13 years as Anchor Wave’s engineering team, and still on call
From 2009 to 2022, LastDoor was Anchor Wave’s engineering team. Anchor Wave ran design, strategy and the client relationships; we built, hosted and supported the sites.
- 650+projects completed
- 14+verticals served
- 10,000+support tickets
- 13years of engineering, 2009 to 2022
Anchor Wave is a Tucson digital agency, BBB accredited since 2006. They focus on web design, brand development and digital marketing, for businesses from small manufacturers and local service providers to regional enterprises. Their approach: focus on clients first and create digital strategies that lead to more leads, conversions and growth. Their services include custom web design and UX, content and copywriting, and digital marketing: SEO, PPC and social media.
When we started, Anchor Wave needed a partner to handle development and technical execution so their designers could stay on design. Over the years we became an extension of their team, handling the technical side of projects for their clients across industries.
Our Role in the Partnership
We were Anchor Wave’s engineering team. We did the technical work so Anchor Wave could spend its time on design, strategy and clients.
We provided:
- Custom Development: WordPress and Elementor builds tailored to project needs
- Theme & Plugin Development: Custom themes and plugins, modular and SEO-friendly, with integrations
- Technical Support: 10,000+ support tickets resolved
- Engineering Consultation: Advice on scaling, performance and platform choice
- Backend Programming & Debugging: Modular code, written and debugged for each project
How We Worked Together
The work ran the same way for 13 years:
- Anchor Wave shared requirements and project briefs.
- Our engineers reviewed them, suggested improvements and started development.
- We tested each project and handed it back ready to launch.
- We hosted and supported the sites after launch.
- We talked through ConnectWise, Figma, Loom, Dropbox and G Suite.
- The time difference meant work sent at the end of Tucson's day moved forward overnight in Kathmandu.
The Legacy of Our Partnership
Our support helped Anchor Wave:
- Scale into new industries and services
- Build and maintain 650+ projects across 14+ verticals
- Resolve 10,000+ support tickets
The engineering partnership ran 13 years, from 2009 to 2022, and ended when Anchor Wave moved its focus to marketing. The relationship continues: we support them on demand, and the systems built in those years still run their work today.
Tools that helped
The Challenge
Anchor Wave is a design and marketing agency. They create brand strategies, produce creative campaigns, and manage client relationships. They had no engineering team of their own. They needed a partner for all the technical work: development, coding, hosting, debugging and ongoing support. That kept their designers and strategists on design and strategy.
The requirements:
- Handle all WordPress and Elementor development
- Build custom themes and plugins to spec
- Provide ongoing technical support: hosting, debugging, performance
- Scale up or down based on project volume
- Operate with minimal management overhead
- Maintain quality across hundreds of projects spanning 14+ industry verticals
What We Delivered
Project types
- Custom WordPress and Elementor websites. A modular architecture tailored to each client's industry.
- Custom theme development. SEO-friendly and modular.
- Custom plugin development. Client-specific functionality: booking, directories, calculators, integrations.
- WooCommerce builds. E-commerce with custom extensions.
- Site migrations. Legacy platforms moved to WordPress.
Ongoing support
Beyond project delivery, we operated as Anchor Wave's ongoing technical support function.
- Bug fixes and debugging
- Performance optimization
- Security patches and updates
- Hosting management
- Client-requested changes and content updates
- Emergency response for site issues
Engineering consultation
We also advised on how to build.
- Scalability recommendations for complex client requirements
- Performance optimization strategies
- Platform selection guidance
- CI/CD pipeline setup and maintenance
- Server management and infrastructure decisions
The Business Case for Anchor Wave
- Cost savings. A full engineering team at a fraction of US hiring costs, with no payroll, benefits, office space or HR overhead.
- Flexible scaling. Team size matched to project volume, with no idle staff carried through slow periods.
- Technical depth. Frontend, backend, WordPress, server management and CI/CD, all from one partner.
- Quality. Modular, reusable code cut rework and sped up delivery.
- Speed. The time difference moved work forward overnight.
- Reliability. 13 years of engineering, 650+ projects, 10,000+ tickets.
Why the Partnership Evolved
In 2022, after 13 years, Anchor Wave moved its focus to marketing, and the engineering partnership ended. We continue to provide on-demand support.
The systems, processes and technical foundations built over those 13 years still support Anchor Wave's clients today.
Why This Matters for Your Agency
If you are a US digital agency paying local developer rates, or struggling with unreliable offshore vendors, this is what a 13-year partnership looked like:
- A partnership. We stay for years rather than sprints.
- Self-directed. You send written requirements. We build, test and hand back.
- Built to last. Modular architecture across 650+ projects in 13 years.
- On the record. Anchor Wave endorses this partnership publicly.
We are looking for two or three more agency partnerships like this one. Anchor Wave used us for engineering, but the same team covers design, content and SEO, e-commerce, WordPress systems and automation, so a partner can take on whatever the brief needs. See everything we build. If your agency wants that without the overhead of US hiring, we should talk.
FAQs
Fewer than 5 times a year. Requirements, questions and decisions went through ConnectWise, Loom videos and written documentation. Every deadline was tracked in writing.
It varied with project needs and the year's plan. Dedicated frontend and backend engineers worked alongside on-demand support, so Anchor Wave could scale up or down and we could adjust the team as projects changed.
Most projects were custom websites on a modular architecture adapted to each client's industry. We also built WooCommerce stores, with custom plugins and extensions where a project needed them.
Anchor Wave moved its focus to marketing, and the engineering partnership ended after 13 years. We still support them on demand.
Yes. We work with agencies on the same model today, across engineering, design and branding, content and SEO, DevOps and AI.
Yes. A small agency gets an engineering team without payroll, and without idle staff through slow periods.
The tools and workflows behind 13 years are yours to ask about.
Talk about your agency and we will walk you through how it ran.
Tell us what you are building.
A senior person reads every enquiry and replies within one working day.