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Welcome to our notebook. Explore guides, comparisons and lessons from building websites, online stores and the systems behind them. Pick a topic, or see what catches your eye.

Browse topics / Custom Development

12 guides / Custom Development · Most recently updated first

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Custom Development

CMS · 7 min · Updated 2026-10-20

Sanity vs WordPress: Which Editor Fits Your Website?

WordPress is free software you host and keep updated, and your theme and plugins decide what its editor looks like. Sanity is a hosted editor set up around your content, paired with a custom website. How to choose, with a real client editor and five tasks to test.

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Architecture · 7 min · Updated 2026-10-20

Sanity vs Supabase: CMS, Backend or Both?

Sanity is a content editor for your website. Supabase is a backend: a Postgres database with sign-in, file storage and server functions. They don't compete, and many projects use both. Which one your project needs, with current prices.

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Guide · 11 min · Updated 2026-10-09

Custom Website Starting at $5,000: Scope Guide (2026)

How PandaCodeGen scopes its Scale tier, including migration, performance, support, payment, ownership, exclusions, and change control.

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Guide · 11 min · Updated 2026-10-09

How Long Does a Custom Website Take? A 2026 Schedule Guide

Build a defensible schedule from inventory, content, design, integrations, review, QA and cutover instead of a universal timeline.

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Guide · 35 min · Updated 2026-10-09

Can You Export Your Website? What 8 Platforms Let You Take

What Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, Shopify, WooCommerce, GoHighLevel and WordPress let you export, from their own help pages, and what to save before you cancel.

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Engineering · 6 min · Updated 2026-10-08

Product Catalog Website Without a Cart: Take Quote Requests

If you sell custom or made-to-order products, your website needs a catalog and a quote form, not a shopping cart. How we build one from a single product list, with a free example you can download.

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Pricing · 10 min · Updated 2026-10-08

Is It Cheaper to Build Your Own Website? DIY vs Hiring

Compare DIY website costs with hiring a developer: subscriptions, owner time, a one- and three-year example, and when paying for help makes sense.

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WooCommerce · 14 min · Updated 2026-10-08

WooCommerce vs Custom Website in 2026: A Requirements Guide

Compare WooCommerce, headless WooCommerce and custom commerce across capabilities, editing, performance, security, SEO, data, ownership, operating cost and exit.

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Measurement · 18 min · Updated 2026-10-08

Meta Conversions API Setup Cost: A Scope-Based Guide

Plan Meta Conversions API cost from events, systems, consent, matching, deduplication, QA and monitoring, with a carefully labelled Panda Patches screenshot.

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Guide · 12 min · Updated 2026-10-08

Do You Own Your Website? A Contract and Control Checklist

Check copyright, licenses, source access, domain, hosting, repository, business accounts, data, payment, and handover terms before onboarding.

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Pricing · 8 min · Updated 2026-10-08

Should You Build or Buy Software in 2026? A Cost Framework

Compare SaaS with custom software using current quotes, migration, maintenance, security, adoption, operating risk, and scenario-based break-even.

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Engineering · 14 min · Updated 2026-09-17

AI-Built Website Checklist: 8 Checks Before Launch and After Changes

Check enquiries, payments, mobile use and search access on your AI-built website. Eight practical checks, evidence to save and when to repeat them.

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