Legacy System Modernization

Legacy system modernization means moving an old application onto a supported stack without stopping the business that depends on it. In practice that is upgrading frameworks and PHP versions, replacing unsupported parts one at a time, and adding tests so changes stop breaking things.

Laravel upgrades

$5,000 to $12,000 for a minor upgrade (2 to 3 weeks), $12,000 to $35,000 for a major one (4 to 6 weeks), $35,000 to $80,000 to bring Laravel 5.x to the current version (6 to 8 weeks)

What we modernize

Laravel and PHP upgrades, CodeIgniter to Laravel, old jQuery screens rebuilt in React or Vue.js, database migration, apps taken over from other vendors

Project

Skolaro, 1.5 million active users, built in Laravel and supported for 7+ years

What we modernize

• Laravel version upgrades, including Laravel 5.x apps
• Framework migrations, such as CodeIgniter to Laravel
• PHP upgrades from versions that no longer get security fixes (PHP 7.4 lost support in November 2022)
• Old jQuery or server-rendered screens rebuilt in React or Vue.js
• Database migration and query optimization
• Apps taken over from other vendors, then kept running through software maintenance

Cost and timeline

For Laravel, a minor upgrade costs $5,000 to $12,000 and takes 2 to 3 weeks. A major upgrade, such as Laravel 5.8 to 10, costs $12,000 to $35,000 and takes 4 to 6 weeks. A complete legacy upgrade, such as Laravel 5.x to the current version, costs $35,000 to $80,000 and takes 6 to 8 weeks.

Projects

Skolaro, a school management system with 1.5 million active users, which we built in Laravel and have supported for more than 7 years. Read the case study.

Frequently asked questions

Should we rewrite or modernize step by step?

Step by step, in most cases. A full rewrite freezes features for months and tends to miss business rules nobody wrote down. Upgrading in stages keeps the app running and releasable, and each stage is small enough to test. A rewrite makes sense when the code is small or the platform it runs on is gone.

How long does a legacy upgrade take?

For Laravel apps, 2 to 3 weeks for a minor version upgrade, 4 to 6 weeks for a major one, and 6 to 8 weeks to bring a Laravel 5.x app to the current version. Larger apps with few tests take longer, because tests come first.

Will users see downtime?

Normally no. We upgrade on a separate branch and staging copy, run the test suite and a manual check of key flows, then deploy like any other release with a rollback ready. Database changes that cannot run live are scheduled for a low-traffic window.

Our app has no tests. Is that a problem?

It is common, and the first thing we fix. Before changing framework code we add tests around the parts that make money or move data, such as checkout, sign-up and imports. Those tests then catch anything the upgrade breaks.

What happens after the upgrade?

You can take the code back in-house, or we keep it current through a maintenance plan that covers security patches, dependency updates and the next framework upgrade, so the app does not drift back into legacy.