A solid foundation.
Our focus is .NET websites. We bring design, content and the underlying application together, considering both visitors and the people managing the website.
Explore past client work ↗.NET development
Reliable .NET websites for small and medium-sized businesses, with room for the functionality you need.
Connected to your business.
We can discuss a new build or review an existing website before recommending a way forward. Tell us about your current framework, hosting and the connections you need.
- ASP.NET Core websites
- Bespoke website functionality
- CMS integration and development
- Connections to existing systems and APIs
COMPLEX CMS PROJECTS
Sitecore & Optimizely.
We can work on complex .NET and CMS projects using Sitecore and Optimizely (formerly Episerver), drawing on hands-on professional experience.
Tell us about your platform, existing implementation and the work you need. We can discuss how that experience fits your project.
EXPERIENCE BEHIND THE SERVICE
Professional experience. Practical capability.
This platform experience was gained through professional roles outside Abaca Digital client projects. It informs the expertise we bring to new work.
Discuss your CMS project ↗THE BUSINESS BEHIND THE WEBSITE
Simple on the surface.
Thoughtful underneath.
When pages need to do more.
A company website may only need service pages and an enquiry route. Other projects need to manage records, apply business rules or connect information between systems.
We start with the work your business needs to accomplish. That helps distinguish what a CMS can handle from the functionality that may need bespoke development.
Technology with a practical purpose.
.NET is the application technology behind our development work. For a business owner, the useful questions are what the system needs to do, who will use it and how it will be maintained.
We discuss those requirements before defining the technical solution. Features such as customer access, administration tools or external integrations need their own scope and acceptance criteria.
ILLUSTRATIVE BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS
What might sit behind your website?
Connected records
Properties, enquiries, projects or other business information with relationships that need to remain consistent.
Business workflows
Tasks with statuses, validation rules and a defined sequence, rather than information passed between separate spreadsheets.
System connections
Data exchanged with another application, where access, ownership, update frequency and failure handling need agreeing.
Administration
Staff tools that make the agreed tasks manageable, with access suited to each person's responsibilities.
These examples describe possible requirements, not features included in every website or claims about individual client projects.
Plan the data before the screens.
When a project has a substantial database, we need to understand what each record represents, how records relate and which rules must hold as information changes.
We discuss validation, duplicate records, imports and exports, and which system owns the information. A simple-looking screen can depend on considerable work behind it.
Using representative examples early helps reveal exceptions that a feature list alone can miss.
Connections need more than a link.
An integration depends on what the other system allows. We consider available interfaces, access credentials, data formats, update schedules and any usage costs.
We also discuss what should happen when information is missing or a connected service is unavailable. Those decisions affect the staff experience and the effort needed to build and maintain the connection.
Improving an existing application.
We can discuss taking an existing .NET website forward. Before estimating significant changes, we need to review the code, framework, database, hosting and available documentation.
A focused improvement may be appropriate; in other cases, a phased update or replacement needs considering. Existing data and day-to-day operations are part of that decision.
Agree how the system will be checked.
For bespoke functionality, the scope should define expected behaviour and important exceptions. Testing can then focus on the workflows, permissions and data changes that matter to the business.
Before launch, we discuss access, validation, error handling and the operating arrangements, including hosting, backups and ongoing maintenance. The responsibilities and level of support need to be clear.
SCOPING DEVELOPMENT
Start with the work.
Then the solution.
Do we need bespoke development?+
Not necessarily. If standard pages or existing CMS features meet the requirement, that may be a proportionate solution. Bespoke development is worth discussing when your workflows, records or connections require something more specific.
Can the first version be smaller?+
We can discuss a first phase built around the essential workflow, with later features prioritised separately. Dependencies and likely future data needs should still be understood before the first phase is designed.
What information helps you estimate the work?+
Examples of the tasks involved, the people using the system, records you manage, existing software and any integrations. For an existing application, code and technical documentation may need reviewing through an agreed access arrangement.
What affects development cost?+
The business rules, data relationships, integrations, access requirements, migration and testing effort. Complexity is not measured only by the number of screens. Ongoing hosting, licences and maintenance also need budgeting.
Who looks after the application after launch?+
That should be agreed as part of the project. Content changes, application fixes, platform updates, monitoring and backups are different responsibilities. We discuss the ongoing arrangement and what is included in support.