Chapter 2 of 11
Hello. We're Dora.
A software studio registered in London that believes building an app should feel more like making something together than signing up to a mysterious process.
Why “storybook”?
Every product we've ever worked on began as a story somebody told: a parent who couldn't book swimming lessons on their phone, a charity whose volunteers kept losing paper rotas, a shop owner who wanted customers to reorder without phoning. The best software keeps that story visible. The worst buries it under features nobody asked for.
So we work from the story outward. Before we pick a framework or draw a screen, we write down who the main character is, what they're trying to do and what usually gets in their way. That short narrative becomes the yardstick for every decision afterwards — if a feature doesn't help the character, it waits.
What we are, and what we are not
We are a small company: DORA SOFTWARE LTD, with a registered office at City Road in London. We design and build mobile apps and websites, help with publishing them to the app stores and the web, and provide ongoing IT support for the things we've built or inherited.
We are not an agency with a lobby and a ping-pong table, and we won't pretend to be. We don't run a public office, so meetings happen by video or at a place that suits you. We don't outsource your project without telling you, and if a piece of work is better handled by a specialist we'll say so and help you find one.
How we like to work with people
- Plain English first. If we use a technical word, we explain it. If you ask the same question twice, that's on us, not you.
- Small, visible steps. You see working software every couple of weeks, not a big reveal after months of silence.
- Honest trade-offs. Faster, cheaper, more features: we'll help you choose which two, and write down why.
- Kind to the future. Code and documents written so that another developer — ours or not — can pick them up later.
Who tends to call us
Founders with a first product to get right. Small organisations with a website that's grown awkward. Teams that have an app in the stores but nobody left who understands how it was built. Charities and community groups who need something sturdy that volunteers can manage. If your situation isn't on that list, write anyway — the list describes conversations we've enjoyed, not a fence.
We keep regular hours, Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 18:00 UK time, and we'd rather answer thoughtfully the next morning than hastily at midnight.