INTERLAB
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The InterLAB blog.

Practical material on building websites, web applications, CRM, ERP, SaaS, integrations and digital product architecture.

Library · How to build

How to build sites, apps and AI products

Lessons along learning paths, step-by-step guides, tested code recipes and references — from UX/UI and programming basics to backend, databases, DevOps and AI.

Open the library 155 materials · 17 learning paths · 143 terms
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Web DevelopmentOctober 19, 2026

Mobile Version of a Website: Responsive, Separate or Rebuilt

Today the mobile version is built as responsive design: the same site at the same address adapts its layout to the screen width. That is what Google recommends, and Google indexes and ranks sites by their mobile version. A separate version on a subdomain such as m.site.kz is an outdated approach: it has to be maintained alongside the main site. The price depends on how your current site is built: if the layout can be adapted, it is a fix; if the site is built on a fixed-width template, a new site is the more reliable option. By InterLAB's references, a landing page costs 150,000–250,000 ₸ and a business website 350,000–600,000 ₸, with responsive layout included.

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Web DevelopmentOctober 19, 2026

Fix an Old Website or Build a New One

Fixing pays off when the site runs on a maintained platform, you hold all the access, and the problems are local: slow images, a broken form, outdated texts, separate layout errors on phones. Build a new one when the platform is no longer updated, you have no access to the code or hosting, the mobile version cannot be fixed without rewriting templates, or every change costs more than it brings. It is best to decide after a short technical review: it shows what exactly is broken and what it costs to fix — before you pay for a rebuild.

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ArchitectureOctober 19, 2026

How Much Does Web App Development Cost

InterLAB references: a web app MVP is 2–5 million ₸ and 6–12 weeks, a turnkey product 5–15 million ₸ and 2–4 months, complex systems with many roles and integrations from 10 million ₸ and 4–8 months. The price is made up of user flows, roles and permissions, integrations, data and reporting requirements — not the number of screens. A web app avoids two cost lines familiar from mobile development: app store publication and a second platform — one codebase runs in every browser.

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AI visibilityOctober 19, 2026

How to Get Into ChatGPT and AI Search Answers: What Depends on the Company

Assistants answer questions about companies based on what they can find: the search index, the website, map listings, directories and mentions. So getting into the answers means being accessible to their search crawlers, giving concrete facts on your site that can be quoted, and keeping the same company data in every source. There are no secret settings: Google states plainly that AI Overviews have no additional requirements beyond ordinary search optimization. Nobody can guarantee a place in an answer — you can work on the factors and measure the trend.

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MobileOctober 11, 2026

How much mobile app development costs

InterLAB's references: a mobile app MVP is 2–5 million ₸ and 6–12 weeks, a turnkey app is 5–15 million ₸ and 2–4 months, complex products with many roles and integrations start from 10 million ₸ and take 4–8 months. The price isn't driven by the "number of screens" but by scenarios, the backend, integrations and the number of platforms. Budget separately for recurring costs: developer accounts in the stores, the server and maintenance.

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CRM & ERPOctober 11, 2026

How much a custom CRM costs

A custom CRM is estimated against the same InterLAB references as any product: a first phase with the core pipeline falls within the MVP range (2–5 million ₸), a full turnkey system with roles, integrations and reporting is 5–15 million ₸, and complex systems bridging CRM and accounting start from 10 million ₸. The main price drivers are the number of pipelines and roles, integrations (telephony, messengers, 1C, Kaspi) and data migration. Before ordering, honestly compare the cost of ownership with an off-the-shelf CRM over a 2–3 year horizon.

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Web DevelopmentOctober 11, 2026

Website or web app: what your business needs

A website tells people about the company and brings in leads — the visitor mostly reads. A web app is a tool the user works in: they log into an account, create orders, see their own data, manage a process. The main sign you need an app rather than a website: your users get accounts, roles and their own data. The difference shows in the budget too: by InterLAB's references, a business website is 350,000–600,000 ₸ and 1–2 months, a turnkey web product is 5–15 million ₸ and 2–4 months.

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Process & contractsOctober 11, 2026

How a brief works: what to prepare for the first meeting

A brief at InterLAB is a free meeting where we unpack the task rather than sell. Prepare three things: what the product should do (in your own words), who will use it, and which systems it needs to exchange data with. After the brief you get an estimate broken down by stage, a "first phase / second phase" map and a list of what's not included in the first version. For websites we also make a free mockup of the main screen in 2–3 days.

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Process & contractsOctober 11, 2026

What happens after a product launch

Launch is the middle of the road, not the finish line. The first weeks after release go into stabilization: monitoring and fixing errors found by real users — under the warranty. After that the product develops based on data: analytics show what works and what doesn't, and the next phase of features is built on metrics rather than gut feeling. You choose the support format: InterLAB continues development, or the project is handed over to your team with documentation and access.

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ArchitectureSeptember 30, 2026

Choosing a tech stack: a business perspective

A business doesn't need to pick a programming language — it needs to check five things: how many specialists in that stack the market has, what its maintenance costs, whether it fits your scenario, how easily you could switch contractors later, and whether the team has real experience in it. A mainstream stack is almost always the better deal than an exotic one: cheaper to build, cheaper to maintain, and the product never becomes hostage to a single team.

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IntegrationsSeptember 30, 2026

Kaspi integration: what you can automate

Sellers on Kaspi.kz have access to the Shop API: it lets you retrieve orders and manage products and statuses programmatically instead of working by hand in the merchant cabinet. The seller generates the authorization token themselves in the cabinet (Settings → API token), after which requests carry the X-Auth-Token header. In practice, integration covers three jobs: orders land in your CRM or accounting system automatically, stock and prices stay in sync between the website, 1C and the Shop, and statuses update without manual entry.

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Process & contractsSeptember 30, 2026

How to write a development specification

A working specification answers seven questions: why the product exists (the business goal), who uses it, which scenarios it covers, what roles and permissions it has, which systems it exchanges data with, what goes into the first phase — and, as a separate list, what does NOT. You can write it in plain words: the client's job is to describe the business, not the architecture. The contractor builds the technical side on top of that, and that's exactly what they're accountable for.

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Process & contractsSeptember 30, 2026

Guarantees and the contract in custom development

Before signing a development contract, check five things: what exactly is named as the deliverable (an itemized list, not "we'll build a website"); who gets the rights to the code and when — in writing; how stages are accepted and where the line is between a fix and a new task; what the post-launch warranty covers and how long it lasts; and whose accounts hold the domain, servers and repository. If the contractor answers even one of these evasively — that's a risk that will later cost more than all the savings.

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Process & contractsSeptember 30, 2026

How long development takes: stages and timelines

InterLAB's references by project type: a landing page — 2–4 weeks, a business website — 1–2 months, a catalog or online store — 2–3 months, a product MVP — 6–12 weeks, a turnkey product — 2–4 months, complex multi-module systems — 4–8 months. The exact timeline is determined by the scope and by how quickly decisions are made on the client's side. A promise of "a full product in a week" is almost always a marker of a template or cut corners.

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CRM & ERPSeptember 29, 2026

When it's time for a business to move beyond Excel

It's time to replace Excel when the spreadsheet has stopped being a tool and become a process: data is entered several times over, files live as "final_v3" versions, the weekly report takes a day to assemble, and the truth about orders exists only in one employee's head. The practical test: count how many hours a week the team spends transferring and reconciling data — once those hours add up to real money every month, automation starts to pay for itself.

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ArchitectureSeptember 29, 2026

How much custom software development costs

Custom software has no price list: the cost is determined by the number of business processes and roles, the count of integrations, the volume of data to migrate, and the reliability requirements. For reference, InterLAB's ranges: a product MVP at 2–5 million ₸, a turnkey product at 5–15 million ₸, complex systems from 10 million ₸; an exact stage-by-stage estimate takes after the brief, and the first phase can almost always be smaller thanks to staging. This article is about what the number is made of and how to compare proposals.

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ArchitectureSeptember 19, 2026

What goes into an MVP — and what should wait

An MVP includes one core user scenario carried through to the end: the path from entry to the target action, basic authentication, an admin panel, and analytics. Everything else — extra roles, a second platform, integrations "for later growth", and fine-grained settings — moves to the following versions. The test is simple: if a feature can be removed and the hypothesis can still be verified, that feature does not belong in the MVP.

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MobileSeptember 19, 2026

PWA or a mobile app: which to choose

For most launches it is smarter to start with a PWA or a web application: no app-store review, instant updates, one codebase — faster and cheaper. A native mobile app is justified when the scenario depends on the phone's capabilities — camera, background geolocation, offline mode, heavy graphics — or when the app stores themselves are an acquisition channel. The right order for a new product is usually: a PWA to verify demand, native once demand is confirmed.

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CRM & ERPSeptember 19, 2026

CRM or ERP: which system your business needs

A CRM manages customer relationships: enquiries, deals, the sales pipeline, communication history. An ERP manages company resources: inventory, finance, procurement, production, reporting. The practical test: if money is lost on the way to the sale — you need a CRM; if the chaos starts after the sale — in records, warehouse, and paperwork — you need an ERP. Many companies eventually need both, but they should be implemented one at a time, starting where the losses are bigger.

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Web DevelopmentAugust 23, 2026

How Much Website Development Costs in Almaty

Website development in Almaty has no single price: the cost is determined by the project type, the scope of functionality, and the number of integrations. As a reference, InterLAB's ranges: a landing page at 150,000–250,000 ₸, a corporate website at 350,000–600,000 ₸, a catalog or online store at 600,000 ₸ to 1.2 million ₸, and maintenance at 25,000–50,000 ₸ per month. The exact cost of a specific project is calculated after a brief and a review of the task.

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CRM & ERPAugust 23, 2026

Custom CRM or Bitrix24: How to Choose

Bitrix24 or another off-the-shelf CRM is the right choice when sales fit a standard pipeline and the system needs to launch without any development. A custom CRM is worth considering when the company's processes stop fitting the ready-made product: deal stages don't match the standard pipeline, roles outgrow the typical permission model, and integrations with 1C and internal services require workarounds. The practical criterion is the cost of ownership over a two-to-three-year horizon and the amount of work employees do outside the system.

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Web DevelopmentAugust 23, 2026

How to Choose an IT Company in Almaty

A reliable IT company in Almaty is chosen not by portfolio and price but by how its process is built: the code belongs to the client from the first commit, access to the repository and task tracker is open from day one, progress is visible at regular demos, and the contract fixes the scope, ownership rights, and post-launch support. A company that calmly agrees to these terms before signing the contract is very likely to run the project itself just as transparently.

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IntegrationsAugust 23, 2026

How to Integrate 1C with a Web Application

There are three main ways to integrate 1C with a web application: 1C HTTP services (a custom REST API built into the configuration), scheduled file-based exchange, or a message bus with queues. The choice depends on how fresh the data needs to be, the exchange volume, and whether the configuration can be modified. Whichever way you go, reliability comes down to three design decisions: a data contract with stable identifiers (GUIDs, not codes or names), idempotent message handling, and an exchange log that makes every error visible.

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Process & contractsOctober 12, 2026

How to check product quality and your contractor’s work

Start with what you can verify without reading code: who owns the repository, the domain and the cloud accounts, whether the product builds from its own instructions, whether backups exist and someone can actually restore from them, and how releases reach production. If that is in order and your doubts are about code quality, security or architecture, you need an independent view: a consultation for a single question, a focused review for one risk area, a full technical audit before growth, a change of contractor or a transaction.

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SaaSOctober 12, 2026

Built an app with AI: what to check before your first users

Before your first users arrive, check five things: no secret keys in browser code or the repository; a user sees only their own data even when they swap an ID in a request; access rules are enforced in the database (for example, RLS in Supabase); a backup exists and you know how to restore from it; and your company owns the accounts, the domain and the code. These checks don’t make an app invulnerable, but they close the mistakes that are hardest to undo after launch.

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SaaSOctober 12, 2026

Choosing a SaaS architecture before product-market fit

Until you have found your market, a SaaS architecture should be cheap to change: a modular monolith, a shared database with a tenant ID on every row, access checks on the server and in the database, configuration in the environment. Decide early only what is expensive to reverse — the tenancy model, the authentication approach, customer data export and a log of architecture decisions — and postpone the rest until real load and paying customers show up.

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CRM & ERPOctober 12, 2026

Custom CRM or ERP in Kazakhstan: will automation pay off?

A custom CRM or ERP pays off when the measurable effect of automation — staff time saved, fewer errors and lost leads, faster turnover of cash and stock — exceeds the system’s total cost of ownership over your chosen horizon, and an off-the-shelf service can’t deliver that effect. You can assess this before ordering: baseline the current process, estimate the effect with a formula and cautious assumptions, and account for the Kazakhstan-specific requirements that change the scope — exchange with 1C, electronic invoices, Kaspi and storing personal data inside the country.

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Process & contractsOctober 12, 2026

What to ask developers before ordering a corporate LMS

Before ordering a corporate LMS or employee portal, pin down five things rather than a feature list: where the system gets employees and the org structure from, how people sign in, what format the learning content will be in, which reports managers need, and where personal data is stored. Those answers decide whether an off-the-shelf platform, a customised one or a custom build fits. The contractor questions below help you compare proposals on substance rather than on a polished demo.

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MobileOctober 12, 2026

Native, Flutter or React Native: how a business should choose its mobile app technology

A business does not need to understand programming languages — it needs to describe the product well enough for the choice to be justified: which device features are critical, whether iOS and Android need an identical interface, who will maintain the app in a few years, and whether you already have a team writing React. If the product depends on deep device and platform integration, native development usually wins; if shared code and one design matter more, Flutter or React Native. Uncertain areas are tested with a short prototype before the decision, not after.

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IntegrationsOctober 12, 2026

How to prepare an integration project: a brief for connecting 1C, Kaspi, payments, CRM and messengers

A sound integration project starts not with choosing an API but with a document only the business can write: which systems are involved, which one is authoritative for each entity — product, price, stock, customer, order, payment — what should happen when something fails, and who owns the data exchange after launch. Developers also need test access, anonymised sample data and acceptance criteria. With such a brief the estimate rests on facts rather than the contractor's assumptions.

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Process & contractsOctober 12, 2026

How a young team without an in-house CTO can make safe technical decisions

Without an in-house CTO, safe decisions rest not on heroics or on “the most experienced developer” but on a procedure: decisions are split into easily reversible ones and those that are expensive to undo; for the latter you record context, options and a review condition; the repository and infrastructure have minimal guardrails; and an outside view is brought in at agreed points. The founder stays the owner of key access throughout. Below is a procedure the team can introduce and run on its own.

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ResearchOctober 12, 2026

OFFSET vs keyset pagination in PostgreSQL 17: how response time depends on page depth

On a 1,000,000-row table with an index on (created_at, id), OFFSET server time grew with the number of skipped rows: a median of 5.845 ms on page 1,000, 48.25 ms on page 10,000 and 243.1 ms on the last page, 50,000. Keyset stayed within 0.034–0.059 ms (medians) on the same pages and read 23 buffers at any depth. This is one machine, Docker on Windows and cached data: read it as the shape of the curve and an order of magnitude, not as a forecast for your server.

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Chronicle / from the inside

What's happening at InterLAB

July 2026COMPANY

We launched the new InterLAB website

Refreshed positioning with a focus on web apps, services and corporate software. Websites and landing pages haven't gone anywhere — they're now part of the product work.

July 2026PROCESS

Clients now have access to the issue tracker

Every client can see the sprint, task statuses and release history from day one — the transparency we talk about on every call.

Tell us about your task — we'll review your request and get back to you

Got a project?
We'll scope and estimate it — for free.

Tell us about the product or the problem. After reviewing the task we'll come back with an architecture, a timeline and a price for the first version.

  • Scope and risks estimated before we start
  • NDA — yours or ours
  • Work starts within a week
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