Software and web app architecture by Softlance
Architecture is the set of decisions that are expensive to reverse: how the system is split, where state lives, what talks to what, and which parts are allowed to fail. We make those decisions explicitly and in writing, before they get made by accident.
Engagements range from a two-week design sprint that produces a written architecture and a migration plan, through to embedding with your team for the duration of a rebuild. We do monolith-to-services splits, serverless and cloud-native designs, event-driven systems, database schema and sharding strategy, and technical due diligence for investors or acquirers.
We are equally happy to argue against a rewrite. A boring monolith that fits your team size is frequently the correct architecture, and saying so is part of the job.
What you get
Architecture decision records
Each significant choice written down with the alternatives considered and why they lost — so in two years nobody has to guess.
System and data-flow diagrams
Services, boundaries, data stores and failure modes, at a level of detail an engineer can build from.
Scalability and cost model
What breaks first at 10x load, what it will cost to run at each tier, and which optimisation to do only when you actually need it.
Migration plan
A sequenced, incremental path from where you are to where you are going, with a rollback at every step.
Tools we use for software and web app architecture
Chosen per project — this is the set we reach for most often.
- AWS
- Vercel
- Cloudflare
- PostgreSQL
- Redis
- Kafka
- Docker
- Kubernetes
- Terraform
- OpenTelemetry
Web App Architecture — frequently asked questions
When do we need an architect rather than more developers?
When the cost of a feature is rising instead of falling, when deploys are frightening, when one slow query takes down unrelated parts of the product, or when you are about to commit to a platform decision you cannot cheaply undo. More developers on a bad structure makes all of those worse.
Should we move to microservices?
Usually not yet. Microservices trade a code problem for an operations problem and only pay off past a certain team size. We assess honestly and often recommend a modular monolith with clear internal boundaries — which is also the cheapest path to services later, if you ever need them.
Can you do technical due diligence?
Yes. We review architecture, code quality, security posture, dependency and licence risk, test coverage and key-person risk, and deliver a report investors or an acquirer can act on, with severity ratings and remediation costs.
How long does an architecture engagement take?
A focused design sprint producing written architecture and a migration plan is typically two to three weeks. Embedded work through an implementation runs as long as the rebuild does.
Related services
Software Solutions
End-to-end custom software development tailored to your business needs, built for scale and performance.
AI Architecture
Strategic AI integration blueprints — LLM orchestration, RAG pipelines, vector databases, and ML ops.
Web Development
Full-stack web applications with modern frameworks, optimized for speed, SEO, and seamless user experience.
Need software and web app architecture?
Tell us what you are building. You get a written scope and a fixed quote before any work starts — from a real engineer, not a form.
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