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Backend Development Services for New Zealand and Australian Businesses

Your backend is the foundation everything else stands on. Smahh builds backends that are fast, secure, well-documented, and designed to grow with your business — not against it.

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Most backend problems start before a line of code is written

The architecture problem: teams start with a framework and start coding. Six months later the codebase is a maze of shortcuts, the junior dev who understood it has left, and adding a new feature takes three times as long as it should. The root cause is no architecture decision upfront.

The security problem: backend code that was never threat-modelled sits between your users' data and the internet. SQL injection, broken authentication, exposed secrets in environment variables, over-permissive database users. These vulnerabilities are common and avoidable. Smahh finds them before attackers do.

The documentation problem: backends built quickly are rarely documented. When the original developer leaves or the business needs to scale the team, nobody can onboard fast enough. Every project Smahh delivers comes with architecture documentation, API specs, and runbooks.

Smahh's position: backend development is a craft. It requires choosing the right architecture for the workload, not the trendiest framework. Smahh builds backends that your team can understand, extend, and maintain long after the project ends.

What our backend development covers

API design and development

REST and GraphQL APIs designed for the clients that consume them — mobile apps, web frontends, third-party integrations. Smahh designs API contracts before writing implementation, reviews them against security requirements, and versions them so breaking changes never surprise your consumers. Every endpoint is validated, authenticated, and rate-limited. Swagger/OpenAPI documentation is generated and maintained throughout development.

Python backend development

Python is Smahh's primary backend language. FastAPI for high-performance async APIs. Django for content-heavy or admin-facing applications. Pydantic for strict data validation. Raw SQL via psycopg2 when performance matters more than ORM convenience. Smahh does not reach for an ORM when a well-indexed query and a clear schema will do the job better and faster.

Node.js backend development

Node.js and Express or Fastify for JavaScript-native teams and real-time applications. TypeScript throughout — no untyped JavaScript in production code. Event-driven architecture using Node streams and worker threads where appropriate. Particularly well-suited for businesses whose frontend team is already JavaScript-native and want a unified language across the stack.

Database design and architecture

PostgreSQL as the primary relational database. Schema design, index strategy, query optimisation, connection pooling with PgBouncer or RDS Proxy. DynamoDB for key-value access patterns that do not need relational joins. Redis for caching, session storage, and pub/sub. Database choices are made for the workload — not for familiarity or trend.

Authentication and authorisation

JWT-based authentication, OAuth 2.0 flows, AWS Cognito integration, custom Lambda authorizers, RBAC and ABAC permission models. Multi-factor authentication. Smahh's security background means auth is never treated as a boilerplate copy-paste — threat modelling the auth layer is part of every engagement.

Third-party integrations

Stripe payments, Twilio SMS, SendGrid email, government APIs (NZ, AU), CRMs, ERPs, and data providers. Webhook handling with signature validation and idempotency. Integration patterns that degrade gracefully when the third-party service goes down, rather than taking your API with it.

Code review and backend audits

For businesses with an existing backend, Smahh offers structured code reviews and architecture audits. Output: a written report covering security vulnerabilities, performance risks, maintainability issues, and prioritised recommendations. Delivered without disrupting current development work.

Why work with Smahh

Security is not an afterthought

Smahh's team comes from cybersecurity consulting. Every backend we build is threat-modelled before development begins. We do not wait for a penetration test to find vulnerabilities — we design them out from day one.

No ORM religion

We use the right tool for each job. When an ORM makes the code clearer, we use it. When raw SQL performs better and is easier to reason about, we use that. We do not impose a stack preference on your project.

You own the code

Every project ends with full handover — source code, API documentation, architecture diagrams, and a walkthrough session. No dependency on Smahh for ongoing development unless you want it.

How we work

Step 01

Discovery and requirements

Understanding your users, your data model, your scale targets, and your existing codebase if one exists.

Step 02

Architecture design

Proposing the data model, API structure, auth flow, and integration points before writing code.

Step 03

Security design

Threat-modelling the backend surface, defining permission boundaries, agreeing on secrets management approach.

Step 04

Development in sprints

2-week iterations, staging environment from day one, you review working software every sprint.

Step 05

Code review and testing

Automated tests, integration tests, and a final security-focused code review before any production deployment.

Step 06

Handover

Documentation, team walkthrough, and 30 days of post-launch support included.

Results we've delivered

15+production backends across NZ and AU
<200msaverage API response time on optimised endpoints
100%projects delivered with full API documentation

* Results vary by starting point and engagement scope.

Frequently asked questions

Primary: Python (FastAPI, Django) and Node.js (Express, Fastify). Language choice depends on the project's requirements, your team's existing skills, and performance needs. Smahh is framework-agnostic — we recommend based on the workload, not preference. All production code is type-annotated and linted.

Both. Roughly half of Smahh's backend engagements are brownfield — inheriting an existing codebase, improving it, and extending it. We start with a structured code review and architecture audit so we understand what we are working with before proposing any changes.

We design the schema before writing application code. That means defining entities, relationships, indexes, and constraints on paper first, reviewing them with you, then implementing. We avoid schema-first ORMs for complex data models — they abstract away the decisions that matter most for performance.

Every API Smahh builds is documented using OpenAPI/Swagger specifications. Documentation is generated from the code and kept up to date as part of the development process, not written after the fact. You receive a Postman collection and/or a Swagger UI endpoint as part of every delivery.

Yes — unit tests and integration tests are part of every delivery, not optional extras. Test coverage targets are agreed at the start of the project. Smahh uses pytest for Python projects and Jest for Node.js. End-to-end API tests run in the CI/CD pipeline before any deployment.

No secrets in code, ever. Environment-specific configuration is managed via AWS Secrets Manager, Parameter Store, or equivalent. Local development uses a documented .env pattern that cannot accidentally reach production. Smahh's security background means secret handling is treated as a first-class concern, not an afterthought.

Yes. Smahh offers embedded engagement models where our engineers join your team's standups, use your tooling (Jira, Linear, GitHub), and contribute alongside your existing developers. Common when a business needs specialist skills — security architecture, performance optimisation, complex integrations — that complement what the internal team does.

Ready to build a better backend?

Talk to our engineers about your architecture, performance, or development needs.

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