RubyWeb - The WordPress Development Agency for US Businesses That Want More From Their Website
RubyWeb is a WordPress development agency for US businesses that need a website built to perform – not just to exist. We design, build, and manage WordPress websites and WooCommerce stores that generate leads, grow revenue, and reflect the quality of the businesses behind them. Every project is delivered through a structured eight-phase process by a senior, English-speaking team that treats each website like it’s our own business to grow.
We work with US businesses across eCommerce, SaaS, B2B, automotive, storage, medical, industrial, and real estate – and we’ve been doing it long enough to know that the difference between a website that works and one that doesn’t usually isn’t the platform. It’s the commercial thinking that goes into it.
From WeDev.Africa to RubyWeb - An Evolution, Not a Starting Over
RubyWeb isn’t a new company. It’s the next version of one that has been building websites, delivering projects, and serving clients for years.
We started as WeDev.Africa – a web development team that built a strong foundation of technical capability, client relationships, and delivery experience across multiple markets and industries. The work was good. The process was disciplined. The outcomes were real. But as the team grew and the client base expanded, it became clear that what we had built deserved a structure and a brand that matched its actual ambition.
RubyWeb is that structure. The same team, the same technical depth, the same commitment to delivery quality – wrapped in a clearer positioning, a more defined process, and a commercial focus that puts client growth at the center of everything we do. The name changed. The foundation didn’t.
The transition to RubyWeb also marked a closer alignment with Ruby Digital, one of South Africa’s leading performance marketing agencies. That relationship isn’t one of dependency or ownership – RubyWeb operates as an independent company. What it gives us is proximity to commercial thinking – the marketing instincts, conversion mindset, and performance standards of a results-driven environment – that we bring into every web project we deliver.
Today, RubyWeb serves clients in South Africa and the United States, with US market development a strategic priority. We’re not trying to be the biggest WordPress agency in the world. We’re trying to be the most commercially valuable one to the businesses we choose to work with.
What RubyWeb Actually Does
We’re specific about this because vague agency descriptions don’t help anyone evaluate whether we’re the right fit.
WordPress Website Development
We design and build custom WordPress websites for businesses that need a digital presence built for lead generation, brand credibility, and long-term growth. Custom architecture, brand-aligned design, and WordPress development that produces clean, maintainable, performant code. Not themes. Not page builders. Custom.
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WooCommerce Development
We build WooCommerce online stores for businesses that want full ownership of their eCommerce operation - no per-transaction platform fees, no restrictive templates, no ceiling on what the store can do. Conversion-focused from product page to checkout.
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Performance Optimization
We optimize WordPress and WooCommerce sites for speed, Core Web Vitals compliance, and Google Lighthouse benchmarks. Slow sites lose rankings before they lose visitors. We fix the technical causes, measure the results, and document the improvement.
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CRM Integration & Custom Development
We connect WordPress websites to the systems businesses run on - CRM platforms, APIs, custom internal tools, booking systems, payment processors. When a plugin doesn’t exist for the requirement, we build one. When an integration needs to be purpose-built rather than approximated, we build that too.
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Ongoing Maintenance & Hosting
We manage WordPress sites on an ongoing basis for businesses that don’t want to think about plugin updates, security monitoring, backups, or hosting configuration. Monthly care plans and managed hosting that keep sites secure, fast, and running - with a monthly report so clients always know the current state of their site.
Learn MoreHow We Think About Web Development
Most web agencies start with design. We start with the question every business should be asking about their website: is it working?
That belief shapes everything about how we approach a project. We start with your business goals, not a template. We map the user journey before we touch a wireframe. We make UX decisions based on what drives conversion, not what looks impressive in a portfolio. And we measure every site against Google Lighthouse before it goes live, because our benchmark for ‘done’ is performance, not aesthetics.
We call this being outcome-led. It means the website exists to deliver a commercial result – more leads, more revenue, more credibility, or better operational efficiency – and every decision we make on the project is evaluated against that outcome. Not against what’s on trend, not against what the last client had, and not against what makes for a nice-looking design presentation.
It also means we’re direct with clients when something won’t work. We don’t build what’s been briefed if we think the brief is wrong. We say so, we explain why, and we recommend what will actually deliver the outcome the client is trying to achieve. That kind of honesty isn’t always comfortable. In our experience, it’s what long-term client relationships are built on.
"Our belief is simple: your website should work harder. That means generating leads, supporting your sales process, and contributing directly to business growth - not just existing as a digital brochure."
Leadership
RubyWeb’s leadership team brings together web development expertise, commercial strategy, and business operations experience. The people making decisions about how this company grows and how it serves its clients.
Martin Spautz
Executive board member
Martin Spautz is the Director and Head of Web Solutions at RubyWeb, where he leads the agency's technical strategy, delivery standards, and commercial growth. With over 25 years of experience in web development, Martin specializes in custom WordPress and WooCommerce builds, UX architecture, and conversion-focused digital strategy. His work is grounded in performance and SEO best practices, with a growing focus on the role of AI in user-centric product development. Every project under his leadership is built to work harder for the business it serves.
Marike Heyneke
Head of Operations
Marike Heyneke is the Head of Operations at RubyWeb, bringing 17 years of experience in IT and project management to every client engagement. A certified PMP® (Project Management Professional), Marike oversees the agency's end-to-end scoping and delivery processes, ensuring every project is executed on time, within scope, and with measurable impact. Her ability to translate complex briefs into clear, actionable roadmaps is a cornerstone of RubyWeb's reputation for precision, quality, and results that clients can count on.
Ebert Grobler
Non-Executive board member: Operations
Ebert Grobler serves on the RubyWeb board as the Non-Executive Member for Operations, bringing deep expertise in operational strategy and marketing innovation. Since co-founding his first agency in 2017 - achieving 10x growth in three years - Ebert has led Ruby Digital to global scale, earning recognition including "Specialist Internet Marketing Agency of the Year" (Netty Awards) and South Africa's No. 1 ranking by Ad World Masters. He is passionate about building systems that empower teams to deliver measurable, lasting value for clients.
Justin Lester
Non-Executive Chairman of the board
Justin Lester is the Founder and CEO of Ruby Group and Non-Executive Chairman of the RubyWeb board. A seasoned entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience, Justin has built and exited startups in London and grown Ruby Digital into a globally award-winning agency. His leadership is defined by a talent for cultivating high-performing teams, driving operational excellence, and pioneering marketing innovations that have helped shape South Africa's digital economy and put the Ruby Group on the international map.
Francois Herbst
Non-Executive board member: Finance
Francois Herbst is the Co-Founder and Group CFO of Ruby Group, and the youngest-ever recipient of SAICA's Entrepreneur of the Year award. Serving on the RubyWeb board in a non-executive capacity, Francois brings strategic financial oversight and a sharp focus on scaling businesses through clarity and disciplined insight. He is also the founder of Shift The Frame, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering rural entrepreneurs and creating meaningful social impact across South Africa.
The Team Behind Every Project
Every client works with people, not an agency abstraction. Here’s the team that handles the day-to-day delivery of every RubyWeb project.
Anthea Pofadder
Project Manager
Anthea is a Project Manager at RubyWeb, specialising in the coordination and delivery of digital projects that combine strategy, creativity, and technical execution. She works closely with clients and internal teams to ensure projects are delivered efficiently, on time, and with a strong focus on user experience and business growth. With an interest in AI-driven innovation, Anthea is passionate about exploring smarter ways to enhance digital solutions and streamline processes.
Kristin Nussey
Business Development Expert
Kris drives new client growth at RubyWeb, leading outbound strategy and managing the full sales cycle from first conversation to signed proposal. With a decade of experience across digital marketing, entrepreneurship, and client partnerships in South Africa, the UK, Europe, the US, and Australia, she brings sharp commercial instinct and a genuine curiosity about what makes businesses grow. Kris takes the time to understand a client's real challenges, scopes the right solution, and presents it clearly - then makes sure the world knows about it through RubyWeb's social media presence.
Stephanie Gomes
Web Developer & UX Specialist
Stephanie Gomes is a Web Developer at RubyWeb, specialising in high-impact digital experiences that turn web presence into strategic growth. Her expertise spans UX-focused web development, digital product design, and maintaining high-performing websites. With experience leading projects end-to-end, Stephanie bridges the gap between design and development to deliver visually engaging, intuitive solutions built for performance and long-term business growth.
Why US Businesses Choose - and Stay With - RubyWeb
Trust isn’t claimed. It’s built through consistent behavior over time. Here’s what that looks like in practice.
Experience That Shows in the Work
Our team carries over 100 years of combined expertise across web development, UX design, project management, and digital strategy. That depth doesn’t show up in credentials – it shows up in the quality of the decisions made during a project, the problems that get caught before they become problems, and the outcomes that clients measure after launch.
We’ve worked across eCommerce, automotive, storage, medical, industrial, SaaS, B2B, and real estate markets – in South Africa and in the United States. The experience is real and it informs every project we take on.
A Process That Makes Delivery Predictable
Every RubyWeb project runs through an eight-phase delivery process: UX audit, project planning, wireframes, design, content finalization, development, testing and UAT, and launch. The phases exist because structure reduces risk. Clients who’ve had bad experiences with web agencies before consistently tell us that what they value most isn’t the output of the process – it’s the process itself. Knowing what’s happening, when it’s happening, and what comes next removes the anxiety that makes web projects stressful.
Communication That Doesn’t Require Chasing
Every project has a dedicated project manager as the single point of contact. Weekly status updates, a shared project tracker, defined feedback windows at every milestone, and a communication cadence agreed before the project starts. You should never have to chase us for an update. If you find yourself doing so, something has gone wrong on our side – and that’s something we take seriously.
Learn more about Rubix©.
Standards That Reflect US Expectations
US businesses benchmark against US agency standards. We deliver to those standards – in the quality of the work, the professionalism of the communication, and the rigor of the delivery process – while our South African base gives clients a genuine cost advantage without compromising on outcomes. We don’t undercharge to win work and then underdeliver. We price for the value we deliver and deliver the value we price for.
A Long-Term Relationship Model
We offer every project client a monthly care plan at handoff. Not because it’s a good upsell – because a website that’s maintained and monitored after launch continues to perform, and one that isn’t tends to drift backward. The businesses that get the most from working with RubyWeb are the ones that treat the relationship as long-term. We’re built for that.
Let’s Talk About What Your Website Should Be Doing for Your Business
If your website isn’t generating leads, supporting your sales process, or reflecting the quality of your business - that’s a fixable problem. Tell us what you’re working with and what you need. We’ll come back with a clear, honest recommendation.