FIFTH Digital
03 / 05 — Custom Build

Off-the-shelfstops where you start.

Custom websites, member portals, booking platforms, and mobile apps — for the Canadian businesses where SaaS templates run out of road. Built right, owned by you, engineered to last.

From $5,000 CAD per project
members.fifthdigital.ca
Member Portal

Welcome back, Anya.

Your next tee time: Saturday, 10:32 AM

Bookings
12
Dues
Paid ✓

“Off-the-shelf tools work for off-the-shelf businesses. Yours isn't one of them.

— THE FIFTH PHILOSOPHY
The Problem

Templates fit no one perfectly. Custom fits you.

Your tools dictate your workflows

Squarespace, Wix, Calendly, MailChimp — every tool adds another constraint. You end up shaping your business around what your software allows, not what your business needs.

You're paying for 12 SaaS tools that don't talk

Booking in one tool, payments in another, member data in a third, communications in a fourth. The monthly bills add up. The duplicate-entry headaches add up worse.

You don't own what your business runs on

Cancel the subscription and your data disappears. Pricing doubles next year and you have no leverage. Your business is built on rented infrastructure you can't control.

Our Approach

We don't build websites.
We build digital systems.

A custom build isn't a deliverable — it's a strategic platform. Designed for your workflow, owned by you, engineered to scale with your business, not against it. Build once, own forever.

01.

Custom websites & brand sites

Marketing sites, brand sites, content hubs — designed to convert, built for performance. Headless CMS, fast hosting, on-brand from pixel one. Lighthouse 95+ baseline.

02.

Member portals & private apps

For private clubs, associations, gated communities, and membership businesses. Login, profiles, dues, communications, bookings — all in one branded experience.

03.

Booking & reservation systems

For clinics, restaurants, salons, real estate showings. Custom logic, payment integration, automated reminders, calendar sync. Not a Calendly clone — a workflow that fits.

04.

Multi-location dashboards

For franchises, multi-site service businesses, dealer networks. Real-time data, role-based permissions, operations consolidated into one source of truth.

05.

Mobile apps (iOS + Android)

React Native cross-platform builds — one codebase, both stores. From MVPs to production apps with custom integrations, push notifications, offline sync.

How It Works

Discovery to launch in 11+ weeks.

01
Week 1–2

Discovery

Workshops with you and your team. We map workflows, users, edge cases, and success metrics.

02
Week 3–4

Design

Wireframes, then high-fidelity mockups, then a clickable prototype you can test with users.

03
Week 5–10

Build

Sprint-based development. Weekly demos. You see progress every week, give feedback in real time.

04
Week 11+

Launch & support

QA, staged rollout, training. 30 days of post-launch support included. Then optional retainer for ongoing care.

Case Study · Private Golf Club · Calgary

How a Calgary private club replaced 4 SaaS tools with one member portal — and saved 12 hours of admin per week.

A Calgary-area private golf club was running on a patchwork: Mindbody for bookings, a separate CMS for the website, MailChimp for communications, and an Excel spreadsheet for the member directory. Member experience was fragmented; staff spent hours weekly on duplicate entry. We built a custom member portal: bookings, dues, communications, directory, and event sign-ups in one branded experience. Members got a 5-star app; staff got their week back; the club retired four SaaS subscriptions.

12 hrs/wk
Admin time saved
↓ -73%
94%
Member adoption (90 days)
↑ Industry-leading
-$1,800/mo
SaaS subscriptions retired
↓ Net savings
+34 pts
Member NPS
↑ Year over year
Private clubs·Real estate developers·Medical clinics·Franchises·Non-profits·Hospitality·Education·Financial services·Private clubs·Real estate developers·Medical clinics·Franchises·Non-profits·Hospitality·Education·Financial services·

“Build it once. Own it forever. No more rent.

— FIFTH
Pricing

Custom Build · Project-Based

From CAD$5,000
/ project
Fixed-scope quotes after discovery. 50% deposit, milestones-based billing.
Discovery & UX workshops
Custom design (no templates)
Sprint-based development
Weekly demo calls
30 days post-launch support
Full code ownership transfer
Book a 20-min scoping call
FAQ

Common questions

How long does a custom build typically take?
Marketing sites: 4–6 weeks. Member portals or booking systems: 8–12 weeks. Full mobile apps with backends: 12–20 weeks. We give you a fixed timeline after the discovery phase — no scope creep, no surprises.
Who owns the code and design files?
You do. Always. On launch day, we hand over the GitHub repo, all design files, hosting access, third-party account credentials. If you want to take it in-house, swap agencies, or run it yourself — it's all yours.
Do you handle hosting and ongoing maintenance?
Optional. We can host on AWS/Vercel/your cloud of choice and provide a monthly maintenance retainer ($400+/month) for updates, monitoring, and small improvements. Or you can take it in-house — your call.
What tech stack do you use?
Next.js + TypeScript for web, React Native for mobile, Supabase/Postgres for data, Stripe for payments, Vercel for hosting. Modern, well-supported, easy to find developers for. No proprietary lock-in.
Can you redesign or rebuild an existing site or app?
Yes — frequently. We can also migrate from WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, or custom legacy stacks. Data migration, SEO preservation, and zero-downtime cutover all included.

Have a build in mind? Let's scope it.

Tell us what you're trying to build. We'll send back a discovery agenda and ballpark within 48 hours.