Web applications

Web application development services for portals, dashboards and SaaS

We design the data model, the roles and the screens, then build, test and deploy the application. You get a stack chosen for your case, with the reasons written down.

  • 300+ PHP websites and applications
  • Stack chosen per project
  • Staging site for every build
Get a free quote See our work
What is included
  • Roles and permissions
  • Data model and reporting
  • Interfaces that respond
  • Background work
  • Automated and manual testing
  • Deployment and environments
Get a free quote Reply within one business day. NDA on request.
The problem

What goes wrong in web app projects

A web application is a website that people log in to and do work in: a client portal, a booking back office, a reporting dashboard, the product behind a SaaS subscription. Buyers usually reach us with the screens clear in their head and two questions open. Which technology should it be built on, and how do we stop it turning into the slow, fragile thing our last system became?

Both answers come from the same place. We look at who logs in, what each person may see and change, and what data the application keeps. From that we pick a stack: sometimes WordPress with custom code, more often a Laravel application, and CodeIgniter or framework-free PHP when hosting or an existing codebase points that way. Our team has developed 300+ PHP websites and applications, so we have lived with each of those choices long after launch.

  • The wrong platform for the job

    A portal was squeezed into a page builder, or a brochure site was written from scratch in a framework. Now every change costs more than it should, and editors or developers fight the tool.

  • Permissions bolted on late

    Roles were an afterthought, so checks are scattered through the code. A regional manager can see another region by changing a number in the address bar, and nobody can say for certain who may do what.

  • Fine in the demo, slow with real data

    The list screens loaded instantly with fifty test rows. With two years of records they time out, exports fail, and the dashboard recalculates everything on each visit.

  • Releases everyone dreads

    Updates are uploaded by hand to the live server on a Friday. There is no staging copy, no automated test and no quick way back when something breaks.

What we do

The parts of a web app we build

We cover the full build, from the first data diagram to the deployment script, and we pick the stack only after we understand the users and the records involved.

Roles and permissions

A permission matrix agreed with you, then enforced in one place in the code: who can view, create, approve and export, down to record level where teams or client accounts must stay separate.

Data model and reporting

Tables designed around your real entities and their history, with indexes, constraints and migrations in version control, so reports stay fast and numbers stay consistent.

Interfaces that respond

Server-rendered pages for forms and lists, plus React or Vue components for the screens that need live filtering, drag and drop or inline editing.

Background work

Imports, exports, emails, PDF generation and scheduled jobs moved to queues and cron tasks, with progress and failures visible to an admin instead of buried in a log.

Automated and manual testing

Unit and feature tests on business rules and permissions, browser checks on the main paths, and QA on real phones and desktop browsers before each milestone is shown to you.

Deployment and environments

Separate development, staging and production environments, deploys from the repository with database migrations included, and backups that have been restored at least once.

Typical projects

Applications clients bring to us

01

Client and partner portals

A secure area where your customers log in to see orders, cases, documents or invoices, raise requests and message your team, with each account limited to its own records.

02

Operations dashboards

One screen for the figures managers ask about every morning, drawn from your own database and outside systems, with filters, drill-down and scheduled exports to email.

03

SaaS product front ends

Sign-up, onboarding, the main working screens, account settings and a billing page, built on an API so a mobile app can use the same back end later.

04

Internal tools replacing spreadsheets

Approval flows, inventories, timesheets or quoting tools with validation, an audit trail and proper access control, so the shared workbook can finally be retired.

In depth

Choosing the stack and the shape of the data

WordPress, Laravel, CodeIgniter or plain PHP

We use all four, which lets us be blunt about each. WordPress is the right base when the application is mostly content plus accounts: a membership area, a directory, a course site. Its editor, user system and plugin ecosystem save months. It becomes the wrong base when most screens are custom data entry and the post tables are being forced to hold orders or timesheets. That is framework territory. Laravel is our default there, because routing, queues, migrations, authorization policies and testing come ready to use. CodeIgniter suits smaller applications, shared hosting and teams that want a light footprint. Framework-free PHP makes sense mainly when you already own a working codebase that deserves to be extended instead of replaced.

Do you need React or Vue?

Not always. A form, a table and a detail page work well as server-rendered HTML and cost less to build and maintain. A JavaScript front end pays for itself on screens where people work for hours: schedulers, kanban boards, builders, live dashboards. We often mix the two, with server pages for most of the application and React or Vue components mounted where interaction is heavy. A fully separate single-page front end is worth it when a mobile app or third parties will consume the same API.

Permissions are designed up front

Before the first screen is built we fill in a grid: roles down the side, actions across the top, and a note wherever access depends on ownership (my team, my client, my region). That grid becomes policy code and a set of automated tests that log in as each role and try what they should not be able to do. Multi-tenant applications get an extra rule at the query level, so a missed check in one controller cannot leak another customer's data.

The data model outlives the interface

Screens get redesigned. Tables are much harder to change once they hold years of records. We spend real time on naming, relationships, what must be unique, what needs a history instead of an overwrite, and how money and dates are stored. Every change goes through a migration file, so staging and production never drift apart.

Testing and release as routine

Each milestone ships to staging through the same scripted deploy that production will use. Tests run before the deploy, migrations run during it, and a failed release can be rolled back. By launch day the process has already been repeated many times, which is the point.

Process

How a build moves week by week

  1. 1

    Scope and users

    We list the roles, the tasks each one performs and the records involved, then agree what the first release must contain.

  2. 2

    Data model and wireframes

    An entity diagram and clickable wireframes are reviewed together, because a missing field is cheapest to fix before any code exists.

  3. 3

    Stack decision and setup

    We recommend the framework and front end with reasons, then set up the repository, the environments and the scripted deploy.

  4. 4

    Build in milestones

    Features arrive on staging in groups you can test with real logins for each role. Feedback from one milestone shapes the next.

  5. 5

    Launch and handover

    Data is imported, production goes live, and you receive the code, documentation and admin training. Maintenance continues if you want it.

Deliverables

Delivered with every application

  • A documented role and permission matrix
  • A versioned database schema with migrations
  • Automated tests for the main business rules
  • Staging and production environments with scripted deploys
  • Full source code and technical documentation
FAQ

What buyers ask about web applications

Which framework will you build our web application on?
It depends on what the application mostly does. Content-led sites with accounts suit WordPress, data-led systems suit Laravel, and smaller tools or constrained hosting often suit CodeIgniter. We recommend one in the proposal and explain what we ruled out and why.
Can a web application be built on WordPress?
Yes, when content, users and commerce are at the center of it. Membership sites, directories, job boards and course platforms are web applications that WordPress handles well with custom plugins. Once most screens are custom data entry with complex rules, a framework is cheaper to maintain.
How do you handle user roles and data separation?
We agree a permission matrix with you before development and enforce it centrally in code. Each role is covered by automated tests, and in multi-tenant systems every query is scoped to the customer account so one client can never read the records of another.
Will the application work on phones?
Yes. Every screen is built responsive and tested on real mobile devices. If your users need offline access, push notifications or the camera, we can add a mobile app later that talks to the same API.
What do you need from us to start?
A description of the users and the tasks they perform is enough to begin. Sample data, existing spreadsheets and screenshots of current tools help a great deal. From those we prepare a written scope and a milestone quote, and the consultation is free.
Can you take over an application another team started?
Yes. We begin with a code and database review, list what is sound and what is risky, and agree whether to continue, refactor in stages or rebuild a part. You get that assessment in writing before committing to further work.
Related

PHP Web Application Development

Laravel Application Development

CodeIgniter Application Development

Laravel with React & Vue

SaaS Product Development
Start a project

Planning a portal, dashboard or SaaS product?

Send us the roles, the main screens and any sample data. We come back within one business day with questions, a recommended stack and the next steps toward a free quote.

  • Free consultation and quote
  • NDA on request
  • You own the source code
  • Reply within one business day
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