Custom Database-Driven Web Applications
When off-the-shelf software is not a handsome fit.
Sometimes a standard website or WordPress plugin is enough. Sometimes your business has its own information, processes, customers, and way of doing things. Forcing that work into generic software can create more problems than it solves.
Software Shaped Around Your Work
I develop custom, database-driven web applications for businesses and organizations whose needs do not fit neatly into an off-the-shelf product. These applications can manage information, provide specialized searches, support customer communication, automate repetitive work, or replace a collection of spreadsheets and disconnected tools.
I start by learning how the work is actually done. Then I design an application around the people who will use it, the information it needs to manage, and the problems it needs to solve. The goal is not to make the system more complicated. The goal is to remove unnecessary steps and make important information easier to manage.
- Searchable product, property, member, or document databases
- Secure administrative dashboards
- Customer and staff portals
- Custom forms and workflow tools
- Project communication systems
- Reporting and data-management tools
- Integrations with existing websites or services
- Ongoing improvements to established PHP applications
Plan Factory
The Plan Factory website began as a static site and has been maintained, expanded, and improved for more than a decade. It has grown into a database-driven resource that supports both people looking for home plans and multiple contractors already working with the company.
Visitors can search a large collection of stock floor plans and browse a gallery of completed homes. The website's stock-plan search gives prospective clients a practical way to explore plans and ideas before beginning a custom project.
Behind the public website, I developed tools that support communication with clients while their plans are being customized. Full-size blueprints can be uploaded and shared securely with both clients and contractors. This combination of public information, searchable plan data, project communication, and administrative features allows the site to support more of the company's actual work instead of functioning as a simple online brochure.
Have a process that does not fit the software you have been given? Email me at chris@handsomeweb.com. Tell me what you are doing now, where it breaks down, and what you wish worked better.