Brands that Love People: Otterdev
Otterdev builds modern, human-centred websites that prioritise speed, clarity and long-term value, turning design intent into technology that actually works.
Why start Otterdev when there’s already so many developers out there?
Honestly, because most agencies weren’t providing ideal outcomes. Websites were either over-engineered, over-promised, or under-communicated. We were seeing too many brands struggling to turn design into something aesthetically attractive, fast, scalable, and actually human-centered.
We wanted to be the antidote: a lean team that cares deeply about our craft and the brand outcome. Every website we build should feel like someone finally understood what the client was trying to say all along, delivered with absolute competence, fast turnarounds, and leaving clients empowered with clarity. Our hope is to use our ability to merge what users truly want with what clients strategically need, backed by strong technical implementation, future-proof thinking, and genuinely great client–agency communication.
What's the value you see missing and wish to bring?
Clarity and honesty.
I used to work at a web design agency, and what I saw was that there was often more emphasis on the pitch than the product; agencies were using outdated technology and selling it through good salesmanship. We didn’t want to be like that.
In the world of website development, there are countless options, and the differences can be hard to see if you’re not technical. A traditional CMS is like an old car, it works but you may need to adjust the jets a little more often than not, it drinks more fuel and there's always something loose that you haven't quite figured out yet. A Modern CMS is like a sports hybrid – smoother, faster, and cheaper to run.
Through modern tech, real competency, and transparent guidance, we help our clients build websites that are clear, future-ready, and genuinely valuable. This means websites that actually help a business grow, not just look good on launch day. Most importantly, it is to help our client avoid having to rebuild everything again, which creates unnecessary cost and frustration. This is often a result of building with outdated technologies, which might work at first but soon become slow, hard to update, insecure, and expensive to maintain.
What are some non-negotiables for Otterdev when choosing who to work with?
I think for this, definitely trust and technological alignment. Our ideal clients are the ones who are genuinely in the market for that modern hybrid sports car, not a vintage. Less so about industry or company size, it’s defined by partnership. We work best with clients who value trust, transparency, and long-term collaboration. Great projects come from trust. When clients let us guide them toward the right platform and structure for their business, we usually achieve the best results. We don’t take trust for granted; we know it’s earned through clarity, consistency, and delivery.
What does client success look like for Otterdev?
We started with very small businesses, many finding us through word of mouth or even platforms like Carousell. Those early clients helped us get to where we are today, a team trusted by some of the most established brands in the world.
That’s why every client matters to us, regardless of size.
Client success, to us, happens when their business goals are achieved, the technology is the right fit, and they feel proud of what we’ve built together.
When that happens, that’s success to me.
Besides being developers and builders, what does Otterdev do to add value?
Despite the word “dev” in our name, we actually have a pretty darn good design team. We’ve won international awards for our graphic and web design work.
That said, making things beautiful isn’t the only value we bring. We actually care more about how things feel to use.
We have a strong sense of the user journey, and we design experiences that are intuitive, fast, and effortless for real people, not just for show. Take a D2C website for Millennials for example, and catering for their actual user journey. We would want to make sure the pathways the user takes to purchase a product, can be done in less than 10 seconds in total, and ideally 3 clicks, with a clear UI and not much going on.
What we really mean is that the end user is the real final boss. Every technical or design decision ladders back to one question: does this make it easier, faster, or clearer for the person on the other side? We obsess over friction: page speed, readability, accessibility, and real-world usability. Because if the end-user feels lost, the prettiest design or smartest stack doesn’t matter.
In summary, design with empathy, and build with competency. Many of our clients have become friends over time, and we celebrate their launches like they’re our own. For example, you guys! Haha!
