A Baton Rouge software developer for the people who actually need to ship something real.
I'm Joshua, the software consultant behind Jawetzel LLC, based in Prairieville. I build websites, web applications, and custom software for Baton Rouge–area operators: modernizing aging in-house systems, shipping net-new products, and adding the AI tooling that wraps around them. On-site for the kickoff and cutover, remote for the build.
First conversation is on me. No invoice, no high-pressure pitch.
Service area
On-site across the Baton Rouge metro.
Greater Baton Rouge is the in-person service area: Prairieville, St. George, Baton Rouge proper, Gonzales, and Denham Springs. Outside that radius the work runs remote, and that's fine: most of what I've shipped has been remote anyway.
- Prairievillehome base
- St. Georgenext door
- Gonzales10 min east
- Baton Rouge30 min to downtown
- Denham Springs25 min north
- Remote, USalways available
What I build
Software that runs the company, done by the person writing it.
Custom web app development
Internal tools, customer portals, and back-office systems built on Next.js + .NET Core or Node. Production-grade from day one, with auth, payments, and audit trails included.
Legacy system modernization
Aging VB, classic ASP, or in-house .NET platforms migrated onto a modern stack incrementally, without the cutover weekend that takes the company offline.
AI-assisted ops tooling
AI baked into workflows your team already uses (pre-fill, audits, batch repair), wrapped in dry-run + review so an agent can't quietly break production.
Stripe & payments integration
Subscriptions, marketplaces, autopay, app fees, chargeback auto-block, idempotent webhooks. The implementation that passes a real audit.
Security reviews & hardening
Zero-knowledge review, written report, and concrete fixes. The same exposure companies get blindsided by, found before your customer asks.
Compliance & regulated workflows
Six years inside a compliance platform: audit logs, role-based access, signed PDF deliverables, immutable history. The boring parts done right.
Why local matters
Three things you only get from someone in the room.
Not the only reasons to hire me, but the ones that change when you can drive to the same building.
Kickoffs go faster in person
The first conversation about a real system, the one where you're pointing at screens and explaining the workaround the night-shift folks use, is the conversation that decides the whole project. It's a lot easier in person.
Cutovers run smoother on-site
When the new system goes live and the team has questions, being in the room for a day or two beats every Slack channel. I plan for that on local engagements.
You can vet me before you wire money
Coffee in Baton Rouge, a tour of your office, a hand-shake after. That's a different decision than hiring an overseas freelancer off a marketplace. The risk profile is just lower.
A different option
Not a web design agency. Not an IT company.
If you've talked to a few Baton Rouge web design or IT shops and the fit isn't quite right, here's where I tend to land.
vs. a web design shop
Past the marketing site
Most Baton Rouge web design and website design firms do excellent brochure sites and brand work. That's their craft. I sit one layer deeper: the customer portal, the booking flow, the back-office tool, the integration with Stripe or your ERP. Different problem, different toolset. Hire whichever fits the job.
vs. an IT services company
Software, not networks
Baton Rouge IT companies are great at networks, helpdesk, Microsoft 365, and the box-of-cables side of running a business. Different specialty. I write the application your team uses every day, the thing the IT folks then keep online.
vs. an offshore freelancer
A name and a face
Cheaper hourly rates exist. They come with timezone gaps, turnover risk, and the work-product variance that's hard to vet from a marketplace listing. I'm a half-hour from your office and have six years of production code you can read.
The work
Production code, real users.
Each one I built end-to-end. Click through for the problem-to-outcome story on each.
Case study · 01
CookJunkie
A WordPress-to-Next.js migration of a 15,000-recipe site, with AI-repaired legacy data, AI-assisted recipe authoring, a social cooking community, and a Stripe + Lulu print-on-demand cookbook business on top.
Case study · 02
Security Review
A zero-knowledge review of a mid-size B2B distributor that turned up 14 unauthenticated dashboards, customer financials, and wholesale pricing on roughly 45,000 products, all served without a login.
Case study · 03
TutorTab
A Stripe Connect platform where independent tutors accept their own payments and parents run autopay across every tutor. Magic-link sign-in, two-way Google Calendar sync, an automated reminder cascade, and the same engine white-labeled as TrainerTab for personal trainers.
Case study · 04
Vorbiz
A native iOS + Android POS for market vendors with offline-first multi-device sync, QR-based sale capture, bulk inventory import from CSV or a Google Sheets URL, and sales-tax + revenue reports they can hand to their accountant.
Receipts
What clients say
“Placeholder. Real client quotes slot in here as engagements close. In the meantime: I treat every inquiry personally, overcommunicate on scope, and ship what we agreed to.”
Common questions
The things every prospect asks.
Do you work on-site for Baton Rouge clients?
Yes. For Baton Rouge, Prairieville, St. George, Gonzales, and Denham Springs I'm happy to do the kickoff, the cutover, and any in-person workshops on-site. The day-to-day build happens from my office in Prairieville so you're not paying for windshield time.
How is this different from a Baton Rouge web design company?
Web design and website design firms in Baton Rouge mostly do the front of the house: visual design, brand, content, the marketing site. That's a real craft and not what I do. I sit one layer deeper: the customer portal behind the login, the booking flow, the back-office tool, the integration with Stripe or your ERP. If you need both, the two roles work well alongside each other.
Who am I contracting with?
Jawetzel LLC, a Louisiana limited liability company based in Prairieville. Contracts, invoices, and W-9s come from the LLC. The work itself is still me, so you're not getting handed to a bench of subcontractors after the sales call.
What kind of company do you typically work with?
Companies where the in-house system is load-bearing (billing, scheduling, dispatch, compliance, the customer portal) and where one developer who owns the whole thing is more useful than standing up a team. Big enough to need real software, small enough to move fast on it.
What stack do you build on?
Day-to-day: Next.js + TypeScript on the front end, .NET Core or Node on the back, MongoDB or PostgreSQL underneath, Stripe for payments, AWS or Railway for hosting. I use the stack that matches the problem, not the other way around.
How are projects priced?
Fixed-scope projects get a fixed price after a discovery conversation. Ongoing or modernization work is monthly retainer, scoped by what you actually need that month. No surprise invoices.
How fast can you start?
Currently taking on one new engagement per quarter. The contact form is the fastest way in. I read every inquiry personally and reply within a couple of business days.
Is the consult actually free?
Yes. The first conversation is on me: usually 30 minutes, in person locally or over a call. I'll listen to what you're trying to do, ask the questions that matter, and tell you honestly whether it's a fit. If it isn't, I'll point you at someone who's a better match. No invoice, no auto-enrollment in a mailing list.
↓ Next step
The first conversation is free.
Tell me what you're building and what's stuck. I read every inquiry personally, and the first call (30 minutes) is on me. If it's a fit, we'll talk scope. If not, I'll point you somewhere better.