Before
The request lands in an inbox
A customer writes in. The email sits with whoever read it first, and stays there: nobody else knows it exists.
Custom web application development
Sound familiar?
- A shared spreadsheet nobody dares to tidy up
- Forwarded emails just to find out where a job stands
- The same data retyped into three different tools
- Off-the-shelf software you only use with three spreadsheets open beside it
Before and after
What changes when a process becomes a web app?
Where the data lives: from scattered spreadsheets and inboxes to one place, with a status everyone can see. Below is the same process before and after: a request for a quote.
Before
Someone pastes it into a spreadsheet
Name, product, quantity, copied into a shared sheet by hand. One wrong cell and the quote goes out at last year's price.
Before
The data lives in three places
The email, the spreadsheet, the accounts package. Each holds a different version, and Monday's meeting is spent working out which one is right.
Before
Only one person knows the status
Has the customer replied? Who's calling them back? Whoever handled it knows. If they're on holiday, so is the job.
Same people, same work. A different tool.
After
A form captures the request
The customer fills in a form on your site or in their account. The data arrives clean, validated and linked to their record.
After
One database, clear roles
Sales, accounts and the owner all see the same job, each with their own permissions. No copies, no competing versions.
After
Statuses move on their own
Quote sent, accepted, in progress: each step updates the status, notifies whoever has to act next and logs who did what.
After
The dashboard shows where you stand
How many requests are open, how long they sit, which ones close. You read the numbers every day instead of rebuilding them at month end.
Comparison
Web app vs native app vs PWA: which should you choose?
For internal tools and business software a web app is nearly always enough, often installable as a PWA. A native app earns its keep when you need deep phone features or a place in the app stores.
| Web app | PWA | Native app | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | In the browser, on desktop and mobile | In the browser, and installed on the home screen like an app | On the platform it's built for: iOS, Android or both |
| Installing | Nothing to install: just a link | From the browser, no app store involved | From the App Store and Google Play |
| Updates | Instant, for everyone | Instant, for everyone | A new version, after store review |
| Push notifications | On desktop and Android, yes; on iPhone, no | Yes, on iPhone too once added to the home screen | Yes, fully |
| Phone features | The main ones: camera, location, files | As the web app, plus an icon and offline use | All of them: sensors, Bluetooth, in-app purchases, widgets |
| Codebases | One | One | Two, or one with a cross-platform framework |
| Best for | Internal tools, client portals, back-office software | Tools used daily on a phone, including out in the field | Consumer products, system-level features, app store presence |
Getting started
What do you need to start a custom web app?
Less than you'd think: the process as you run it today, not as it ought to be. We work out the rest together during the analysis.
- The real process
- Spreadsheets, emails, messages, including the ones you're not proud of. We start from how you actually work, step by step.
- Who uses it
- Roles and permissions: who enters data, who signs off, who only looks at the numbers. Customers and suppliers too, if they need access.
- The data you already have
- Exports from your spreadsheets and current tools. We import them, so the app isn't empty on day one.
- The tools to connect
- Accounting, CRM, email, payments: we decide what stays, what gets connected and what the web app replaces.
- A measure of success
- Hours saved, errors avoided, response times: we agree up front what to look at after launch.
Integrations
Which tools can it connect to?
The ones you already use: a custom web app doesn't replace everything, it plugs in.
- Email and calendars
- Online payments
- CRM
- Accounting and invoicing
- E-signatures
- Maps and addresses
- Document storage
- AI models
Integrations run through each tool's API, and we automate flows across several services with n8n. If you want agents working inside the app, we build them with Giallo Studio, the group's AI agency: see AI agents. And if the tool turns into a product you could sell to others, the next step is SaaS development.
Questions about custom web apps
How much does a custom web app cost?
It depends on how many people and roles use it, how many integrations it needs and how much data has to be imported. We don't have a price list: after mapping the process we give you an estimate against a written scope. The cost drivers are explained in pricing and timelines.
When is custom software better than an off-the-shelf tool?
When the off-the-shelf tool forces you to change a process that's actually your edge, or when you only make it work with three spreadsheets alongside. If an existing product genuinely covers the job, we'll say so and point you to it.
Will a web app work on a phone?
Yes. We design it for every screen size and, where it helps, make it installable as a PWA with a home screen icon and notifications. If you need deep phone features, we'll look at a proper iOS and Android app.
What technology do you build web apps with?
Next.js and React with TypeScript, on a PostgreSQL database: the same stack we use for the group's own products. Why, and when we pick something else, is covered on our technologies page.
Who maintains the app after launch?
We can: updates, backups, fixes and new features. We agree how it works and what gets priority before we start, so you know who to call and what to expect.
Further reading
Which process do you want out of the spreadsheets?
We reply within one business day.
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