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Custom website development by a senior engineering team. The stack is picked for your project (Astro, Next.js, headless WordPress or Shopify, or a tuned monolith when that fits), not handed down from a default. Performance, technical SEO, security, observability, and CI/CD as build targets.
What it unlocks
Built for businesses that want a senior engineering team thinking carefully about the right stack: custom integrations, headless or decoupled architectures, complex content models, high-traffic resilience, and the technical depth that a brochure-site template cannot reach.
Capabilities
Engagement rhythm
Free scoping call and technical discovery
Architecture and integration design
Build, integrations, and observability
Launch and post-launch support
What we do
Every engagement starts with a real architecture conversation. Astro for marketing sites where editorial cadence is monthly and load times matter most. Next.js or Nuxt where the front end has interactive state, authenticated areas, or app-like behaviour. Headless WordPress when the editorial team needs WordPress controls but the front end has to perform. A tuned monolithic WordPress build when that genuinely fits the team and budget better. We make the call against the business goal, not against the stack we prefer to ship.
CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive), ERP and inventory systems, payment gateways, headless commerce backends, marketing automation, observability platforms, and the webhooks that hold it all together. Wired with proper error handling, retry logic, idempotency keys where the payload demands it, and direct integrations preferred over Zapier-style glue when reliability matters. Authentication flows documented. Failure paths considered before they happen, not after a 2am incident.
Headless WordPress with an Astro or Next.js front end. Headless Shopify on Hydrogen. Sanity, Contentful, or Storyblok where the editorial layer needs to be properly separated from rendering. Decoupled architecture is genuinely the right call for some projects and overkill for others; we will be straight in the scoping call about which side of that line your project sits. When it is the right call, we build it so the editorial experience does not suffer and the front end stays sub-second.
Lighthouse 95+ on mobile is the floor on a bespoke front end, not a stretch. Server response time tuned, CDN strategy planned around your audience geography, asset pipelines optimised, third-party scripts deferred or self-hosted where it helps, render path scrutinised, Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS) measured against real-user metrics rather than lab scores alone. Page-builder sprawl is the most common reason an inherited site ships at 40 to 60; a properly engineered build holds 90 plus six years on.
Schema deployed per page type (Organization, Service, BreadcrumbList, FAQPage, Article, Product), sitemaps auto-generated, hreflang configured where you sell cross-border, semantic HTML and a structured heading hierarchy enforced, internal linking patterns built into the IA, rendering paths chosen so Google can actually crawl what you are shipping (SSR or static where it matters, hybrid where it makes sense). Accessibility treated as a build target, WCAG-conscious patterns from the first component, not retrofitted under an audit.
Dependency hygiene with automated vulnerability scanning, hardened headers (CSP, HSTS, Permissions Policy), secrets kept out of the codebase, login flows protected. Off-site backups taken nightly with a tested restore, not theoretical. Observability wired so you find out about errors and slow endpoints before your customers do. CI/CD pipeline configured so the next change is safe to ship: pull requests run tests, preview deploys go up automatically, production rollouts are reversible. The site is built to survive year three, not just launch week.
How an engagement runs
45-minute call to understand the goal, the audience, the page set, the integrations needed (CRM, ERP, payment, marketing automation), the editorial workflow, the traffic profile, and any hard constraints (existing stack to interoperate with, compliance requirements, hosting preferences). Within 48 hours: fixed-price quote with line-itemed scope, the proposed architecture, and a timeline. No estimate ranges; no scope-creep mid-build.
Architecture document covering the front-end framework choice, rendering strategy (SSR, SSG, ISR, hybrid), CMS choice (headless or monolithic), integration map, hosting and CDN plan, observability plan, and CI/CD outline. Content model designed deliberately. IA, sitemap, and page templates agreed. Visual design in Figma where the project needs it, or a design system extended from your existing brand. Sign-off on architecture and design before any production code is written.
Front-end built in the chosen stack. CMS wired and content modelled. Integrations built and tested against staging environments of the third-party systems. Schema deployed per page type. Sitemap generated. Core Web Vitals tuned against real device profiles, not just desktop Chrome. Observability dashboards configured (error rates, response times, deploy events). CI/CD pipeline ships preview environments per pull request. Staging walkthroughs at the midpoint and pre-launch.
Launch including 301 redirects from the old URL structure (if applicable), Search Console re-verification, sitemap submission, Merchant Centre and analytics re-wired where relevant. Full code, infrastructure, and credential handover. Engineering documentation written for the next developer. First 30 days are bug-fix included and treated as a stabilisation window: real-user metrics watched, edge cases surfaced, fixes shipped. Optional retainer for ongoing engineering, new feature work, or platform maintenance.
The lay of the land
Most websites we are asked to rescue look the same on the way in. A cheap theme bought off ThemeForest, layered with a page builder and a dozen plugins. No observability, so an error has been firing on the contact form for three months and nobody noticed the leads stopped coming. No tested backup, so the last restore attempt is theoretical. No CI/CD, so every deploy is a direct FTP push and every change is a held breath. Security headers absent. Dependencies a year and a half out of date. Lighthouse in the 40s on mobile. The pattern is familiar because it is what happens when a site is built by the cheapest available bid and inherited by a marketing team with no engineering function behind them.
A properly engineered build is built around the failure modes, not just the happy path. Errors are caught by observability and surfaced before the customer notices. Backups are tested quarterly so recovery is real. Deployments go through CI/CD with preview environments and rollback paths. Security headers are set, dependencies are scanned weekly, secrets stay out of the codebase. Performance is measured against real-user metrics, not lab scores. The site behaves on a budget Android in Johannesburg as well as it does on a MacBook in Cape Town. Six years on, the codebase still reads cleanly and the next engineer can pick it up without an archaeological dig.
The third option, increasingly the right one, is a decoupled stack: a static or SSR front end (Astro, Next.js, Nuxt) talking to a headless CMS (WordPress headless, Sanity, Contentful, Storyblok) and any number of integrated services, hosted on Cloudflare Pages or Vercel with a global CDN by default. Editorial flexibility, sub-second page loads, near-zero hosting cost, and an architecture that survives the agency churn most websites cannot. We build all three patterns (decoupled, headless monolith, classic monolith); the recommendation follows the project and the team, not the architecture we find most interesting to ship.
FAQ
The Web Design page is for buyers who want a design-led engagement: custom design, Lighthouse 95+, no templates, no page builders, brand-conscious sites where the priority is how the brand reads and how the site converts. This Web Development page is for buyers who want an engineering-led engagement: custom stacks, integrations with CRM or ERP, headless or decoupled architectures, performance engineering against real-user metrics, security and observability as deliverables. Both are bespoke. The difference is what the centre of gravity of the project is. We will help you work out which framing fits your project in the scoping call; many engagements draw on both.
Front end: Astro, Next.js, Nuxt, or static HTML depending on what fits. CMS: bespoke WordPress (monolithic or headless), Sanity, Contentful, Storyblok, or a static MDX content layer if the editorial cadence allows. Commerce: Shopify, Shopify Hydrogen for headless, WooCommerce when a WordPress-native commerce layer is the right call. Hosting: Cloudflare Pages, Vercel, Netlify, Kinsta, Cloudways. We pick against the project and the team, not against a default we always ship.
Yes. Headless Shopify with Hydrogen, headless WordPress with an Astro or Next.js front end, and fully decoupled stacks with a dedicated headless CMS and a separate commerce backend are all builds we do. Decoupled is genuinely the right call for some projects (high-traffic, editorial complexity, performance-critical, multi-channel publishing) and unnecessary complexity for others. We will be honest in the scoping call about whether your project is on the right side of that line; if it is not, a tuned monolith is often the better answer.
Yes. Typical handovers involve auditing the existing codebase, infrastructure, integrations, and security posture; documenting what is there; flagging risk areas (outdated dependencies, missing tests, absent observability, weak CI/CD); and quoting the catch-up work needed to bring the project to a maintainable baseline. The audit is upfront so you know the state of the asset before we commit to a retainer. We have inherited builds in good shape and builds that needed considerable triage; either way, the audit comes first.
Optional engineering retainer covers dependency updates with staging tests, security patching as CVEs land, observability review, performance regression checks, and included engineering time for feature work or platform changes. Treated as continuous engineering, not break-fix. Or pay project-by-project as new feature work comes up. No long-term lock-in either way.
Hosting recommended (and configured) in your name. Cloudflare Pages for static and Astro builds, Vercel for Next.js and Nuxt where the framework features earn it, Netlify where the deploy pipeline fits, Kinsta or Cloudways for managed WordPress hosting. CDN strategy planned around your traffic geography. Hosting bills come to you, not us; we are not the gatekeeper. If you want us to manage hosting ongoing as part of a retainer, that is fine too.
Yes, from day one. Source code in your Git repository, infrastructure in your name, every credential and deploy script handed over with documentation written for the next developer. No licences in our agency's name, no agency-as-gatekeeper. You can move the build to another team or run it in-house at any point; the handover is clean by design, not on request.
Everything we do
Pick any other engagement that fits your business, or take the whole stack from one senior team.
Custom Shopify themes, performance-tuned from launch, conversion-led PDPs, SEO and Merchant Centre wired clean.
Custom WooCommerce themes that perform like Shopify, with the editorial flexibility and ownership of WordPress.
Custom WordPress sites built code-first as the default, with the option of a properly configured page builder when your team needs ongoing editorial freedom.
We update, back up, monitor, and patch your WordPress site every week so a stale plugin never takes your business offline.
Technical SEO, content, local, schema, and Search Console health, run as a retainer and measured against revenue.
Most Shopify SEO is left to an app that emits duplicate or invalid schema. We do the work in Liquid, where it belongs.
WooCommerce SEO done at theme and plugin level, not delegated to the Yoast WooCommerce add-on.
WordPress SEO done at theme, plugin, and hosting level, not delegated to a Yoast or Rank Math settings page.
We build Google Ads accounts around conversions: tight structure, clean tracking, landing pages that match the query.
Paid search, paid social, SEO, content, and analytics run by the same senior people, with reporting tied to pipeline.
Most PPC agencies run Google only. We run Google plus Microsoft Ads in parallel, with cross-channel tracking and audience strategy.
Shopping and Performance Max are the start, not the strategy. We run the full funnel for ecommerce accounts, with margin context, not just ROAS.
Shopify-specific Google Ads work: native Merchant Centre integration, customer-list sync, Shopify Audiences, and PDP-level CRO.
Service businesses optimise to form fills. We optimise to sales-qualified leads and closed-won revenue, wired into your CRM.
We run Facebook and Instagram Ads with senior account managers, server-side tracking, and continuous creative testing so spend earns its keep.
No templates. No page builders. Bespoke websites with Lighthouse 95+, SEO foundations baked in, and CMS controls that make sense.
Custom-built ecommerce, sized to your catalogue and ops. Shopify, WooCommerce, or custom-built; the platform follows the business model.
Cape Town-focused SEO: local pack and Google Business Profile, technical foundations, content, and GSC discipline, run as a retainer and measured against revenue.
Cape Town web design agency. Bespoke builds, Lighthouse 95+, SEO foundations baked in, CMS controls your team can actually use. In-person discovery meetings across the city.
Bespoke website builds engineered around your stack, your integrations, and how the site has to perform under real load. Custom code, headless where it fits, observability and security treated as deliverables.
Continuous CRO: diagnose where the funnel leaks, run hypothesis-led tests, measure against revenue, not vanity engagement metrics.