Vancouver is an expensive place to build software in. A senior developer here costs as much as anywhere in North America, the good ones are spoken for, and if you are not technical yourself you are hiring on faith. Meanwhile the work still needs doing: the website that should be bringing in leads, the app your customers keep asking for, the back-office system you are holding together with spreadsheets and goodwill. Techalyst exists for exactly that gap. We are a Vancouver software studio that builds the thing properly, without you having to staff an engineering team to get it.
We are not a web design shop that also dabbles. We build websites, web applications, mobile apps, custom business software and AI automation, and we run our own products on the same stack, so we live with the decisions we make.
Who we build for in Vancouver
The city's business mix is unusual, and it shapes the work. There is the startup cluster along the Broadway corridor and around Mount Pleasant and Gastown, founders who need a real product, not a prototype. There are the trades spread across the North Shore, Burnaby and out into the Fraser Valley, plumbers, electricians, roofers and towing operators whose next ten years of leads come down to whether they show up on a phone. There are the clinics, law firms, accountants and salons on every commercial street from Kerrisdale to Commercial Drive. And there are the agencies who need an extra team that can actually ship.
Vancouver is also one of the most multilingual business cities in the country. Plenty of the companies we build for serve customers in Cantonese, Mandarin, Punjabi, Tagalog or Farsi as much as in English, and we build for that reality rather than assuming everyone arrives reading the same language.
What ties all of them together is the same problem: hiring a developer here is slow, costly and risky, and a studio gives you the capability without the headcount.
Websites that bring in work
Most businesses do not need a clever website. They need one that loads fast, reads clearly, and turns a search into a phone call. We build exactly that.
- Web development in Vancouver — the broad overview of how we approach the web side.
- Website development in Vancouver — straightforward, fast marketing sites that convert.
- Ecommerce development in Vancouver — selling online, properly.
We also build sites tuned to specific trades and professions, where the words, the layout and the local search intent are different for each one:
- Plumber, electrician, HVAC, roofing and towing companies
- Auto repair shops, salons and spas and gyms and fitness studios
- Dental clinics, physiotherapy clinics, law firms and accountants
- Real estate and restaurant online ordering
Web apps and custom software
When a business outgrows off-the-shelf tools, the spreadsheets multiply and people start doing by hand what software should be doing for them. That is where custom software pays for itself.
- Web application development in Vancouver — products and internal tools that run in the browser.
- Custom software development in Vancouver — built around how your business actually works, not the other way round.
- Invoicing app development in Vancouver — quoting, billing and getting paid, your way.
Mobile apps
If your customers live on their phones, that is where you need to be. We build for both app stores and tell you honestly when one codebase will do and when it will not.
- iOS app development in Vancouver and Android app development in Vancouver — native, when an app needs it.
- Flutter and Ionic development — one codebase to both stores, when that is the smarter spend.
AI and automation
The useful end of AI for most Vancouver businesses is not a chatbot for show. It is the work that quietly eats hours every week, and the calls and messages that go unanswered after closing.
- AI automation in Vancouver — automating the repetitive parts of how your business runs.
- AI answering service in Vancouver — so an enquiry after hours does not become a lost customer.
- Software and automation without hiring a developer — the whole technical side handled for you.
The stack we build on
If you already know what you want built with, or you are a technical founder judging who to trust, here is what we work in every day.
- Laravel and PHP for backends and full applications.
- Vue.js, React and Node.js for front ends and real-time work.
A lot of this work now arrives the same way: someone built a promising MVP with an AI tool, it demos well, and then authentication, payments, data and security all need to become real. We take those the rest of the way, or review the code and hand you a written plan. You stay the owner.
Payments and integrations
Taking a payment is easy. Subscriptions, refunds, failed payments and the records that have to match to the cent are where the care goes, and Canadian businesses rarely get to pick their gateway.
- Stripe and PayPal integration.
- Moneris, Worldline and Square, the gateways your bank or processor often hands you.
Why work with us
We write about what we build. Our blog has a deep run of articles on the frameworks, patterns and trade-offs behind real software, so you can judge how we think before you ever talk to us. We demo working software every week, we put discovery in writing, and you own the code, the data and the infrastructure outright with no lock-in.
We are based in Vancouver and work across the Lower Mainland, from the North Shore through Burnaby, Richmond and Surrey and out into the Fraser Valley, and with clients across Canada.
Frequently asked questions
Do you only build websites?
No. Websites are part of it, but we also build web apps, mobile apps, custom business software and AI automation. The web side is the most visible piece, not the whole of what we do.
Is it cheaper than hiring a developer in Vancouver?
For most businesses, yes. You get a team that already knows the work, without a six-figure salary, a long search and the risk of judging a hire you are not equipped to judge.
Do you work outside Vancouver?
We are based in Vancouver and work across the Lower Mainland and with clients throughout Canada. Most of the work happens remotely either way.
Can you take over something another team or an AI tool started?
Yes. Stabilising and finishing existing codebases, including AI-generated MVPs, is a regular part of what we do.
What does it cost?
It depends on the work, and we will give you a straight figure after a short conversation, with no obligation.