Web · Deep dive 02
Backend Development
APIs, services, and data layers that carry weight. Built to be read six months from now by someone who wasn't in the room when you chose the stack.
The scope
Backend engagements — from a fresh API to stabilising a legacy service. Node, Python, or Go. REST, GraphQL, or event-driven. Postgres as the default relational store; Redis, SQS, Kafka when they earn their place.
Does this sound familiar?
-
The API 'kind of works' but nobody wants to touch the auth flow.
-
Latency spikes during peak hours; the dashboard doesn't show why.
-
Adding a new endpoint takes a week because the data model is a maze.
-
Different services do auth in three different ways.
-
You know you should have tests. You don't have tests.
The customer payoff
What changes
What you feel once it’s running.
APIs that are predictable — consistent auth, error shapes, and pagination across every endpoint.
-
A data model that new features snap into instead of fighting.
-
Observability so the next latency spike is diagnosed in minutes, not hours.
-
Secure by default — input validation, rate limiting, and authz reviewed every release.
Phases
⏱ 6–12 weeks typicalHow Backend Development actually runs.
-
01
Read
Days one to three: code review, architecture call, data model walk-through. We write down what we find before we touch anything.
-
02
Stabilise
Hotspots first — whatever is costing the team the most time. Tests added where they protect the fix, not as a ceremony.
-
03
Extend
New endpoints, new services, new integrations. Built to the standard we just set.
-
04
Document
OpenAPI spec, runbook, onboarding notes. The thing your next engineer can actually read.
The hand-off
In the handover
What lands in your hands — every artefact, nothing hidden.
-
Deployed backend with CI/CD pipeline
-
OpenAPI / GraphQL schema kept in sync with the code
-
Automated test suite (unit + integration) targeting meaningful coverage
-
Observability stack — logs, metrics, traces
-
Data model docs + migration strategy
-
Secrets + access management sorted
The usual questions
-
Q·01 Node, Python, or Go?
We default to the language your team can hire for. If there's no team yet: Node for most, Python for data-heavy, Go when latency truly matters."
-
Q·02 SQL or NoSQL?
Postgres unless you have a specific reason otherwise. Relational data is the default answer because most data ends up relational anyway."
-
Q·03 Can you work with our existing backend?
Yes. About 60% of our backend engagements are stabilising or extending existing code. Two-day audit first to be honest about state."
-
Q·04 Who owns the infra?
You do. We deploy to your cloud, set up IaC (Terraform or Pulumi), and document it. No vendor lock to us."
-
Q·05 What about background jobs?
SQS / BullMQ / Temporal depending on durability + retry semantics needed. We'll pick and explain why."
Ready to start
Need a backend that reads well at 6am?
Two-day audit, honest recommendation, no surprises in the estimate. Let's see what's costing your team the most time.
Start a backend engagementThe wider map
Every service page at a glance.
Each link below opens a dedicated page on that specific piece of one of our four service pillars. Jump sideways — different service, same way of working.
Digital Product Strategy
Service overview →Web & Mobile Development
Service overview →- 01 Fullstack Web Development
- 02 Backend Development — you’re here
- 03 Frontend Development
- 04 Mobile App Development