PHP development services
PHP still runs a large share of the web, and modern PHP is a different language from the one people remember. We build on it, and we take over the legacy codebases other teams would rather not touch.
Where we use PHP
PHP is part of the stack on these 3 services. Each page covers how we work, what you get and what it costs to start.
PHP in practice
PHP powers a very large share of the web, and PHP 8 is a different language from the one that earned the reputation: typed properties, JIT compilation, enums, and genuinely fast execution. The ecosystem around Laravel and WordPress means most commodity functionality already exists and has been tested by a lot of people.
It is also the language we most often inherit. Legacy PHP applications are frequently business-critical, poorly documented and running on unsupported versions — and taking one over safely is a discipline of its own: characterise the current behaviour first, add a safety net, then change things.
What we build with PHP
Business applications, portals and back offices where a mature framework beats assembling one from parts.
Custom themes, plugins and integrations, built so a content team can work without calling a developer.
Upgrading old PHP applications to supported versions, adding tests, and untangling the parts that stop them being changed safely.
Is PHP right for you?
Ask usA good fit when
- Content-heavy sites, portals and business applications
- WordPress and WooCommerce work
- Projects where hosting cost and universal support matter
- Taking over an existing PHP system that needs care
Probably not when
- Real-time products built on persistent connections
- Data science or machine learning work
- Organisations with no PHP capability and no reason to acquire one
What we run alongside PHP
The rest of the setup, and why each piece is there. We keep this list short on purpose — every dependency is something someone has to maintain.
- Laravel or Symfony
- Laravel for speed of delivery, Symfony for explicit structure on long-lived platforms.
- Composer
- Dependency management with a lockfile — the thing that made modern PHP possible.
- PHPStan or Psalm
- Static analysis that finds in minutes what a test suite would take months to cover.
- PHP-FPM + OPcache
- The runtime configuration that decides whether PHP is fast or merely adequate.
- Pest or PHPUnit
- Testing, which older PHP codebases usually lack entirely.
Why PHP
Let’s talkCheap and universal to host
Almost every hosting provider supports it well, which keeps infrastructure decisions simple and running costs low.
Genuinely fast since PHP 8
The JIT and years of engine work made modern PHP quick enough that performance rarely drives the decision away from it.
A huge amount already exists
Between Laravel packages and the WordPress ecosystem, most commodity functionality is a well-tested dependency away.
What we get called in to fix
Get a second opinionUnsupported PHP versions
Applications on versions with no security patches. Upgrading is usually less frightening than it looks once static analysis maps the risk.
SQL built by string concatenation
Legacy code with real injection exposure. Parameterised queries are the fix; finding every instance is the work.
No dependency management
Vendor code committed by hand with no versions. Introducing Composer is often the highest-value first change.
Business logic inside templates
Queries and rules embedded in view files, which makes both testing and change impossible.
PHP or the alternative
The comparisons we are actually asked to make, answered the way we would answer them on a call.
PHP for content and business applications with cheap hosting. Node for real-time features and shared language with the frontend.
WordPress when editors and content are the product. Laravel when custom business logic is.
Upgrade far more often than instinct suggests. A rewrite loses years of encoded business rules that nobody wrote down.
PHP works well with:
MongoDB
Node.js
PostgreSQL
Python
React
Vue
Angular
AWS
Azure
Django
Google CloudGot an idea? Let’s make it real.
Tell us the short version
This could be the first step towards a new and successful collaboration. A one-line idea and a finished spec are both fine — tell us the problem, the deadline you’re working to and what’s in your way.
Keep looking
Frequently asked questions
For content-heavy sites, portals and business applications with a Laravel fit, yes. For real-time or AI-heavy products, usually not.
Yes. We map the risky areas first, add a safety net of tests, then move versions in steps rather than in one jump.
Yes — custom builds, plugin work and performance fixes. It is a regular part of our agency-side work.
Yes. PHP 8 with OPcache is quick enough that performance almost never drives the decision away from it for typical web workloads.
Yes — it is regular work for us. We start with an assessment, because knowing where the risk sits is what makes the rest safe.