Recreationalcoder

Neel Shah is a freelance software engineer and UI/UX designer with over 12 years of professional experience. His full-stack background includes big-data infrastructure, microservices, legacy application modernization, mobile applications, product strategy, team leadership, and design systems.

Clients work directly with the engineer building their software. Neel combines principal-level engineering judgment with modern AI tools, while keeping human review and decision-making central. Engagements are designed to produce maintainable code that a client's team can inherit, including framework conventions, reusable patterns, robust tests, documentation, and a dedicated handoff.

Neel also builds side projects, games, illustrations, generative art, and small tools through his creative labs. These projects help him stay hands-on with software tools and experiment with new approaches.

Websites and digital presence

• Landing pages for campaigns, events, and programs
• Custom websites, including e-commerce stores
• Signup and payment flow audits and improvements
• Content management system implementation
• Accessibility improvements for screen reader users, keyboard navigators, and people who rely on high contrast
• Mobile optimization for layout, interaction, and performance issues

Reporting and analytics

• Reporting dashboards connected to real data
• Interactive data visualizations
• Custom data pipelines to replace spreadsheet-and-email reporting workflows

Internal tools and automation

• Workflow automation for processes such as form processing, data synchronization, notifications, and report generation
• Custom web applications, including dashboards, intake forms, and admin panels
• Integrations between existing tools
• Shared component libraries
• AI chatbots for answering questions, routing requests, and guiding users through processes
• AI readers and summarizers for extracting information and summarizing documents

Additional services

• Native and cross-platform mobile applications
• Game development with Unity or modern web technologies
• Software coaching with code review, architecture guidance, and deliberate practice
• Debugging and code optimization without a full rewrite

Hourly

$200 per development hour

• Pay for the development time needed
• Suitable for quick fixes, last-minute ideas, or changing goals
• Hours can be tracked in real time

Project

Fixed cost

• Budget is established upfront
• Intended for work with a defined scope and clear finish line
• No hidden fees or unexpected additions are described in the pricing model

Retainer

Starting at $10,000 annually

• Includes five dedicated development hours every month
• Provides ongoing access for updates and new ideas
• Requires 90 days' notice if the client needs to change direction

Solo plus AI

Neel works directly with clients to gather requirements and uses an LLM to refine them. He defines architectural principles or design guidelines, reviews them, and then uses agentic coding tools to help implement the work.

Testing and security

Refined requirements make it possible to generate useful test coverage earlier and faster. This supports test-driven development, helps catch regressions early, reduces long-term costs, and makes handoff easier.

Documentation and handoff

Every engagement ends with a real handoff. Deliverables may include READMEs, architecture notes, runbooks, and other documentation. Neel reviews and refines generated documentation so the client's team can understand and maintain the software.

Legacy discovery

Code-aware AI tools and varied engineering experience help Neel become familiar with an existing codebase in days rather than weeks. This is intended to reduce onboarding overhead for clients with existing infrastructure.

The working model emphasizes senior judgment, face-to-face collaboration, fewer handoffs, and code that reflects consistent care from architecture through testing.

Noteefy wanted to modernize its admin analytics for golf course operators. Recreationalcoder rebuilt the dashboard using Snowflake, Python FastAPI, and React, replacing a fragmented MongoDB Charts implementation.

The work included analytics architecture, stored procedures, a FastAPI microservice, Redis caching, reusable React components, universal filtering, visualizations, and PDF report downloads. Lifetime dashboard load times for the largest multi-course operator improved from approximately 60 to 12 seconds for Platform, 90 to 20 seconds for Waitlist, and 45 to 8 seconds for Confirm.

Shiftgen

Shiftgen's popular application for emergency-room administrative staff scheduling was brought into the modern era with a redesigned and implemented interface. The work included collaboration with visual designer Logan LaBo.

Ebb and Flow Massage Studio

For a massage practice relocating to Washington, DC, Recreationalcoder created a brand and logo, built a Next.js website, and connected Google Business Profile, Jane booking, and Google Ads with conversion tracking.

The site included a signature water-drop page transition, service-focused information architecture, direct links to individual booking flows, and tracking for confirmed appointments. Over roughly ten weeks, the campaign recorded 7.15K impressions, 295 clicks, and 26 booking conversions, with an 8.8% conversion rate.

Tribal Detox

Recreationalcoder rebuilt Tribal Detox's website on Next.js, expanded the number of pages that could rank, and ran a full SEO program. The site rose from the bottom of page two to the first page for its target searches within weeks.

Client feedback

Clients describe Neel as quick to ramp up on codebases, self-starting, responsive, thoughtful, and effective at delivering website, SEO, AI, data, design-system, and software work.