Our own product
Writford
A workspace for UK legal firms connecting cited research, matter records, time recording and billing. The research workflow keeps source checking and professional review with the solicitor.
Explore WritfordOur Service
Custom Software & Web Development
Web applications, customer portals, internal tools and websites, built by a Manchester software house on code and accounts you own. Accessible, fast and quoted as one fixed price after a free discovery call.
project.config
// Your project stack
export const stack = {
frontend: 'Next.js + React',
mobile: 'React Native',
backend: 'Node.js / Laravel',
database: 'PostgreSQL + Redis',
deploy: 'Vercel / AWS',
};
✓ TypeScript enabled
✓ CI/CD pipeline configured
What We Build
Modern Development for Modern Businesses
We use the latest frameworks and best practices to build applications that are fast, scalable, and maintainable — from day one through to long-term growth.
Modern Frameworks
We build with Next.js, React, and Node.js for fast, scalable web applications. Server-side rendering, static generation, and API routes — all in one framework.
Mobile Apps
Cross-platform mobile apps with React Native. Native performance on iOS and Android from a single codebase, with access to device APIs and smooth animations.
E-Commerce & SaaS
Custom e-commerce stores and SaaS platforms built for scale. Stripe payments, subscription management, multi-tenant architecture, and admin dashboards.
API Development
RESTful and GraphQL APIs, third-party integrations, webhook systems, and microservices. Built for reliability, security, and developer experience.
Scope
What a Project Looks Like
Every project is scoped and quoted after a free discovery call, so you get a fixed price for your situation rather than a number that assumes someone else’s. These are the shapes most engagements take.
Marketing Website
A business that needs to be found, understood and contacted.
Typical timeline: 3–5 weeks
- Next.js, fast and accessible
- SEO and AI-search ready
- CMS for your team
- Analytics and lead forms
Most common
Web Application
Products with accounts, data and logic behind the front page.
Typical timeline: 6–10 weeks
- User accounts and dashboards
- Database and secure APIs
- AI features built in
- Automated tests and CI
Platform Build
Multi-role or multi-tenant systems with integrations and payments.
Typical timeline: 10+ weeks
- Multi-role, multi-tenant systems
- Integrations and payments
- Scalable cloud architecture
- Dedicated support plan
Timelines are typical and depend on how many systems are involved and how ready your data is. Tell us what you need and we will give you a fixed price and a date.
Build Plan
What Ten Weeks Looks Like
The typical shape of a web application build. Your written scope sets the real dates, and you see working software every week rather than a reveal at the end.
| When | What happens | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Discovery and scope | The jobs the software must do, the systems it touches, the data it inherits. Ends with a written scope and a fixed price. |
| Week 2 | Design and prototype | Wireframes and a clickable prototype of the main journeys, tested with the people who will use it. |
| Weeks 3–8 | Build in weekly sprints | A working preview you can click through every week, with automated tests running on every change. |
| Week 9 | Test and migrate | Accessibility, performance and security checks, and any data moved and verified from the old system. |
| Week 10 | Launch and hand over | Go-live on your own accounts, a rollback plan in place, and the handover pack delivered. |
Our Process
Discovery to Launch & Beyond
01
Discovery
We understand your business goals, target users, and technical requirements. We define the scope, architecture, and technology stack for your project.
02
Design
UI/UX design with wireframes and interactive prototypes. We design responsive, accessible interfaces that look great on every device.
03
Build
Agile development with regular updates and demos. Clean, tested code with CI/CD pipelines. You see progress every sprint.
04
Launch & Support
Deployment to production with monitoring and performance optimization. Ongoing support, maintenance, and feature development as your business grows.
Our Technology Stack
Next.jsFrontend
ReactFrontend
React NativeMobile
Node.jsBackend
LaravelBackend
WordPressCMS
PostgreSQLDatabase
MongoDBDatabase
RedisCache
Tailwind CSSStyling
TypeScriptLanguage
DockerDevOps
We choose the right tools for each project
Technologies
The Right Stack for Your Project
Next.js & React for blazing-fast frontends
React Native for iOS & Android apps
Node.js for scalable backend services
Laravel for robust PHP applications
WordPress for content-managed sites
PostgreSQL & MongoDB for data
TypeScript for type-safe development
Docker & CI/CD for reliable deployments
Who It's For
Where Custom Software Earns Its Place
Most often where a business runs on a process no off-the-shelf product fits, or where staff re-key the same information into several systems every day.
Logistics & haulage
Booking, tracking and customer portals over your transport system.
Clinics & private healthcare
Patient booking, forms and portals that respect clinical boundaries.
E-commerce & retail
Storefronts, stock and order integrations beyond a template shop.
Accountancy firms
Client portals, document collection and workflow tools.
Recruitment agencies
Candidate portals and job boards wired to your ATS.
Estate agents
Listing sites, applicant portals and viewing booking.
Weighing bespoke against a product you could buy? Read bespoke software development in the UK, or see what shapes the cost of a site in what decides what a website costs.
Standards
What Every Build Meets
Accessible to WCAG 2.2 AA
The standard GOV.UK requires of public-sector websites and apps under the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018, and the practical benchmark for any business serving the public. Tested with keyboard and screen reader, not just an automated scan.
Consent before tracking
Non-essential cookies, pixels and scripts only run after consent, following the ICO’s guidance on storage and access technologies. The narrow low-risk exceptions added by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 still require a simple way to object, and we build that in.
Card data never touches your server
Payments go through a hosted payment page or hosted fields from a PCI DSS-compliant processor, so raw card numbers never reach your systems and your own PCI obligations stay as light as possible.
A written data processing agreement
Where the software handles personal data we act as your processor under UK GDPR Article 28, with a contract covering instructions, security, sub-processors, rights requests and deletion at the end.
What We Will Never Do
- Never build inside our own accounts — everything is in your company name from day one
- Never store a card number — payments stay with a compliant processor
- Never set non-essential cookies before consent
- Never ship without automated tests running on every change
- Never launch without backups and a one-step rollback
- Never skip an accessibility check before go-live
What You Get at Handover
- The repository, with a README that explains how to run, test and deploy it
- Admin credentials for hosting, domain, analytics and every third-party service, all in your name
- Architecture notes and a map of every integration and where its keys live
- A walkthrough session for your team
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Should we build custom software or use an off-the-shelf tool?
Use the off-the-shelf tool if your process is standard for your sector and the only problem is set-up. Build when the way you work is what makes you money and no product fits it without costly compromises, or when you are building a product to sell. A customised platform often sits sensibly in between. We will tell you on the discovery call if a tool you already pay for covers it; our guide at /blog/bespoke-software-development-uk goes through the decision in full.
How long does a typical project take?
A marketing website typically takes three to five weeks, a web application six to ten, and a multi-role platform with integrations and payments ten weeks or more. The biggest variables are how many systems it connects to and how ready your data is. You get a written timeline with the fixed price, before any build work starts.
Who owns the code and the accounts when it launches?
You do, on completion and full payment. Copyright in commissioned code stays with its author under UK law unless the contract assigns it, so our contract assigns it to your company, and the repository, hosting, domain and analytics are set up in your company name from day one. If you ever move to another developer you take all of it with you.
What technologies do you use?
Next.js and React with TypeScript for the front end, Node.js or Laravel for the back end, PostgreSQL as the default database with Redis where caching earns its place, and Vercel or AWS for hosting. We also work on WordPress where a content-managed site is the right answer. The stack is chosen for the project and written into the scope, not picked by habit.
Can you take over an existing site or codebase?
Yes. We start with an audit of the code, hosting and accounts so the fixed price for the work that follows is based on what is actually there, then refactor, stabilise or extend it. If the audit shows a rebuild is cheaper than repair, we say so.
Will the site meet accessibility and cookie rules?
Every build is designed and tested to WCAG 2.2 AA, which the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations require for public-sector sites and which is the practical benchmark for any business serving the public. Non-essential cookies and tracking are only set after consent, in line with the ICO guidance on storage and access technologies.
What happens after launch if something breaks?
A defined support arrangement rather than goodwill. We agree up front what is covered, how quickly we respond and what counts as new work, so nobody is guessing at an awkward moment. Because the site runs on your own hosting, you are never locked into us to keep it online.
Guides
Read before you buy web development
- Web Development
Bespoke Software Development in the UK: What Decides the Cost, When Off-the-Shelf Wins, and What to Put in the Contract
A buyer’s guide for UK businesses weighing custom software against an off-the-shelf tool: what actually moves the cost, the three routes compared, who owns the code by law, and the contract clauses to insist on before anyone writes a line.
- Web Development
What Decides What a Website Costs in the UK in 2026? Routes, Ongoing Costs and What to Check on a Quote
A plain guide to website pricing for UK business owners: what actually drives the cost across DIY builders, freelancers, agencies and web applications, the ongoing costs nobody mentions, what a cheap site really costs you, and a 10-point checklist for comparing quotes.
- Web Development
What Decides What an Ecommerce Website Costs in the UK? Shopify vs WooCommerce vs Custom
What actually decides what a UK online shop costs to build and run: how Shopify, WooCommerce and card processing are structured, the running costs that quietly outgrow the build price, and where a custom build genuinely earns its money.
- Web Development
Web Development Manchester: Cost, AI-Ready Standards and What to Ask an Agency
What a website costs in Manchester in 2026, what "AI-ready" actually means in practice, WCAG accessibility obligations, and ten questions to ask before you sign.
Before You Get In Touch
What you can hold us to
Review our own live products, check our company registrations and read the commitments that shape a project. These give you concrete work and clear terms to discuss before booking a call.
Our own product
Let AI Browse
Tools for connecting shopping assistants with storefront product, cart and checkout actions. Its WordPress and storefront integrations show the kind of connected web workflows we build.
Explore Let AI BrowseRead the LetAIBrowse case studyWhat the discovery call actually is
Thirty minutes, free, no obligation and no salesperson. You describe what is costing you time or customers, we ask about the systems involved, and you leave with an honest view of whether this is worth doing. We regularly end that call by saying the tool you already pay for covers it.
You own the result
The code, the repository and the accounts are set up in your company name rather than ours, and they are yours on completion and full payment. Nothing runs on infrastructure we control, so ending the relationship does not end the thing we built.
A fixed price, never a day rate
Every project is quoted as a fixed price with a written scope after the call, so an over-run is our problem rather than yours. If the scope changes, we say so and re-quote before doing the work, not after.
Where your data sits
In the UK or EU, under a data processing agreement, kept only as long as you specify. Any model provider we rely on is named as a sub-processor rather than left implicit, and we will tell you plainly where something you have asked for would put a commitment of yours at risk.
What happens when it goes wrong
Agreed before launch rather than negotiated during an incident: what is covered, how quickly we respond, and what counts as new work. Every build has a defined escalation to a person, because the failure that costs you is the one nobody noticed.
Two things you can check
Big Berri Limited is registered in England and Wales, company number 16562429, and registered with the Information Commissioner's Office under reference ZC119995. Both are public registers. Look us up rather than taking our word for it.
Ready to Build Something Great?
From concept to launch, we build web and mobile applications that scale with your business. Get in touch to discuss your project.
Book a Free Discovery Call