A web app development company for software people log into, not sites they read
Dashboards, portals, internal tools and SaaS products. The kind of thing where users sign in, do work, and the data matters more than the marketing. We build them for clients across the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Is it a website or a web app?
The words get used interchangeably and they are not the same job. Getting this wrong is the single most expensive mistake in this category.
It is a website when
Most visitors are strangers, most of what they do is read, and success is measured in enquiries or sales.
- Anyone can see most of it
- Content changes more often than behaviour
- A CMS does most of the heavy lifting
- Search traffic matters
It is a web app when
People sign in, the screen changes depending on who they are, and they come back to get something done rather than to read.
- There is a login and there are roles
- The data is the point, not the pages
- Nobody needs to find it on Google
- Behaviour changes more often than content
Plenty of businesses need both. When they do we build them against one set of data, so the marketing site and the app are never telling customers different things. If yours is really a website that needs a few custom features, that is bespoke web development instead and it will cost you less.
What every web app needs, whatever it does
None of this is visible in a demo. All of it decides whether the thing is still usable in three years.
Accounts and permissions
Authentication, roles, and single sign on where the client already has an identity provider. Invitations, password resets and the unglamorous parts users notice only when they are wrong.
A data model that survives
Designed before it is built, because changing the shape of the data after two years of real records is the most expensive thing on this page.
An audit trail
Who changed what and when. Nobody asks for it until the first dispute, then it is the first thing they want.
Getting data back out
Exports, reporting and a REST API with webhooks, because the app will eventually need to feed something else.
Performance under real load
Query and index planning, caching, and pagination that still works when a client has forty thousand rows rather than forty.
Security that is not an afterthought
Encryption in transit and at rest, no production data in test environments, dependency updates on a schedule, and GDPR handled in how data is stored and deleted.
What we build with, and why it is boring
We pick technology you can hire for. Exciting choices are somebody else’s problem in two years, usually yours.
- React or Next.js on the frontend
- Node or PHP for the API and application logic
- A relational database, PostgreSQL or MySQL, designed rather than improvised
- Hosting on AWS or a managed platform, your account not ours
- CI/CD so deployments are boring, with staging kept separate
- Automated tests on the parts that would hurt if they broke
- Progressive web app where installing matters more than an app store
One we built, launched and still run
The clearest example of this work is a product of our own, because we can show you everything about it.
Monthly users on DNS Previewer. Guest use with no signup, optional accounts and a saved dashboard, password protected links.
From idea to live. A React front end against a lightweight API, deliberately small so it could ship and then grow.
Booking enquiries within 30 days. Residential cleaning service, where the quote calculator was the application and the site was the wrapper.
Rated 4.9 out of 5 across more than 2,800 client reviews
We work with clients directly and on monthly retainers. We also work through Fiverr and Upwork, where we hold Top Rated and Top Rated Plus status. Here is what a few recent website and SEO clients said.
- Verified on Upwork
- Verified on Upwork
- Verified on Fiverr
- Verified on Upwork
- Direct client
- Verified on Upwork
- Verified on Fiverr
- Verified on Upwork
Web app questions, answered straight
Still working out what you need built? Start at software development services.
Describe it in a paragraph
Who logs in, what they do, and where the data comes from. That is usually enough for us to tell you whether it is a six week job or a six month one.
How much does it cost to build a web app?
The honest range is wide, so we scope it first. What moves the number: how many distinct user roles there are, how much of the data comes from somewhere else, and whether you need it to handle ten users or ten thousand. Any web app development company that gives you a number before scoping it is guessing. We quote a fixed price from a written spec, or run it as a monthly team when the shape will keep changing.
How long does a web app take?
A focused internal tool is six to twelve weeks. A product with billing, multiple roles and integrations is several months. The fastest projects are the ones where somebody has already decided what the first version does not include.
Should we build an MVP first?
Usually yes, as long as everybody agrees what the M stands for. An MVP is the smallest thing that a real user can do something useful with, not a half built version of the full idea. We would rather ship something narrow that works than something broad that nearly does.
Can it integrate with the systems we already use?
That is most of the work on most projects. REST APIs and webhooks into CRMs, accounting systems, payment providers and booking tools. Where a system has no API, scheduled imports and exports are usually the pragmatic answer.
Who hosts it, and who owns it?
You do, both. The code sits in your repository and the hosting is in your account on AWS or a managed platform, so the bill and the control are yours. We work inside your accounts rather than holding the app in ours.
Can you take over an app somebody else built?
Often. We read the code first and give you an honest assessment, which sometimes says keep going and sometimes says the part holding you back needs rebuilding. You get that in writing either way, before committing to anything.
Do you build mobile apps too?
Yes, and frequently the answer is that you do not need one. We cover that on the mobile app page, including when a progressive web app does the job without the app stores.
Tell us what you need and we will show you how we would do it
Share a few details about your business and what you want to fix or build. It could be a new website, a WordPress site that keeps breaking, SEO that has stalled, or a sales process that needs automating. We will come back with honest advice, even if that means a smaller job than you expected.
A reply within one business day
A real person on the team reads your message and replies, usually the same day.
A free review of your current setup
We look at your website, rankings or systems before we talk, so the call is useful.
A written proposal
You get a clear scope, timeline and price in writing before any work starts.
Prefer to talk first?
