Frequently Asked Questions

Custom website costs in 2026 range from $1,500 for a designed marketing site to $50,000+ for a full SaaS platform. The fair price for a small-business website is $3,000–$8,000, an e-commerce site $5,000–$25,000, a custom web application $8,000–$35,000. The variables that move the price are scope clarity, integration complexity, and timeline. I send a written proposal with milestones and fixed deliverables before any work starts.

Both, depending on the project. Fixed-price for well-scoped work where the deliverables are clear upfront — better for clients who want budget certainty. Hourly ($30–$60/hour for senior full stack) for ambiguous, exploratory, or maintenance work. Milestone-based payments for medium-to-large projects so you only pay for completed phases.

Discovery and planning, UI/UX design, frontend and backend development, database design, deployment setup, SSL configuration, basic SEO (meta tags, sitemap, schema), 30 days of post-launch bug fixes, and full handoff documentation. Additional content writing, photography, and ongoing maintenance are quoted separately.

Typically 30% upfront to start, 40% on a defined mid-project milestone, and 30% on launch. For longer engagements I bill monthly against a written scope. I never ask for 100% upfront — that is a red flag from any developer.

No surprises from me. The recurring costs you should expect: hosting ($5–$50/month for most sites), domain registration ($10–$25/year), email service if needed ($6/user/month), and maintenance — budget 10–20% of build cost per year for security updates, performance tuning, and small feature changes.

Real timelines: a simple marketing site takes 2–4 weeks, a designed business site 4–8 weeks, an e-commerce site 6–12 weeks, and a custom web application 3–6 months. These are realistic with proper scope. Anyone promising a complex application in "2 weeks" is either lying or about to deliver something broken.

My process has five phases: 1) Discovery — a 30-minute call to understand goals and constraints. 2) Proposal — written scope, timeline, milestones, and price. 3) Design — Figma mockups for your approval before code. 4) Development — weekly demo on a staging URL so you see progress every Friday. 5) Launch — deployment, training, and 30 days of free bug fixes.

Yes. Every project gets a staging URL from week 1, updated weekly. You see real progress, not screenshots. Weekly Friday demos via Zoom or Loom so you can give feedback while it is cheap to change.

Small tweaks within scope are included. Larger scope changes get a written change request with a price and timeline impact. This protects both of us from "scope creep" — the #1 reason projects fail.

Yes. I sign mutual NDAs as a default for any project where you share business logic, customer data, or strategic plans.

Backend: PHP/Laravel (Eloquent, Sanctum, Filament, Inertia), Node.js (Express, NestJS), MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis. Frontend: React.js (Next.js, Vite), Vue.js (Nuxt), TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Bootstrap. DevOps: Linux, Nginx, Docker, GitHub Actions, Cloudflare, hosting on DigitalOcean, AWS, Hostinger.

Yes. I take over existing Laravel, WordPress, React, and Node.js projects regularly. The first step is a 1-week paid audit where I deliver a written report on code health, security, and prioritized improvements. After that we agree on scope.

I build mobile-first responsive websites and Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) that install on phones without an app store. For native iOS and Android, I work with trusted React Native specialists in my network — I project-manage and deliver the result.

Yes — every website I build is mobile-first. Mobile traffic is 65%+ of the web in 2026; building "desktop first" is professional malpractice. I test on real Android and iOS devices before launch, not just Chrome DevTools.

Yes — technical SEO is included in every project. That means: HTTPS, proper canonicals, XML sitemap, schema markup (JSON-LD), Core Web Vitals optimization, mobile-friendliness, semantic HTML, and accessibility (WCAG 2.2 AA). For ongoing content SEO and link building, I refer trusted specialists or work alongside your SEO team.

Security is built in, not bolted on. Every project includes: bcrypt/argon2 password hashing, CSRF protection, parameterized queries, XSS prevention, rate limiting, security headers (CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options), encrypted secrets, and OWASP Top 10 mitigation. Regular dependency updates via Dependabot.

Yes. After the 30-day free bug-fix period, I offer monthly maintenance retainers starting at $200/month for small sites and $800/month for active web apps. Includes security patches, dependency updates, backups verification, performance monitoring, and a budget of hours for small changes.

Maintenance clients get same-day response on weekdays and within 4 hours on critical issues. I monitor uptime via UptimeRobot and Sentry on every project I host. Most outages are resolved before clients notice.

Yes. Every project includes a 1-hour handoff session where I walk your team through the admin panel, deployment process, and common tasks. I record the session as a permanent reference. Additional training time is billable.

You do — 100%. Code is delivered via your own GitHub repository, hosting is on accounts you own, domains stay registered to you. I never hold a client hostage with proprietary tooling.

Yes. Every project ships with a README covering setup, deployment, environment variables, and architecture decisions. Critical business logic is documented inline. API endpoints get OpenAPI/Swagger docs auto-generated from the code.

I am based in Egypt (UTC+2) but I overlap with most global time zones. I have shipped projects for clients in the United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Germany, Canada, and Egypt. Async-first communication via Slack, Notion, or email — daily standups available for active projects.

Yes. 60% of my work is international. I invoice in USD or EUR, accept payments via Wise, PayPal, or international wire. I am comfortable with US/UK/EU contracts and provide W-8BEN or equivalent forms.

Yes. I have done embedded contracts where I join a client team via Slack, attend standups, work in their GitHub repo, and ship as if I were a full-time hire. Minimum engagement: 1 month at 20+ hours/week.

Yes — landing pages, bug fixes, and consulting calls under $1,000 are welcome. The minimum engagement is a 30-minute paid consultation ($75) where I deliver a written recommendation. From there we decide if a project makes sense.

I will tell you. The discovery call is free precisely so we can both decide honestly. If your project needs a different specialty, I will refer you to someone better suited. I would rather lose a project than deliver work I am not the right person for.

Three steps: 1) Send your project brief via the contact page — even a paragraph is enough. 2) I respond within 24 hours with either a 30-minute discovery call or a quick "this is not my specialty, here is who you should call." 3) If we are a fit, you get a written proposal within 3 business days. No proposals, no commitment until you say "go."

I currently take on 2–3 long-term clients at a time, working 20–40 hours/week per client. Full-time embedded contracts are available; full-time employment is not.

My typical lead time is 2–4 weeks for new projects. Urgent work is sometimes possible — ask. Maintenance and bug fixes for existing clients always have priority.

Three ways to verify: 1) Live URLs from past projects in my portfolio. 2) Client references on request. 3) A paid 1-week pilot for larger engagements — work alongside me on a small piece before committing to the full project.

I deliver on the written scope, on the agreed timeline, at the agreed price. Bugs in delivered features get fixed for free during the 30-day post-launch period. If I do not deliver, I do not get paid the final milestone — that is the whole guarantee.