Software developers for UK businesses
Hire a software developer who has done this before
You need an app, portal or system built, and built properly. With Zim Digital you get a senior developer with 15+ years' experience, backed by a small team for testing, design and support. Based in Wigan, working with businesses across the UK.
Your options
Freelancer, new hire, or Zim Digital?
All three are the right answer for somebody. Here's an honest comparison so you can work out which fits your project.
| Comparison | Freelancer | In-house hire | Zim Digital |
|---|---|---|---|
| Getting started | Quick, if you can find someone good who's available | Months of recruiting, plus fees, salary, pension and equipment before any code is written | A free first call, then a written scope and price range |
| Experience | Varies widely and is hard to judge from a CV | Limited by the salary you can offer | Engineers with 15 to 20+ years each, including a lead developer role at Betfred |
| Testing | Usually the developer checks their own work | Another hire, or nobody | A Lead QA Engineer with 28 years' experience joins when the project needs it |
| If they're ill or leave | The project stops | Back to recruiting, and the knowledge leaves with them | A team that knows the system, with documented code in your repository |
| Managing the work | You | You | Us, with a demo every two weeks and a written update every week |
| Best for | Small, well-defined tasks | Years of continuous development on one product | A defined project that needs to be built properly and supported afterwards |
What we build
What businesses hire us to build
Customer portals and web apps
Let customers order, book, quote or track their own work online, like the gate designer that prices Newtown Gates' jobs around the clock.
Software to replace the spreadsheets
One system for jobs, stock, staff or clients, built around how your business actually runs rather than how a software vendor thinks it should.
SaaS products
Multi-tenant platforms with subscriptions and payments. We've built them for ticketing and appointment booking, and run them in production.
Mobile apps
iOS and Android apps in Flutter, including offline-first apps like the REBLL ticket scanner used at festival gates.
Integrations and APIs
Connect the systems you already pay for, such as accounts, CRM, payments and calendars, so data stops being typed in twice.
Automation and AI agents
Take the repetitive admin off your team, from inbox triage to reading paperwork into your systems, with a person approving what matters.
How it works
From first call to software in use
- Step 1
Free first call
30 to 45 minutes on what you need, what it's worth to the business, and whether we're the right fit. If we're not, we'll say so.
- Step 2
Scope and price
A written scope with a price range, so you know what's in the first release, what can wait, and roughly what each costs.
- Step 3
Build in two-week sprints
Working software you can click through every two weeks, and a short written update every week. No disappearing for three months.
- Step 4
Launch and support
We deploy, monitor and look after it. Support starts from £150 a month, or pay as you go. You own the code and the hosting account.
Want to know who you'd be working with? Meet the team.
Real projects
Software we've built for real businesses
Live systems in daily use, with the architecture, stack and outcomes written up in full.
Newtown Gates & Welding
A family workshop that has been making gates in Wigan since 1992, now with a website where customers design their own gate and see the price, and a portal that runs everything from the first enquiry to the final invoice.
Read case study →Events & EntertainmentREBLL Tickets
A multi-tenant event ticketing platform with integrated payment processing, digital wallet passes, and a Flutter scanner app published on the App Store and Google Play.
Read case study →SaaS & AppointmentsRSRVD
A multi-tenant SaaS appointment booking platform for service-based businesses, with real-time availability, Stripe payments, and a complete business management dashboard.
Read case study →Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to hire a software developer?
For a project with us, a focused first version (MVP) starts from around £8,000, a multi-tenant SaaS platform is typically £30,000 to £80,000, and smaller one-off jobs start from £500. Consultancy days are £500 to £800. For comparison, an experienced in-house developer in the North West costs well over £50,000 a year once salary, pension, equipment and recruitment are added up. Our pricing page has the full breakdown.
Will I get one developer or a team?
A team, led by one person you can rely on. Our founder and lead engineer runs every project and is your point of contact throughout. A second senior developer, a QA lead and a designer join when the project needs them, so you get a team's coverage without paying for people who aren't needed yet.
Can you supply a developer to work inside our team?
Yes, on a day rate of £500 to £800 through our technical consultancy service. That suits teams that need senior help with architecture, code reviews, delivery practices or a complex piece of work, as we provide for the startup Land X. If you need a whole system built, we'd normally suggest running it as a project with us, because owning the delivery is how we can stand behind the result.
Can you take over software another developer built?
Yes, and it's a common reason people get in touch. We start with a short health check covering security, outdated packages, hosting and the riskiest parts of the code, written up in plain English, so you know what you have before committing to anything bigger.
Who owns the code?
You do. The code lives in your repository and the system runs in a cloud account in your name. If you ever want to move to another developer or bring it in-house, everything you need is already yours.
Do you only work with businesses near Wigan?
No. We're based in Shevington, near Wigan, and regularly meet clients in person across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside and Cheshire. For businesses elsewhere in the UK we work remotely, with video calls and sprint demos.
Hire a developer
Tell us what you need building
A few lines is plenty: what the software should do, who'll use it, and any deadline. We'll reply within one business day, and the first call is free.
- A free, no-obligation first call
- A reply within one business day
- Straight from the people who'd build it
Prefer to talk? Call 01942 387009 or email [email protected]
Tell us about your project
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