Upgrading and modernizing old Laravel and PHP apps
Old Laravel 5, 6 or 8 apps, PHP 7 that has to become PHP 8, packages nobody maintains anymore, or an app whose developer is gone. I bring these apps onto current versions and make them safe to work on again, for companies with no developer of their own and for teams that want an experienced hand for the risky part.
I'm all in on AI, and upgrades are where it pays off most: reading old code, finding every place a change touches, writing the tests that were never written. I stay careful about what goes live. Laravel and Vue are what I use most, and I'm based in Germany.
I usually reply within one working day.
What an upgrade involves
The parts of the job, whether the app is on Laravel 5 or PHP 5.
Finding out what you actually have
Framework version, PHP version, every Composer package and whether it still has a maintainer, how much of the framework was customized, and which parts have tests. That decides how big the job is and what could break.
Tests before the upgrade, not after
An old app usually has few tests. Before I touch versions I write tests for the parts that would hurt if they broke: checkout, login, the reports the business runs on. Then the upgrade has a safety net.
One major version at a time
Laravel 5 to 11 is not one jump. Each version has its own upgrade guide, its own removed helpers and changed defaults. I go step by step, run the suite after each, and keep the app working the whole way.
PHP 7 to PHP 8
Stricter types, removed functions, changed behaviour in edge cases. Static analysis with PHPStan or Rector finds most of it before it hits production. The rest shows up in the tests.
Replacing abandoned packages
Half the pain of an old app is packages that stopped at Laravel 6. Some have a maintained successor, some I replace with a few lines of code, some need a small rewrite. I list them up front so there are no surprises.
Switching over without downtime
The upgrade happens on a copy. Your live app keeps running. When everything passes, we switch, with a way back if something unexpected shows up after the switch.
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 and Codex read a legacy codebase far faster than I could alone, map what depends on what, and write the tests nobody wrote. With my own agent workflows I run the mechanical parts of an upgrade in the background and spend my own time on the decisions.
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
Upgrades and takeovers from the last years.
Laravel 5 to Laravel 11, PHP 7.4 to 8.3
I took over a Laravel 5 site with outdated packages, upgraded it step by step to Laravel 11 and PHP 8.3, replaced the packages that were no longer maintained, got the Salesforce sync working reliably, and moved hosting to Hetzner with automated deployments.
Custom PHP framework, no documentation
A SaaS on a homegrown PHP framework nobody had written down. I fixed the urgent problems first, then documented how the system works and set up a Docker development environment so the next changes were safe to make.
PHP and Ruby on Rails moved into one Laravel app
Two backends in two languages, expensive to host and hard to maintain. I moved everything into one Laravel application as a drop-in replacement. Monthly hosting went from four figures to about 150 dollars.
What clients say
"He also expertly managed a complex upgrade of our core platform (Laravel) to the latest version, ensuring we stay current and secure."
"We especially value how quickly he gets into mature projects and finds solutions that fit the existing state of the codebase. Absolutely recommended."
"Vincent is one of those rare developers who can jump into a complex codebase, become useful immediately, and solve real problems without hand-holding."
Questions
How long does an upgrade take?
It depends on how big the app is, how much of the framework was customized, how many packages need replacing, and whether there are tests. I look at the app first and then tell you what it would take.
Can you upgrade an app that has no tests?
Yes. That is the normal case for older apps. The tests for the important parts get written first, which is more work, but it is also the reason the upgrade does not break things quietly.
Does the app have to stop while you upgrade it?
No. The upgrade happens on a copy. Your live app keeps running, and we switch when everything works.
What if the previous developer is gone and there is no documentation?
That is most of the apps I take over. I read the code and write down what I find as I go, so you end up with documentation you never had.
Do you also do plain PHP apps without Laravel?
Yes. Custom PHP frameworks, old CMS installations, and PHP 5 or 7 code that has to move to PHP 8. Moving an app into Laravel is an option, not a requirement.
Should we rewrite instead?
Rarely. A rewrite takes longer and costs more than people expect, and the old app knows things about your business that nobody wrote down. I say so when a rewrite is the better option, and I explain why.
Get a quote
Which versions you are on now, roughly how big the app is, and whether there are tests. A few sentences are enough. I'll reply with what I would do and what it would cost.
If you would rather talk first, book a 30-minute call.