About
Nel404 Labs is a solo software consultancy based in Pretoria, South Africa. The name is a development term: 404 means not found. The "Nel" is the surname. The "Labs" part is aspirational but also accurate: most of the work here is experimental until it works, then it is production.
The focus is on clients who know what they want, or at least know what problem they have. A jeweller who needs an online store. A practice manager who needs a referral map. A consultancy that needs a site that does not look like a template. These are concrete briefs. Concrete briefs get concrete software.
"We do not do vague retainers for undefined work. A project has a scope, a timeline, and an end."
Small team. Currently solo. That means the person you talk to in the brief is the person who writes the code. There is no account manager relaying messages. There is no junior developer doing the first draft while a senior reviews it.
This has tradeoffs. Large projects with parallel workstreams are not a fit. Projects that need a single developer who knows the codebase completely and can answer questions without a handoff delay: this is exactly the fit.
The business is here because the founder is here. Not as a marketing statement. Clients in the same time zone make calls easier. Clients who understand the South African regulatory context (POPIA, SARS, local payment processors) do not need those things explained from first principles on every project.
We take international work when the scope is remote-friendly. Most software work is. But the SA context is a genuine advantage on SA-specific problems, so it is worth naming.
No framework religion. WordPress for content sites and stores. PHP and SQLite for small custom apps. Node and Electron when the desktop matters. Astro for fast, brand-forward static sites. Python for automation and bots. AI APIs (Claude, Gemini, local models) where they add genuine value rather than novelty.
The choice of stack follows the problem. Not the other way around.
Send a short description. What the problem is, what you have tried, what a good outcome looks like. We will respond with a straight answer on whether it is a fit.