A sealed desktop app parcel weighed on a steel bench scale

Desktop application services

Weigh the release first, then decide how it ships.

Architecture, framework selection, development support and maintenance planning for desktop products — each engagement ends with written findings and a clear sequence of next steps.

Discuss your desktop project with 10LB BAG See what each service covers

WinUI 3WPFQtElectronNW.jsBlazor

Where the work starts

Desktop application development services from 10LB BAG

Our services cover the decisions that shape a desktop product from first architecture to the last installer update. Teams hire us for a framework selection, a modernization roadmap, a performance review, or deployment packaging help. Each service ends with written findings and a sequence of next steps. Below is what each engagement includes, and what it does not.

We charge for hours at the bench, not for a sales process. You get the findings in writing, so your team can execute them whether we stay involved or not.

Desktop app architecture consulting

Architecture work starts before framework selection. We map how your application handles local data, services, files, and updates, then identify the decisions that affect performance, security, and maintenance.

For a new product, the output is an architecture sketch your team can build against. For an existing product, the output is an audit that names the parts to keep, the parts to change first, and the risks of leaving the rest as it stands.

New productArchitecture sketch to build against

Existing productKeep, change first, and remaining risks

Architecture work at the bench with angled screens

What you keep

Written findings, named risks, and a sequence your team can follow. The sketch or audit is the deliverable — not a slide deck that needs us in the room to explain it.

Framework selection and prototyping

Evidence, not opinion

Choosing between WinUI 3, WPF, Qt, Electron, NW.js, and Blazor-based approaches is easier with evidence than with opinion. We build small prototypes of the hardest screen or workflow in the leading options, then compare startup time, memory use, packaging effort, and team fit. The prototype answers in days what a debate cannot, and it gives your team code it can study after the engagement ends.

Startup timeMeasured on the prototype

Memory useCompared across options

Packaging effortInstall, sign, update

Team fitSkills your team already has

See framework comparisons

The seal decision

Desktop modernization consulting

Modernization engagements begin with an inventory of the existing application: frameworks, dependencies, custom controls, and the workflows users depend on most. We then sequence the work so each step ships independently. Early steps often cover build tooling and deployment. Later steps replace screens or services in the order that reduces risk fastest. The roadmap shows what changes in each increment and what stays untouched.

FirstBuild tooling and deployment

ThenScreens and services

OrderWhat reduces risk fastest

Plan modernization with us

Legacy desktop equipment and test hardware on a bench

Native Windows app development support

For Windows-only products, we support work in WinUI 3 with the Windows App SDK, WPF, and Windows Forms. Support can mean design reviews, code reviews, XAML and Fluent Design guidance, or help with MSIX packaging and app lifecycle. We work alongside your developers so the knowledge stays with the team.

Native Windows development rewards attention to details like activation, file associations, and behavior on standard enterprise machines.

WinUI 3Windows App SDK

WPFXAML and Fluent Design

Windows FormsMSIX and lifecycle

Cross-platform desktop development consulting

Cross-platform work fails most often at packaging and at the edges of the platform, not in the shared code. We help teams plan how Qt, Electron, or NW.js applications are built, signed, and updated on Windows, macOS, and Linux. That includes build pipelines, code signing, and the testing matrix for each platform. A cross-platform plan that ignores signing and updates is only half a plan.

Windows

Build, signing, and updates for Qt, Electron, and NW.js releases.

macOS

Signing and notarization planned before the release date.

Linux

Package formats and the test matrix for each distribution target.

A finished installer plate ready for dispatch on steel

Deployment and shipping, prepared at the bench

Deployment packaging and update strategy

Deployment consulting covers installers, updates, enterprise rollout, and version control. We help teams choose between MSIX and traditional installers, plan staged rollouts, and design rollback paths. For cross-platform products, we cover signing and notarization on macOS and package formats on Linux. The goal is a release process that support can explain and users can follow without a phone call.

Performance work sits in the same release process: we profile startup, memory, and responsiveness on hardware users actually have, rank findings by impact and effort, and document the measurements so future releases can be compared against them.

Installer choiceMSIX or traditional, with reasons

RolloutStaged, with a rollback path

PerformanceMeasured, ranked, documented

Performance tuning reviews

Performance reviews measure startup time, memory use, and responsiveness on hardware your users actually have. We profile the launch sequence, look for work that can move off the critical path, and check how the application behaves during common tasks. Findings are ranked by impact and effort so your team can start with the changes that users will notice first. We document the measurements so future releases can be compared against them.

Maintenance planning for long-lived apps

Long-lived desktop products need a maintenance plan that covers dependency updates, SDK support windows, and framework upgrades. We help teams build a calendar for those decisions and a test pass that runs before each upgrade. A maintenance plan written down in advance prevents the slow drift that turns a routine update into a crisis. It also keeps the modernization roadmap honest about what ongoing care will cost.

Dependency updatesOn a calendar

SDK support windowsWatched before they close

Test passBefore every upgrade

Choosing where to start

How to choose a service

If the framework decision is open, start with framework selection and prototyping. If the product exists and is aging, start with modernization consulting or an architecture audit. If users complain about speed, start with performance tuning. If releases are painful, start with deployment packaging. Most teams need two of these in sequence, and we will tell you which order makes sense for your situation.

Discuss your desktop project with 10LB BAG

Common questions

Do you write production code, or only advise?

Both, depending on the engagement. Framework selection often includes a prototype that proves the risky part of the plan. Architecture and modernization work usually produces findings and a roadmap your team executes, with review sessions along the way.

Which platforms do you cover?

Windows is our center of gravity, including WinUI 3, WPF, and Windows Forms. We also consult on Qt, Electron, and NW.js products shipping to macOS and Linux.

Hours

Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Based in

Burbank, California

Contact 10LB BAG

Sealed parcels queued for dispatch on the bench