining their own model components, providing a good balance between simplicity, flexibility and accuracy.