Web Development · New Zealand
Website developers
who build for results.
Custom website development on a modern stack - engineered to rank, built to convert, and handed over so you own everything. Builds from $2,000, ecommerce from $4,000.
River Path Home Loans
Manta5 Hydrofoils
Empower Software
PPC Foiling
Hofman Roofing
Hidden Springs
Agilis Consulting
Go Waipa
Presto Dryer
ZeroJet
Tectrax
Storage Care Hub
RB Thomas Builders
Airmax Website
Airmax - 10x Visibility in 28 Days
The NZ Web Development Reality
Custom development used to mean $20,000 and three months. Not anymore.
Traditional NZ development shops price by the hour, and custom work takes a lot of hours - which is why most small businesses got pushed onto WordPress templates and drag-and-drop builders instead.
AI-assisted development changed the economics. Our senior team directs the architecture, the strategy, and the quality control; AI does the production heavy lifting. The result is fully custom development - modern stack, deep content, proper integrations - at prices that used to buy a template.
Custom development is affordable again. Most of the market hasn't noticed yet.
What We Develop
Six kinds of build we do every month.
Marketing websites that rank
Custom-developed business sites with 50-100 pages of structured, keyword-researched content. Built on Next.js for sub-second loads and clean structured data - the technical foundations Google rewards.
Ecommerce builds
Custom stores with Stripe payments, inventory, and product catalogues - or deep work inside Shopify when that's the right platform. Either way, engineered so the store actually gets found.
Redesigns & replatforms
Moving off WordPress, Wix, or an ageing custom build without losing your rankings. Full redirect mapping, content migration, and a measurable before/after.
Integrations & automation
Booking systems, CRMs, quote calculators, email automation, analytics pipelines. We wire your website into the tools your business runs on, so leads flow where they should.
AI-powered features
From AI-assisted content systems to sites with an AI backend engine that personalises and updates content. We build at the front of what's possible, not five years behind it.
Performance & SEO engineering
Core web vitals, schema markup, crawlability, llms.txt for AI search. The invisible engineering that decides whether a site ranks - done properly, verifiable in the numbers.
Engineering You Can Measure
The proof is in Search Console, not the portfolio.
Anyone can show you screenshots. We show you the measurement: when we redeveloped Airmax's sitefrom a basic WordPress build to a 98-page search-engineered one, Google clicks went from 63 to 396 a month within two months, organic users rose 630%, and the owner's phone went from 2 calls a day to 10.
That's what development quality looks like when it's engineered for outcomes: structure Google can read, speed users don't notice, and content depth competitors can't match.
The Process
From scope to shipped in 4 weeks.
Fixed price, clear deliverables, full visibility every step.
01
Scope & Architecture
Week 1
We map the requirements, the content architecture, and the integrations. You get a fixed-price quote and a build plan - no hourly-rate mystery.
02
Develop & Iterate
Weeks 2–3
AI-assisted development on a modern stack means you see real builds every few days, not mockups. Feedback turns around in hours.
03
Launch & Handover
Week 4
We launch, wire up analytics, and hand over everything - code, repo, documentation, and training. You own the asset outright.
Our Work
Development work for NZ businesses.
AI-assisted builds. Fast, search-optimised, and handed over so the owner can edit themselves.
PPC Foiling
ZeroJet
Agilis Jettenders
Tectrax
Manta5
Hidden Springs Retreat
Trailer World
Empower Software
Common questions.
What's the difference between a web designer and a web developer?
Designers make it look right; developers make it work. In practice you need both, and at King Tide the same build covers both: custom design plus proper development - performance, structured data, integrations, and clean code you own. You don't need to hire two suppliers and referee between them.
How much does website development cost in NZ?
Business websites from $2,000. Advanced marketing sites and ecommerce from $4,000. Larger builds with custom integrations scale with scope, and everything is quoted fixed-price upfront. Traditional NZ development shops charge $10,000-$50,000+ for comparable work because they're building by hand at hourly rates.
What stack do you develop on?
Next.js and React - the same technology used by Nike, Netflix, and Notion - deployed on modern edge hosting. It's faster, more secure, and better for SEO than WordPress, and there are no plugins to maintain or licence fees to pay.
Why are your development prices so much lower than other NZ developers?
AI-assisted development. Our senior team directs strategy and architecture while AI does the heavy lifting on production - which collapses the hours that make traditional development expensive. Same output quality, verified in the results: clients ranking on page one within weeks of launch.
Do I own the code?
Completely. Code, repository, content, domain, analytics - all in your name from day one. Leave whenever you like and take everything with you. No proprietary platform, no lock-in contracts, no hostage fees.
Can you take over an existing website another developer built?
Usually, yes. We audit what exists, tell you honestly whether it's worth extending or replacing, and give you a fixed price either way. If your current site is held hostage by a developer, we can help you get it back.
Do you develop web apps or just websites?
Our core work is marketing websites, ecommerce, and the integrations around them - including AI-backed features. For full software products we'll tell you straight if the project needs a dedicated software team.
Can you maintain the site after launch?
You won't need much maintenance - modern stacks don't rot like WordPress does. We hand over training and documentation so you can edit it yourself, and we're available for bigger changes at fixed prices when you want them.
Related services & reading
More on how we build websites that earn their keep.
Case Studies
Real results from real businesses.
View all →
Airmax
A basic WordPress site replaced with a 98-page, search-optimised website - built with AI. Two months later: search visibility up 29x, Google clicks up 6x, and the phone doesn't stop.
1 → 10+
Calls per day
29x
Search visibility, 2 months
Empower Software
A workshop-software company with a tight ad budget and a flat year behind it. Three months later: a paid lead engine that scales, a search-optimised site pulling free organic traffic, and the first leads landing in Australia.
31
Qualified workshop leads, first 3 months
~$102
Cost per qualified lead
Alpha Trailers
A tired WordPress site replaced with a fast, search-optimised website - built with AI, live in six weeks. The owner now edits it himself in plain English.
199
Google clicks, first week
4,360
Impressions, first week
River Path Home Loans
A team of mortgage advisers left an established brokerage to start their own firm - no brand, no website, no online presence. Seven days later they had all three.
7
Days to launch
55+
Pages built
PPC Foiling
From 7 dealers to 95 - how a Kiwi wing foiling brand built a global B2B channel from scratch with King Tide.
7→95
Dealers across NA & Europe
Consistent
Reorders from dealer network
Smart Housing Solutions
From tyre-kickers to 6 signed contracts in two weeks. How a husband-and-wife tiny home business in New Zealand transformed their marketing from scattered to strategic.
6
Contracts in 2 weeks
10+
Quality leads per week
Testimonials
Don't take our word for it.
“The team deliver results at more than twice the pace and impact than normal marketing executives. A real hands on do and deliver team. Jumping from strategy to execution and results in days. The best marketing exec I have ever worked with.”
Mark Robotham
CEO, Manta5
“Louis has a rare and hard-to-find talent for reaching and engaging a target market. He made marketing a core competency of our business. I'm still blown away by the reach and engagement we had on social media and the thousands of enquiries we received over the years.”
Guy Howard-Willis
Founder, Torpedo 7
“The foiling industry is super competitive, and standing out isn't easy. We've made huge progress - we're selling more to end consumers and signing up dealers faster than we ever have. It's momentum.”
Sam Loader
Founder, PPC Foiling
“The team at King Tide are great people to work with. They strike a rare balance between big picture strategic thinking and sharp execution to ensure they deliver actual results, not just glossy reports. Highly recommend.”
Greg Johnston
37 South Capital
“Louis and Ella at King Tide are incredible, after a full brief, intel gathering and outlining our current frustrations and what we were looking for, these guys delivered!! Not only were they incredibly responsive, but they were also intuitive to tap into our Industry to produce result quickly, collaboratively and without fuss - would 100% recommend.”
Cherrie Wheeler
Presto Resourcing
“We've been using King Tide for 12 months as a general advisor for all marketing. The improvement we've seen in our business is off the charts and I see no other reason for it. They're awesome to deal with, incredibly knowledgeable, and their advice works. Can not recommend enough.”
Jake
RB Thomas Building
Need a website developed properly?
Get a fixed-price quote in under 48 hours. We'll tell you exactly what we'd build, on what stack, and what it would cost - including if your existing site is worth keeping.