When a business decides to invest in creating a web application, they need to choose whether to build from scratch or use a platform that gives them functionality out of the box.
Each of these options comes with its own costs and considerations. The table below compares building a project on Insites, against building the same required functionality from scratch in a bespoke software solution.
You must clearly document all the requirements, including mock-ups, process flows, all possible fields, error handling and user interactions.
Included functionality is already documented for you. You need only define the custom elements of your project.
You will need to develop every piece of functionality, including ones that might be easy to forget (user management and permissions, site maps, site search, etc).
Insites includes an ever expanding range of core functionality that does not need to be developed by you. Simply spend your focus and budget on custom workflows or business logic which is specific to your business.
You will need to test every process that is built to ensure it behaves exactly as expected.
Insites uses an automated test process for all included functionality. Tests only need to be carried out for the custom aspects of your project.
You will need a dedicated resource to manage the software that you build. This can be outsourced, however as the project becomes more custom/specialist, the cost of maintenance increases.
Insites is responsible for making sure that the system is reliable. Insites handles all the platforms updates, security and browser updates to keep your application running smoothly.
Custom software can take many months to build. This lead time makes it difficult to know if the decisions that you make now are correct.
As you can implement Insites in a matter of minutes, you can start to refine what you need and remove uncertainty quickly.
You must define all systems to integrate with to handle your business functions (sending emails, collecting payments, monitoring traffic, etc).
Insites includes many integrations out of the box, including emails, SMS, online payments and analytics. You can also add custom integrations via the powerful Application Programming Interface (API).
Bespoke projects mean that you take on all risks associated with the project.
Insites removes the risks from large parts of the project by giving a known and predictable output in a faster time.
Custom software projects can be unpredictable and take a long time to complete. Documentation and requirement gathering alone can be more than 1 month of effort.
Insites can be up and running in a matter of minutes. You can start to add custom requirements in small increments and see the results of the work much faster.
You will typically need to pay one third to 50% of a project to commence work. As the overall cost of the project will be higher, the upfront costs can be high.
Insites offers a wide variety of subscription costs, with monthly and yearly invoicing. With the added advantage of free staging instances, there is no upfront costs to try and use the platform. Only pay when you are ready to launch.
You will need to pay the full cost of maintaining the software, which includes security patches, upgrading infrastructure and ensuring the platform runs smoothly. This is before you pay the cost for any future features or improvements that you want to see in the software.
As part of the Insites subscription, you will receive regular maintenance updates for your version of the software. Insites handles all updates and minor fixes to keep your project up to date. You can focus more of your budget towards building features or improvements that you want to see.
Build From Scratch
You must clearly document all the requirements, including mock-ups, process flows, all possible fields, error handling and user interactions.
You will need to develop every piece of functionality, including ones that might be easy to forget (user management and permissions,, site maps, site search, etc).
You will need to test every process that is built to ensure it behaves exactly as expected.
You will need a dedicated resource to manage the software that you build. This can be outsourced, however as the project becomes more custom/specialist, the cost of maintenance increases.
Custom software can take many months to build. This lead time makes it difficult to know if the decisions that you make now are correct.
You must define all systems to integrate with to handle your business functions (sending emails, collecting payments, monitoring traffic, etc,).
Bespoke projects mean that you take on all risks associated with the project.
Custom software projects can be unpredictable and take a long time to complete. Documentation and requirement gathering alone can be more than 1 month of effort.
You will typically need to pay one third to 50% of a project to commence work. As the overall cost of the project will be higher, the upfront costs can be high.
You will need to pay the full cost of maintaining the software, which includes security patches, upgrading infrastructure and ensuring the platform runs smoothly. This is before you pay the cost for any future features or improvements that you want to see in the software.
Insites
Included functionality is already documented for you. You need only define the custom elements of your project.
Insites includes an ever expanding range of core functionality that does not need to be developed by you. Simply spend your focus and budget on custom workflows or business logic which is specific to your business.
Insites uses an automated test process for all included functionality. Tests only need to be carried out for the custom aspects of your project.
Insites is responsible for making sure that the system is reliable. If you choose a Combinate Management Plan, we will handle all updates and minor fixes to keep your project running smoothly.
As you can implement Insites in a matter of days, you can start to refine what you need and remove uncertainty quickly.
Insites includes many integrations out of the box, including emails, SMS , online payments and analytics . You can also add custom integrations via the powerful Application Programming Interface (API).
Insites removes the risks from large parts of the project by giving a known and predictable output in a faster time.
Insites can be up and running in a matter of days. You can start to add custom requirements in small increments and see the results of the work much faster.
Insites charge a Licence Fee for access to the platform. We charge a Customisation Fee to configure the platform to your business. This cost is much lower than building all of the software from scratch.
As part of the Insites License Fee, you will receive regular maintenance updates for your version of the software. If you choose a Combinate Management Plan, we will handle all updates and minor fixes to keep your project up to date. You can focus more of your budget towards building features or improvements that you want to see.
We chose to build our website on Insites due to its flexibility, out of the box features and integrations. The ability to customise every part of our website and client portals has helped our business like no other platform beforehand.
I've worked with many software platforms and built numerous integrations, however Insites has changed the game by having all of the necessary tools in the one platform. The developer experience is second to none and my clients love using it as well.
Switching to Insites has revolutionised our agency. We no longer have to spend precious time setting up and managing complex backend infrastructure. The pre-built functionalities and seamless integrations have significantly accelerated our development cycles.
Working with Insites has been an absolute game-changer for our business. The platform allows us to get to market faster than ever before. Multiple departments are leveraging the power and flexibility of the platform and we are exploring other areas of the business that can benefit from this great technology.
Choosing Insites to create our painter and builder portal was one of the best decisions we made. The platform has allowed us to create a unified mobile app and web portal with centralised data and user management. We love that the platform is constantly releasing new features and listening to our feedback.
Try Insites for as long as you like with our free Starter plan and free Staging instances. Purchase a Production instance when you are ready to go live.
