Web applications
Web applications that do the job
Customer portals, internal web tools and SaaS products built in React and Next.js. Fast, secure and easy to build on, with a fixed price and a proposal within 48 hours.
- React, Next.js and TypeScript
- Works just as well on mobile
- You own code and data
Web app, customer portal or SaaS: which is which?
The words get used interchangeably. The difference is who uses the system and how it is paid for, not the technology. We build all three on the same foundation.
Web application
A program that runs in the browser instead of being installed. Staff log in and work from any computer or phone.
Customer portal
A web app for your customers: check order status, download invoices, reorder, open tickets. Fewer emails and calls to you.
SaaS product
A web app you sell to many customers on subscription. Needs login, roles, payment and keeping customers apart.
Internal web tool
Dashboards, admin interfaces and tools for one team. Often what replaces a spreadsheet that grew too big.
MVP and first version
The smallest version you can put in real users' hands. Built to learn, not to impress.
Public campaign site
When the site is the experience, like piratebae.org which we built for yaeger and Sony Music Sweden.
How we build an MVP that lasts
An MVP should be small but not sloppy. What gets built has to be something you can build on, or you start over in three months.
One flow, not ten
We pick the single flow that proves the idea and build only that. Everything else is deferred on purpose.
A real foundation
Login, database and hosting are set up properly from the start. Cheap now, expensive later.
Real users within weeks
The goal is someone outside the project using the app as soon as possible. Their behaviour steers the next step.
Build on or shut down
After the first version you know whether the idea holds. Both outcomes are good outcomes when they come fast.
What does a SaaS product require?
Going from a web app for one company to a product for a hundred companies comes down to four things that are often underestimated.
Customers kept apart
Every customer must only see their own data, even when it all lives in one database. That has to be right from the first line.
Roles and invitations
A customer has several users with different permissions, and they invite each other without you being involved.
Payment and subscriptions
Price plans, trials, card payment and invoices. We plug in a payment provider rather than building our own.
Hosting that scales
Ten customers and a thousand customers run the same code. Monitoring, backups and updates without downtime.
Technology: React, Next.js and when we choose what
React is the library that draws the interface. Next.js is the framework around React that gives pages that load fast, get found by search engines and run on the server where needed. We build almost everything in Next.js, and this site is built with it.
Next.js and React
Interfaces that are fast on mobile, accessible and indexable. Server rendering where it helps, client logic where needed.
Node.js and TypeScript
The same language in backend and frontend. Typed code that catches errors before they reach users.
PostgreSQL
A relational database that handles everything from the first customer to millions of rows, with real transactions.
AWS or Vercel
Hosting that fits the app: Vercel for fast delivery of Next.js, AWS when you need more control.
What does it cost to build a web app?
The price is set per project and fixed before we start. It is driven by how many roles, how much logic and how many integrations the app has to handle.
Number of roles
An app where everyone sees the same thing is simple. Customer, admin, partner and support with different views takes more.
Business logic
Price calculations, approval flows and rules that differ per customer take time to get right.
Integrations
Finance, payment, email, e-signing. Every connection has to be understood and tested.
Design
An internal app can be plain. A customer portal that carries your brand needs more care.
We would rather give a fixed price after a call than a range that says nothing. Book a call and you get a concrete proposal within two working days.
Case
yaeger x Sony Music Sweden
Immersive campaign site at piratebae.org, delivered to release day. Design direction, frontend, performance and hosting.
Read the caseSony Music Sweden
Internal project management system and a link management system as web apps, in daily use.
Read the caseContextWeb applications are part of our system development.
RelatedShould the app live in the App Store and Google Play instead of the browser? Read about how we develop apps for iOS and Android.
Common questions about web applications
What does it cost to build a web app?
It is driven by the number of roles, the amount of business logic and how many systems the app connects to. A simple internal web app with one role and no integration is a small project. A customer portal with several roles, payment and a link to the finance system is a bigger one. You always get a fixed price within 48 hours after an intro call.
What is the difference between a web app and a website?
A website shows information to visitors. A web app is a program users log into and work in: creating, changing and tracking things. The website needs to be found on Google, the web app needs to get the job done. The technology can be the same but the requirements are completely different.
How long does an MVP take?
A first version with one working flow and real login normally takes a few weeks. We limit the scope hard precisely so you can put the app in real users' hands quickly and learn from how they use it.
Can you build on our existing web app?
Yes. We start by reading the code, documenting how it works and setting up tests and monitoring. Then we improve in stages. If the code is in such poor shape that it should be rewritten we say so, with a plan to do it without stopping the business.
Why React and Next.js?
React is the most widely used interface library in the world, which makes developers easy to find and lock-in hard. Next.js adds server rendering, fast loading and good search engine support on top. Together they give apps that are fast for the user and sustainable to maintain for many years.
How do you handle login and security?
We do not build our own login but use proven solutions with support for passwords, one-time codes and sign-in via Google or Microsoft. All data is encrypted in transit and at rest, permissions are checked on the server and we log who did what.
Can the web app become a mobile app later?
Yes, and it is a common setup. The web app is built with an API a mobile app can use later. Backend, login and data are shared, only the interface is rebuilt for the App Store and Google Play. Read more on the app development page.
Tell us what the app should do
Describe who will use it and what they need to do, and we will get back within one working day.