Codexworker

Modernize Your Legacy PHP Application

A big legacy PHP app that nobody wants to touch, but nobody wants to rewrite either. I modernize it in place: tame the worst code, upgrade dependencies, introduce structure, and migrate to supported, maintainable PHP — without betting the business on a rewrite.

I'm a backend developer with 10+ years of experience across PHP, Go, MySQL and Elasticsearch. Recent work includes Cenoskop (30M+ products daily), Niftycent (US price intelligence), and facha.sk (Go backend). I build, fix and optimize backend systems that handle real data and real traffic.

What I Can Help With

Gradually modernize a legacy PHP application.

Typical Problems

unsupported PHP version unmaintained dependencies spaghetti code no tests deployment fragility security exposure performance drag

Relevant Experience

Modernized the PHP backend for AnalyticsForWebsite — upgraded from PHP 7.x to 8.2, replaced deprecated dependencies, introduced PHPUnit tests for critical paths, and restructured the deployment pipeline. Done incrementally over several weeks.

What Is Included

code quality assessment
dependency and version audit
refactoring strategy
incremental migration plan
test coverage introduction

How It Works

First a technical debt audit, then a prioritized, incremental modernization plan — refactor hot/high-risk areas first, upgrade safely. Fixed-price engagements from €1,500.

Starting from €1,500

Initial modernization engagement (audit + plan + first refactors). Larger scope is estimated after the audit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Rewrite or refactor?

I avoid full rewrites — they almost always fail or take longer than expected. I modernize incrementally so you keep shipping while the code gets better.

What PHP version should I target?

Currently PHP 8.3/8.4. I'll recommend a target that balances your timeline with what removes the most risk.

Related Services

Other problems I help with.

PHP Backend Development

Build or extend backend features, APIs and services in PHP.

Details →

PHP Developer for Existing Projects

Work on an existing PHP project — extensions, fixes and maintenance.

Details →

PHP to Go Migration

Migrate selected PHP components to Go.

Details →

Technical Debt Audit for Backend Systems

Assess technical debt in an existing backend.

Details →

Systems I've Built

Relevant production work.

Traffic Analysis

AnalyticsForWebsite

Custom solution for collecting and evaluating traffic metrics with emphasis on processing speed and minimizing backend load.

Designed and built the backend for fast traffic metric collection and evaluation.

Performance Optimization Data Collection
Secure Communication

Paidshield

Chat application with end-to-end encryption.

Built the backend and encryption layer for a secure chat application.

End-to-End Encryption Real-time Communication Security
Price Intelligence Engine

Cenoskop / Levnobot

Crawler monitoring millions of products. Processing 30M products daily and comparing them.

Built and maintain the full crawling pipeline — from scraping through Elasticsearch indexing to price comparison.

Data Aggregation Scraping ElasticSearch
US Price Intelligence

Niftycent

Price intelligence engine for the US market. Processing large-scale product data.

Built the data pipeline and crawling infrastructure for large-scale US product monitoring.

Data Aggregation Scraping Big Data
Job & Services Marketplace

facha.sk

Find a job or offer your services.

Built the Go backend — API, matching logic and deployment.

Job Marketplace Services Go

Need Help With This?

Describe the problem in a few lines — I'll look at it and tell you what I think.

Request a modernization audit