Taking over and extending an existing PHP or Laravel system
The system still works. It just has nobody looking after it. I can pick it up, starting with a health check on the actual code so we both know what we are dealing with before anyone commits to a number.
This is for you if any of this sounds familiar
The developer who built it is gone
The system runs, but nobody will touch it because nobody knows what breaks if they do. I read the code first and tell you which changes are safe and which are not.
You asked for one feature and were quoted a full rewrite
Often a rewrite is not needed. A system that has run for years holds business logic that is already correct, and throwing it away throws that away too. I check first and tell you whether extending or rewriting is the honest answer.
It gets slower every month
Usually this lives in queries and missing indexes, not in the server. I measure before and after and show you the numbers rather than telling you it feels faster.
You are on a PHP or Laravel version that is past end of life
A version nobody patches anymore is a hole nobody is closing. I upgrade in steps with tests around each one, instead of jumping the whole way and hoping.
Three packages. Pick the one that matches what you actually need
These are full project prices, not starting points that grow later. If anything falls outside the scope, I tell you the number before I start on it.
- I read the whole structure and write you a map of it
- Risks, technical debt and security holes, listed with severity
- A straight answer on whether to extend or rewrite, with reasons
- A real quote for the work you want, based on code I have actually seen
- Fully credited against the next job if you hire me for it
- No code changes at this stage
- Includes the code health check
- Outstanding bugs fixed, from a list we agree on first
- New features built to a scope written down before I start
- Tests around everything I touch, so the next change does not undo this one
- Query and index work on whatever is slow, with before and after numbers
- Handover docs your own team can read and continue from
- Everything in Fix and extend
- PHP and Laravel moved onto versions that still get security support
- Security holes closed, with a written explanation of each one
- Automated deploys, so nobody uploads files by hand again
- Test coverage across the important paths, not only what I changed
- One training session for your team, recorded so they can rewatch it
Not included in any package, and I am telling you before you pay
- Rewriting the whole system in a different stack. If the check says a rewrite is genuinely the right call, I will say so and quote it as new build work rather than folding it into maintenance.
- WordPress plugin and theme work. That is a different discipline from Laravel and I do not take it on right now.
- Recovering a system that has already been compromised. That has to be scoped case by case, because the blast radius differs enormously.
- Server and third-party service costs. Those go straight to the provider and I tell you the numbers before you commit.
How it works, from first message to launch
Send the code, or give me read access
Zip the source or add me to your repository. If any of it is sensitive we sign an NDA before you send anything.
I run the health check
Three to five business days. You get a written report on what the system is, where the risk sits, and what the work you want will genuinely take.
We agree the scope and one price
The full number is on the table before work starts. Nothing gets added to it along the way.
I do the work and hand it over with tests
Code lands in your repository from day one, and you pay per milestone, after you have seen the piece it covers.
Questions people ask about this service
Why the health check first, can I not just pay for the work?
You can, but I would not recommend it. The cost of extending a system depends almost entirely on the state of the code. Quoting without seeing it means pricing in risk, which means you pay more than the job is worth. Checking first makes the quote match the work, and if you hire me for the work I credit the check in full.
It is very old, PHP 5. Will you still look at it?
I will check it and give you a straight answer on whether upgrading or rewriting is cheaper. PHP 5 stopped getting security support in 2019, so staying on it is a risk that grows every month, but tearing it down can cost more than it needs to. Neither of us can answer that honestly without looking at the code.
We have our own developers. Can you work alongside them?
Yes, and I prefer it. I write documentation and tests so your team can carry on without me. The goal is that you are not dependent on one outside person indefinitely.
How many years of Laravel do you have?
I will answer that straight. My main stack is TypeScript and Python. For Laravel I would rather be judged on something you can inspect than on a number of years you cannot verify. GradeLens is a school grading system I built in Laravel 13, with the full source public and 26 tests covering the grade boundaries and the access rules, and it is running live where you can use it. It is on my Work page. If you read the code and it does not meet your bar, judge me on that.
What if a fix breaks something else?
That is exactly why I put tests around everything I touch and hand over in milestones you review before I continue. If something I did causes a problem, I fix it at no charge inside the cover period.
Often booked together
Send me the code first
Tell me what the system does today and what you want it to do next. I check it and tell you whether extending or rewriting is the honest answer.
Reply within one to two business days, in English, in writing.
I work from Thailand, UTC+7, which overlaps European mornings and US afternoons.