08 · Resources
Building a web and mobile app for a small business
22 articles
Choose and price6 min
Business app: custom-built or off-the-shelf software?
Off-the-shelf software costs less as long as your way of working fits its boxes. Here are the signs that tip the balance towards custom, and the middle path that is often forgotten.
Understand6 min
Field team app: what it changes for your staff
Technicians, drivers, travelling sales staff, site crews: an internal app spares them paper, photos lost in a messaging app and evening re-keying. Here is what it changes, and what it takes for it to be used.
Choose and price6 min
Low-code or code: how far you can go without developers
Power Apps, AppSheet, Bubble, n8n: no-code tools let a business team quickly build useful tools, with limits on price, dependency and security. Here is where they excel, where they stop, and how to combine them with code.
Understand8 min
Offline apps: when the network drops out in the field
Basements, building sites, dead zones: an app that stops when the network drops sends the team back to the notebook. Here are the three levels of offline, what each changes for the team, and what it really costs.
Practical guide7 min
Publishing an app under your own developer account
The developer account that publishes an app holds its listing, reviews, users and revenue. Opened in your company’s name, it keeps you independent from your provider, as long as you start early.
Understand6 min
Push notifications: useful or uninstalled?
A useful notification brings people back to the app; one too many gets notifications switched off, or the app deleted. What makes the difference: when you ask for permission, what you send, and the settings left to the user.
Choose and price6 min
PWA or native app: which to choose for your business?
An installable web app (PWA) goes onto the home screen without going through the App Store or Google Play, and is enough in many cases, not all. Here is how to decide, and why we start with it.
Choose and price6 min
App back end: Supabase, Firebase or your own server
Behind an app’s screens you need accounts, a database, files and rules. Supabase, Firebase and your own server answer this in three ways, and each commits you to different things.
Understand7 min
Taking over an app abandoned by its developer
The developer no longer answers, the app still runs, but nobody knows how to update it. Here is what really belongs to you, the store deadlines that will not wait, and the method for taking over without breaking everything.
Stepping back22 min
Vibe coding: AI codes fast, the product stays human
AI has removed real technical barriers, but it has not removed what makes a product. What is true and what is false in "anyone can do anything with computers", with examples in both directions.