The ZPD Difference
A liberating alternative to SaaS solutions and long-term contracts!
A liberating alternative to SaaS solutions and long-term contracts!
I have the benefit of being the sole-designer, developer, and support structure for all of the applications I create. This equates to a custom-tailored experience and direct one-on-one support from the source. I don't like gimmicks and I appreciate value as much as you do! This page serves to help you weigh the custom development services I provide over going with some big-name software as a service (SaaS) provider. I am a small business owner myself, and I hope you will allow me to have the opportunity to impress you and your customers.
Design and develop modern, compelling, and customer-focused web solutions that drive results. Deploy all in one products that integrate with the client's brand and infrastructure. Disrupt current software as a service models by giving control back to clients through MIT licensed code, maintained and distributed as the client sees fit. Provide consultation and training for small businesses to grow their brand and online presence. Maintain a simple, affordable and competitive pricing model that is flexible to the customer's particular budget and needs.
What you can accomplish with a self-hosted application is only limited by your imagination. The demand for companies to carve out a profitable space online continues to grow. Website and web applications provide a truly cross-platform solution unrestrained by location and OS.
I think the better question to ask, is who doesn't! Medical Offices, Charities, Freelancers, Small-Business Owners, Vehicle Dealerships, Government Applications, Schools and Universities, and Restaurants to name just a few.
I help you get your idea online and retain ownership. You pay a one-time cost for the development but you remain in control. You don't pay recurring fees, and you get the code which gives you flexibility to scale in the future!
Squarespace will cost you between $588-$780 per year in perpetuity, not including domain fees - and you are still renting that space. You expect your business to stick around right? That price tag comes with a commitment to limitation and constraint under the guise of "ease of use."
While some online WSYIWIG web design services might actually seem like a bargain up front, that's all it is: a graphical design with one or two built in tools to help with e-commerce; Your business will need more. Don't fall for the "no-code" hype.
For that same price, I could get you up and running with a custom site, coded how you need it from the start. Need content authoring tools baked in a la Wordpress, without the Wordpress? No problem! And guess what, you will own it, it will integrate how you need it to, and you can easily move it wherever you want!
Software as a service (SaaS) is by definition: software you are licensed to use that some company serves up for you either online or locally using some licensing mechanism. The word service denotes something provided "over time." This equates to recurring payments and no right of ownership - more on that later.
Since someone is hosting the software and provides it to a large population of users just like you, there is always a limit on the amount of resources offered to you. if you want more, you got to pay up - every month. Uptime and resource packages are regulated by the company you're paying.
A part of the SaaS model involves supporting the software being provided. Unfortunately, support is limited to the functionality of the application, what is beneficial to the large-scale development process, and the vision of the providing entity a.k.a them, not you. This also leads to integration and data control issues.
Speaking into support, you should also consider that customization is not usually possible in most SaaS applications. So, if it doesn't do what you need, you either have to find another solution, or buy into another service for that aspect of your business. This equates to more recurring payments and multiple systems on someone else's platform.
Who owns your data? I hope you read that long EULA! Regardless of whether you did or not, your company's data is sitting on someone else's servers, and should you need access to it for integration into other systems, most SaaS solutions respond with "I'm sorry this is not possible and doesn't meet the terms of service", leaving you stuck and frustrated.
The bottom line is that you could end up investing thousands of dollars for an impermanent solution that is at the mercy of the market. At the end of the day you will walk away without the data and kick yourself for not doing what the big names do, and do it yourself. Think it costs a lot? Think again.
The web runs on opensource and internationally recognized, standards-based, technologies. In all of the projects I build that boils down to this: no license or support fees to maintain or implement a solid, future-proof solution for you!
The type of code that is executed or interpreted by browsers and generally viewable by any visitor to a site. I try to minimize the application of visitor-viewable code to a minimum and rely on it mainly for interface wiring and asynchronous actions such as front and back end communication and synchronization.
Client Side Tools I am Proficient with:
Code that is executed or interpreted by a web server such as Apache or Nginx and which is not generally viewable or accessible by visitors or the general public. These are the "wizards" behind the curtain so to speak. Things happen, but visitors don't get to see it in action and that's good for security.
Server Side Tools I am Proficient with:
In addition to the above proficiencies, I am also highly experienced in the full stack of GNU/Linux tools and utilities and web server software such as Apache, Dovecot, and Postfix. I am a Linux+ certified developer and use the wide array of available opensource tools to create solutions that integrate multiple disparate systems into a unified and cohesive stack.
Let's get the conversation started!
