Websites, marketplaces & products, made to be seen.
A small studio that builds websites, marketplaces and web apps for companies that have outgrown templates, and stays on after launch.
Selected work
All work- Private client
A subscription magazine platform, from upload to page turn
A private platform for a magazine publisher. Readers subscribe or buy single issues and read each one as a real flipbook in the browser, and the publisher’s team publishes new issues from their content editor. We designed and built all of it, and we look after it.
View case studyDemo contentShown on a demo build of the platform. The magazines are free publications from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, used only to demonstrate it: The Met is not a client, and the issues aren’t sold.
- Creekside Communities
One platform behind every Creekside Communities website
Creekside Communities runs manufactured home and apartment communities in Michigan. We built one platform that gives every property its own website, with its own look, listings and pages. Three are live, with more Creekside Communities properties to follow.
View case study - Better Abode
The front end of a home-services marketplace, and the design system behind it
Better Abode helps homeowners find vetted local contractors. We lead the front end: the design system every page is built from, the pages homeowners see, built with their engineer, and an interactive map of every state.
View case study - Flare Web Design
Our own site, built as the proof
flarewebdesign.com is the first piece of our work a prospective client sees, and usually the only one before they decide whether to call. So we built it the way we build for clients, and made it prove the pitch instead of describe it.
View case study
A note from the founder
Flare is small on purpose. I take on a few projects at a time and lead each one myself, so the engineer on your first call is the one responsible for your platform. When a project needs more hands, I bring in people I trust, and I stay accountable for all of it.
What I care about most is what happens after launch. A platform should keep getting better, your team should be able to run it without calling me for every change, and if you ever move on, it should go with you without a fight.
If that sounds like the way you want to work, tell me what you’re building.
Why teams choose Flare
How we build- Prices on the website
Every sprint, build and plan has a published price, so you know the range before the first call.
- A fixed quote, agreed first
Every build has a fixed price before it starts. For a marketplace or product, it comes out of a discovery sprint whose fee comes off the build.
- You own what we make
The platform and its code are yours once the work is paid for, whoever hosts it.
- No handoffs, start to finish
Strategy, design, engineering and aftercare are led by the person who started your project, so nothing is lost along the way.
What we build
Much of the work is the part nobody sees: the content system your team edits, the integrations behind a checkout, and the speed and structure that get you found, in search and in AI answers.
- WebsitesMarketing sites your team can edit themselves, built to load fast and keep your search rankings.From $20k
- Multi-location platformsA website for every location from one platform: a setup fee once, then a flat monthly fee per site.From $30k
- MarketplacesTwo-sided platforms: listings, search, payments and payouts, and the admin tools to run them.From $40k
- Digital productsCustomer portals, SaaS products and internal tools that replace spreadsheets.From $40k
- After launchSecurity updates, fixes and new features, from the people who built it.From $950/mo
How a project works
- 1Scoped firstA fixed quote before you commit
A website is scoped on a call. A marketplace or product starts with a discovery sprint: one to two weeks and $5,000, taken off the build, ending in a working prototype, a plan and the quote.
- 2Fixed priceThe build
Led start to finish by the engineer from your first call, with a review every week or two and a private link to the latest version.
- 3From $950/moAftercare, if you want it
Security updates, fixes and new features. Pause or cancel anytime.
Questions
What is Flare Web Design?
Flare Web Design is a founder-led design and engineering studio in Detroit, building custom websites, marketplaces and web apps, such as customer portals and SaaS products, for companies across the US since 2015.
How much does a project cost?
Websites start at $20,000 and most land between $20k and $60k. A platform that gives each of your locations its own site starts at $30,000, then $200 a month per site. Marketplaces and products start at $40,000 and are scoped in a $5,000 discovery sprint that is credited to the build. Every build gets a fixed quote, and payment plans are available.
Who owns the finished platform?
You do. Once it is paid for, the platform and the code written for it are yours. We can host and maintain it for you as a managed service, or set it up in your own accounts, and either way there is no lock-in: if you leave, it goes with you. Flare keeps its own reusable tools and frameworks and gives you a permanent license to use them, so nothing you depend on can be taken away.
Do you use AI to build?
Yes, as a tool. AI helps us move faster on routine work. A senior engineer designs, reviews and is accountable for every line that ships, and nothing is built from templates or unreviewed generated code.
We already have a prototype. Can you take it from here?
Yes. A launch-ready sprint, from $7,500, audits and hardens a prototype built with AI tools or by a previous team, covering security, payments, performance and the flows that matter, and gets it into production.
Where are you based?
Flare is based in Detroit, Michigan, and works with clients across the United States.