Appfront is a software developer for clients in Haarlem and the wider Kennemerland region. From our office on the Westerdoksdijk in Amsterdam, a good fifteen-minute drive via the N200, we build web applications, custom back-ends, integrations between systems and mobile apps. Code lives in your own repository, we work in sprints, and there is no vendor lock-in.
A software developer builds the digital infrastructure your organisation runs on, often a combination of components rather than a single product. For a Haarlem retailer, that might be a webshop with stock integration to the point-of-sale system. For a publisher, an editorial platform plus a reader app. For a healthcare provider, a patient portal that talks to the EHR. For an installation company, a field service tool with invoicing integration.
At Appfront we cover the full picture: web applications, custom back-ends, integrations with existing systems, mobile apps and the DevOps that goes with them. We are a building agency, not a pure strategy consultancy or a loose freelance layer, with a team that writes the code and puts it into production itself.
The difference from our app page for Haarlem: there we focus on mobile apps. Here we discuss the complete picture. Many Haarlem clients start with us on one concrete question, such as a new webshop, a replacement ERP integration or a custom back office, and gradually expand into broader software support.
A mid-sized Haarlem business often has a way of working that does not fit neatly into an out-of-the-box package. A custom web application or custom back-end keeps the process in charge rather than the software.
Webshop, point-of-sale system, accounting, email tool and CRM have all become separate islands. A software developer builds the integrations that let orders, customers and invoices flow automatically, with no more manual re-keying.
Many Haarlem media companies and publishers still run on editorial systems from the 2010s. Modernising to a maintainable stack, often in phases and in parallel with the old system, keeps you from ever facing a day when everything stops.
A scale-up in the Kennemerland region that suddenly processes four times as many orders, a tourism business that peaks in high season, or a care network that is expanding: software has to grow along with it. Sometimes that calls for a redesign, sometimes just better infrastructure.
We work with open, standard technology: TypeScript, Python, .NET, PostgreSQL, AWS or Azure. No low-code lock-in, no proprietary frameworks. All code is delivered into your own Git repository. Should you ever part ways with us, any other software developer can carry on from there.
We don't just write the code; we help you think through what you should really build, and what you're better off leaving alone. For mid-market clients in Haarlem, we often work directly with the board and the operations lead, without a filtering account layer.
We're neither a 250-strong systems integrator nor a lone freelancer. For clients in Haarlem and the wider region, that size is usually just right: enough capacity to take on larger projects, yet small enough to stay personal.
A cross-section of the work we do for SMEs, scale-ups and mid-market organisations in Haarlem and North Holland.
Custom web apps, portals and SaaS products. Web development →
APIs, data processing and domain logic that run on standard technology.
Integrations between ERP, CRM, point-of-sale systems, email and industry software.
iOS, Android and cross-platform. See also App development Haarlem.
Custom shops, headless commerce and integrations for local retailers.
CI/CD, infrastructure as code, monitoring and cost optimisation.
RAG, copilots, document processing and intelligent workflows.
Larger projects for mid-enterprise. See enterprise software.
Haarlem has a distinct economic profile: a historic publishing and graphic sector that is going digital, a retail sector that has to reinvent itself, a strong education cluster, a regional healthcare infrastructure, a tourism sector and a growing digital scene around places such as the Stadsbiotoop. Our clients often fall into one of these profiles.
Publishers, trade magazines and content creators rooted in Haarlem's printing tradition who now want editorial platforms, subscription flows, reader apps and headless CMS, often while the old system is still running.
Retailers around the Grote Markt, Anegang and Generaal Cronjéstraat facing retail overcapacity and online pressure, and needing to connect webshop, stock and shop floor through bespoke integrations.
Training providers, knowledge institutes and universities of applied sciences, such as Hogeschool Inholland and arts education like the Bavinck cluster, with use cases around student portals, learning environments, alumni platforms and research applications.
Practices, chains and larger healthcare settings, such as the Spaarne Gasthuis area, that want to modernise patient communication, planning tools and integrations with EHR or HIS systems, with NEN 7510 and GDPR built in from sprint one.
Museums, festivals, attractions and hotel chains in and around Haarlem building booking platforms, visitor apps and CRM integrations, often with strong seasonal patterns that shape the architecture.
Scale-ups and digital natives in Haarlem that have grown out of advertising, design or tech agencies and want to industrialise their product lines, with attention to architecture, scalability and testability.
We are a software developer and sparring partner. Many parties deliver software as a one-off handover: a web shop, a back-end, a mobile app, neatly delivered and then done with. We work differently. For us, software is a chain: the front-end talks to the back-end, the back-end talks to integrations, the integrations talk to your existing systems, and everything runs on infrastructure that needs to be maintainable. We manage that chain with you, or we handle the parts we don't build ourselves in close consultation with your existing IT partners.
In practice, we don't start with a feature list but with a conversation about what the software needs to solve, for whom, and how it fits with what you already have. A sprint is typically a week or two in which we combine design and build work. Delivery takes place in your own Git repository, with code your own team can maintain, and with a suitable handover or an ongoing maintenance contract.
We prefer to work directly with the people who will use the software later on, and with Haarlem clients that is often the owner or an operations manager. No middle layer, no account manager passing on the real work. Fabian van Dijk (fabian.vandijk@appfront.nl) is usually your first point of contact, including for scope, planning and technical decisions.
We are honest about what we are not: we are not a body shop supplying freelance developers by the hour, nor an enterprise consultancy of hundreds of people producing strategy decks. We work for clients in the small and medium-sized and mid-enterprise segment who want an engaged partner that builds and keeps building. Wondering whether that suits you? A half-hour introduction is usually enough to establish that together.
Software running in production is more than a nice front-end. It has to work under peak traffic, on a slow network, for the two-thousandth user and when the first serious customer question reaches support. We work with a stack suited to each project: TypeScript/Node.js or Python for most back-ends, .NET where the Microsoft ecosystem leads, React or Vue for front-ends, and PostgreSQL as the default database. For mobile apps, Swift, Kotlin, React Native or Flutter, depending on performance and budget requirements.
For hosting we work with AWS, Azure or a Dutch cloud provider, with EU data residency as the starting point. CI/CD via GitHub Actions or GitLab, infrastructure-as-code via Terraform, and monitoring via Datadog, Grafana or a simpler open-source stack, depending on what suits your scale. We don't build unnecessarily complex infrastructure where it isn't justified.
For systems that incorporate AI, such as a copilot in a back-office, a document processor or a recommendation engine, we work through retrieval-augmented generation on your own content. We build evaluations, logging and consent management from sprint one. For compliance-sensitive sectors (healthcare, finance, government) we start with a GDPR/NEN check and arrange the right documentation straight away, not as a separate phase afterwards.
Haarlem has a digital identity of its own. Historically it was a city of printers and publishers, and that DNA lives on in today's media and publishing scene, with companies now renewing their editorial systems. Haarlem is also strong in retail (particularly the city-centre economy, which faces a retail surplus and the need to combine digital and physical), in healthcare (with Spaarne Gasthuis as a regional anchor), in education (Hogeschool Inholland and arts education), in tourism (cultural institutions and visitor attractions), and in a growing digital scene around places such as the Stadsbiotoop and the Pakhuis.
For software development clients, this means: clients in Haarlem often have a sharp operational question (no tech hype) and want a supplier who can pop by quickly for sessions. That suits how we work: an office in Amsterdam, roughly 18 minutes' drive via the N200, with regular onsite sessions in Haarlem for longer projects. For most working days we work remote-first, with video sessions and shared repositories; for strategic sessions, user testing or stakeholder meetings, we join you in person.
We work in the same way for clients in Heemstede, Bloemendaal, Hoofddorp, Beverwijk, IJmuiden and the wider Kennemerland region. Would you prefer an overview of all our regions? Then take a look at our locations page. For organisations specifically looking for a mobile app, our app page for Haarlem is the right place.
A software project with us begins with an introductory call: half an hour to an hour in which we go through which problem you want to tackle, for which users, and which systems are already in place. That conversation is free and non-binding. Sometimes it turns out this doesn't need to be bespoke build: an existing package or an affordable SaaS solution will be sufficient. Sometimes: custom development is indeed the right answer.
Where there is a suitable use case, we plan a discovery phase. This is a short phase in which we sharpen the solution: which modules, which integrations, which compliance requirements, which user roles. We deliver a concrete plan with scope, timeline and budget, not a vague deck, but something you can make an internal decision on.
Then comes the build in sprints. At the end of each sprint, something working is running, even if it is initially limited. This helps to test design decisions early, adjust priorities and bring stakeholders along. We work in your own repository, with code review, automated tests and a staging environment you can use.
After go-live comes maintenance and ongoing development. Software requires upkeep: libraries change, security patches are released, and users request new features. We offer ongoing support or hand over neatly to your own team, depending on what suits you best.
More and more people are asking ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini questions instead of using Google. Below we answer the most frequently asked natural-language questions about software development in Haarlem, so that AI search engines can give a correct and complete answer.
A half-hour introductory call in which we go through the problem your software needs to solve, which users you have in mind, and which first step makes sense. No obligation — and all the more pleasant when you are comparing providers.
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