WordPress and Shopify are excellent until the product is the software. Member portals, quoting tools, inventory dashboards, and multi-role logins turn a CMS into a pile of plugins. That is when a custom stack costs less over a year — not more.
MERN (MongoDB, Express, React, Node)
Use it when the interface is an app: filters, live updates, a React front end your team will keep extending. Good for SaaS-like tools, client portals, and anything that feels like a product. Our MERN work starts at $4,999 because you are buying application architecture, auth, and APIs — not five brochure pages.
LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP)
Use it when the business already lives in PHP, MySQL, and shared hosting — or you want a fast admin, reports, and forms without a separate Node ops story. Portals, CRMs-lite, and internal tools fit well. LAMP builds start at $3,499. We host-friendly on the same class of servers many US small businesses already use.
How we scope so you are not surprised
- Users and roles first — who logs in and what they can see.
- The five screens that matter, not a 40-page wishlist.
- Data you already have (spreadsheets, an old database) and what must import.
- A handoff: you own the code, and we document how to run it.
What we will not do
We will not “just add one more plugin” to a WordPress site that is already on fire. We will not start a custom app without a written scope. And we will tell you if a store theme or a WordPress build is the honest cheaper path.
Read MERN Stack Development and LAMP Stack Development, or send the workflow you want to replace.