A growing collection of articles, ideas, comparisons and useful resources about PHP development, UX design, SEO, websites and digital products.
Browse focused articles about Digital Products, the ideas, decisions and challenges behind building digital products.
A PHP budget management system may look complete in a demo, but its real value depends on more than dashboards and charts. From database design and security to installation, licensing and customisation, this article explores what developers should consider when choosing source code for a financial management project.
An app prototype and an app design may look surprisingly similar, but they serve different purposes. Drawing on my experience building digital products independently, I explore what each one reveals, what it can hide and why the process is rarely as linear as it appears.
Buying a source-code product is different from subscribing to software or hiring someone to build it from scratch. Developers, freelancers, agencies, founders and businesses can buy the same application for very different reasons. So what are they actually paying for?
Custom software and SaaS are often presented as competing solutions, but they serve different priorities. This article explores ownership, subscription costs, flexibility, maintenance and vendor dependence, alongside my reasons for building self-hosted software rather than operating a SaaS business.
Building a digital product costs far more than writing code. Planning, UX, documentation, screenshots, SEO, launch work, maintenance and constant revision all consume time. This article looks at the less visible work that turns functioning software into something another person can actually discover, understand and use.
Where does a website end and a web application begin? After building Cordinant beyond simple public pages into databases, admin tools and structured content systems, the distinction became much less obvious. This article explores the difference between websites and web applications - and the large grey area between them.
A collection of practical articles, product ideas, and resources on technical research, development, SEO and content for anyone interested in creating websites, apps and digital products.
Articles about building websites, tools and applications.
Explore articlesThoughts and articles about creating and selling digital products.
Explore articlesIdeas, concepts and practical thoughts for new applications.
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Explore articlesThe principles discussed in these articles are applied in real self-hosted products, not only described in theory.
A self-hosted PHP and MySQL personal finance application with transactions, reports, goals, exports and an installer.
View My Budget →An offline-first marine operations PWA with voyages, fuel, maintenance, crew records, checklists and optional PHP backup tools.
View Captain's Toolkit →Browse installable PHP applications, self-hosted starter kits and practical developer tools created with the same principles discussed in the blog.