Fixed-fee website and app maintenance services
Spark: your systems, looked after
Someone else built your app and vanished. Your website needs regular attention. Your
CRM, accounts package and website all have useful information, but they're just not
talking to each other.
Sound familiar? Spark gives you a reliable technical team to keep existing systems
healthy, tackle the backlog and make steady improvements – all without hiring a full-time
developer.
What is Hero+ Origin?
What is Spark?
Spark is our entry-level technical development tier, built for businesses that need regular access to experienced developers but don't need a full-time development team.
Think of it as four days of technical capacity every month, ready to be put towards whatever matters most.
You could use it as an ongoing app maintenance service for a system built by another developer. It could mean keeping a website secure, fixing bugs, improving performance or adding new functionality. Or perhaps there's an integration you've been putting off for months because nobody quite has time to figure out the particulars.
Spark can help with all of that. And because you only pay the price you see, it keeps costs steady, manageable and surprisingly affordable.
Fast where it matters
It's not just your website that will feel fast. As a small but responsive Harrogate web design agency, we can complete most builds in just six weeks or less.
Want a simple solution delivered by one team of experts
What can you do with four days a month?
Quite a lot, actually.
Spark isn't intended for building a huge new platform from scratch. It's for the technical work that keeps an existing digital operation healthy and keeps the needle moving.
It's not glamorous work, but it's very important work. And if that's your scope, you might be surprised what our experts can achieve.
Here are a few examples of how Spark could work for you.
A developer built an app, then went AWOL
Problem
Solution
Use Spark as an ongoing app maintenance service
What the work looks like
Bug fixes, updates and ongoing improvements
You don't have time to manage and maintain your website
Problem
Solution
Use Spark as a monthly website maintenance package
What the work looks like
Technical updates, fixes and enhancements
Your internal tools need some TLC
Problem
Solution
Use Spark as a bespoke software maintenance service
What the work looks like
UI/UX polish, database optimisation and performance tweaks
You need simple integrations to keep systems talking
Problem
Solution
We'll build them as part of your monthly allocation
What the work looks like
Connecting your CRM, website, accounts package or other business systems through APIs
Fast where it matters
It's not just your website that will feel fast. As a small but responsive Harrogate web design agency, we can complete most builds in just six weeks or less.
Want a simple solution delivered by one team of experts
Don't have the time or resources to do it all themselves
See Spark in action
You can trust our team to hit the ground running. They've spent 20+ years solving technical problems for businesses across the world and a wide range of sectors.
Here are a few examples.
Keeping a complex digital system moving
Rocket Route
Logistics management solution
Rocket Route is a sophisticated logistics management solution involving complex data and integrations. While a project like this is beyond the scope of a Spark build, it illustrates the kind of technical ecosystem we can work within.
Got an established platform that needs maintaining, integrating or gradually improving? Spark gives you a regular time allocation to do exactly that.
Connecting systems
Knock Knock
Custom app, API and CRM development
With Knock Knock, we developed a unique property app that connects sellers, tradespeople and legal processes within one unified platform. Building a custom app is outside the scope of Spark, but Knock Knock demonstrates our experience developing APIs to connect different and sometimes disparate systems.
Does your business have multiple systems that need to exchange information? Spark gives you the time and technical expertise to tackle those connections one at a time.
Maintaining a high-performance website
Safestyle
Custom eCommerce website
We developed a modern, high-performance eCommerce platform for Safestyle, combining a lightweight frontend with a flexible data layer and infrastructure designed to handle high traffic.
For businesses with an existing enterprise website, Spark can provide the ongoing development capacity needed to keep it performing and make improvements over time.
Spark
vs
Forge vs
Titan
Need more time or a wider scope? You might want to consider one of our other technical tiers – Forge or Titan.
All three tiers give you access to the same standard of support and technical expertise. What changes is the amount of time you have available.
Spark gives you four development days every month, guaranteed. In case that's not enough to make meaningful progress on your roadmap, Forge gives you twice the capacity. And if you're building something substantial or need a dedicated development team working at scale, Titan gives you 16 days.
That means no juggling suppliers. No disconnected strategies. And no paying for services you don't need. Instead, you get a tailored, data-driven marketing strategy delivered by experts who are ready to hit the ground running.
And best of all? It grows as you grow. Start with the package that fits your business today, then scale into more advanced tiers as your ambition pays off.
It's all your digital marketing, all joined up – and all starting from just £2,499 per month. Simple.
Don't have the time or resources to do it all themselves
Isn't Spark more expensive than a freelancer?
Yes, most likely.
But you're not simply paying for four days of somebody's time. You're paying for certainty.
With a freelancer, you need to find and vet the right person, manage the relationship and hope they remain available when you need them. They may be excellent. They may also be the wrong person for a particular technical problem.
With Spark, you know what you're getting: a defined monthly allocation, senior technical oversight and continuity from month to month. Matthew Baker, our technical lead, has more than 20 years of software development and project management experience, and personally oversees the technical work.
You're not hiring a stranger and hoping it works out. You're getting a team with established processes, technical judgement and someone accountable for the end result. When consistency matters, that's priceless.
What is Hero+ Origin?
Who pays for what?
Spark is deliberately simple.
You get four development days every month for £3,499.
There are no setup fees and no separate discovery charges. You pay for our time and expertise, and nothing else.
Your hosting, licences and other third-party costs remain yours. We'll manage them where necessary, but you pay the providers directly. It keeps the arrangement straightforward and means there are no mystery costs hiding behind your development work.
You also don't need to recruit, train or equip another developer. And because you're working with a team rather than a single individual, we can bring in trusted specialist freelancers when needed. Throughout, our technical lead retains oversight of the work.
Fast where it matters
It's not just your website that will feel fast. As a small but responsive Harrogate web design agency, we can complete most builds in just six weeks or less.
That last point is key. Too often, digital marketing is split between different agencies with different ideas and approaches. Hero+ Origin keeps it simple, affordable and cohesive, with one team of marketing experts all working towards the same goal: your growth.
Want a simple solution delivered by one team of experts
Legend
Zero hidden costs. More possibilities.
Bespoke software maintenance
Keeping internal tools working and improving
Website maintenance
Ongoing technical updates, fixes and enhancements
Your questions answered
Can you maintain an app you didn't build?
Yes. The question is whether we can do that under Spark's four-day allocation.
That's why Spark always starts with an acceptance check. Our experts review the system and tell you honestly whether four days is enough. If you need more than four, Forge might be a better fit – but at least you'll know before you commit.
Is Spark a monthly website maintenance package?
It can be. If your main requirement is ongoing website maintenance, technical fixes and regular improvements, Spark can work as a monthly website maintenance package.
You're not restricted to website work, though. Spark can also be an app maintenance service, a development project for simple integrations or a problem-solving sprint for those technical gremlins you've never quite figured out.
What does your technical support actually look like in practice?
Spark includes technical support during normal office hours, with any work carried out using your four allocated development days per month.
If something urgent goes wrong, we'll do our best to help as quickly as possible. However, Spark doesn't include guaranteed response times, 24/7 support or a formal service level agreement (SLA).
If your business needs guaranteed support arrangements, we can discuss a separately priced SLA.
Can I use Spark to build something new?
Yes, provided the scope fits the available time. Spark suits smaller features, integrations and incremental development. Larger applications are likely to be better suited to Forge or Titan.
Do I have to use all four days on one project?
No. You can use the time on one substantial piece of work, or spread it across several smaller jobs. The priorities are yours.
We'll help you work out what's achievable with the time available. And if your requirements grow beyond that, there's always Forge and Titan.
What happens if I need more than four days?
If you need a one-off run of extra capacity, we can agree this in advance – subject to availability. Any extra time is charged at £875 plus VAT per day.
If you regularly need more time, we can help you decide whether Forge or Titan is a better fit.
Can you guarantee a feature will be finished in a month?
That depends on the feature. Spark gives you four guaranteed development days per month, which may be enough to complete smaller improvements. More substantial features could take several months, particularly if we're also using some of your time for maintenance and support.
We'll help you prioritise the work and make the best use of your available days, but we won't promise a completion date until we have a clear understanding of what's involved.
Will I be charged separately for the discovery phase?
No. Spark starts with an acceptance check, where we determine whether your four development days can reasonably cover the work you need doing. There's no extra fee for this check.
Say we're taking on a system that someone else built. We'll review it, scope out the capacity we need to provide and tell you whether it's viable. That way, you'll know where you stand before you commit.
If we need to spend more time on discovery after that, we'll use some of your allocated development time to cover it.
Will I definitely get the four days I pay for?
Yes. We cap the amount of technical capacity we sell at a level our team can genuinely deliver. We don't sell more days than we can work.
What happens to unused time?
If you don't use your time, it doesn't roll over. We keep the model simple: your allocation is there each month, ready to work on your priorities.
However, if we can't provide the days you need for reasons outside your control, you won't lose them. Instead, the missing days will be credited, reallocated or carried forward.
How long is the minimum contract?
Spark has a six-month minimum term. After that, it moves onto a rolling contract with 30 days' notice.
Who owns the code?
You do. Once you've paid in full, the bespoke code, designs and other original work we've created for you belong to you.
We retain only generic, reusable tooling that contains no proprietary or identifiable information from your business. Any open-source or third-party components remain subject to their existing licences.
How do we communicate?
You'll have one main contact who handles everything, plus a monthly planning conversation to keep priorities clear. No email volleyball required.
A small price to pay for technical certainty
You don't need a full-time developer. You don't need to find a new freelancer every time something breaks. And you don't need to turn every small technical improvement into a six-week procurement exercise.
You need someone who understands your systems, knows what they're doing and has the capacity to keep making things better.
That's Spark.
