Laravel maintenance and support by a senior freelance developer
If you have a Laravel app that runs part of your business, somebody has to look after it: fix bugs, keep it fast, keep it on a supported version, and build the next things on your list. That is what I do, for companies with no developer of their own and for teams whose developers need someone more experienced to lean on.
I'm all in on AI. It lets me get through a lot of work in a short time, and I stay careful about the code and about what goes live. Laravel and Vue are what I use most. I'm based in Germany and work with clients in Europe and the US.
I usually reply within one working day.
What maintenance means in practice
The things that come up with a Laravel app that is in use.
Bugs and production problems
Errors that show up in the logs or in Sentry, a job that fails at night, a form that stopped working after a package update. I reproduce the problem, fix it, add a test so it stays fixed, and deploy. Urgent things get priority.
Laravel and PHP version upgrades
Laravel 8 apps on PHP 7.4 are common and they are running out of road. I upgrade step by step, one major version at a time, replace packages that are no longer maintained, and run the test suite after every step.
Slow pages, heavy queries, stuck queues
Most slowness is a handful of queries: missing indexes, N+1 loads, reports that should run in the background. I measure with Telescope or the query log, fix the worst first, and move heavy work into queues with Horizon.
Security fixes and package updates
Composer packages and the framework itself get security releases. I keep the app on supported versions, run composer audit, apply patches, and check that nothing broke. Small, regular updates instead of one scary big-bang update.
New features and integrations
A new report, a new payment provider, an export the accounting team wants, a connection to your CRM. Built inside the existing codebase, following the conventions that are already there, with tests where they matter.
Tests, deployments, backups and monitoring
Zero-downtime deployments with Forge or your CI, database backups that are actually restorable, uptime and queue monitoring, and a test suite that grows around the parts that would hurt if they broke.
How I work
You don't need to have everything figured out before we talk. An idea, access to the repo, a screen recording or a list of problems is enough. I look at what is there, tell you what I would do and what it costs, and then I build it.
I use Claude Code, Codex and my own agent workflows for reading code, planning changes, writing tests, refactoring and debugging. It is not vibe coding. It is senior engineering with a much faster loop.
AI-first, especially on old code
Claude Code, Codex and my own agent workflows read a codebase I have never seen far faster than I could alone, find every place a change touches, and write the tests that were never written. That is why I get through a maintenance backlog in a fraction of the time it used to take.
I stay in control
AI writes a lot of my code. I still make every technical decision, read every change before it ships, and test it. Fast, but meticulous: the speed is only worth something if what goes live is right.
The way you want to work
Some clients want to look at every change before it goes live, others want me to deploy. Some want a weekly call, most prefer written updates. I work well asynchronously, and I still ask the important questions when they come up.
I think like an owner
I still run my own online products. So when I build or fix yours, I think about traffic, conversion, revenue and support as much as about the code, and I tell you when something is not worth building.
Ways to work with me
Fixed price, a flat monthly rate, or hourly. It's always me doing the work, not an agency. If you're not sure, describe what you need and I'll suggest one.
Examples of my work
A few maintenance and takeover jobs from the last years.
Laravel 5 to Laravel 11, PHP 7.4 to 8.3
I took over a Laravel 5 site with performance problems, upgraded it step by step to Laravel 11, got the Salesforce sync working reliably, and moved the hosting to Hetzner with automated deployments.
Faster site, upgraded platform, more languages
An ongoing retainer for a company whose website is their main sales channel: performance work, an upgrade to the current Laravel version, and multilingual support built on top of it.
Stabilized and documented
A SaaS that had been running for ten years on an undocumented custom PHP framework. I fixed the urgent problems first, then wrote down how the system works and set up a Docker development environment so the next changes were safe to make.
What clients say
"Having Vincent on retainer has been excellent. He's tackled some major technical challenges for us, notably significantly improving our website's performance. He also expertly managed a complex upgrade of our core platform (Laravel) to the latest version, ensuring we stay current and secure."
"Vincent is one of those rare developers who can jump into a complex codebase, become useful immediately, and solve real problems without hand-holding."
"We especially value how quickly he gets into mature projects and finds solutions that fit the existing state of the codebase. Absolutely recommended."
Questions
Can you take over an app that someone else built?
Yes, that is most of what I do. Documentation or a handover from the previous developer helps, but I don't need either. With today's tooling I can read a large unfamiliar Laravel codebase quickly and tell you what is in it.
How fast do you respond when something is broken?
Urgent problems get priority. We agree up front what counts as urgent.
Do you do Laravel version upgrades?
Yes, and it is often the first job for a new client. Old Laravel 5, 6 or 8 apps to the current version, PHP 7 to PHP 8, and replacing the packages that no longer work.
How much maintenance does my app need?
That depends on how much changes. An app that mostly needs to keep running needs very little. An app that is still being developed needs more. I'll tell you what makes sense once I have seen the app.
Do you also handle hosting and deployments?
Yes. Servers, Forge, Docker, deployment pipelines, backups and monitoring are part of keeping an app healthy. I set them up or fix them, and I write down what I did so you are not dependent on me.
What do you need from me to start?
Access to the repository and the hosting, a short description of what bothers you most, and somebody who can answer questions. That is enough to get started.
Get a quote
Which Laravel version you are on, what bothers you most, and how you would like to work together. A few sentences are enough. I'll reply with what I would do first and what it would cost.
If you would rather talk first, book a 30-minute call.