Custom application developers · Support and maintenance · Australia
Who looks after the app now?
The developer who built it moved on. The framework kept moving. BLACKBX developers look after custom applications and headless sites: upgrades, fixes and the features on your list, done and recorded in a logbook you own.
From $840 a month. No minimum term.
Sample, redacted. Every upgrade, fix and change, dated and in order. Yours to read any time.
The problem
Custom code, and nobody left who knows it.
The build
Built by a developer or an agency that has since moved on to the next project.
The gap
Dependencies age every month. Frameworks drop old versions. Every change waits until someone can learn the codebase.
Meanwhile
The feature list grows, and the upgrade you put off gets bigger every release.
Looking after code someone else wrote is our whole job.
What we work with
Beyond WordPress, Drupal, Magento and Silverstripe.
Applications, headless sites and the content platforms behind them. If your stack isn’t listed, ask: a developer will tell you straight.
Applications and front ends
- Next.js and React
- Node.js
- TypeScript
- Laravel
- Headless front ends
Content platforms
- Statamic
- Craft CMS
- Sanity
- Storyblok
Data and plumbing
- PostgreSQL
- MongoDB
- APIs and third-party integrations
- Docker
What’s included
Application support and maintenance, every month.
Wherever it runs now. We look after the code on top of it.
Our developers do the work
- Framework and dependency updates
- Security patches: critical issues straight away, the rest at the next service
- Version upgrades, tested on staging
- Fixes when something breaks
- New features and integrations
- Works wherever your application runs
We watch it
- Uptime checked every minute
- SSL and domain expiry dates
You get the record
- A logbook for your application, live and staging
- Every change and fix, dated
- Support tickets
How it works
From first call to first release.
Pricing
One monthly price. No surprises at renewal.
For custom applications
Maintenance
We look after the code. Your host runs the server.
From$840/month + GST
Developer hours each month, sized to what you need. Monthly, no minimum term.
Get your monthly price (opens in a new tab)Want us to host it too?
Full service, quoted. Your application on Google Cloud, AWS or our Australian servers, with the server patched and the code looked after. One party responsible for all of it.
About managed hostingBig application, big roadmap?
We’ll put a team on it. Developers sized to your roadmap, on a fixed monthly price.
Talk to us about a team (opens in a new tab)The price you start on is the price you renew on.
Compared
Three ways to look after a custom application.
| A freelancer | An agency retainer | BLACKBX Maintenance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dependency and framework updates | When they get to it | Usually included | Included, every month |
| New features and integrations | Quoted each time | Within the retainer | Included |
| Capacity | One person | Whoever’s free | A team that scales with your roadmap |
| When they’re on leave | You wait | Someone else, usually | A team, one number |
| A record of every change | Their commit history | A monthly report | A logbook you own |
| Minimum term | None | Often a fixed term | None |
Who we are
Fifteen years of building websites. Now we look after them.
BLACKBX is the website service department from UnDigital (opens in a new tab): same company, same developers. Some clients send us one change a month. Others have a full team on their application every month. Our team works out of Sydney, the Sunshine Coast and Ho Chi Minh City.
Websites we’ve built and looked after across the UnDigital (opens in a new tab) group.
You’ll always deal with a person, never an unnamed inbox.
Questions
Before you ask.
Which technologies do BLACKBX developers work with?
BLACKBX developers look after custom applications and headless sites built with Next.js, React, Node.js, TypeScript and Laravel; content platforms including Statamic, Craft CMS, Sanity and Storyblok; PostgreSQL and MongoDB databases; and the APIs and integrations that connect them. We also look after WordPress, Drupal, Magento and Silverstripe sites.
Can you take over an application someone else built?
Yes. That’s most of what BLACKBX does. A developer looks through the code and how it’s deployed before we quote, and from then on every change we make is recorded in a logbook you own, so the knowledge doesn’t leave with the next developer either.
How much does custom application maintenance cost?
With BLACKBX, Maintenance starts at $840 a month + GST. Our developers keep the framework and its dependencies up to date, patch security issues, fix what breaks and build the changes on your list. We’ll give you a fixed monthly price after the first call. Every plan is monthly with no minimum term.
Do you build new applications?
We look after applications that are already built. New builds and rebuilds are done by UnDigital (opens in a new tab), the build team behind BLACKBX, and launch straight into BLACKBX.
Do we have to move our hosting?
No. Maintenance works wherever your application runs now. If you’d rather hand us the hosting too, we run applications on Google Cloud, AWS or our own Australian servers: see managed hosting.
Can we keep our current developer or agency?
Yes. Our developers do the maintenance and yours can keep access. The access is granted and logged, and the logbook records our work.
Is there a minimum term?
No. Monthly, no minimum term. The price you start on is the price you renew on.
Talk to us
Tell us about your application.
A developer will get back to you, not a salesperson.
Tell us what it’s built with, where it runs and what’s on your list, or just that nobody’s looking after it. We’ll reply with a time to talk.
What happens next