PostgreSQL development
The relational database we default to when data integrity and complex querying both matter.
Relational database
Chosen per project
Maintainable handover
PostgreSQL is the sensible default for business systems. It enforces constraints properly, handles concurrent transactions correctly, and supports the kind of analytical queries that would otherwise require a separate reporting system.
Most database problems we are asked to fix are not database problems at all — they are missing indexes, unbounded queries and a schema that never anticipated the reports now being run against it.
What we build with PostgreSQL
Transactional business systems where correctness is non-negotiable
Reporting and analytics alongside operational data
Multi-tenant applications using schema-level isolation
Systems mixing relational data with JSON documents
Where it fits — and where it does not
Good fit when
Data with genuine relationships and integrity requirements
Complex queries, aggregation and reporting
Transactional correctness under concurrency
A mix of structured and semi-structured data
Consider something else when
Very high write throughput of unstructured events
Simple key-value caching, better served by Redis
Teams with no SQL capability and no intention of acquiring any
How we make a slow query fast
The order matters. Most performance work is finished by step three; reaching for more hardware first is how organisations spend money without fixing anything.
Measure
Find the queries actually consuming time, using statistics rather than intuition.
Read the plan
Examine the execution plan to see what the planner is really doing.
Index
Add or correct indexes, including partial and composite ones.
Rewrite
Restructure the query, or the access pattern that produced it.
Denormalise
Materialised views or summary tables, where the read pattern justifies it.
Scale
Read replicas or more capacity — last, once the above is exhausted.
How we work with PostgreSQL
Schema design
Normalised where it protects integrity, denormalised deliberately where reads demand it.
Indexing
Indexes chosen from the queries that will actually run, then verified against query plans.
Migrations
Versioned, reversible and tested against production-sized data before release.
Backup and recovery
Point-in-time recovery configured, and restores actually rehearsed.
Our typical PostgreSQL setup
| Concern | What we use |
|---|---|
| Version | A currently supported PostgreSQL major release |
| Migrations | Versioned and reversible, applied through the deployment pipeline |
| Indexing | B-tree, partial, composite and GIN indexes as the queries require |
| Extensions | PostGIS, pg_trgm and others where the problem calls for them |
| Backup | Automated snapshots plus point-in-time recovery, restores tested |
| Monitoring | Slow query logging and connection pool metrics |
Frequently asked questions
PostgreSQL for stricter data integrity, richer query capability and better handling of complex or semi-structured data. MySQL remains a reasonable choice for simpler read-heavy applications and is more widely available on inexpensive shared hosting.
Almost always, and usually without new hardware. The common causes are missing indexes, queries fetching far more than they need, and reports run against the live transactional tables.
Yes, with indexing and querying support for JSONB. That makes it a practical single database for systems that are mostly relational but have some flexible document data.
Topics people search for
Services built with PostgreSQL
Custom Software Development
Software shaped around the way your business already works, instead of a packaged product you have to reorganise around.
Web Application Development
Applications that run in the browser, handle real workloads and hold up when several departments depend on them at once.
ERP Software Development
One system for inventory, purchasing, production, sales and accounts — built module by module so the business keeps running throughout.
Cloud Solutions
Hosting designed around what your application actually needs, with the monitoring and backups that make it safe to rely on.
Tell us what you are trying to build
Describe the problem in plain language and we will tell you what it would take to solve it — the approach, the moving parts and the sensible order to build them in. No obligation either way.