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Custom web application development in Dubai

Custom web applications, specified before they are built

Some work does not fit inside a website or an off-the-shelf product. It lives in spreadsheets, inboxes and WhatsApp groups until someone builds the right tool. We provide custom web application development for companies in Dubai and across the UAE: customer portals, internal dashboards, booking and quoting tools, and the connections between the systems you already run.

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01What you get

  • A specification you keep

    Every project opens with a paid discovery phase. It ends with a written specification: what the application does, who uses it, what it connects to and what the build will cost. The document is yours to keep.

  • Software that follows your process

    Off-the-shelf products ask you to work their way. A custom application is modelled on the steps your staff and customers already take, awkward exceptions included.

  • One record instead of five copies

    Integrations pass data between the application and the systems you already use, such as your CRM, accounting software or ERP. An order is entered once and appears everywhere it is needed.

  • Working software early

    We release in stages. The first stage is small and usable, so your team can try it on real work and correct our assumptions while changes are still cheap.

02What is included

  • Paid discovery workshops and a written specification
  • User roles, permissions and sign-in design
  • Interface design and a clickable prototype
  • Front end and back end development
  • Integrations with your CRM, ERP, accounting or payment systems
  • Data import from spreadsheets or a previous system
  • Automated tests and a private staging environment
  • Staged releases, each with written release notes
  • Hosting set-up in a region agreed with you
  • Technical documentation, admin guide and handover session

03How we approach it

  1. 01

    Discovery, paid and separate

    We interview the people who will use the application, map the current process and list every system it must talk to. This phase is invoiced on its own. In return you receive the specification and a fixed quote for the build. Our process page shows how the stages fit together.

  2. 02

    Settle the hosting question early

    Where your data is stored affects cost, speed and compliance. Some sectors in the UAE, including healthcare and financial services, have expectations about keeping data inside the country. Confirm what applies to you with your regulator, for example the Dubai Health Authority or the Central Bank of the UAE, before a hosting region is chosen.

  3. 03

    Prototype before code

    A clickable prototype lets your team walk through every screen and spot what is missing. Changing a prototype takes hours. Changing finished software takes far longer.

  4. 04

    Release in stages

    The build is split into stages, ordered by value to the business. Each one ends with something your team can sign in to and use, so progress is visible in the application and not only in a status report.

  5. 05

    Test, document, hand over

    Automated tests are checks that run every time the code changes. They protect the features already built while new ones are added. At handover you receive the source code, the documentation and access to every account.

04Technology

  • Next.js
  • React
  • TypeScript
  • Node.js
  • PostgreSQL
  • Playwright
  • Docker
  • AWS

Questions

Questions, answered

What is the difference between a website and a web application?

A website presents information. A web application lets people do something: sign in, make a booking, request a quote, approve an order or check the status of a job. It runs in the browser, so there is nothing to install.

Many projects are both. A public company website can sit in front of a private portal for customers or staff.

Should we build custom software or buy an off-the-shelf product?

Buy, if a product already fits your process. It will cost less and be ready sooner, and we will tell you so during discovery.

Build when the process is what sets you apart, when licence fees rise with every user, or when staff spend hours copying data between products that do not connect. Custom software costs more at the start and needs maintenance afterwards. That is the trade-off.

Can a web application integrate with our ERP, CRM or accounting software?

Usually, yes. Most modern systems offer an API, which is a documented way for one program to exchange data with another. During discovery we check what each of your systems allows and test the connection before committing to it.

Older or closed systems can be harder. Where no API exists, the options are scheduled file exports or manual imports, and we will say which applies before you approve the quote.

Where will our web application and its data be hosted?

In a region agreed with you during discovery. Large cloud providers, including AWS and Microsoft Azure, run data centre regions in the UAE, so hosting inside the country is an option.

Whether you are required to do so depends on your sector and the data you hold. We do not give legal advice. Ask your regulator or legal adviser, and we will build to the answer.

Who owns the source code of a custom web application?

You do. On final payment the design, code and documentation are yours, and hosting accounts are registered in your company's name. Open-source components keep their own licences, which are listed in the documentation.

Another development team could take the application over from the handover pack. If you would prefer us to keep it updated, a care plan covers that.

Related services

Next.js and React development

Server-rendered websites and web front ends built with Next.js and React, with a content system your editors can use.

Sectors we build this for

Logistics and trade

Tracking, quote tools, customer portals and route pages for freight, warehousing and trading companies.

Healthcare and clinics

Clinic and hospital websites with doctor profiles, treatment pages and appointment requests, in English and Arabic.

Startups and new businesses

First websites and first product versions for founders, built on a design system so nothing is thrown away later.

Updated

Let's build somethingDubai remembers.

Tell us what you are planning. We will reply with next steps, or a straight answer if we are not the right fit.

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