explore

When a website isn't enough.

Custom web apps for businesses with real workflows, real users, real data. Built for the way you actually work, not the way some SaaS thinks you should.

plain english

Website vs web app. What's the difference?

A website tells people about your business. A web app does work for you and your customers. Think of a restaurant's website (menu, opening hours, contact) versus the booking system inside it that takes reservations, manages tables, sends reminders, and stops double-bookings. Both live on the web. They do very different things.

Most local businesses don't need a web app. A properly-built website is enough. But some do, and they tend to know they do. Letting agents managing tenant requests. Trades managing job pipelines. Clinics managing appointments and notes. Anyone whose week is half-eaten by a spreadsheet, an inbox, or a clipboard.

If that sounds like you, the question is whether to buy off-the-shelf SaaS or build something fitted. I help you answer that honestly. Sometimes a £30-a-month tool is the right answer. Sometimes a custom build pays for itself in six months. I'll tell you which without trying to sell you the bigger thing.

built and shipped

SetPrep. The proof.

Brand, web, desktop app, the maths behind it all. Built end-to-end, on my own, for friends in the local music scene.

case study

From spreadsheet pain to working app.

SetPrep is the web app and desktop app I built end-to-end. It reads a DJ's music library, draws each set as an energy arc, and walks them in on the night. Built for friends in the local music scene who were doing the prep work by hand.

If you want to see what end-to-end looks like, the case study walks through the brief, the design, the build, and the shipped product.

Read the full case study
what was built
  • Brand identity, name, logo, colour
  • Marketing website (setprep.app)
  • Desktop app for Mac and Windows
  • Music library readers for Rekordbox, Serato, Engine, Traktor
  • Energy-arc planning engine
  • Live set walk-through interface
what I can build for you

Six builds I'd take on tomorrow.

Not a menu, more a sense of what's possible. Each one is quoted per project because the scope is genuinely different every time.

letting agents

Tenant portal with maintenance pipeline

Tenants log in, raise maintenance requests with photos, see the status, pay rent. You see everything in one dashboard, no more lost emails.

trades

Quote-to-job pipeline

Leads come in, quotes go out, accepted jobs land on a calendar, invoices send themselves, payment chases itself. Less admin, more billable hours.

clinics

Booking and notes system

Patients book themselves in, get reminders, fill in pre-appointment forms. Clinicians see appointments, notes, and history in one place.

consultants

Client portal with file approvals

Clients see their projects, upload files, approve deliverables, see invoices. You stop emailing the same status update three times a week.

any business

Custom intake and routing tool

Visitors describe what they need. The system asks 3 to 5 smart follow-up questions, routes them to the right person, gathers everything before the first call.

multi-person teams

Internal dashboard

Pulls together last week's enquiries, bookings, reviews, and revenue from however many tools you're already using. Replaces the "weekly catch-up where everyone shares numbers from a spreadsheet."

roughly what this costs

From £6,950, quoted per project

Custom web apps start at £6,950 (Pro tier) for a small focused build, and run from there into the £15,000+ range for anything genuinely complex. Every project is quoted separately because the scope is different every time. You get a full quote in writing before you commit a penny, and I'll always tell you honestly if there's an off-the-shelf tool that would do the job for £30 a month.

how it works

Three steps, no black box.

Same plain-promise approach as every other build. You see and sign off the design before anything gets built.

01

Free 30-minute call

What's slowing your business down. I'll tell you whether a web app is the right answer (sometimes it isn't), and what I'd build if it is.

02

Scoped quote

I write up exactly what would be built, how it works, what it costs, what it takes to maintain. You read it, ask questions, decide. No commitment yet.

03

Design first, then build

You see and sign off the design before anything gets built. Then I build, demo weekly, and hand over with documentation.

five questions

The web-app ones I get most.

Honest answers, no jargon, no upsell.

Can't I just use Notion / Airtable / a no-code tool?

Often, yes. I'll tell you straight if your problem fits one of those tools. I'd rather lose the work than sell you a bespoke app you didn't need. If your needs are weird enough that no-code starts feeling like a bodge, then a custom build is the better long-term answer.

Who owns the code?

You do. Same rule as websites. Code, hosting, accounts, everything in your name. If you ever want to move it to a different developer, you can.

What happens when I want a new feature?

Quoted as a change request, scoped and priced before any work. Most ongoing changes are small. The bigger ones we usually plan into a small "phase 2" budget after launch.

Do you handle hosting and uptime?

Yes. Web apps usually run on bigger infrastructure than a brochure site. Typical monthly runs between £40 and £200 depending on size and usage. Quoted up front, no surprises.

Will you build me a Facebook / Uber / [big platform]?

Probably not. I'm a one-person studio. I take on builds I can deliver well in 4 to 12 weeks. If you've got something that needs a team of 10 and a Series A, I'll point you at the right firms.

How long does a web app take?

Small focused builds: 4 to 6 weeks. Medium complexity: 8 to 12 weeks. Bigger or more integrated builds: quoted per project with a real timeline before any work starts.

plain promise

I won't take a web app project on unless I'm certain I can deliver it well. If the scope is wrong for a one-person studio, I'll tell you honestly and recommend someone who can. Better to lose the work than ship something that disappoints you.

see it built

Not ready for an app? Here's website work too.

Most prospects start with a site. These two concepts show what I'd build for a Quorn café and a Loughborough trades business.

Got something real to build?

Free 30-minute call. We'll work out whether a web app is genuinely the right answer for your problem, or whether something simpler would do.

Book a call Read SetPrep case study