Gautam Goklani

Freelance full-stack developer & brand designer · Gujarat, India

Websites, web apps and brand identities, from a blank page to something running.

  • React
  • Next.js
  • TypeScript
  • CSS Modules
  • Node.js
  • MongoDB
  • PostgreSQL
  • WebSockets
  • Git
  • Vercel & Cloudflare
  • Figma
  • Brand identity
  • Interface design
  • Adobe Suite
  • Accessibility

I'm Gautam, a freelance web developer and brand designer. I handle the whole job myself: the brand, the interface and the code behind it. You explain your business once, to the person who is going to build it, and you get a website or web app shaped around how your business really works.

Based in
Gujarat, India
Working with
Founders, studios & agencies
Billed in
USD or GBP
Email reply
Within one business day

Invoiced through PayPal in USD or GBP, with a deposit up front and the balance on delivery. Both are agreed in writing before work starts.

Selected work

Selected projects

Six concept projects across web design, front-end development and brand identity. Each one opens into a case study with a working demo you can try, not just a screenshot.

Showing 6 of 6 projects.

Services

Web design, development and branding services

  1. 01

    Brand identity & graphic design

    A logo and the system around it: typefaces, colours and written rules for using them, so your business looks consistent on a sign, an invoice and a social post.

    Suits New businesses, and established ones whose branding has become inconsistent.

    • Logo system with variants
    • Colour palette and type scale
    • Written brand guidelines
    • Social and stationery assets

    You receive Source files, exports in every format you need, and the guidelines document.

  2. 02

    Website & interface design

    The layout and look of your website before anything is built: what goes on each page, in what order, and how it works on a phone. You approve the design before development starts.

    Suits Anyone who wants to see the site before it is built.

    • Page structure and user flows
    • Desktop and mobile layouts
    • Clickable prototype
    • A reusable design system

    You receive A Figma file you own, plus a shareable prototype link.

  3. 03

    Website development

    A fast, responsive website built with Next.js, set up for search engines and easy for you to update yourself. I can also take care of hosting and the domain.

    Suits Businesses replacing a website that is slow, outdated or hard to edit.

    • React and Next.js build
    • Responsive down to a phone
    • SEO foundations and speed work
    • A CMS so you can edit it

    You receive The live website, the code repository, and a walkthrough of how to manage it.

  4. 04

    Custom applications

    Custom software for work that has outgrown a spreadsheet, such as bookings, quotes, inventory, client portals and internal dashboards. Built around the way your business already works.

    Suits Teams spending hours on a repetitive process by hand.

    • Dashboards and client portals
    • Booking and scheduling
    • Third-party integrations
    • Database design

    You receive A deployed application, the source code and documentation.

Why work with one person instead of an agency

  • You talk to the person doing the work

    There is no account manager passing messages along. The person who answers your email is the one designing and building your project.

  • Design and development in one place

    Nothing gets lost between a designer and a developer, because there is no handover. What you approve is what gets built.

  • A clear, agreed scope

    Deliverables and timeline are agreed in writing before work starts. If the scope changes along the way, we agree that in writing too.

  • Built around your business

    Not a template with your logo dropped in. The structure comes from what your customers need to find and do.

  • You own everything

    Code, design files, domain and hosting accounts are all in your name once the project is complete. Nothing to renew and no lock-in.

  • Support after launch

    Thirty days of support for anything that breaks after the site goes live. I do not disappear once the project is delivered.

Engineering

The tools and technologies I use

The languages, frameworks and design tools I work with every day, across the front end, the back end and brand design.

Frontend

React
Hooks, composition, component architecture
Next.js
App Router, RSC, route handlers, static generation
TypeScript
Strict mode, generics, discriminated unions
CSS Modules
Token-driven design systems without a framework

Backend & data

Node.js
Express, REST, middleware
MongoDB
Schema design, aggregation, indexing
PostgreSQL
Relational modelling, query tuning
WebSockets
Real-time sync and event handling

Systems & tooling

Git
Branching, review, CI
Vercel & Cloudflare
Edge deploys, workers, CPU budgeting
Figma
Design systems, prototypes, handoff

Design

Brand identity
Logo systems, colour, type scales, guidelines
Interface design
Flows, layouts, responsive behaviour
Adobe Suite
Illustrator and Photoshop for print and export
Accessibility
Contrast, keyboard paths, reduced motion

Process

How a project works

From your first message to launch day, here is how a project runs and what you get at each step.

  1. 01

    Tell me about the project

    Fill in the short form below with what you do and what you need. You do not need to book a call to get started.

    You get A reply within one business day.

  2. 02

    We talk through the scope

    A call at a time that suits you, to go through your business, your goals and what needs to be built.

    You get A shared, clear idea of what the finished project looks like.

  3. 03

    Proposal and timeline

    Written deliverables and a timeline with dates. Nothing starts until you have agreed to it.

    You get A written proposal you can keep.

  4. 04

    Design

    Page structure first, then the visual design for desktop and mobile. You review everything before it is built, while changes are still quick to make.

    You get Designs to approve, with two rounds of revisions included.

  5. 05

    Build

    Development, integrations and testing on real devices. You get a preview link in the first week, so you can watch progress as it happens.

    You get A preview link that updates as work is completed.

  6. 06

    Launch and handover

    Deployment, final checks and a walkthrough of how to manage everything. Source files and accounts are handed over in your name.

    You get The live site, all source files and 30 days of support.

What every project includes

  • A written scope before any work starts
  • A reply to every email within one business day
  • A live preview link from the first week of the build
  • Designs approved by you before development begins
  • Testing on real phones, not just a resized browser
  • All source files handed over at the end
  • Thirty days of support after launch

These are written into every project scope, so you know exactly what you are getting before any work begins.

About

Who you'll be working with

I'm Gautam Goklani, a full-stack developer and brand designer based in Gujarat, India. I studied computer engineering and build production software, and I have done design work for just as long, so I have never had to choose between the two.

Doing both means the person who decides how something should look is the same person who makes it work. Nothing gets lost in a handover, and I can tell you honestly whether a problem is in the design or in the code.

I enjoy projects where the interface has to make something complicated feel simple: dashboards built on real data, booking and scheduling tools, and internal systems that started life as a spreadsheet.

Most of the people I work with are small businesses and independent teams. I like talking directly to the person who makes the decisions, because projects move faster and the result fits the business better.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Answers to the questions clients ask most often. If yours is not here, send me a message.

Where in the world can you work with clients?

Anywhere PayPal is available, which covers most countries. I invoice through PayPal in USD or GBP, with a deposit at the start and the balance on delivery. If PayPal does not work where you are, get in touch and we can look at other options.

What currencies do you invoice in?

USD or GBP. You choose one when we agree the proposal, and the whole project is invoiced in that currency, so exchange rates do not change the amount you agreed.

How does working remotely work?

Calls are booked in your working hours, not mine. I am on Indian Standard Time, which overlaps well with the UK and European working day, and US mornings or Australian afternoons work with a little planning. Between calls you get written updates and a live preview link, so you can check progress whenever you like.

What do you need from me to get started?

A clear picture of your business: what you do, who your customers are and what the project needs to achieve. If you already have branding, content or a website, send those over too. If you are starting from scratch, that is completely fine. Helping with that is part of the job.

How long does a project take?

Branding usually takes one to two weeks, a marketing website two to four weeks, and a custom web application four to twelve weeks. The most common cause of delay is content, so having your text and images ready when the design is approved keeps things on schedule.

Can you redesign my existing website?

Yes, redesigns are a big part of my work. They usually start with what is not working: the site is hard to use on a phone, slow, difficult to update or no longer fits the business. A redesign can keep your existing content and URLs so you do not lose your search rankings.

Can you work with the brand we already have?

Yes. If you are happy with your logo, colours and fonts, I design within them. If you have a logo but no brand guidelines, I can put those together as part of the project so everything stays consistent.

Do you handle SEO?

I take care of technical SEO: clean semantic code, fast load times, proper titles and meta descriptions, structured data, a sitemap and a sensible URL structure. That is what gets a site indexed properly. Ongoing content marketing and link building are a separate, longer-term job, and I will tell you plainly if that is what you need.

Can I update the website myself afterwards?

Yes. Websites come with a content management system, so you can edit text, images and pages without touching any code, and the handover includes a walkthrough. If you would rather not deal with it, I can make updates for you.

Who owns the code and design files?

You do, once the project is complete. That includes the code, the design files, and the domain and hosting accounts, all registered in your name. There is nothing to renew and nothing stopping you from working with someone else later.

What happens after launch?

You get thirty days of support for anything that breaks. After that you can manage the site yourself, come back to me for one-off changes, or keep me on for ongoing work.

Are you open to full-time roles?

I am currently employed full-time, but I am open to hearing about roles that would be a real step up, especially ones involving systems work, real-time data or performance. Email is the quickest way to start that conversation.

Can I see the code you write?

For a project we work on together, yes. The repository is handed over to you when the project is complete. For the concept projects on this site, the case studies explain the technical decisions instead. Client work is never published without permission.

Contact

Let's talk about your project

Tell me what you would like to build, improve or launch. If you are hiring, tell me about the role. I read every message myself and reply within one business day.

If you have one

A sentence or two is plenty to start

Within one business day