Custom software guides Plain answers
before you build.
Short, practical guides for organizations planning custom software: what drives cost, when to buy or build, websites versus web apps, portals, low-code, redesigns, and how to make your first requirements meeting count. New to the vocabulary? Start with the glossary
01 Field notes
Read before
you request.
Each guide stands on its own. Start with the question you’re asking right now.
- GUIDE_01What Determines the Cost of Custom Software?The factors that shape a quote, and how to keep scope focused.
- GUIDE_02Custom vs. Off-the-Shelf Software: How to ChooseWhen to buy a product, when to build, and how to decide.
- GUIDE_03Website vs. Web App: What’s the Difference?How to tell which one you need, and why many projects are both.
- GUIDE_04How to Prepare for a Software Requirements MeetingWhat to bring, who to invite, and what you leave with.
- GUIDE_05Spreadsheet to Software: Signs It’s Time to UpgradeThe warning signs, and how to move without losing data.
- GUIDE_06What Is a Customer Portal?What customers can do in one, and when it pays off.
- GUIDE_07Low-Code vs. Custom Software: Which Fits?Where each approach shines, and where it struggles.
- GUIDE_08Website Redesign Checklist for OrganizationsGoals, content, search, and a launch that keeps rankings.
02 About these guides
General guidance.
Specific answers later.
These guides explain how custom software projects generally work, so you can arrive at a first conversation with clearer questions.
Every organization is different. The specifics of your project — what it needs to do, what it connects to, and what it costs — are settled in the requirements meeting and stated in your quote.