This page illustrates what we do and how we do it, using the house vs. web project analogy.

House Web project Notes
Paint and decorations Theming (Bootstrap)
Furniture Content What is inside / managed.
Activities Processes What people will do with the system.
Land, neighborhood (easy access) Domain names, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), etc. Make it easy for people to find and see you.
Neighborhood and facilities partners in the ecosystem, base technologies, etc.
Locks Password A weak password = not locking your door.
Alarm system Monitoring system This alone won't stop intruders, but you'll be alerted right away.
Foundation Your web application (for example, Tiki) A solid base to build any project
Walls and roof Web app features Just as a house has different rooms (bathrooms, kitchen, living room), web applications have important components (user management, content management, etc.).
Architect AvanTech provides expertise for strategy and planning
Blueprint AvanTech package for meeting client needs The plan the architect produces
General contractor AvanTech, implementing the plan.
Extensions to the house (that were not designed or approved by the architect) Software plugins (or add-ons) See PluginProblems.com
Brick, mortar, wood, nails, etc PHP, MySQL and 100 or so libraries included in Tiki These are generic open source components to build something. Some are standards.
Tools (drills, etc.) Source Code Control System, Integrated development environment (IDE), etc.
Custom-made house Heavily customized system, specific to your needs. Our goal is to build a perfect system for your needs only from open source generic components so they last long and serve other people and organizations.
Standard house AvanTech packages
House renovations Software upgrades
House guests Visitors to your site You can decide to give some visitors greater access than others.
Owners Those who are responsible for the house
Uninvited visitors that are trying to promote their goods Spammers
Thieves Those who try to steal your data
Utilities (electricity, water, etc.) Hosting, domain names, SSL certification, etc.
House inspections Audits, SEO, security, etc.
Insurance Backups
Open standards vs. patented components Free / Libre / Open Source (FLOSS) vs. propriety software FLOSS permits faster innovation, provides more flexibility and reduces costs.


One of AvanTech's strengths is our vertical integration:

  • We use and improve base components as would a factory.
  • We plan the solution like an architect.
  • We build the solution like a general contractor, and
  • We provide ongoing support like a property manager.


And we use the same solutions we offer to our clients (aka dogfooding) and, thus, we are highly motivated that everything is future-proof, efficient and secure.

Differences between a Web project and a house

  • Because it's software and not brick and mortar, we have much more flexibility and can modify along the way — Prototype.
  • In a house, you want to first paint, and then move in furniture. In a web project, it's best to first join the content and functionalities and decorate after.