What appleple does

appleple is a Nagoya-based Japanese web development firm founded in 2004, structured as a privately held limited company (有限会社アップルップル) under founder-representative Yamamoto Ichimichi. The company operates with 11-50 employees and serves Japanese SMB, mid-market, and select enterprise clients through five integrated service lines: custom website production, proprietary CMS development and licensing (a-blog cms), DX consulting with Zoho CRM integration, Base Camp Nagoya coworking space operation, and web industry event management (WCAN and contents.nagoya).

The company's core technology asset is a-blog cms, a proprietary Japanese low-code CMS developed over more than 20 years that enables content updates without programming knowledge through HTML-template customization. The CMS includes built-in features for content management, form handling, search, and membership functionality, and has accumulated 5,000+ licenses sold. The platform supports API-based integrations (notably with Zoho CRM for lead and contact capture) and the engineering team has explored modern web patterns such as htmx for partial page updates. The CMS is distributed both through direct sales on the a-blogcms.jp brand site and through a nationwide network of business partners who build client sites using the platform.

appleple's revenue derives from a mix of professional services (custom website projects for clients such as KADOKAWA, Hattori Motors, Tama Central Park, and Nagoya University of Commerce and Business), one-time CMS licensing via a-blog cms, recurring Base Camp Nagoya coworking membership revenue, and event-related professional services. Go-to-market combines direct consultative sales for web development and DX work with a channel/partner model for CMS distribution, supported by an active staff blog (frequent CMS market-share analysis and technical content), WCAN and contents.nagoya events (350+ attendees), and Zoho partner ecosystem participation. The firm is bootstrapped with no disclosed institutional funding and operates exclusively in the Japanese market (Chubu region focus).

Name

appleple

Legal name

有限会社アップルップル

Website

https://appleple.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

appleple is a Nagoya-based Japanese web development firm that develops and licenses the proprietary a-blog cms low-code CMS, and provides custom website production, Zoho CRM/DX consulting, Base Camp Nagoya coworking space, and WCAN/contents.nagoya community events for Japanese SMB and mid-market clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Web Development Services

NAICS

Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Blogging & CMS Content Platforms (BPAMAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

White-Label/Hosted Publishing Platforms (MPACAIAJ)

Keywords

• Low-code content management
• Custom website development
• Digital transformation consulting
• Zoho CRM integration
• Coworking space operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Nagoya

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Website development / custom web production: appleple provides bespoke website design and development services, working with clients to define content strategy, UX, and technical implementation. Clients include universities, automotive companies, garden/park management organizations, and publishers.
2. CMS development and licensing (a-blog cms): appleple develops and sells a-blog cms licenses to businesses and web production partners. The CMS supports long-term site management without requiring programming knowledge. License sales are managed through the brand site and a network of business partners across Japan.
3. Coworking space operation (ベースキャンプ名古屋): appleple operates Base Camp Nagoya, a coworking space located a 5-minute walk from Nagoya Station, providing workspace and community services.
4. Seminar and event management: appleple organizes and runs web industry events including WCAN (ongoing mini-events) and contents.nagoya (annual large conference), contributing to brand visibility and community engagement.
5. DX promotion / consulting: appleple provides digital transformation (DX) promotion services, leveraging its systems integration expertise to help clients improve business processes. Includes Zoho CRM implementation and integration with websites.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

appleple develops and licenses a-blog cms, a proprietary Japanese low-code content management system, and provides custom website design/development, DX (digital transformation) consulting including Zoho CRM integration, coworking space (Base Camp Nagoya), and web industry events (WCAN, contents.nagoya). The company delivers full-stack web solutions for Japanese SMBs and mid-market organizations across education, automotive, publishing, parks, and retail sectors.

Product overview

appleple is a Nagoya-based web development and CMS company. Its product portfolio centers on a-blog cms, a proprietary Japanese low-code CMS for long-term website operations, supplemented by website production services, DX (digital transformation) promotion services, a co-working space operation (Base Camp Nagoya), and web industry event management/seminars (WCAN, contents.nagoya). The flagship product a-blog cms is sold and supported as a licensed CMS with over 5,000 installation records, with its own brand site at a-blogcms.jp. The co-working space and events are operated as separate sub-brands under the appleple umbrella.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• a-blog cms: A Japanese-made content management system (CMS) developed and sold by appleple. Allows customization via HTML templates without programming knowledge. Has over 5,000 license sales.
• ベースキャンプ名古屋 (Base Camp Nagoya)
• WCAN
• appleple.shop

Products and services

• a-blog cms A Japanese-made low-code CMS that enables website customization through HTML templates without requiring programming knowledge. Supports long-term website operations with built-in content management, form handling, search, and membership features. Sold via license through appleple's brand site and partner network.
• Website Development (Webサイト制作) Bespoke website design and development service that builds sites easy for clients to update and maintain themselves, working with clients to define content strategy, UX, and technical implementation across corporate, university, publishing, automotive, parks, and retail sectors.
• DX Promotion (DX推進) Digital transformation consulting service leveraging appleple's system development expertise to improve client business operations, including Zoho CRM implementation, website-to-CRM API integration, and business process automation.
• Base Camp Nagoya (ベースキャンプ名古屋) Coworking space located a 5-minute walk from Nagoya Station, offering day passes and memberships. Functions as a community hub for appleple's events and a lead generation venue for its services.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5,000+ a-blog cms licenses sold
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Zoho CorporationcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 December 2018appleple entered into a partnership agreement with Zoho Corporation (India) in December 2018. As a Zoho authorized partner, appleple provides Zoho CRM implementation services, website-to-CRM API integration using a-blog cms, and DX consulting. appleple operates 'Zoho no Hi' (Zoho Day) monthly meetup events at Base Camp Nagoya to support Zoho adoption and community building.
• KDDIウェブコミュニケーションズminorGTM or Marketing PartnerKDDI Web Communications was a gold sponsor of contents.nagoya 2019, a major annual web conference organized by appleple. The company also co-sponsored WCAN events and was recognized in the event's sponsor lineup.
• EC-CUBE (株式会社イーシーキューブ)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerEC-CUBE was a gold sponsor of contents.nagoya 2019 and co-sponsored WCAN events. The partnership supports cross-promotion between the e-commerce CMS platform and appleple's web development community.
• SoftBank Technology (ソフトバンク・テクノロジー)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSoftBank Technology was a gold sponsor of contents.nagoya 2019. The company is also referenced in appleple's blog regarding web font services (FONTPLUS) and industry events.
• MovableType.net (シックス・アパート)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerMovableType.net was a silver sponsor of contents.nagoya 2019, supporting appleple's annual web conference as part of the Japanese CMS and web industry community.
• Zoho Japan (ゾーホージャパン)coreTechnology or IntegrationZoho Japan (Zoho Corporation's Japan subsidiary) is appleple's authorized partner for Zoho CRM, Zoho One, and related application implementations. appleple provides Zoho integration services connecting a-blog cms forms to Zoho CRM, and organizes Zoho community events. appleple participated in ZOHOLICS Japan 2017, 2018, and 2022.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Webflow: Webflow is a visual CMS and website builder targeting designers and agencies with low-code customization similar to a-blog cms's HTML-template model. While not a direct Japanese-market competitor, it competes for the same low-code CMS use case globally.
• Drupal: Drupal is a leading open-source CMS used by governments, higher education, and large enterprises worldwide. It overlaps with a-blog cms in the Japanese university and government-adjacent customer base appleple serves through custom development projects.
• baserCMS: baserCMS is a Japanese-developed open-source CMS serving a similar niche of Japanese SMBs, web producers, and developers as a-blog cms. It is a smaller but domestically-focused CMS competitor with overlapping use cases in Japanese website production.

Broad incumbents

• Squarespace: Squarespace is a global hosted CMS and website builder focused on design-led SMB and creator segments. Its published tiers and template-driven approach compete for the same Japanese SMB customers appleple targets through a-blog cms and custom web development.
• Wix.com: Wix is a global hosted website builder and CMS platform serving SMBs worldwide with published pricing tiers and a self-serve model. Its ease-of-use positioning and broad marketing reach compete with a-blog cms's 'no programming required' value proposition.
• WordPress (Automattic): WordPress is the dominant global CMS serving Japanese SMBs, mid-market, and enterprise clients through a vast plugin/theme ecosystem. As a self-serve and partner-distributed platform, it represents the largest competitive threat to a-blog cms in the domestic Japanese market.

Others

• KDDI Web Communications: KDDI Web Communications is a Japanese web infrastructure and hosting provider and a gold sponsor of contents.nagoya 2019. While not a direct CMS competitor, it operates in the same Japanese web-production ecosystem and serves overlapping SMB customers.
• Zoho Corporation: Zoho is appleple's core technology partner: as an authorized Zoho partner since December 2018, appleple provides Zoho CRM implementation and CMS-to-CRM integration. Zoho is the platform underpinning appleple's DX consulting revenue stream and recurring Zoho Day community events.

Direct peers

• MovableType.net (Six Apart): Six Apart's MovableType.net is one of the most prominent Japanese-developed CMS platforms, directly competing with a-blog cms for licensed CMS adoption among Japanese web producers and enterprises. Both target the same Japanese CMS market with similar partner-network distribution models.
• EC-CUBE: EC-CUBE is a leading Japanese open-source e-commerce CMS with a comparable domestic partner ecosystem and a long operating history in Japan. As a co-sponsor of contents.nagoya, EC-CUBE operates in the same Japanese web-production and CMS-adjacent market as appleple.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/appleplecom
• Facebookfacebook.com/appleplecom

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about appleple