GlenndilenDigital

Modernise Legacy Without starting again

Upgrade and improve established web applications step by step, keeping the business logic that works and replacing what holds you back.

Review our systemTechnical consulting

Keep the value. Lose the risk.

Older applications often contain years of valuable business logic. They also become harder to change, harder to host securely and harder to find developers for.

A complete rewrite sounds tempting but is risky and slow. We usually recommend a staged approach: stabilise, upgrade, add tests around the important behaviour, then improve or replace components one at a time while the business keeps running.

What modernisation involves.

Planned in stages, each one leaving the system better than before.

  • Assessment

    Code, dependencies, hosting and security reviewed, with risks ranked by impact.

  • PHP and framework upgrades

    Moving to supported versions so the application stays secure and fast.

  • Tests around key behaviour

    Automated tests that protect the rules the business depends on during change.

  • Refactoring

    Untangling the hardest-to-change code so new features become practical again.

  • Staged replacement

    New components introduced alongside the old, with data migrated carefully.

  • Documentation

    How the system works, how to deploy it and how to support it, written down.

Upgrade in steps, not leaps.

We begin by making the system safe to change: getting it into version control, creating a staging environment and adding tests around the behaviour that matters. Only then do we upgrade and refactor.

Each stage is releasable on its own, so the business sees benefits early and the risk of any single change stays small.

  • Version control and staging first
  • Tests before refactoring
  • Small, releasable improvements
Modernisation plan
Before
  • Unsupported PHP version
  • No automated tests
  • Manual FTP deployments
  • Rules in one person’s head
After
  • Current, supported PHP
  • Tests around key rules
  • Automated deployment
  • Documented system
StabiliseUpgradeTestImprove

Deep experience with established platforms.

Much of our CS-Cart work involves heavily customised, long-running stores, where upgrades must preserve years of bespoke functionality. The same discipline applies to any established PHP application.

We document what we find as we go, so knowledge that lived in one developer’s head becomes something your business owns.

  • Experience with heavily customised systems
  • Careful data migration
  • Knowledge captured in documentation
legacy/orders.php → src/Orders/Repository.php
- $rows = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM orders WHERE id=$id");+ $stmt = $this->pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM orders WHERE id = ?');+ $stmt->execute([$id]);+ return $stmt->fetch() ?: null;

How we work together.

A clear, collaborative process with no surprises. You always know what is happening, what we need from you and what comes next.

  1. Step 1

    Discover

    We map the workflow, the people involved, the data and the systems it touches, then agree what success looks like.

  2. Step 2

    Specify

    A clear scope, data model and plan. Where it helps, a clickable prototype so you can test the idea before it is built.

  3. Step 3

    Build in stages

    Working software early and often, reviewed with you at each stage and tested against real examples.

  4. Step 4

    Launch & support

    Careful deployment, documentation and handover, with ongoing support and development if you want it.

Questions, answered.

Anything else you would like to know? Ask us directly and we will give you a straight answer.

Should we rewrite our application from scratch?

Occasionally a rewrite is right, but it is often slower and riskier than expected because the old system contains undocumented rules. We assess both paths and usually recommend staged modernisation.

Our original developer has left. Can you help?

Yes. We start by securing access, documenting the system and making it safe to change, then address the most pressing issues.

How long does modernisation take?

It depends on the size and state of the system. We break it into stages that each deliver value, so you can decide how far to go.

Related services.

Software development

Customer portals, internal tools and business systems for UK companies that have outgrown spreadsheets and off-the-shelf software.

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Technical consulting

Independent advice from people who design and build systems every day. Make the right technology decision before you commit budget to it.

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Support & upgrades

Experienced help when your CS-Cart store has a problem, needs upgrading or deserves a team that looks after it properly.

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Infrastructure

Fast, secure and recoverable environments for busy ecommerce stores and custom applications, with deployment and monitoring that let you change things safely.

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Let’s build something exceptional.

Tell us about the website, platform or problem you have in mind. We’ll reply within one working day with honest advice on the best next step.

Start a projectSee our work

Or email hello@glenndilen.co.uk