Commercial software & website development advice <3

[ThatDevAaron]

So we're planning to start offering up commercial software/website development, I wanted to ask UKBF the following questions;

1. Where can we promote this? Ideally places like UKBF, with a strong layer of commercial users.
2. I'd love to know how much you've, or people you know've paid for commercial development, and what you thought of the price/work done, and where they did the work from (made in the UK, or you hired a UK company and they did work from India).

The big problem I've faced with this industry//development-as-a-service is the lack of consistency I was able to secure, now it may have been due to commercial portfolio, or it may have been due to other factors.

-i'll post a new thread in some days asking about the company website in Web Reviews -

 

[Paul Norman]

I have been involved in this arena since 2008. Or, more precisely, one of the businesses I part own and of which I am a director has.
There are various ways of getting your software out there. Our main methods have been two fold.

1. We spent time talking to a small number of customers in the businesses for which our software was destined. This meant we had a good handle of the specifications required, and the needs of those business sectors. And, of course, at least one customer when the software was ready.

2. Subsequent customers have arise almost entirely from a combination of word of mouth, cold calling, and trade shows. Our main software products are relatively high value and therefore can support some level of marketing spend.

We have done all the development in house. Most of our development teams were recruited straight from the education system and upwardly trained by ourselves. They had decent basic IT literacy, but little business process knowledge - they learned that in the job.

 

[ThatDevAaron]

I have been involved in this arena since 2008. Or, more precisely, one of the businesses I part own and of which I am a director has.
There are various ways of getting your software out there. Our main methods have been two fold.

1. We spent time talking to a small number of customers in the businesses for which our software was destined. This meant we had a good handle of the specifications required, and the needs of those business sectors. And, of course, at least one customer when the software was ready.

2. Subsequent customers have arise almost entirely from a combination of word of mouth, cold calling, and trade shows. Our main software products are relatively high value and therefore can support some level of marketing spend.

We have done all the development in house. Most of our development teams were recruited straight from the education system and upwardly trained by ourselves. They had decent basic IT literacy, but little business process knowledge - they learned that in the job.

Great reply, however its less pushing our own software (we don't want to offer premade software commercially, yet), more around web/software development contracts.

 

[Paul Norman]

I see.

We have done some software development on a subcontract basis for other companies - usually middleware stuff.

Getting that work has been more incidental, for us, though, which is not exactly a helpful reply!

More specifically, through networking and building contacts over time. Lots of time.

 

[fisicx]

A longtime friend rents an expensive office in London and spends a lot of cash on enticing new clients. He attends events, networks (a lot), gets out and meets people and generally makes his name known to potential clients. It lands him million pound contracts. The sort of people he has as clients don't search google, use SM or forums. They all use referrals from their networks of contacts.

On the other hand. All of my customers are commercial. They all find me on WordPress or by doing a Google search. But the stuff I do is very niche.

 

[ThatDevAaron]

I see.

We have done some software development on a subcontract basis for other companies - usually middleware stuff.

Getting that work has been more incidental, for us, though, which is not exactly a helpful reply!

More specifically, through networking and building contacts over time. Lots of time.

A longtime friend rents an expensive office in London and spends a lot of cash on enticing new clients. He attends events, networks (a lot), gets out and meets people and generally makes his name known to potential clients. It lands him million pound contracts. The sort of people he has as clients don't search google, use SM or forums. They all use referrals from their networks of contacts.

On the other hand. All of my customers are commercial. They all find me on WordPress or by doing a Google search. But the stuff I do is very niche.

Do you think my best form of marketing this service, would be through networking events? (I'm based in London, so I have the ability to attend pretty great events)

Usually, organic clients don't spend much, <10k for complex projects, as its very competitive. I do think from social networking events I can certainly obtain clients with a higher budget etc

 

[fisicx]

Networking and looking like you aren’t short of cash. My friend wears a Rolex and designer suits as this seems to impress his potential clients.

If your projects are under 10k maybe you are targeting the wrong clients. I regularly get £5k projects just for a plugin.

 

[Shopclicks]

Usually, organic clients don't spend much, <10k for complex projects, as its very competitive. I do think from social networking events I can certainly obtain clients with a higher budget etc

I'd suggest that you look at the gov. and university tender portals as part of your marketing. If you can get in with a council or a university, they often lead to bigger projects. I've built several sites for councils just because I built one site for them and I become the first person they approach for quotes. I built a site for one of the big universities which led to a referral to a site build for a London law firm.

 

[ThatDevAaron]

I'd suggest that you look at the gov. and university tender portals as part of your marketing. If you can get in with a council or a university, they often lead to bigger projects. I've built several sites for councils just because I built one site for them and I become the first person they approach for quotes. I built a site for one of the big universities which led to a referral to a site build for a London law firm.

Any idea how to start with government or institutional clients? Considering we're fairly small, although without a doubt can compete in our local area firmly with websites etc for extremely great prices, so I have no doubt our work and price (I'd even do it for free depending on the job and commissioner) would be more than acceptable.

This would help me a damn lot <3

 

[ThatDevAaron]

Networking and looking like you aren’t short of cash. My friend wears a Rolex and designer suits as this seems to impress his potential clients.

If your projects are under 10k maybe you are targeting the wrong clients. I regularly get £5k projects just for a plugin.

idk about a Rolex, but I think investing in a nice suit etc for these events would be a good idea, definately sound advice.

I'd love to hear anything else you have to say, 2026 I'll probably start attending 1-2 events a month in London.

I think the fact I'm already based in London is a huge advantage for me to network, so I want to maximize my potential here.

 

[ThatDevAaron]

If your projects are under 10k maybe you are targeting the wrong clients. I regularly get £5k projects just for a plugin.

Plugin development is very lucrative yes, however that kind of development/addon to existing services most of the time isn't applicable to our current tech-stack and its capabilities.

 

[fisicx]

Not suggesting you do plugins. My point was about marketing. Target the right people and you get fewer contracts but much higher returns.

 

[Shopclicks]

Any idea how to start with government or institutional clients? Considering we're fairly small, although without a doubt can compete in our local area firmly with websites etc for extremely great prices, so I have no doubt our work and price (I'd even do it for free depending on the job and commissioner) would be more than acceptable.

This would help me a damn lot <3

For me, it's all about personal networking (I've never attended a networking event). I work out of a Coworking office and have many friends in the digital industry. I've built websites for all of them. They know and trust me to do the right thing by their clients. Reputation by word of mouth goes a long way.

I know SEO professionals, photographers, copywriters, etc. all of whom have contacts in their industry. I will often involve them in my projects as well and we have successfully tendered for larger projects as a collective.

My first brush with local council came about because I noticed one of their tourism websites had been hacked. I messaged someone who knew their comm's team manager. I ended up tendering for a total rebuild of that website and won. I've now built four of their websites.

I built a website for a coworking centre (not the one I work from). The owner knew someone who was on a university team looking to build a new website. I tendered for that build and won.

It's always a case of who you know & what you know.

This is the portal that councils in the North use to advertise tender opportunities. You register and get alerts when something you are interested in is published:

The Chest: North West Procurement Portal

www.the-chest.org.uk

There will be other portals for your area.

This is where Manchester University publish their tender opportunities:

The University Of Manchester Electronic Tendering Site - Home

In-Tend e-Procurement Solutions - delivering eTendering, contracts management, tender notification service and e-Auction tools to the public sector.

in-tendhost.co.uk

Again, register to get notified.

 

[Mark T Jones]

idk about a Rolex, but I think investing in a nice suit etc for these events would be a good idea, definately sound advice.

It depends. There are people who will be impressed by a Rolex and people who will laugh in your face, which can somewhat be defined by the sector you are targeting.

Similarly with networking events- some are generic, low-grade talking shops, others are clear and focused.

Whilst it won't hurt to get out there and start experiencing things, quality marketing starts with a clear focus on who your customer is, what need you are meeting and how you are different/better.

Once you xrack those 3, you will reduce and eliminate price wars and shabby competition

 

[ThatDevAaron]

For me, it's all about personal networking (I've never attended a networking event). I work out of a Coworking office and have many friends in the digital industry. I've built websites for all of them. They know and trust me to do the right thing by their clients. Reputation by word of mouth goes a long way.

I know SEO professionals, photographers, copywriters, etc. all of whom have contacts in their industry. I will often involve them in my projects as well and we have successfully tendered for larger projects as a collective.

My first brush with local council came about because I noticed one of their tourism websites had been hacked. I messaged someone who knew their comm's team manager. I ended up tendering for a total rebuild of that website and won. I've now built four of their websites.

I built a website for a coworking centre (not the one I work from). The owner knew someone who was on a university team looking to build a new website. I tendered for that build and won.

It's always a case of who you know & what you know.

This is the portal that councils in the North use to advertise tender opportunities. You register and get alerts when something you are interested in is published:

The Chest: North West Procurement Portal

www.the-chest.org.uk

There will be other portals for your area.

This is where Manchester University publish their tender opportunities:

The University Of Manchester Electronic Tendering Site - Home

In-Tend e-Procurement Solutions - delivering eTendering, contracts management, tender notification service and e-Auction tools to the public sector.

in-tendhost.co.uk

Again, register to get notified.

This is a gem, truly. Thank you so very much <3

 

[ThatDevAaron]

It depends. There are people who will be impressed by a Rolex and people who will laugh in your face, which can somewhat be defined by the sector you are targeting.

Similarly with networking events- some are generic, low-grade talking shops, others are clear and focused.

Whilst it won't hurt to get out there and start experiencing things, quality marketing starts with a clear focus on who your customer is, what need you are meeting and how you are different/better.

Once you xrack those 3, you will reduce and eliminate price wars and shabby competition

You're right, I'm still a bit deciding on the type of clients we want for contracted work, there are many different kinds, with different budgets and project requirements- I do want to target the institutions first-off, but I do think these networking events would allow me to somewhat grow brand awareness in our local city, amongst hopefully thriving entrepreneurs/non-technical founders.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Don't forget that the majority at networking events are only there to sell themselves and many will not be buyers in any form or interested in passing information onwards and upwards, bt this does depend on your product of course

 

[fisicx]

This is why I said you need to get out and meet people. Take them out for lunch, attend events, join clubs, go where they go. The golf course is a great place to do deals.

 

[ThatDevAaron]

This is why I said you need to get out and meet people. Take them out for lunch, attend events, join clubs, go where they go. The golf course is a great place to do deals.

Here in London these golf clubs cost so damn much I swear

 

[fisicx]

Here in London these golf clubs cost so damn much I swear

That’s the cost of doing business. You might spend £10k schmoozing prospects but end up with a £100k project with repeat work.

It really all depends on the sort of work you want.

Consider also they will do their due diligence (or get the intern to do the checks) and may be put off seeing cheap hosting deals. You need to impress them.

 

[ThatDevAaron]

Don't forget that the majority at networking events are only there to sell themselves and many will not be buyers in any form or interested in passing information onwards and upwards, bt this does depend on your product of course

I don't know. In these events, I'll likely be targeting startups // tech-startup-specific events, wouldn't you think most of these people would be have some sort of interest in a local tech company, especially since the kind of services we supply (even our hosting services actually, because once again, hosting is the foundation to everything on the internet, and we specifically do provide B2B hosting) are pretty vital/foundational to most tech companies. We're not necessarily, niche

 

[ThatDevAaron]

I don't know. In these events, I'll likely be targeting startups // tech-startup-specific events, wouldn't you think most of these people would be have some sort of interest in a local tech company, especially since the kind of services we supply (even our hosting services actually, because once again, hosting is the foundation to everything on the internet, and we specifically do provide B2B hosting) are pretty vital/foundational to most tech companies. We're not necessarily, niche

@fisicx - sorry to tag you, this post was in response to you as well

 

[fisicx]

Tech startups will already be inundated with offers of websites, marketing, SEO and other services. You will just be another person pushing product at a networking event. I know because I attended a number of them.

 

[ThatDevAaron]

Tech startups will already be inundated with offers of websites, marketing, SEO and other services. You will just be another person pushing product at a networking event. I know because I attended a number of them.

Where do you find your events usually if you don't mind me asking, I've been told by people to use apps such as Eventbrite etc

 

[fisicx]

Where do you find your events usually if you don't mind me asking, I've been told by people to use apps such as Eventbrite etc

It all depends on who you are targeting. The friend who gets the big gigs paid for a table at a big financial awards ceremony (he does a lot of fintech). Another person I know who does control equipment tech for government cold stores goes to international trade shows (often in the US). He also takes the local politicians for lunch.

I used to go to hotels near Heathrow. I wore polo shirts with my logo and a cheesy tagline. Got me some great gigs. And the Five Bells in Harmonsworth got me a tiny contract with American Express. This probably wouldn't work anymore, it was a long time ago.