Start with a $20 setup
Each of these is installed, secured with HTTPS, backed up, loaded with your data, and walked through with you in 30 minutes. Remote over a screen-share, or in person in Houston.
An AI-answered phone line
Your own local number that answers calls and texts, handles the common questions, takes messages and sends you a summary. Spam costs you nothing. The number on this page is that system.
$20 setup · about $25/month after
Your own business system
Projects, tasks, contacts, notes, files, calendar, permissions, search and live updates on a server you control, plus a shell you talk to: say "make a page that shows overdue invoices by customer" and it's live at a URL.
$20 setup · $0/month on your own $7 server, or $29/month and I run it
A desk in the cloud
The Network Computer: your whole desktop from a phone, tablet or browser, with voice, printing and your camera. It turns itself off when nobody is using it.
$20 setup · about $24/month at most
Eight free desktop apps
Writer, spreadsheet, slides, AI image editor, paperless-office scanner, AI website builder, AI shell and data converter, for Mac and Linux. All work by voice. Free at dbbasic.com/downloads, no signup.
$0 · I'll install them for you at no charge
After setup, a $29/month plan means I run the server for you: HTTPS, backups, updates and monitoring. A $250/month support plan covers up to 3 hours of changes and fixes with same-day response.
Fixed-price work
Half up front, half when it works. 30 days of fixes included. Written scope before any money changes hands. Anything not listed here is quoted in writing first, as a fixed price or at $95/hour.
What the object server can do for your business
The DBBasic object server is the open-source (MIT) system behind the $20 setup. It runs live, versioned Python objects on one small server: a $5 to $7 VM is plenty, with a Docker option. Changes go live on the next request, every version is kept, and a rollback is one step. Your data sits in plain TSV and JSON files you can read, search and back up.
Ready to use
AI and agents
What I build on it for you
Any small object can be an API endpoint, a page, a report, a worker, a webhook or an admin action, so I can build what the ready-made parts don't cover:
- A client portal, where each customer sees only their own jobs, files and invoices.
- A simple CRM with follow-up reminders that text or email you.
- Intake forms that turn into tasks, and a job tracker your crew can use from a phone.
- Invoice follow-up that chases late payers, and a dashboard of what you're owed.
- Inventory and order tracking for a small shop, with reorder alerts.
- A members-only site, a wiki or a help center, from the same data.
- Your spreadsheet turned into a shared app with logins and history.
- AI agents that read your records and do routine chores, with a person approving anything important.
The object server is open source and still in active development. The core is finished, and some parts on its roadmap are not. I'll tell you what is ready and what I'd build before you pay.
Everything else I do
Anything below is scoped first and quoted in writing: a fixed price, or $95/hour.
Websites, WordPress and search
- WordPress speed, CDN and Cloudflare, with a before and after report
- WordPress installs and moves between hosts
- Static sites: Hexo, Hugo, Jekyll, 11ty
- Technical SEO fix-up: titles, headings, canonical, sitemap, structured data, checked on every URL
- Search for your own site, self-hosted
- A searchable archive of your X/Twitter posts
- Technical writing and documentation
Servers, cloud and DevOps
- Cut your cloud bill: leave Heroku and other PaaS for a VPS, right-size AWS
- AWS: Lightsail, Lambda, S3 and CDN setups
- Git-push deploys with backups and rollbacks
- Linux administration, TLS, hardening and monitoring
- DNS and email setup
- "Do you really need Kubernetes?" A frank second opinion
AI
- AI chat for your website, answering from your own writing
- An MCP server for your product or data
- AI agents that act on your business data
- AI back-office automation: inbox triage, draft replies, form filling, data cleanup, with a person approving
- Bulk data jobs with AI and on-demand people
- Workshops: building real software with AI coding agents
Custom software and integrations
- Ruby on Rails: build, upgrade and rescue
- PHP and Python (Flask, Django) apps, new and legacy
- From spreadsheet to real web app
- API integrations: webhooks, Lambda, Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net
- Billing, subscriptions and prepaid wallets
- Marketplaces and auctions with escrow
- Multi-tenant SaaS foundations, logins and permissions
- Crawlers, data collection, and moving data between systems
- iOS and mobile companion apps
Office and data systems
- Paperless office: scan, OCR and AI filing
- Bookkeeping systems on spreadsheets (systems, not tax advice)
- Task, calendar, contact and time-tracking setups for teams
- Business phone and text setup: a local number, routing and auto-replies
- Niche data and directory sites with live data and auto-updating news
- Plain-English explainers for complicated topics
Advice and contract work
- Contract developer by the hour, remote or on-site in Houston
- Architecture second opinion, in writing
- Fractional CTO or technical advisor, by the month
- Project management of an outsourced build
- Talks and workshops on Python, self-hosting and simple stacks
- Rescue and coaching for teams stuck with old code
How AI keeps the price down
AI is good at the repetitive parts: converting content, drafting first versions of code, writing tests, checking every URL. It is not good at deciding what to build, what to leave out, or what is safe. That split is how I work, and it is why a senior engineer's setup can cost $20. My hourly rate is $95, and because the AI does the first pass, each of those hours gets you more done than it would have a few years ago.
AI does the first pass
- Content and format conversion
- First drafts of code
- Tests and page-by-page checks
- Repetitive edits
I do the judgment
- What to build, and what to skip
- Architecture and security
- Reading and testing every change
- Talking with you
How it works
Talk
A free 15-minute call, or three short questions by email: what do you use today and what does it cost, what should it do, and where should it run. For an existing site I look at speed, plugins, hosting cost and upkeep, and tell you what is worth changing, even if the answer is "leave it alone." I tell you the price of any larger assessment before I start it.
Written scope
You get a fixed price or an hour estimate at $95/hour, in writing, before any money changes hands. For a migration I convert one or two pages first, so you can see real results before you commit. You pay 50% by invoice to start.
Build in small steps
I export your content, set up the new stack, and test as I go. You review each piece on a staging copy and approve it before anything goes live. Every old URL is checked one by one.
Launch and hand over
I deploy to production, switch DNS, write the documentation and give your team a 30-minute walkthrough. The other 50% is due when it works. 30 days of fixes are included. After that you can run it yourself, or add the $29/month hosting or $250/month support plan.
What you get
- Code and data you own, in a repository you control
- Open-source tools anyone can pick up later
- Weeks, not months
- One senior engineer, not a hand-off
What you won't get
- Lock-in to a proprietary platform
- Required ongoing fees (support is optional)
- Slide decks instead of working code
- Juniors billing at senior rates
The proof is what I run myself
- This site: one small Flask app, with articles in a TSV file under Git: no database server, no plugins. It serves 199 pages. When I measured on Nov 1, 2026, the homepage HTML was 38 KB (9 KB compressed) and arrived in about 0.15 seconds.
- DBBasic is open source (MIT). dbbasic.com runs on it. The code is on GitHub: dbbasic-object-server, dbbasic-tsv and network-computer.
- AskRobots is my AI work platform, with an MCP server, managed AI agents and an iOS app. The business phone line runs on it.
- StableCoin.com is a live market-data site with about 90 pages and auto-updating news.
- Hands-on AWS work (Lightsail, Lambda, CDN); I held the Solutions Architect certification 2017 to 2019. 16 Fiverr reviews, 15 of them five-star, from clients on four continents (fiverr.com/danquell).
What clients say
Dan is not only a detail oriented Ruby on Rails developer, but his code is readable, organized, and effective. He is also a great communicator, and exceeded all the deadlines we set together.
An absolutely brilliant AWS, Lightsail, WordPress and CDN expert. Highly recommended and will definitely be using danquell again. Excellent communication and excellent response times.
Great communication. Worked out perfectly. New Lightsail instance is 3 times faster and much more responsive.
More about me and more reviews
Questions
Why only $20 for setup?
Because I built the platform and I use AI coding agents every day, so installing and configuring it takes me very little time. The $20 is the front door. The money is in running it for you, in the support plan, and in the custom work you decide you want.
If the code is free, why hire you?
You shouldn't, if you have the time and want to learn it. You'd be paying for what the code doesn't include: setting it up correctly, moving your content without breaking links, someone to call when it goes wrong, and features specific to your business.
What does the phone line actually do?
It answers calls and texts, handles common questions, takes a message and texts me a summary. It is an AI, and it says so. It runs on the AskRobots system, the same company as askrobots.com.
Do you really use AI to write the code?
Yes. AI drafts, and I read and test everything before it ships.
Can I keep my domain and URLs?
Yes. Your domain stays the same and every old URL redirects to its new home. I check them one by one, the same way I checked all 199 URLs on this site.
How will my staff edit content?
On a static site they can edit simple text files, or I can set up a headless CMS. On a dynamic site I build an admin page. Either way it should be easier than WordPress.
Do you provide hosting?
Either I set it up on a server in your own account, or I run it for you at $29/month. Either way you keep control of the data and the code.
What if I should stay on WordPress?
Then I'll tell you. I also fix, speed up and secure WordPress sites, which is what most of my Fiverr reviews are for.
What if something breaks after launch?
30 days of fixes are included. After that, the $250/month support plan or $95/hour covers it. Simple stacks break far less often than a pile of plugins.
Who owns the code, and how do I pay?
You own the code and the data. It lives in a Git repository you control and runs on a server in your own account. For fixed-price work you pay 50% by invoice to start and 50% when it works, with a written scope first. If you'd like an escrow option, I also take Fiverr orders.
Tell me what you need
Send your site address or describe the problem, and any deadline. I reply the same day. Or ask for a free 15-minute call to see if it's a fit.
The phone line is answered by an AI assistant, not a person. It is the business line of the same company as askrobots.com.