# Web application development

Choie designs and builds custom web applications for founders and companies, such as SaaS products, customer portals, dashboards, and internal tools. The same people design the product and write the code. A full build starts at $19,000 and takes four to six weeks, with a live link to use every Friday.

Also called: Web app development, Custom web application development, SaaS development.

Bought through: Ship it (from $19,000, four to six weeks); Prove it (fixed $4,900, one week); Grow it (from $9,900 / month, month to month). Prices are in US dollars, with no tax added on top.

## Who it is for

Founders and early teams who need a web product that does one job well for one kind of user, and who want it live in weeks rather than quarters.

- **Founders launching a first version** of a SaaS product or a tool their customers log in to.
- **Teams replacing a spreadsheet or a no-code tool** that has stopped keeping up with how the business works.
- **Companies with a live web app** that needs a new workflow, or a rework of one that people struggle with.
- **Teams inside larger companies** that need an internal tool or a new product built as a defined project, in their own repositories and alongside their engineers.

The best fit has one primary user, one critical workflow, and a founder or executive who can make decisions each week.

## The problems it solves

- **Tools that have been outgrown.** A spreadsheet, a no-code builder, or an early prototype can carry a business for a while, then starts to break under real users, real data, and permissions. A [custom web application](https://www.choie.co/glossary/custom-web-application) is built around the workflow you actually have.
- **Quotes that do not hold.** Hourly estimates move with the hours. Here the written scope fixes the deliverables and the total before work starts, and any change is agreed in writing.
- **A gap between design and engineering.** When design and code sit with different people, the product drifts away from what was decided. One team doing both closes that gap.
- **Long silences during a build.** You get a new live link every Friday and use it yourself, so problems show up in week two instead of at launch.

## What you get

- A production web application covering the workflows named in the written scope.
- Flows and interface design for every screen and state in that scope.
- The integrations the release cannot launch without, such as payments or sign-in, when the scope names them.
- Launch to your users, then fixes to whatever gets in their way.
- The source code and the designs, yours once each deliverable is paid for. Third-party libraries keep their own licenses.
- Thirty days of free fixes for defects in our own work after launch.

## How it runs

A build takes four to six weeks, and the shape is the same every time.

1. **Before day one.** A 30-minute intro call, then a written scope with deliverables, dates, price, and payment split within two days. Work starts when you accept it in writing and the first payment is in.
2. **Weeks 1 to 2: decide.** Flows, hierarchy, what to build first, and what to cut. The first live link goes out on the first Friday.
3. **Weeks 2 to 5: build.** Design and code move together in the same hands, with a new live link every Friday. Design sign-off is the second payment milestone.
4. **Final week: ship.** Launch, then we watch real people use it and fix what gets in their way.

AI and our own kit of interface components, motion and micro-interactions make the build fast, so the polish doesn't get cut for time. Senior people still decide the architecture, read every line before it ships, and own testing and quality. The [guide to how we use AI](https://www.choie.co/guides/ai-accelerated-development) explains what that changes for you.

## Price and timeline

A full web application build starts at $19,000, with no tax added on top, and takes four to six weeks. It is paid in three steps: at the start, at design sign-off, and at launch. Unless the written scope says otherwise, the split is 50%, 25%, and 25%.

The written scope fixes one number before work starts. What moves it: how many critical workflows and screens the first release covers, integrations with payment, identity, or third-party systems, and whether a marketing site is part of the same release.

If the idea is not settled yet, start with a [one-week coded prototype](https://www.choie.co/services/coded-prototype) for a fixed $4,900. The full fee is credited to a build that starts within 60 days. After launch, ongoing work runs from $9,900 a month, month to month. Teams in larger companies can buy a build as a [company project](https://www.choie.co/enterprise), invoiced against a purchase order.

## When not to hire Choie for this

- **The project needs dozens of engineers from day one.** That is a program, better served by a larger agency or an in-house team.
- **Product work will be continuous and central to the company for years.** At that point an in-house team is usually the better long-term answer. The [comparison page](https://www.choie.co/compare) sets out the trade-offs.
- **You want developers to work through a backlog by the hour.** That is staff augmentation, which Choie does not offer.
- **There is no clear owner, user, or first release.** Without those, no studio can honestly hold a fixed price.

## Common questions

### How much does it cost to build a web app with Choie?

A full build starts at $19,000 and takes four to six weeks. A one-week coded prototype is a fixed $4,900. Ongoing work after launch starts at $9,900 a month. Every price is in US dollars with no tax added on top, and is fixed in a written scope before work starts.

### Which technology do you build with?

It is chosen for each product, based on what the product needs and who will maintain it after launch, and it is named in the written scope before work starts. You own the source code once it is paid for, so the choice has to suit your future team as well as ours.

### Will I see progress during the build?

Yes. Every Friday you get a live link to use, starting on the first Friday. You use the product as it grows instead of reviewing mockups.

### What happens after launch?

Defects in Choie's own work are fixed at no charge for 30 days. After that, a month-to-month engagement from $9,900 a month covers new work and changes, and you can leave any month.

Guides: [How much does an MVP cost? A fixed-price answer](https://www.choie.co/guides/mvp-cost.md), [How we use AI to build products](https://www.choie.co/guides/ai-accelerated-development.md), [Who owns the code when you hire a studio?](https://www.choie.co/guides/who-owns-the-code.md).

Glossary: [Custom web application](https://www.choie.co/glossary/custom-web-application.md), [No-code vs custom code](https://www.choie.co/glossary/no-code-vs-custom-code.md), [Technical debt](https://www.choie.co/glossary/technical-debt.md), [Scope of work](https://www.choie.co/glossary/scope-of-work.md), [Fixed-price development](https://www.choie.co/glossary/fixed-price-development.md).

Other services: [Product design and UX](https://www.choie.co/services/product-design.md), [iOS and Android app development](https://www.choie.co/services/mobile-app-development.md), [MVP development](https://www.choie.co/services/mvp-development.md), [One-week coded prototype](https://www.choie.co/services/coded-prototype.md), [Design systems](https://www.choie.co/services/design-systems.md), [Launch sites and measurement](https://www.choie.co/services/launch-sites.md).

HTML: https://www.choie.co/services/web-app-development