Dev Partners · Brain Dump

The Brain Dump

Real talk on software, business efficiency, and the stuff that actually drives growth. No content marketing fluff. Just things we have found useful, interesting, or worth writing down.

Jason Wheeler, co-founder of Dev Partners
What you will find here: Practical articles on custom software development, Shopify, Laravel, WordPress, business efficiency, ecommerce, and the occasional honest opinion piece from Rob and Jason.
Dev Partners · Brain Dump

Bulk Tagging Shopify Products with PHP: One Tag, Thousands of Products

Product tags in Shopify are deceptively useful. Automated collections, storefront filtering, discount eligibility, third-party app targeting — a well-applied tag can touch a lot of moving parts at once. The problem is when you need to apply one to a large list of products. Doing it one API call at a time is slow, burns through your rate limit, and falls over if anything goes wrong halfway through.

Read more
Dev Partners · Brain Dump

Shopify Bulk Operations in PHP: Mutations & Queries Done Properly

If you've ever tried to push several thousand inventory level updates to Shopify in one go, or pull back a catalogue-wide list of non-taxable variants, you'll already know that hammering the standard GraphQL endpoint isn't the answer. Rate limits bite, jobs stall, and you have no reliable way to know whether the whole thing finished.

Read more
Dev Partners · Brain Dump

Recreating Visualsoft content blocks in Shopify: opening up flexibility for your team

One of the most noticeable changes for merchants moving from Visualsoft to Shopify is also one of the easiest to miss in the sales pitch. The day-to-day editing of their site shifts back into their own hands. Adding sections, rearranging blocks, changing colours, fonts, and layouts on real pages, all through a drag-and-drop interface, without needing to brief anyone first. This post walks through what Shopify's theme editor gives you, how it changes the rhythm of running an online store, and where the limits still sit.
Read more
Dev Partners · Brain Dump

Rebuilding Visualsoft's faceted search and filtering in Shopify

Faceted search and filtering is one of the parts of a Visualsoft store merchants worry about losing during a Shopify migration. It is also one of the parts where Shopify has invested heavily in the last few years, and where the experience on the new platform is usually as good or better than what came before, with the right setup. This post walks through how filtering tends to work on Visualsoft today, what Shopify offers natively, where apps fill the gaps, and how the SEO side of filtered URLs gets handled in the migration.
Read more
Dev Partners · Brain Dump

Visualsoft to Shopify URL redirects: a full SEO mapping playbook

URL redirects are the single most important technical job in a Visualsoft to Shopify migration, and the easiest one to get wrong. Done properly, your search rankings stay where they are and customers with old bookmarks land where they expect to. Done as an afterthought, organic traffic can drop sharply in the weeks after launch and take months to recover. This guide walks through how Visualsoft and Shopify URLs differ, how we map them, and what to watch for on the way.
Read more
Dev Partners · Brain Dump

Should you stay on Visualsoft? An honest checklist

Most of the merchants who come to us looking at a Visualsoft to Shopify migration should make the move. A small number genuinely shouldn't, at least not yet. This post is for the second group as much as the first. It walks through the real reasons to stay where you are for now, the much longer list of reasons to move, and a straight checklist to help you work out which side of the line you fall on.
Read more
Dev Partners · Brain Dump

What gets migrated from Visualsoft to Shopify (and what doesn't)

When merchants ask us about moving from Visualsoft to Shopify, the first question is almost always the same. "What happens to all our data?" The honest answer is that the vast majority of it comes across cleanly. A small amount needs rebuilding in a different shape, and a handful of things stay behind by design. This guide walks through all three, so you know exactly what to expect before discovery even starts.
Read more
Dev Partners · Brain Dump

Why Visualsoft to Shopify migrations are more complex than most agencies admit

Visualsoft to Shopify migrations involve specific technical challenges that generic migration tools can't handle. Most agencies underestimate the complexity because they haven't worked with Visualsoft's data architecture, custom functionality, and URL structures before. This guide covers what actually goes wrong and why specialist knowledge matters.
Read more
Why Visualsoft to Shopify migrations are more complex than most agencies admit
Dev Partners · Brain Dump

Mastering Inventory Updates: The Power of GraphQL Idempotency at Shopify

If you’ve ever built an integration with Shopify, you know the "inventory anxiety." You send a request to update stock levels, the network hiccups, and you’re left wondering: *Did that go through?* If you retry, you risk doubling the adjustment. If you don't, your stock counts drift. Shopify’s introduction of **idempotency keys** in their GraphQL API is the definitive "peace of mind" feature for developers.
Read more
Mastering Inventory Updates: The Power of GraphQL Idempotency at Shopify
Dev Partners · Brain Dump

Choosing Between DIY and Professional Migration

DIY migration can work for simple stores with strong technical skills and plenty of time. For most businesses, it becomes a slow, stressful project where small mistakes cost more than hiring an expert. Here is how to decide which route fits your store, your team, and your risk tolerance.
Read more
Choosing Between DIY and Professional Migration
Page 1 of 11
Older stories →

What our clients say

20 clients. A few of their words.

“

A well-rounded team, ensuring a full suite of expertise & resource is always available. CDS Global have seen the successful completion of major projects over the years where Dev Partners' ability to grasp the underlying business needs to provide a future-proof solution has been invaluable.

CDS Global
Global fulfilment & publishing services
“

We have worked with Jason & his team to develop our Shopify store, and the experience was outstanding from start to finish. The design is clean, modern, and perfectly aligned with our brand identity, while the build is fast, responsive, and easy to manage on the backend. They clearly understood our vision and delivered a store we're genuinely proud of. Highly recommend to any brand looking for a top-quality Shopify partner.

AX Paris
UK fashion brand
“

After ongoing issues and delays with our previous developers, we brought in Rob & Jason at Dev Partners to take over all our websites and bespoke software. What a breath of fresh air, fully focused, excellent pre-launch designs and clear communication throughout. Highly recommended.

PSS Project Skills Solutions
“

BPC Energy Ltd turned to Dev Partners for a complete turnkey solution, and they exceeded our expectations. The team handled everything from project management to development and support with real care and attention. They understood what we were aiming for, stayed on top of every detail, and always delivered on schedule with excellent quality.

BPC Energy
Energy services
“

Working with Dev Partners to redesign and modernise our WMS system: the whole process has been thoroughly professional from the outset and a delight to work with. Cannot recommend enough.

Seacon
Warehouse management
“

Great agency. Have used Dev Partners for several years and they have built 20+ sites for us, in addition to taking on our legacy websites, upgrading and maintaining. Easy to work with and some great practical ideas to improve our digital offerings.

H2O Publishing
“

Jones Hire have been working with Dev Partners on several projects, which have been very successful. They linked our catering database to a new improved website so clients can easily place and update orders, created a custom warehouse picking app to fulfil all our challenging requirements, and are currently developing a custom transport app to streamline our loading and delivery process.

Jones Hire
Catering equipment hire
“

We have been trying to reinvent our website for over 5 years, trying to make it convert and failing each time. Spoke to Rob at Dev Partners, the team helped create our new site and the improvement was instant.

Blackwell's Jewellers
“

We have been working with Rob and the team for about 10 years now. Dev Partners helped us build a completely bespoke CRM from scratch which manages our daily business and is always well maintained. We have been able to use the system and roll it out in our new franchise branches.

Quality Pet Care
Pet supplies
“

We collaborated with Dev Partners on the front end of a fairly complex telemarketing platform. Rob and Jason took the time to properly understand the moving parts, asked the right questions, and delivered a clean, intuitive interface that's made the system far easier for our team to use.

ProSales
Telemarketing platform
“

I have been working with the team at Dev Partners for the last 3 years and we have always been impressed with the speed in which they act on things for us, along with the honest open communication. The team are a valuable and vital part of our supply chain.

Nexa Solutions
“

We've had a program for our business in the electronic security sector that Dev Partners developed and keep up to date. They've never let us down, always there when needed. Thanks Rob and the team.

Concise Security
Electronic security
“

Dev Partners have been working with us for just over 2 years. They have significantly upgraded and redesigned our existing web platforms, and always deliver a first class service.

OTB Concrete
“

Dev Partners helped us build an event website. The team were very knowledgeable, easy to work with and quick to deliver a high quality product.

The Engineering Network
B2B events
“

Working with Dev Partners has been an exceptional experience. Their team is highly skilled, professional, and committed to delivering results. What truly sets them apart is their communication and transparency; we always felt informed, supported, and confident.

Design Arc Brands
“

We've worked with Dev Partners a few times to support us on bespoke web build tasks. They're very easy to work with, approachable, and explain the detail in a way that's understandable. A great partner for technical issues at sensible prices.

Red Creative
Creative agency
“

Excellent customer service backed up with solid experience. As a media business we have had five websites built by Dev Partners. I would certainly recommend them.

MIT Publishing
“

Found Dev Partners and they were great, nothing too much trouble. They managed to help us with integrating our old existing system with Shopify.

Mish Mash Jeans
“

I've worked with Rob and his team off and on for many years and have always found them to be professional, knowledgeable, and best of all, they listen to their clients and deliver what is required.

Circ Data Fusion
“

We have worked with Dev Partners for 7 years and can highly recommend them for their expertise and excellent customer service.

H2O Publishing
Dev Partners Bespoke Software
Software Areas

Software Kent Software Essex Software London Software Sussex Software Surrey All Software Areas →

Shopify Areas

Shopify Kent Shopify Essex Shopify London Shopify Sussex Shopify Surrey All Shopify Areas →

Information

About Rob & Jason Blog Top Software Development Companies UK Top Web Design Companies Gravesend & Kent Custom Software Fashion eCommerce B2B Publishing Warehouse Management Custom CRM Crafty Web Designs Best Shopify Partners in the UK

Technologies

Shopify ShopFlow ERP Replacement Shopify Speed Optimization CodeIgniter Laravel Wordpress Magento to Shopify Visualsoft to Shopify CoreCRM COBOL Modernisation Web Design Shopify Themes for Fashion Brands

Contact Us

Suites 6 & 7
27-28 Windmill St
Gravesend
Kent
DA12 1AS

Map & Contact Details

01474 639 089 info@devpartners.co.uk


© Copyright 2026 Dev Partners Ltd | Reg. No. 07761974 | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Policy

We are registered as a Data Controller with the Information Commissioner's Office (Security Number: CSN0432962)

Web Development, Gravesend, Kent