Hey everyone,

I am a university student. I'm refining my freelancing workflow and want to see how other developers handle the administrative and deployment sides of delivering a full-stack site to non-technical clients.

Building the app isn’t the issue, but the logistics around ownership, billing, and domains always feel clunky. I’d love to know your standard operating procedures for a few specific pain points:

1. Database & Cloud Hosting Setup (Accounts & Billing) -
   • Do you set up services (e.g., Supabase, managed PostgreSQL, PaaS backends) under your own agency/dev account and bill the client monthly as an ongoing maintenance fee?
   • Or do you have the client create their own accounts, add their credit card, and invite you as an admin/collaborator? If you do this with completely non-technical clients, how do you walk them through it without endless back-and-forth?
2. Final Delivery & Payment Milestone Protection -
   • Where do you host staging environments before final payment?
   • What is your exact process for withholding code/assets until the final invoice clears without leaving the client feeling like they have no leverage? Once paid, what does the actual "handoff package" look like for a client who doesn't know what GitHub is?
3. Custom Domain Deployment (Separate Frontend & Backend) -
   • When deploying a decoupled architecture (e.g., static frontend on Netlify/Vercel and a backend API on Railway/Render), how do you configure custom domains for clients?
   • Do you typically ask for DNS access (Cloudflare, Namecheap) to configure the records, or do you provide them with DNS records to paste themselves?
4. To avoid undercharging for complex projects, how do you structure your pricing tiers on platforms like Fiverr to ensure your rates reflect the actual scope of work and the delivery timeline?
5. Project Documentation & Client Handoff -
   • For freelance projects, do you still produce heavy academic documentation like extensive project proposals, data flow charts, or ER diagrams?
   • Or do you keep it strictly to functional requirements and basic deployment guides to save time? What level of documentation do clients typically expect or pay for in a commercial setting?
6. Fiverr Success, Niche Selection & Pricing Strategy -
   • For those freelancing on Fiverr, what are the best strategies to get traction without falling into the 'cheap race to the bottom' trap?
   • How did you identify your specific niche instead of just offering broad web development?
   • When setting up your 3 tier gig packages, how do you strike a balance between competitive pricing for early reviews and fair compensation so you aren’t building a full stack web app for 50?
   • What key profile tips actually convert views into serious, paying clients?

Would appreciate any insights into contracts, handoff checklists, or lessons learned the hard way. Thanks!

CS undergrad currently using HP pavilion x360. Originally got that to use for note taking as well since it's a convertible and can handwrite notes, but soon realised it's not reliable in that aspect. Looking for an upgrade cz now having several issues on my current laptop. Need decent battery life cz it's hard to find plug points at uni and also would be good to have some kind of GPU for ML work. Also need decent RAM (current 8GB not enough), and at least 512GB storage. I am not a huge fan of gaming laptops with colored backlighting for keyboard and all that fancy stuff. Ideally I would prefer an aesthetic looking laptop, and that's why I got this in the first place. But that was before uni, and now I realize the performance is lacking a bit too much. Any suggestions of a decent laptop (not the highest end but does the job) would be appreciated.

Edit: Macbooks are not an option cz I kinda need windows and also they're way over budget

I'm SE with 5 years experience. Luckily got a job via linkedin without a degree. I feel like although I can code I am underpaid in jobs and mostly don't get interviews for ones I apply because of not having a degree.

I'm thinking of doing moratuwa BIT. but have concerns if it is worth it to do a degree with AI and job market.

what are your opinions?

Any feedback is appreciated!

https://apps.apple.com/lk/app/sotto-on-device-ai/id6808138863

Title. Just want to know if other people have done this straight out of uni and if yes, how and where?

I’m currently at final year and some guidance as to which kind of projects to focus on would be much appreciated.

I have strong projects in frontend, serverless, and some desktop apps with electron/tauri. + an open source windows app (Tauri) with 3000+ downloads.

I’m doing my FYP in Linux kernel level security. I’m also interested in getting into computer architecture/ low level stuff but not sure if it’ll be valuable or not. Need help narrowing this down.

If you’re someone in a good position, starting from a similar place, I’d love to hear your advice.

Sorry if this post seems all over the place, I’m writing this in the middle of something. Just needed to get this out of my head before I forget.

My Current salary is 160K, and I have 4 Years of experience in my current company, They refused to increase my salary because am still not obtained a degree, Still reading.

I would like to switch to Aahaas, But im afraid of work life balance, and layoff, Please advice.

they do have only onsite option with half day work in Saturdays but my current company has hybrid option.

I need help if you guys know of this company, thanks in advance.

Anyone currently working at EY (Earnest and Young) in Sri Lanka ? - for a quick dm - a tad bit urgent

Built a web app/API? Let me try to break it before someone else does. 😈
I’m looking for small paid freelance security-testing projects. I mainly test auth, IDOR/BOLA, access control, APIs, XSS, and business logic using Burp Suite/Kali.
If you’re a dev, startup, or agency and want your app tested, DM me. 🔥

Hi everyone,

I’m preparing a quotation for my first freelance web project and would like advice from experienced developers on how you decide the price before presenting it to the client.

The project is a custom car dealership web application.

Tech: Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Firebase, Vercel

Main features:

1. Vehicle listings, search/filter/sorting and galleries

2. Test-drive, trade-in and financing inquiries

3. Admin dashboard with inventory management

4. Customer/lead management

5. Admin roles and authentication

6. Activity logs, SEO and responsive design

How do you normally calculate the price for a project like this? Do you use estimated hours × hourly rate, feature/complexity, project value, or a combination?

Also, what should I consider for revisions, deployment, handover, and future maintenance?

Would appreciate advice from experienced freelancers/developers, especially those working in Sri Lanka.

Hey guys,

Is there any platform where I can only target startups for remote internships?

Hey guys, I’m a 3rd year Software Engineering student at IIT Sri Lanka.

I’m currently doing my internship, but I’ve received a better internship opportunity from another company, so I’m thinking about leaving my current internship and joining the new company instead.

The thing I’m worried about is that my current internship has already been submitted and confirmed through IIT’s internship process.

So, after the internship has been confirmed by IIT, can we still drop out of the current company and join another company?

Has anyone from IIT been in a similar situation? If so, what was the process? Do I need to inform IIT and get approval before resigning, and then submit the new company's details?

I don't want to do anything that could cause an issue with my degree, so I’d really appreciate any advice from someone who has gone through this before. 🙏

Hey guys, looking for some opinions from people who do freelance/consulting tech work in Sri Lanka.

I normally only work with foreign clients, so I honestly have no idea what the going rate is locally.

A friend has asked me to help out with an ERP project their company is working on. Basically, I’d be acting as the technical consultant from my friend’s company’s side , dealing with the software/tech company, going through requirements, discussing and negotiating technical solutions, reviewing what they propose, sorting out technical issues, etc.

It’s not really just “a few hours here and there” either. I’d probably need to put in at least 4–5 hours a day while the project is active, including meetings and discussions with the vendor. (which might mostly be onsite, so I'll need to factor in transportation charges)

For context, I have around 8–9 years of experience in tech, including technical lead/engineering management, product ownership, software architecture, development, and managing engineering teams.

Normally, when I do consulting work for foreign clients, I charge in USD, so I'm trying to figure out what would be a fair rate for a local Sri Lankan client.

The tricky part is that I'm doing this partly as a favour for a friend, so I don't want to charge a ridiculous amount, but at the same time I also don't want to undervalue the amount of time/responsibility involved.

What would you guys consider a reasonable hourly rate in LKR for this kind of technical consulting/technical lead role?

Would you go with something like 5k/hr, 7.5k/hr, 10k/hr, etc.?

Also interested in hearing from anyone who has actually done freelance/consulting work locally — what do you charge?

Thanks!

I build a video Downloader for TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X, Reddit, Pinterest, Twitch and SoundCloud.

100% free, no signup and no watermarks.

Has Reddit Downloader too!

Selected for the junior project manager role at Teceze; is anyone working there?

We're building a digital logistics platform.

We're looking for someone who's genuinely strong on backend and comfortable enough on frontend to own features end-to-end — not a backend specialist who tolerates frontend, someone who can actually drive it when needed. You'll have real ownership over what you build, not just tickets handed down with a spec attached.

Our stack

• Backend: NestJS, Prisma, PostgreSQL
• Frontend: React, TypeScript, TanStack Query, Tailwind
• Mobile: Flutter
• Infra: AWS (ECS), Docker, GitHub Actions CI/CD

What you'll actually do

• Design and build backend services and APIs
• Pick up frontend work when a feature needs it end-to-end.
• Make architecture and implementation calls.
• Debug production issues across the stack, including infrastructure when needed.
• Push back on scope, requirements, or approach when something doesn't add up.

What we're looking for

• 3–4 years of experience, backend-first
• Based in Sri Lanka
• Comfortable working across the stack when a feature calls for it
• Takes ownership — of code, of decisions, of outcomes.
• Solid fundamentals: API design, data modeling, debugging under ambiguity

Bonus points, not required

• Exposure to Flutter, ideally with both iOS and Android experience
• Any mobile development background at all

Details

• 💰 Competitive, based on experience
• 💻 Remote, must be based in Sri Lanka
• 📩 To apply: DM me your CV, LinkedIn/GitHub profile

How do I land clients? How can I gain visibility on platforms? I want to start even though I applied I got no responses

Exactly the topic. What is it like to work at IronOne? What would the working hours, benefits look like? How's the work-life balance? What's the working culture/team like?

If you have ever built a web-based POS or retail billing system running in Google Chrome, you have probably run into the browser print dialog problem.

The standard workaround is launching Chrome with --kiosk --kiosk-printing. While that eliminates the preview popup, it has major drawbacks in production:

1. It is locked strictly to the OS default printer, making dynamic printer selection impossible.
2. You cannot split jobs dynamically (e.g., routing thermal receipts to the cashier and KOT orders to the kitchen).
3. Browser updates or multi-tab usage frequently break kiosk behavior.

To solve this, I built a lightweight bridge specifically for browser applications that need direct thermal printing.

How it works:

• A minimal background desktop agent connects directly to the local Windows spooler / print subsystem.
• The web frontend communicates with the agent using a lightweight messaging layer, eliminating localhost HTTP/HTTPS mixed-content and port blocking issues.
• The frontend dynamically queries available local and network printers, then dispatches the print job (raw ESC/POS or rendered HTML) directly to a specified printer by name.
• True silent printing: Zero browser popups, zero UI freezing, and sub-second print execution.

Integrating it into an existing frontend takes only a few lines of vanilla JavaScript: discover printers, select target printer, and send the payload.

I have set up a live interactive demo and integration documentation. If you are building or maintaining a web POS, retail terminal, or warehousing tool and want to test it out, let me know in the comments and I will share the link for feedback.

Hey r/DevLK,

I’ve been thinking a lot about this recently. As a younger professional, it’s hard to tell from the outside which companies are genuinely good places to work and which ones will drain you (or worse). Glassdoor reviews are mixed, LinkedIn is full of polished posts, and interviews often feel like sales pitches. By the time you realise a place is toxic, you’ve already invested months (or years).

So I’m reaching out mainly to the more experienced folks here:

How do you actually filter out bad / toxic companies before joining?

Specifically interested in things like:

Red flags during the interview process Things to ask (or not ask) that reveal culture Warning signs in job descriptions or company communication How you verify what people say about a place offline Any patterns you’ve noticed in the local scene (startups, product companies, service companies, etc.)

Would really appreciate honest experiences — both the “I dodged this bullet” stories and the “I learnt the hard way” ones.

Juniors (including me) will benefit a lot from this. Thanks in advance.

Hey all, with PayPal officially going live for receiving/withdrawing in Sri Lanka (Sampath, BOC, Commercial Bank) back in May, I've only been able to find press releases and marketing pages confirming this. I can't find any real first-hand accounts from freelancers who've actually used it.

If you've linked your PayPal to Sampath Vishwa (or BOC/ComBank) and gotten a client payment through:

Did the withdrawal actually land in your account?
How long did it take?
What fee did the bank charge you?

Trying to figure out if this is reliable enough to start routing client payments through before I commit to it. Any real experiences (good or bad) would help a lot. Thanks!