Our core team
Nicholas Alexander - Founder
Nicholas Alexander has been developing software for decades, experience in a number of languages and platforms. He has also been the CTO/Technical Director of two successful software companies in New Zealand and has worked with large teams with multinational corporations as a full-stack software developer.
What is Consultancy?
You have a software or website requirement. You could hire a team or a contractor. Or start your consultancy with a brief online meeting to see if we are a good fit to take on your project.
We provide a professional developer to work on your project. We deliver the product on fast scalable cloud hosting.
Your questions
Online projects run code in your browser (frontend) and on a server (backend). Typically the concerns of frontend is design and user experience, whereas the server side maintains fast data storage and secure access. A Full Stack developer is skilled on both and the advantage of a full stack developer is the coordination and commumication via an API.
An API is an Application Program Interface. The frontend sends requests to the backend that may securely relay the parameters of the request to a database server, and then send a response to the frontend with data to be displayed.
External APIs can usually be easily connected to a front end project for simple forms, and email subscriptions. If you need to use a Third Party API, feel free to ask us to implememt it.
Third Party APIs provide functionality but the data is stored on the APIs server. Your data belongs to you. If you require complete privacy or control of your data, you will need a full stack project with an encrypted database. Please ask.
Website design has evolved to a rapid production process. We can implement your design or start with a basic design. Our frameworks allow the design to be updated. We can provide a professional designer and implement designs provided in Figmas, Adobe XD or Canva.
A full stack project requires server-side software development and planning, project management and testing. We normally recommend a frontend team of two is supported by one or more backend developers and a dedicated software tester.
An outline specification is created before engineers create databases. Each phase of the project is managed. Whole modules are delivered usually on a six week production cycle.
Planning, work review and client interfaction is accomplished via Slack and Trello, with weekly or monthly online meetings to present work and set new goals.
Frontend projects require design. We will revise a single page design so we are ready to implement it. Then the production phase will be more rapid. This may take two days or longer, depending on the complexity of the design. The design phase is usually completed from £500 to £1000. Template designs may be offered for budget sites at a lower cost.
Front end site production may take one to five days and is charged at £500 per day. Template designs (and simple designs) are usually completed in one day. Our method of publishing means that your site is cloud hosted on your domain. We also publish on a subdomain to stage new revisions before they are published. Front end site publishing is included. Budgetted costs can be controlled and additional content added when budget is available to control costs for progressive publishing requirements.
Frontend projects are desgined to be completed quickly and efficiently. From intial contract to first delivery, can be as fast as two days. Due to the efficiency of our methods, we process our waiting list rapidly. After an initial consultation and order, we will let you know the approximate start date.
Most requirements require a frontend production of a prototype as above followed by full analysis of the backend. The backend requires a database server, application logic and tests to ensure that future revisions do not have issues with existing infrastructure. We can provide a production team once the analysis is completed.
We work on a six week cycle and each developer is charged at a daily rate or an hourly rate. At the end of each six week cycle specific goals are delivered. Our goal is operational software that is in production. We can stay with a project for an extended period or delivery quickly depending on the complexity of the data model.
If you wish to discuss a full stack project, please contact us for a free consultation and assessment to get on our waiting list.
Our secrets
I am sure you need to know our secrets. We have nothing to hide, it is more of a way to get across how we are slightly but significantly different.
This site offers exclusive collaborations with a senior developer to get things done the way you need it done. All the software written for you is published to a github repository or a private repo.
You will have full access to the source code, via access to a git repo. So you can pick up your stuff and walk away at any time as you require.
But while you are with us, and subscribed to one of our cohorts, you can talk with a developer and get your stuff done*.
* when we publish your website, there may be a fee or buy a subscription.