CodeIgniter Development · Bath · Somerset · Based in Gravesend
CodeIgniter Development in Bath, Somerset
Lean, fast CodeIgniter web applications and APIs for Bath and Somerset businesses, plus expert support, modernisation and rescue of existing CI3 and CI4 systems. Built properly, maintained long-term, delivered by a UK team you actually speak to.
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CodeIgniter is for lean, fast builds, and for the apps you already depend on.
CodeIgniter is a lightweight PHP framework. Its appeal is the opposite of a heavyweight framework's: small footprint, very little configuration, a gentle learning curve, and excellent performance on modest hosting. When you need a focused web application or API built quickly, and the project does not justify the structure and ceremony of a larger framework, CodeIgniter lets you get to a working, maintainable result fast and at sensible cost.
There is a second, equally important side to CodeIgniter work. The framework has been around for many years, which means a great many business applications were built on it, particularly on CodeIgniter 3. Those systems are still running, still doing real work, and in many cases the developer who built them has long since moved on. A large part of what we do is supporting, maintaining, securing and modernising those existing CI applications, and rescuing the ones that have been left orphaned. For a city like Bath, where established firms run on software that has quietly worked for years, that long-term care is often the whole point.
Lean web apps, built fast
When you need a focused application up and running quickly, CodeIgniter's small footprint and minimal setup get you there without the overhead of a larger framework. Ideal for tools and apps where speed of delivery and sensible cost matter more than a sprawling feature set.
Supporting existing CI3 / CI4 apps
The bread and butter of CodeIgniter work: keeping an application businesses already rely on running, fixing bugs, adding features, and being the team you can actually call. We take on existing codebases and treat them with the same care as our own software.
Rescuing orphaned applications
An app whose developer disappeared, with no documentation and a creeping sense of risk. We audit it, stabilise anything urgent, document what exists, and turn a black box you are afraid to touch into a known quantity with a team behind it.
Focused REST APIs
When you need a clean, fast API to serve an app or connect two systems, and you do not need the weight of a full enterprise framework, CodeIgniter handles routing and request handling efficiently with very little overhead. Quick to build, easy to host, straightforward to maintain.
CI3 to CI4 modernisation
CodeIgniter 4 is a substantial step on from CI3. We assess whether a staged migration, a parallel rebuild, or staying on a well-maintained CI3 is the right call for your budget and risk, then carry it out carefully with the goal of a supported, secure application.
Internal tools and portals
Admin systems, customer or supplier portals, booking and enquiry tools, and the small operational applications that quietly run a business. CodeIgniter is well suited to building these cleanly and quickly, without over-engineering something that simply needs to work.
Laravel vs CodeIgniter vs WordPress
We build in Laravel, CodeIgniter, and WordPress. We are not going to recommend one over the others just to win a project. The right framework depends on the problem, and picking the wrong one is one of the most expensive mistakes a project can make. Here is an honest comparison of when each is the right choice, with CodeIgniter in its sweet spot: lean, fast builds and the support of existing CI applications.
| Situation | Laravel | CodeIgniter | WordPress |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lean web app, fast turnaround, modest scope | Can be overkill | ✓ Best fit | Depends on content |
| Supporting an existing CodeIgniter (CI3/CI4) app | Not applicable | ✓ Best fit | Not applicable |
| Focused REST API with minimal overhead | Workable, heavier | ✓ Best fit | Not suited |
| Large, complex application with deep business logic | ✓ Best fit | Possible, less structure | Not suited |
| Small footprint on modest or shared hosting | Heavier | ✓ Best fit | Plugin-dependent |
| Content-led site with editorial workflow | Possible but heavy | Not suited | ✓ Best fit |
| Multi-tenant SaaS with heavy background processing | ✓ Best fit | Manual effort | Not suited |
| Tight budget, get something working quickly | Higher overhead | ✓ Best fit | Depends on scope |
If you are not sure which applies to your project, describe the problem and we will tell you what we would reach for and why. If your scope is genuinely complex we will say so and point you at Laravel; if it is content-led we will say WordPress. The honest answer matters more than the sale.
How we approach a CodeIgniter project
Whether we are building something lean from scratch or taking over an application you already rely on, the framework will not save a project that was scoped badly or inherited carelessly. Here is what we pay attention to, and the stages the work actually moves through, on both new builds and existing systems.
Understanding the real requirement
Most briefs describe a solution someone has already half-designed. We dig into the underlying problem first, because the right approach, and whether CodeIgniter is even the right tool, follows from what the business actually needs, not from the first feature list.
Auditing what already exists
For existing applications, we start with a proper code and security audit. You get an honest picture of quality, technical debt, the CI version, and risk, so any decision to maintain, modernise or migrate is based on facts rather than guesswork.
Lean, not over-engineered
CodeIgniter's strength is staying out of the way. We keep new builds focused and proportionate, so you get something that works quickly and is cheap to host and maintain, rather than an elaborate structure a smaller job never needed.
Security and updates taken seriously
Older CI applications often carry security debt: outdated PHP, weak input handling, missing patches. We address it deliberately, because the quiet old app that just works is exactly the one nobody has checked in years.
Maintainable by anyone competent
We follow CodeIgniter conventions and keep the codebase readable and documented, so you are never locked into a single developer. If you bring the work in-house or to another team later, the code makes sense to them.
Integrations mapped early
Most operational software has to talk to something else: a payment provider, a finance system, another in-house app. We identify every integration up front so none of them become a nasty surprise late in the work.
From first conversation to long-term maintenance
We run CodeIgniter projects in clear stages so you always know where things stand, what is being decided, and what comes next. Because you deal directly with Rob and Jason rather than an account manager, there is no layer of translation between what you ask for and what gets built. This is the same process whether you are in Bath, London, or anywhere else in the UK, and whether the job is a new lean build or taking over an existing application.
- Discovery, scoping or auditFor a new build we get to the bottom of what the application needs to do and who uses it. For an existing app we run a code and security audit first. Either way the output is a clear scope and a fixed-price proposal based on what we actually find, not a placeholder estimate.
- Plan the right approachWe agree whether the answer is a lean new build, extending what exists, a CI3 to CI4 migration, or simply steady maintenance. The decision is driven by your budget, risk and what the application is worth, and we are honest about the trade-offs.
- Build or stabilise in working incrementsWe develop against a staging environment you can access throughout, so you see real progress rather than waiting for a single big reveal. On inherited apps we stabilise anything urgent early. Feedback happens while it is still cheap to act on.
- Testing and quality assuranceThorough testing of the workflows your users will actually follow, plus checks on the awkward edge cases, not just the happy path that always demos well. On legacy systems we verify we have not broken behaviour people quietly depend on.
- Deployment and go-liveA controlled deployment to production with a clear plan and sensible rollback, with extra care where an existing live system is being changed. Going live should be an event you have rehearsed, not a leap of faith.
- Handover and ongoing maintenanceDocumentation, access, and a straightforward handover, followed by whatever ongoing support arrangement suits you, from occasional changes to a regular development retainer. We keep applications patched, updated and supported for the long term.
CoreCRM has run in production since 2011.
We do not just build PHP applications and walk away. CoreCRM, our own CRM product, has been in continuous production use since 2011. It is direct evidence that we build and maintain software designed to be depended upon for well over a decade, through multiple framework and PHP versions, not just for the length of a single project. That same discipline is exactly what an existing CodeIgniter application needs from whoever looks after it.
A Kent team trusted with national software work
Telegraph Media Group, Hearst Communications, CDS Global, AX Paris, Motel Rocks
These are not the typical clients of a regional development agency. They are the kind of businesses that usually work with large London firms. They work with us because the technical depth is there and the overhead is not, and because they get the founders directly rather than a managed account. Distance has never been the issue: most of our work has been delivered remotely for years.
Across these engagements we build and maintain serious PHP software, from operational back-office systems to API integrations processing thousands of transactions. The same engineering discipline applies whether the framework is Laravel for a complex build or CodeIgniter for a lean app or an existing system that needs a steady, reliable hand.
- Telegraph Media Group: custom operational software built on PHP, maintained and extended over years
- Hearst Communications: bespoke systems development for a global publishing operation
- CDS Global: multi-year PHP development engagement on business-critical operational software
- AX Paris: bespoke ERP-style back-office connecting Shopify to warehouse and despatch workflows. Case study.
- Motel Rocks: integration middleware connecting Shopify to Oracle NetSuite and 3PL providers. Case study.
Working with Bath and Somerset businesses
Bath is a compact, prosperous city with an economy weighted towards professional services, tourism and heritage, higher education through its two universities, and a healthy cluster of software, creative and digital firms. Across the wider Somerset region you find manufacturing, agriculture and food production, healthcare, and a long tail of established small and mid-sized businesses. That mix produces a lot of the quiet operational software that runs day to day: booking and enquiry tools, customer and member portals, internal admin systems, and integrations between the systems a business already owns.
A good deal of that software was built lean on CodeIgniter, and much of it is still running. That is squarely the work we do: building new lean applications quickly, and just as often supporting, modernising or rescuing the CI3 and CI4 systems businesses depend on. We are not local to Bath, and we are not going to pretend otherwise: Gravesend is around 150 miles away. What we offer instead is a genuinely senior UK team, working entirely in-house with no offshore arm, available to you directly rather than through layers of account management.
In practice that distance changes nothing about the quality of the work. Most of our projects, including for national clients, are delivered remotely with regular video calls and a shared staging environment you can see progress on. We come down to Bath for a kick-off workshop or a key milestone when being in the room genuinely helps, and otherwise we keep the overhead, and your costs, sensibly low.
How to choose a CodeIgniter developer in Bath
Whether you end up working with us, a local Bath agency, or a freelancer, these are the questions worth asking before you commit, especially if the work involves an application you already depend on. The answers tell you a lot about what you are actually buying.
Who actually writes the code?
Some agencies pitch with senior people and deliver via juniors or offshore teams you never meet. Ask directly who will work on your application and who you call when something breaks. At Dev Partners it is the founders and an in-house UK team, with no offshore.
Will they take on an existing app?
Plenty of developers only want greenfield work and quietly avoid inherited code. The right partner is comfortable auditing and taking over an existing CI3 or CI4 application, including one with no documentation. That is a core part of what we do.
Is the framework choice honest?
A developer who recommends one framework for everything is selling, not advising. The right partner will tell you when Laravel suits a complex build better, or when WordPress fits a content site, and will explain why CodeIgniter is or is not the right call for you.
How do they handle handover?
You should never be locked in by code only one person understands, which is often exactly how an orphaned app started. Ask about documentation, coding standards, and what happens if you take the work in-house. Conventional, readable CodeIgniter is the answer.
What does ongoing support look like?
An application is not finished at launch, and an inherited one needs steady care. Ask how they handle security updates and PHP and CI version upgrades, and what a support or retainer arrangement actually costs. Vague answers here become expensive later.
How do they scope and price?
A low headline figure that grows through change requests is not a bargain. Ask how they scope, whether you get a fixed price, and what is and is not included. We scope carefully, audit existing apps first, and quote a fixed price based on what we actually find.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Found Dev Partners and they were great, nothing too much trouble. They managed to help us with integrating our old existing system with Shopify.
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.
We have worked with Dev Partners for 7 years and can highly recommend them for their expertise and excellent customer service.
CodeIgniter development in Bath: questions answered
The questions Bath and Somerset businesses ask us most often about CodeIgniter projects, both new builds and existing applications.
Yes. Dev Partners is based in Gravesend, Kent, and we work with businesses across the whole of the UK, including Bath and the wider Somerset region. CodeIgniter development is delivered remotely as standard, and the distance makes no difference to the quality of the work.
You deal directly with the founders, Rob and Jason, throughout the project. We travel to Bath for a kick-off workshop or key milestones when it genuinely adds value, and otherwise keep the overhead low.
CodeIgniter is a lightweight, fast PHP framework. It is an excellent choice when you need a lean web application or API built quickly, with a small footprint and minimal overhead, where a heavier framework like Laravel would be overkill.
It is also the framework a great many existing business applications were built on, so a large part of our CodeIgniter work is supporting, maintaining, modernising and rescuing CI3 and CI4 systems that businesses still rely on. For very complex applications Laravel may suit better, and for content-led sites WordPress; we will tell you honestly which fits.
Lean internal tools and admin systems, fast-turnaround web applications, focused REST APIs, customer portals, and integrations between existing systems. Just as often we are asked to take over an existing CodeIgniter application: extending it, fixing it, upgrading it from CI3 to CI4, securing it, or rescuing one that has been left without a developer.
Bath and Somerset have a strong professional services, tourism, heritage, education and software sector, and much of the operational software behind it is exactly the kind of system CodeIgniter was used to build.
Yes, and it is one of the most common reasons businesses come to us. We take over existing CodeIgniter codebases regularly, including older CI3 applications whose original developer has long since moved on. We start with a proper code audit, give you an honest assessment of the quality, the security position and any technical debt, and then work to whatever scope makes sense.
Some inherited applications just need a steady hand to keep them running and extend them. Others are worth modernising or migrating to CI4. We tell you which one you have before committing to any work.
It depends on the work. A focused CodeIgniter app, API or admin tool built lean can start from a few thousand pounds, which is often exactly why CodeIgniter is the right call. Taking over and supporting an existing application is usually scoped after an initial audit, so you know what you are dealing with before committing.
For ongoing work we offer retainers and ad-hoc support. We scope carefully and give you a fixed-price proposal based on what we actually find, rather than an estimate designed to win the work and adjust later.
Almost all of our project work is delivered remotely, and that has been true for years across our entire client base, including national names. The quality of a CodeIgniter application has nothing to do with where the developer is sitting when they write it.
We run regular video calls, share progress on a staging environment you can access, and stay reachable directly. Bath is around 150 miles from Gravesend; we travel down when a workshop or milestone genuinely benefits from being in the room, and otherwise keep the overhead, and your costs, low.
No. Dev Partners has been a 100% UK in-house team since we were founded in 2008. There is no offshore arm and no subcontracting of the build. The people who scope your project are the people who write the code and the people you can call when something needs attention.
For Bath clients that means you get a genuinely senior UK team without the cost structure of a large London or regional agency.
Yes. Moving from CI3 to CI4 is a genuine migration rather than a simple update, because CI4 changed a great deal under the hood. We assess your application first, decide whether a staged migration, a parallel rebuild, or staying on a well-maintained CI3 makes most sense for your budget and risk appetite, and we are honest about which is the better investment.
The goal is always a supported, secure application, not change for its own sake. Sometimes the right answer is a careful modernisation; sometimes it is keeping a solid CI3 app patched and well looked after.
Yes. Inheriting an orphaned application is something we handle often. We start by getting access, understanding how it is hosted and deployed, and auditing the code and security. From there we stabilise anything urgent, document what exists, and give you a clear picture of your options, from light-touch maintenance to modernisation.
You end up with a known quantity and a team you can actually reach, rather than a black box you are afraid to touch.
CoreCRM is our own CRM product, built on Laravel and in continuous production use since 2011. It is relevant to CodeIgniter work because it is direct evidence that we build and maintain serious PHP software over the long term, not just for the length of a project.
The discipline that keeps our own software reliable for over a decade is exactly what we bring to maintaining and modernising the CodeIgniter applications businesses depend on.
CodeIgniter project in Bath or Somerset? Talk to us.
Describe the problem and we will tell you whether CodeIgniter is the right tool and what it would involve.
A lean new build, a focused API, or taking over an existing CI3 or CI4 application that already exists; we give you an honest view on approach and cost before any work starts. You speak directly to the founders, not an account manager, and the team building it is fully UK-based and in-house.
We can also help with:
- Lean CodeIgniter web applications, built fast
- Support and maintenance of existing CI3 / CI4 apps
- Rescuing orphaned or undocumented applications
- CodeIgniter 3 to CodeIgniter 4 migrations
- Focused REST API development and integrations
- Ongoing CodeIgniter development retainers and support
We reply to all enquiries within one working day.
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