Find a local
back-end development

The server-side half of a product: the database, the APIs your app or site calls, the business logic, user accounts and authentication, and the integrations with third-party services like Stripe, your CRM or an email tool. It's the part users never see, but it's what keeps the product reliable. A proper gig also includes testing, deployment to your hosting, and a handover so the code, the repository and the server logins end up in your name.

Front-end is everything the user sees and clicks, the interface in the browser or app. Back-end is the engine behind it: the database, the APIs, the logic that processes a payment or saves an order. When you submit a form, the front-end collects it and the back-end stores and acts on it. Small sites with no accounts or data barely need a back-end. Anything with logins, payments or stored records does, and you want a back-end developer for it.

It depends on the brief, not the developer's habit. Common choices are Node.js, Python (Django or FastAPI), Ruby on Rails, PHP (Laravel) and Go, paired with a database like PostgreSQL, MySQL or MongoDB. Plenty of products run on managed back-ends like Supabase or Firebase to move faster. A good developer recommends a stack off your actual requirements, your budget and who'll maintain it later, then explains the trade-offs in plain English.

An API is the set of endpoints your front-end, mobile app or another service calls to read and write data. You need one whenever something other than the database itself talks to your back-end: a web app fetching a user's orders, a mobile app logging someone in, or a partner pulling your stock levels. If you're building a product with both a website and an app, a clean API is what lets them share the same back-end instead of you building it twice.

A small API with a database and a few endpoints can be stood up in 2 to 4 weeks. A full back-end for a product with accounts, payments, roles and third-party integrations usually runs 2 to 5 months for a first working version. The slow parts are usually the edge cases (what happens when a payment fails, how refunds work, who can see what), so nail those rules down in the brief before the build starts.

Often, yes, and it's a smart way to start. Tools like Supabase, Firebase, Xano and Airtable give you a database, authentication and APIs without writing the plumbing yourself, which is plenty for an early product or an internal tool. The catch comes when you need custom logic, heavy data, tight performance or full control, where managed tools get expensive or hit a wall. A common path is to start on a managed back-end, then have a developer build out the custom parts once the business case is proven.

Ask how they handle the basics: passwords hashed not stored, data validated on the server, secrets kept out of the code, and access locked down so users only see their own records. For load, the questions are whether the database is indexed sensibly and whether the work can grow without a rewrite. You don't need to understand the answers in detail, but a good developer can explain them plainly, and that explanation tells you a lot.

You do. The code, the repository, the database, the server or hosting account and any third-party logins (Stripe, analytics, email) should all sit in your name at handover, along with a doc on how to run and deploy it. Write that into the gig brief before work starts. On Unjumble, handover is a standard stage you sign off before the final payment is released.

Freelance back-end developers in Australia typically charge $120 to $180 an hour, with the broader range running about $100 to $200 depending on experience and specialty. Priced by scope, a small API with a database often lands around $3,000 to $8,000, while a full back-end with accounts, payments and integrations can run $10,000 to $30,000 or more. Get a fixed quote against a written scope where you can.

Look for someone who's shipped products like yours and can point to live ones that handle real data and traffic. Match their stack to your needs, ask how they handle security, testing, deployment and backups, and confirm the handover includes documentation and a clean repository. Read their verified reviews on Unjumble for whether past businesses actually got a maintainable build. A short chat about your requirements tells you fast whether they get it.

Post a back-end development gig in under five minutes. Describe the work, set your budget and timeframe, and choose whether it is time-based or outcome-based. Local freelancers send a bid with a quote, you compare their profiles, portfolios and reviews, then pick the one that fits. Posting is free, so you only pay for the work.

Every gig is split into stages you both agree on up front. You fund each stage before the work starts and it is held securely through Stripe, then released once you sign off. No chasing invoices, and no paying for work that is not done.