PHP 5 to PHP 8, Without Downtime
We move old PHP applications onto supported versions without freezing your business for a quarter. The upgrade happens behind the scenes while your users keep working.
The way this stack usually breaks
These are the problems we keep seeing, in the order we usually meet them.
Dead extensions
mysql_*, ereg, mcrypt, each(). Half of them are gone in PHP 8, and the other half were security holes even in PHP 5. Every one of them has a migration path.
Password and encoding rot
md5() passwords, latin1 columns holding UTF-8 data, serialize() blobs that no longer unserialize. This is where upgrades quietly destroy data.
Hundreds of fatal errors hiding in plain sight
Deprecated warnings that were ignored for a decade become TypeErrors overnight. We find them before production does.
No tests, so no courage
Nobody dares deploy on a codebase like this. We write characterization tests around the behavior that matters so upgrades become a release instead of a prayer.
Composer, but only the idea of it
Hand-downloaded libraries from 2012, no lock file, autoloaders copy-pasted between projects. We rebuild the dependency tree properly.
Server-side EOL
Your PHP 5.6 box is out of support and the host is nudging you off. We plan the upgrade around your business calendar, not the vendor's.
A GTA distributor on PHP 5.6 since 2009
Their order entry system ran on PHP 5.6 with no tests and a shared hosting box that kept getting flagged by their payment processor. We froze deploys, wrote characterization tests around pricing and inventory, migrated the data layer to PDO with a compatibility shim, and cut the app over to PHP 8.2 module by module. Six weeks, zero downtime, and page loads dropped from 1.4s to under 400ms. The codebase is not perfect, but it is boring now, which was the point.
Questions about PHP Legacy Upgrades
How long does a PHP 5 to PHP 8 upgrade take?
A small app with a clean structure can take 2-3 weeks. A decade-old monolith with no tests usually lands in the 6-12 week range. The first thing we deliver is a dated plan with the critical path, so you know before committing.
Can you upgrade without any downtime?
Yes, with the right sequencing. We run the new PHP version in parallel behind your load balancer, verify with real traffic on staging, and flip over during a maintenance window. Blue-green deploys are standard practice for us.
What if my app is too far gone to upgrade?
Then we tell you. Sometimes the honest answer is a gradual rewrite of specific modules while the rest keeps running. We have done both, and we will not sell you an upgrade a codebase cannot survive.
Need help with PHP Legacy Upgrades?
Describe what you're dealing with. We'll reply within 24 hours with an honest read on it, including whether you even need us.
Email Us
[email protected]Response Time
24 hours for inquiries
4 hours for emergencies
Location
Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
Serving clients globally
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