Articles 26 guides and notes
Straight answers to the questions business owners ask me.
What to build, what it costs, who to hire, and what to do when something breaks. Written from real projects.
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Is this worth building?
Your business has outgrown spreadsheets. Here is what comes next.
Off-the-shelf software, custom software, or keep the spreadsheets. An honest look at all three.
7 min read
Something broke
How to rescue a failed software project
The developer stopped answering and the launch date has passed twice. Here is the order to work through it in.
6 min read
What will it cost, and who do I hire?
Solo developer, agency or offshore: an honest comparison
Three quotes for the same project can come back wildly different. Here is what you actually get with each option.
7 min read
Is this worth building?
Deciding whether custom software, an app, or a connection between your systems is the right next step.
Your business has outgrown spreadsheets. Here is what comes next.
Off-the-shelf software, custom software, or keep the spreadsheets. An honest look at all three.
7 min read
Replacing five business tools with one custom platform
At some point, five subscriptions and the staff time to bridge them cost more than one system that does the job.
6 min read
Connect your WordPress site to the systems your business actually runs on
No more copying data by hand between WordPress and your CRM, accounting or inventory system.
6 min read
Custom medical practice software, without the hospital-group price tag
Off-the-shelf practice management forces you into someone else’s workflow. Here is what building your own involves.
4 min read
What will it cost, and who do I hire?
What drives the price, and how to choose between a solo developer, an agency, or someone offshore.
Solo developer, agency or offshore: an honest comparison
Three quotes for the same project can come back wildly different. Here is what you actually get with each option.
7 min read
What actually drives the cost of custom software in South Africa
Why two developers quote such different numbers for the “same” project, and how to get an honest one.
6 min read
How to evaluate a developer’s portfolio (what actually matters)
Screenshots and client logos do not tell you if the work was delivered, or if it still runs today.
6 min read
Something broke
The site is down, hacked, crashed or just slow, and you need to know what to do right now.
How to rescue a failed software project
The developer stopped answering and the launch date has passed twice. Here is the order to work through it in.
6 min read
Your developer disappeared. Here is how to rescue what they left behind.
Secure your domain, hosting and code first. Then find out what you actually have before anyone says “start over”.
7 min read
My website was hacked: what to do right now
Strange content, a Google warning or a malware email from your host. Where DIY ends and calling someone starts.
6 min read
My WooCommerce store crashed after a plugin update. What to do right now.
A white screen or a cryptic error after clicking “Update”. Your data is almost certainly fine.
7 min read
WordPress and WooCommerce performance: what actually helps, what does not, and what I check first
The goal isn’t to optimise everything. It’s to cut the work your store keeps repeating.
7 min read
Shopify and Woo
Problems and migrations for stores already running on Shopify or WooCommerce.
Shopify checkout extensibility migration: what SA stores need to do
Customised checkout pages and Shopify Scripts are being switched off. What replaces them, and what to do before the deadline.
3 min read
Connecting your Shopify store to your ERP: how to stop copying orders by hand
Every morning someone types each Shopify order into the ERP by hand. Here is what connecting the two involves.
6 min read
How much of your Shopify store can you actually control?
Themes and app installs are the easy part. Custom credit logic, ERP sync and embedded workflows need an engineer.
6 min read
WooCommerce payment gateways in South Africa: PayFast, Yoco and Peach compared
Stripe doesn’t support South African merchants directly. The three real options aren’t interchangeable.
7 min read
When WooCommerce plugins are not enough: custom plugin development that actually works
A plugin that does 80% of what you need, or three plugins fighting each other. That’s when custom is the practical answer.
4 min read
How I work
Where I come from, what I build on, and the platforms and AI tools I run myself.
Why a software developer who ran retail builds software differently
I ran my own IT businesses in Cape Town for over ten years before I wrote code for a living.
6 min read
Why I run a single-stack software practice (and what is in the stack)
Why I committed to one stack in 2017, what it has shipped, and what it doesn’t try to do.
6 min read
Next.js: the stack the AI pipelines run on
The one web framework underneath antondevilliers.com, BX1X and the SEO AI Toolbox.
6 min read
The engineering recipe behind a Cape Town service page that reached page one
A case study for technical readers: how one service page was built to be found.
5 min read
For developers
Technical notes: code, tutorials and build write-ups. No sales pitch. If you run a business you can skip these, or forward one to your developer.
A custom Node.js API and PostgreSQL layer over WordPress MemberPress
A 2023 case study, still in production, for when a plugin’s API cannot return the data a dashboard needs.
6 min read
Retrieving key values and paths from JSON objects in JavaScript
Find a value, or the full path to it, inside a deeply nested JSON object.
3 min read
Google Calendar API: adding custom fields it did not support (2015 case study)
A 2015 workaround, kept as a case study in extending an API beyond what it officially supports.
6 min read
Show random WooCommerce products from a category
A custom shortcode for random products from a category, written for a store on the Avada theme.
3 min read
Gatsby-powered websites (2020 build note)
A short note from rebuilding this site in Gatsby, React and GraphQL. Kept for the record.
6 min read
Your question isn’t here? Ask me. You’ll get a straight answer.
+27 87 150 9305Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 20:00 SAST. Or email info@antondevilliers.com.