Legacy modernization

Legacy is not a synonym for bad code. It is code that earns money and that nobody dares to touch, usually because there are no tests, no staging copy and no way to tell what a change will break. Modernization is about removing that fear, not about replacing the application.

We start with an audit: PHP and framework versions against their end-of-life dates, known vulnerabilities in dependencies, the places where request data reaches SQL, how the code gets to the server, and what the business would lose in an hour of downtime. The result is a plan sorted by risk and cost, not a verdict.

Then the work goes in this order:
— a staging copy and a deployment that can be repeated;
— backups, error tracking and monitoring, so problems are visible;
— the runtime and dependencies: PHP 8, current packages, no abandoned libraries;
— tests around the parts where a mistake costs money — payments, prices, access rights;
— refactoring in small steps, each one deployable on its own.

A rewrite from scratch is the option we recommend least often. It throws away years of business rules that live only in the code, takes far longer than estimated, and leaves the company with two systems to maintain until it finishes. Step-by-step modernization gives value after the first week instead of after the first year.