One developer.
No layers.
No nonsense.
I'm Kyle Duncan, a freelance web and software developer. I've lived in London my entire adult life and I've been building websites and systems for small companies since 2010.
For most of that time I worked with designers and creative agencies, building hundreds of websites, mostly in WordPress, for clients ranging from sole traders to listed companies, with a good number of financial and legal firms among them.
In the last two years the work has changed. I now design and build the systems behind a company rather than the website in front of it. Three examples of what that means in practice:
- A custom booking system that runs a travel company's whole season, from the first payment to the wristband at the door.
- A protected client area where a venture fund's investors log in to see their holdings and download their documents.
- Automated processes that replace the data entry, spreadsheets and half-fitting off-the-shelf tools a company has been living with.
Not long ago these were projects for a team and far too expensive for many companies to consider. The cost has fallen a long way since, which is what lets one experienced developer take them on, and it means you deal with the person doing the work rather than a project manager.
Much of my recent work has been for financial and legal firms, but the same approach applies to any small company with a process that has outgrown a spreadsheet.
[ The process ]
- 01
A conversation
In person or on a video call. You tell me what isn't working and I ask questions, mostly about how the work actually gets done today rather than what software you think you need.
- 02
A discovery sprint
One to three days depending on the size of the job, for a small fixed fee. I work with the people who'll use the system, take a copy of your real data, and build a working prototype on it. At the end you have something to click through, a firm price rather than a range, and a delivery plan. The fee comes off the build if you go ahead; if you don't, you keep the prototype and the plan.
- 03
The build
Fixed price, no hourly billing. You see working software within the first few weeks and we refine it together as it takes shape, because nobody gets everything right in a planning document. The admin screens your staff use get the same care as anything a customer sees.
- 04
Handover
The code, the documentation and the hosting are in your name. Another developer could pick it up tomorrow.
- 05
Afterwards
Most clients keep me on for improvements and the occasional question. That's on a simple monthly arrangement, and there's no obligation.
What I believe
I won't tell you something takes three months if it takes three weeks, I won't pretend there's a team behind me, and I won't recommend a custom build if an off-the-shelf tool would serve you better. I'd rather lose a job than build something that won't work for you.
Everything I build belongs to you: the code, the documentation, the hosting account. If you want to take it to another developer next year, you can.
The best software does exactly what it needs to and nothing more. Most of the over-engineered systems I've seen are the result of someone not understanding the problem well enough before they started.
Do you actually need me?
Possibly not. If you or someone in the company has the time and the will to learn it on the job, AI tools can now walk a determined person through most of it, and for a small job that can be a reasonable trade. It takes weeks or months of that person's time, though, and at the end they won't fully understand what they've built or where its weak points are.
If what you need handles money, holds client data or is something several people will rely on every day, that's usually where I come in. Either way, ask me and I'll give you a straight answer.
The AI bit
I use AI tools heavily, for code, testing and documentation. That's why one developer can now deliver what used to take a team, and why the price is what it is. It isn't why the software is good; that still comes down to judgement about what to build and what to leave out.
Technologies
Web: Next.js, React, WordPress, Shopify, JavaScript, PHP
Mobile: Flutter, Dart (iOS & Android from one codebase)
Databases: PostgreSQL, Supabase, MySQL, Redis
Infrastructure: Cloudways, Google, AWS, Cloudflare, Vercel, Kinsta
Payments: Stripe
CMS: Payload, Sanity, WordPress, headless architectures
Integrations: Google APIs, Microsoft/Office 365, MailChimp, QuickBooks, DocuSign, SalesForce, Pipedrive, Zendesk, HotJar, Mailerlite, WhatsApp, Instagram, Slack
Analytics: Google Analytics, Tag Manager, Search Console, server-side tracking, A/B testing