I'm the person who answers the phone, writes the code, sends the invoices, and fixes things when they break. No handoffs, no account managers, no offshore teams.
I started Core Development back when the internet was dial-up and families had one computer in the lounge. Mobile phones were tiny and a txt cost 20c.
20+ years later I'm still here, still learning, still building custom online tools that make real businesses run better.
If you want a website or online system that needs to do something a bit more complex than a basic template can provide, you're in the right place.
My favourite projects are the ones where someone tells me "we've got this really annoying spreadsheet we've been wrestling with for years", and by the end we've replaced it with something beautiful.
Every project follows the same straightforward steps. You always know where things stand, what's coming next, and exactly what it's going to cost.
A quick call or site visit to understand what you're trying to achieve, what problems you're solving, and whether we're a good fit. No pitch, no pressure. Just a genuine chat. If I'm not the right person for the job, I'll tell you.
Once we've decided to work together, I dig into the details. Who are your users? What do they need to do? What does success look like in 12 months? Getting this right upfront means fewer surprises later for both of us.
I provide a detailed, fixed-price proposal covering scope, timeline, and deliverables. No hourly billing, no vague estimates, no invoice shock at the end. If something changes mid-project, we talk about it before any extra cost is incurred.
I design and build your site in stages, sharing progress at regular milestones so you can give feedback early. You'll see real, working pages as I go, so there are no surprises when we get to the end. We'll work together to get content loaded in so that you understand the back-end before the site goes live.
Before launch, everything gets tested thoroughly: cross-browser, mobile, performance, forms, integrations. You get a final review period to request any last tweaks. Nothing goes live until you're happy.
Launch day is smooth because we've planned for it. I stay working in the background to manage the hosting, support and ongoing changes.
Honest answers to the things clients ask me most. Can't see yours? Get in touch, I'm always happy to chat.
A fair question, and one I take seriously. Obviously your first reaction will be one of heartbreak and dispair, shortly followed by “what about our website!” Never fear, there are plans and procedures for this. In short, there’s no kill switch on the website - it’ll just keep running the way it always has. But then you’d soon be contacted by another developer who has access to all of my platforms and knows how I work, and they’d take over from there. You own the product so if you choose to, you could just pick up that code and take it to any other developer and it'll all keep working the way it always has.
No. WordPress can be a good tool for some people, but it comes with a long tail of plugins, updates, security patches and hidden costs that add up fast. For most business websites I build, a custom-coded site is faster, more secure, and cheaper to run over its lifetime.
If you're specifically after a Wordpress (or other template-based) site, let me know and I can put you in touch with other great developers who work in this area.
Off-the-shelf platforms are designed for the average case. You aren't average. Custom builds mean you get exactly the features you need, integrated the way your team actually works, without paying monthly fees for functionality you'll never use.
Custom also means no forced redesigns, no surprise price hikes, no vendor lock-in, and no compromise when you need to do something the platform "doesn't support". It's your system, built around you.
Most importantly, I think, you own it - as opposed to hosted systems where you’re simply “renting” the platform with a monthly fee, and they can change things at any point - a custom website will stay exactly as it is until you choose to change it. You’ll also never have to rebuild everything because “that version is out of date now” - we just gradually improve things over time.
In short, you do. Once a project is paid for, the source code, design, content, and all related IP belongs to you outright. No licensing fees or clauses that make it awkward if you decide to move on.
You can request a copy of the full source code, related files and databases at any time.
Absolutely - I work with a number of graphic designers and marketing agencies around New Zealand. You bring the creative direction, I handle the build, hosting and ongoing support.
I can build designs from almost anything, so you can work with whatever design software you're used to.
Yes, and I'd recommend it. I host all of my projects right here in New Zealand, so your site lives close to your customers and you've got one person to call when something goes wrong. No offshore support queues, no finger-pointing between providers.
Domain registration, email setup, DNS, SSL, backups, monitoring - I handle the lot. Most clients find it's simpler and cheaper than the patchwork alternative.
It depends entirely on scope. A simple landing page might be a few hundred dollars; a bespoke database-driven system can sometimes run into the tens of thousands. The honest answer is that I need to understand what you're trying to achieve before I can quote fairly.
Every quote is fixed-price where possible, with clear milestones and no surprise invoices. A quick phone conversation is usually enough for me to give you a ballpark figure.
Book a free consultation. No sales pitch, no obligation, just a good chat about what you do and whether we're a good fit to work together.
