Build a chat application — real-time messaging for your specific use case.
Chat is a feature, not a product category. In-app support chat. Team communication. Peer-to-peer messaging within a marketplace. Customer-to-business messaging. The right architecture depends on the use case.
Platform founder who needs real-time messaging built into their product — not a standalone chat tool, but chat as a feature embedded in a specific workflow
Real-time chat has specific infrastructure requirements that differ from standard request-response web applications:
WebSocket connections: Chat requires persistent connections between client and server. Vercel's serverless functions have connection time limits. Chat needs a stateful connection layer (Ably, Pusher, or a dedicated WebSocket server).
Message persistence: Messages must be stored for history retrieval. The data model needs to support: conversations, messages, read receipts, and reactions.
Presence: "Who is online?" requires a presence system that tracks active connections.
Message delivery: Delivered to online users via WebSocket. Delivered to offline users via push notification or email.
Types of chat that need custom architecture:
- Marketplace buyer-seller messaging (tied to transaction records)
- Multi-party project chat (team members + client + specific project)
- Support chat with routing and escalation
- Live event chat with moderation
Chat application or embedded chat feature deployed — real-time messaging, channels or direct messages, message history, and notifications
Real-time messaging
WebSockets via Ably or Pusher
Conversation model
1:1, group, or channel-based
Message history
stored in Postgres with pagination
Read receipts
delivered/read status per message
Typing indicators
real-time typing state
Notifications
push and email for offline messages
One honest number to start.
Fixed-scope, fixed-price. The number below is the starting point — final scope is built from your brief.
Chat application or embedded chat feature deployed — real-time messaging, channels or direct messages, message history, and notifications
Three steps, every time.
The same repeatable engagement on every project. No surprises, no mystery, no billable ambiguity.
Brief & discovery.
We send you questions, then get on a call. Output: a written scope with every step, feature, and integration listed.
Build & ship.
Fixed schedule, weekly reviews. No scope creep unless you change the scope — and if you do, we reprice it transparently.
Warranty & retainer.
30-day warranty on every launch. Most clients stay on a monthly retainer for ongoing features and maintenance.
Why Fixed-Price Matters Here
Chat features have defined messaging and presence patterns. Fixed-price from the spec.
Related engagements.
Questions, answered.
Stream Chat (getstream.io) provides an SDK that handles the WebSocket layer, reducing implementation time by ~50%. Use Stream Chat when getting to market fast is the priority. Custom implementation when the chat UX needs to be deeply customized or Stream Chat's cost at scale is a concern.
Yes. File upload to S3 with pre-signed URLs. Image preview inline. File download link for other types.
Tell Ryel about your project.
Describe what you’re building and what outcome you need. You’ll have a written, fixed-price scope within the week.