ReelLearning / ReelPlatform

We support ReelPlatform's bespoke Ruby on Rails e-learning application, improving video learning, payments and reporting alongside ongoing maintenance.

We help ReelLearning maintain and develop ReelPlatform, its bespoke e-learning platform built with Ruby on Rails. Our fractional team provides ongoing support, application development and user-centred improvements, helping the business look after an established service while making it work better for learners and administrators.

We are delighted with everything Bit Zesty does.

Robbie Beak, Director, ReelLearning — Clutch review, September 2024

The Background

ReelLearning helps schools and education professionals share continuing professional development (CPD) through video. The same platform is offered to commercial training providers under the ReelPlatform brand.

Organisations can use their own branding and video content, arrange resources into courses and give learners access through individual or organisation accounts. Some share training internally; others sell access to videos, courses or subscriptions. Each organisation’s version runs on a shared Ruby on Rails application.

The Challenge

The platform was already in use when ReelLearning approached Bit Zesty to take over support and maintenance. The team needed a partner who could understand the existing application, maintain it and work through improvements as priorities changed.

There were practical issues to address. An outdated payment integration was disrupting purchases and subscriptions. The application also needed ongoing software updates, while learners and administrators depended on its video, content management and reporting features.

The Work

Taking ownership of an existing application

We took over the application from its previous developers, reviewed how it worked and prepared the staging environment for testing. We updated the codebase and added automated tests to support further development.

Our work continued with Ruby and Rails upgrades, security updates to supporting libraries and investigation of application errors. We released the Ruby and Rails upgrades to production in April 2025. In June 2026, we completed the production database migration to Amazon RDS after testing the migration in staging and agreeing a maintenance window with the client.

Improving learning and administration

We upgraded the video player to adapt video quality to the viewer’s available bandwidth and improved reporting to show monthly platform usage.

Our user-centred work also addresses the everyday tasks around learning. We fixed formatting in the administration editor, repaired course-purchase reports and PDF exports, and resolved problems importing video content and metadata. Public presentations can be viewed without logging in, while missing content now leads to a clear “Not found” page.

More recent accessibility work covers image descriptions, form labels and page headings. We test changes in staging and share them with the client for review before release.

Restoring purchases and subscriptions

We updated the Stripe integration and the purchase and subscription process, including changes to the administration area. Ongoing support has addressed payment errors and the handling of subscription renewals, helping keep access to paid learning content working as intended.

A fractional team for ongoing support

ReelLearning works with a fractional team covering development, project management and quality assurance, with design input for changes to the user experience.

Together, we prioritise the backlog, estimate larger pieces of work and agree what to progress. Regular updates on work completed and time spent help the client plan maintenance alongside improvements. The client stays involved in testing, so changes can be checked against how the platform is used in practice.

The Impact

ReelLearning has an ongoing technical partner for its bespoke learning platform, with upgraded application software, an improved video player, revised purchasing and subscription journeys, and more useful reporting.

The partnership combines maintenance with practical improvements to the existing service. It gives the team a way to address operational issues and plan further development around the needs of education and training customers.