HCOMS is a UK-based software studio specialising in web design, database management and software development. We work from purpose-built premises just outside Norwich.
The team has been building websites and database-driven systems for over twenty years. Most of our new work arrives by recommendation, from a customer base that has ended up unusually broad in shape: dioceses and trade associations at one end, founders and engineering teams at the other.
The standard of work is the same at both ends. We meet you where you already are, work with the systems you’ve already got, and try to leave things tidier than we found them.
The default stack is Laravel, Livewire, Tailwind and PostgreSQL. None of it is the new shiny, all of it is well documented and widely used, and you’ll still be able to hire someone to work on it ten years from now.
An agreed price up front, with no surprises. If you want more, we agree the cost for that first too — before we start.
Workshops with sticky notes don’t tell you how the work actually happens. A few days in someone’s office does. We do the second one.
The engineer who wrote a bug is the one who fixes it at 3pm on a Tuesday. There’s no separate support tier we hand things off to.
Most of our clients have been with us for five years or more. That changes how we write code. The next person to read a function is usually a future version of us.
The diocese, the housing association, the professional body and the scout district all run things that matter. They shouldn’t have to make do with worse tools than the latest start-up.
From dioceses to start-ups, scouts to tech teams. Different cadences, different vocabularies, the same standard of work. A website or platform that looks the part, does its job, and was built by a UK team that knew what it was doing.
Dioceses, parishes and benefices — including long-running work with the Diocese of Norwich.
Scout districts, youth charities, residential camps. Bookings, leaders, safeguarding — the lot.
Member databases, event systems and online portals for professional and trade bodies.
Practical, affordable web platforms for the not-for-profit sector.
Founders who need an MVP shipped properly, and engineering teams who need senior pairs of hands.
Schools, colleges, training providers — websites and back-office systems.
Public-sector clients who need reliable, accountable, UK-hosted software.
Consultancies, agencies and claim handlers — sites that look the part.
Our diocesan work began with the Diocese of Norwich and now spans dioceses across England — running on shared infrastructure, but configured to each diocese’s own structures, parishes and processes.
Senior, UK-based, and stable. The person who picks up the phone this year is the one who’ll pick it up the year after. We also keep an in-house AI assistant on the team, scoped to the work it’s actually good at.
Founded HCOMS in 2001 and still runs it. Splits his time between client conversations, the dev side, and whatever the next stage of the business needs.
Runs the office and keeps half an eye on the accounts. If something’s been booked, paid or filed, it’s almost certainly been Kerry.
If you call us, Chloe is usually who you’ll get. Also Graham’s daughter, which keeps the development team on its toes from two directions.
Looks after payroll and invoicing. Will send you an invoice, and will also chase you (politely) if it stays unpaid.
Our young blood and resident AI specialist. Thinks a lot like Graham, which around here counts as a serious compliment.
Our accountant. Quietly handles the parts of running a business that none of the rest of us can fathom.
A role-scoped, audit-trailed assistant built into our own tools. Earns its place; doesn’t answer the phone.
We don’t do hard-sell. Most new work arrives because someone we already work with mentioned us. A sample of what they’ve said is below.