Web Development
Web application development for UK businesses
A website tells people about your business. A web application is where work gets done. Your customers log in to it, your staff run their day on it, and it holds the records you can’t afford to lose.
Web applications are often the most practical way to build business software. There’s nothing to install, everyone is always on the latest version, and it works across Windows, Mac, tablets and phones. Unless you need deep device features or offline use, a web app will generally get you there for less than native mobile apps, and a responsive one may mean you don’t need an app at all.
What makes a web app harder than a website is everything behind the login: who can see what, what happens when two people edit one record, how data is exported, and what’s kept for audit. Those questions determine the architecture, so we work through them before estimating. Getting permissions wrong is the classic and costly mistake, because it’s very difficult to retrofit once a system is live.
Start with the workflow
We usually begin by watching how the job gets done today, spreadsheets and all. The workarounds people have invented are the best specification you’ll ever get. Then we aim for a first release that handles one complete workflow really well, rather than ten half-finished ones, and put it in front of real users as soon as we can.
What usually leads people to build one
Spreadsheets running the business
Multiple versions, no audit trail, and one person who understands the formula that everything depends on.
Software that nearly fits
An off-the-shelf tool handles most of the job, and the rest is done by hand or in another system.
Customers emailing for everything
Staff spend their days answering status questions that a self-service portal could deal with.
What we build
Customer portals
Secure self-service for orders, documents, invoices, appointments and support requests.
Operations dashboards
Live views of what’s happening in the business, with reports people actually use.
Workflow tools
Approvals, assignments and status tracking, with notifications and a full audit trail.
Booking and scheduling
Availability, payments and reminders tailored to how your business operates.
Multi-tenant platforms
A single product serving many organisations, with properly separated data. See also SaaS development.
Accounts and permissions
Single sign-on, role-based access and two-factor authentication.
Why a web application rather than an app
No installs or store approvals
You can release a fix in minutes, with everyone moved onto it immediately.
One codebase
A single responsive application serves desktop and mobile, which keeps running costs down.
Easier to integrate
Web applications sit comfortably alongside your CRM, finance tools and identity provider.
Where it fits
- Replacing a shared spreadsheet or Access database
- Client portals for professional firms
- Scheduling and job management for field teams
- Admin systems behind mobile apps
Technology
- Laravel
- Livewire
- React
- Vue
- TypeScript
- MySQL
- PostgreSQL
- Redis
- Stripe
- AWS
Sectors we think about here
Web Applications questions
What is the difference between a website and a web application?
Can a web application work on phones?
How do you handle personal data?
Interested in Web Application Development?
Outline what you need, and we will reply by email with questions or next steps.