# Custom web app development

> Custom web apps for small businesses and growing teams, from member areas and booking tools to dashboards, designed and built by one developer.

- Includes: Discovery & scoping, Custom front & back end, Testing & deployment, Ongoing retainer option
- Typical timeline: Scoped per project
- Price: quoted per project after a free email conversation
- By: Crashielab (https://crashielab.com/)

## Who it’s for

A web app is for when a website needs to do work, not just show information. If people need to log in, save things, pay, book, submit something or see their own data, you need a web app.

Common examples for small businesses and organisations:

- Member areas with sign-up, renewals and members-only content (see [membership websites](/services/membership-websites/))
- Event registration and online forms that feed a review process
- Booking and scheduling tools
- Customer portals and dashboards
- Publishing platforms with drafts, review and paid access
- Internal tools that replace spreadsheets and email chains

If you mainly need to tell people who you are and what you do, a [full website](/services/small-business-websites/) is simpler and costs less.

## What you get

- Discovery and scoping, so we agree what the app must do before anything is built
- A design you see and shape before any code is written
- A custom front end and back end, built around your process rather than a plugin’s limits
- Accounts, permissions and admin screens, so your team can manage content and people
- Testing on real devices, and deployment to a live server
- A handover covering how it works and how to run it
- An ongoing retainer option for updates, fixes and new features

## Discovery comes first

Web apps go wrong when building starts before anyone has agreed what the app is for. Every web app project starts with discovery by email: who uses it, what each of them needs to do, what happens today, and what success looks like.

From that comes a written scope listing the screens, features, timeline and price. Where the full idea is large, the scope usually describes a first version with the features people need most, so the app is useful sooner and later work is shaped by real use.

## How it works

After discovery and a signed-off scope, you see the design of the key screens and can shape it before any code is written. The app is then built in stages, so you can check progress as it comes together rather than waiting for one big reveal.

Before launch, the app is tested on real devices and you check a proof of the finished build. Nothing goes live until you are happy with it.

## Examples

[Makevellum](/projects/makevellum/) is a publishing web app where makers share projects and guides, with drafts, staff review and a reading membership. [Cultural Leadership Council](/projects/cultural-leadership-council/) brings association renewals, event registration and online session proposals into one place. Both are built with Django and PostgreSQL.

## Why work with an independent developer

The person who scopes your app is the person who designs and builds it. Decisions made in discovery don’t get lost in a handover between teams, and when something needs changing later, you are talking to someone who knows the code.

## Questions

### How much does a web app cost?

Web apps are scoped per project, because the work depends on the features. You get a written scope with the price before any work begins.

### How long does a web app take to build?

It depends on the features, so the timeline is set during discovery and written into the scope. Starting with a smaller first version gets it into people’s hands sooner.

### What do you build web apps with?

Usually Django and PostgreSQL on the back end, with JavaScript or TypeScript on the front end. The right tools are chosen for each project and explained in the scope.

### What happens after launch?

Web apps can continue on an ongoing retainer for updates, fixes and new features.

### Do we need to have a call?

No. Everything happens by email, including discovery, at a pace that suits you.