Development

Software is where most of a company’s operating knowledge eventually has to live. Get it right and the business can grow without adding headcount in proportion. Get it wrong and you have bought an expensive constraint that is hard to reverse.

We build websites, applications and custom systems, and — as often — we advise against building where configuring something existing would cost a fraction and work sooner.

The decision before the build

Nearly every development enquiry arrives with the solution already chosen. An app. A new website. A platform. Frequently the stated solution is not the cheapest route to the stated outcome, and the gap between the two is substantial.

So the first piece of work is always the same: what has to be true for this to have been worth it, and what is the least expensive way to make it true. Sometimes the answer is a build. Sometimes it is configuration and an integration layer. We give you the comparison with costs attached, including when it loses us the project.

• Websites and portals — marketing, corporate, multi-market, client areas
• E-commerce — hosted platforms, WooCommerce, and custom where the catalogue demands it
• Mobile and progressive web apps for customers and for field teams
• Custom operations software where the process is how you compete
• Integration layers that make existing systems behave as one

Built to be handed over

Conventional frameworks, documented decisions, tests around the logic that matters, and the repository is yours on final payment. You should be able to take the work to another team without a rescue project.

This is a deliberate commercial position. Clients who cannot leave are clients who stop being asked to be impressed.

Search visibility is a build decision, not a later campaign

URL structure, content modelling, server-rendered HTML, heading hierarchy, structured data and page speed are all decided during the build and expensive to retrofit after it. Every site we ship is architected to be crawled and understood from day one, with analytics and Search Console verified before launch rather than weeks into it.

Connected, not isolated

A platform that does not reach the CRM, the automation layer or the phone system is a silo with a nicer interface. We build the connections at the same time as the product, because retrofitting an integration into a finished system costs more than including it would have.

Common questions