PHP code refactoring services for growing web applications

Meet PHP refactoring company that fights technical debt in existing PHP software. Rearchitecting and optimizing legacy code.

Building a site using symfony
Rewrite vs refactor
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or

Should you rewrite PHP code from scratch, or...

...gradually improve it via refactoring?

After initial development and commercialization web applications often face similar challenges. With budget constraints, a fast-paced environment, and external pressure, engineering is often imperfect. In a long term, this results in a slower development pace, performance & security issues, recurring bugs, and inability to scale, both software and business-wise. Dealing with ageing software and legacy code, many companies consider writing a new code from the scratch as the only solution. As they don`t see a doable way of improving the existing code.

Although we disagree, and in most cases, we discourage rewriting, there are a few reasons why you may still consider it. Especially for relatively small web applications, conscious rewriting from a scratch may be the most efficient way to get rid of technical debt. Unfortunately rewriting freezes the development of new features until a new version of the software is fully rewritten. So the question is, will your end-users wait for it? If not, we suggest another option...

Refactoring PHP code, in opposition to rewriting, takes into account both the importance of improving existing software and the urge to deliver new features to the end users. Our code refactoring process focuses on both needs at the same time. It is a continuous process, your code gradually gets better and better, and in parallel, we can deliver new functionality to your end-users.

In our approach, the new part of the application (refactored code) is built separately from the old one (legacy code). These parts are linked together without mixing (coupling) them together. This allows us to add all the new features quickly, without the burden of technical debt. In the meantime, step by step, old code can be refactored and moved from the old to a new part. And you can decide how much you want to invest in new features, and how much in paying off the technical debt. Your users are already getting new features in the first weeks, the development pace increases, and your web application starts to perform better every day!

Should you rewrite PHP code from scratch, or...

After initial development and commercialization web applications often face similar challenges. With budget constraints, a fast-paced environment, and external pressure, engineering is often imperfect. In a long term, this results in a slower development pace, performance & security issues, recurring bugs, and inability to scale, both software and business-wise. Dealing with ageing software and legacy code, many companies consider writing a new code from the scratch as the only solution. As they don`t see a doable way of improving the existing code.

Although we disagree, and in most cases, we discourage rewriting, there are a few reasons why you may still consider it. Especially for relatively small web applications, conscious rewriting from a scratch may be the most efficient way to get rid of technical debt. Unfortunately rewriting freezes the development of new features until a new version of the software is fully rewritten. So the question is, will your end-users wait for it? If not, we suggest another option...

...gradually improve it via refactoring?

Refactoring PHP code, in opposition to rewriting, takes into account both the importance of improving existing software and the urge to deliver new features to the end users. Our code refactoring process focuses on both needs at the same time. It is a continuous process, your code gradually gets better and better, and in parallel, we can deliver new functionality to your end-users.

In our approach, the new part of the application (refactored code) is built separately from the old one (legacy code). These parts are linked together without mixing (coupling) them together. This allows us to add all the new features quickly, without the burden of technical debt. In the meantime, step by step, old code can be refactored and moved from the old to a new part. And you can decide how much you want to invest in new features, and how much in paying off the technical debt. Your users are already getting new features in the first weeks, the development pace increases, and your web application starts to perform better every day!

Code refactoring experts

Refactoring PHP code with experts

With certified, senior engineers and over 14 years of development and PHP refactoring. Although we are from Poland, not Polish but PHP is our native language!

Developing web applications since 2010 as one of the first companies specializing in PHP programming language in Poland. Before becoming experts in refactoring PHP code, we designed & developed from scratch over 100 digital products. From health-tech startups in Silicon Valley to enterprise PHP software for the Scandinavian oil industry. This gave us knowledge of how various technical decisions influence the business in the long run.

Legacy code refactoring, reducing technical debt, architecture redesign, scaling and optimizing PHP code... these are not tasks for beginners. Experience is crucial here, and that is why we hire only top PHP engineers. Our team consist mostly of senior specialists with 8+ years of PHP development experience.

Top App Modernization Service Clutch Poland 2023
Average rating
4 . 9
5
on Clutch.co

Experience

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    14 years of PHP development & refactoring

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    100+ PHP applications built or improved

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    8 years of average developer experience

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    Certified PHP Developers on board

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    Creating university programs for developers

Software craftsmanship

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    Clean code & clean architecture principles

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    Peer code reviews

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    Modular and extensible architecture

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    Test-driven development

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    Accountability

Refactoring benefits

Why do we focus on improving existing code?

For many years we focused on building new products for start-ups around the world. It was great fun, but the real satisfaction brought us working with existing software and making it better. Our customers are grown-up start-ups that want to evolve from quick and dirty to proper development. Using legacy code refactoring techniques like strangler pattern or approaches like CQRS we bring their software to technical health, working in parallel on paying off the technical debt and delivering new features.

In our refactoring process, we follow principles of good object-oriented programming where each class, variable, and method has its separate purpose. We fight bad design and we deliver clean, readable, sustainable code without technical debt. With the proper classes, methods and variables. Where each line of code, command or structure is easy to read and understand. This results in code that is not only simple to extend in the future but also easier to maintain.

Quotes
It is really frustrating when technical issues block your business growth. When you want to scale your business, but cannot scale your software. Technical debt becomes a burden. I love code refactoring because it removes that burden and gives a new lease on your app life. Building new products is good, but converting good product to something great, that is awesome!
Michał Kurzeja
Michał Kurzeja
Legacy refactoring consultant
& CTO of Accesto

Enhance your application via code and architecture refactoring

  • Star
    Optimize web performance

    Time & budget constraints in the MVP phase often mean compromises in the quality of the development. As the user base grows - performance often drops to disappointing levels. It's only natural that in that case, you would like to refactor PHP code online. Our process starts with auditing (profiling) the PHP code performance and identifying bottlenecks, also on production servers. Usually, within just days we can offer quick fixes that significantly improve the performance via code refactoring. In the long run, we stabilize the performance on a high level via proper web application architecture.

  • Performance
    Make your application scalable

    In the post-MVP phase companies often want to scale the software and go global, but the technology behind the product is not ready. The solution is to reject expensive vertical scalability and promote horizontal scalability. This is done via code refactoring, re-architecting and infrastructure change towards a fully scalable application. With most businesses experiencing peak traffic and relatively calm periods, sensible management of resources is crucial for the profitability of the operation. All to make sure your app won't break when the number of users grows. Both technical and financial wise.

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    Reduce your development costs

    Old, outdated code, technical debt and outdated tech stack are difficult to expand, and extra effort involved becomes an interest the company has to pay. Technology locking is also a problem. We handle this by paying off the tech debt step by step via legacy refactoring and delivering new features in parallel, we maintain business viability and satisfaction of the engineering team. The seniority and experience of our teams enhanced with automation increases the efficiency of the process.

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    Speed up your development

    Your competition added new features and it would take months to catch up? That’s a pain for many scaling SaaS companies. This is usually a result of many shortcuts taken in the early stages of development. These shortcuts increased the initial pace of development but cause roadblocks later on. Via a good PHP refactoring process these roadblocks can be removed to restore a good pace and speed up the time to market.

  • Diamond
    Secure your web application

    Many applications are vulnerable to security breaches. They include identity thefts, personal data leakages through SQL injections and problems with authorizations, among others. In the early stages of cooperation, we pay special attention to protecting applications against threats. We use penetration tests, web application firewalls (WAF), static code analysis, live code monitoring, etc.

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    Improve User Experience

    User experience and customer satisfaction sometimes lag behind the overall functionality of the SaaS product. This is due to a lack of focus on user journeys, user flows and the design of the app. A mature development team thinks both of the client and the end user. With small tweaks in UX, focusing on the features that really matter and continuous A/B testing we can achieve significant improvement.

  • Diamond
    Ensure quality & reliability

    Our clients’ applications are reliable thanks to our policies of peer code review and additional code quality assurance. By automated testing, bug reporting and application health monitoring we minimize the risk of products behaving in unexpected ways. We also think of ourselves as reliable technological partners. We prefer to overdeliver.

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    Maintain your application

    Overengineering an app means the architecture is too complex and the technology too sophisticated for the purposes of the web application. Underengineering, on the other hand, leads to the technology being too basic for the sophistication of the product. We achieve maintainability by building features with just enough complexity to meet the needs of users and leaving room for further expansion. We also automate tasks, track technical debt, choose widely adopted open source solutions and monitor bugs both in static code and live environment.

Battle-proven approach

Make your web app
future-proof

Stroke Straight line
Free review
Analysis & insights First expertise
  • Tell our CTO about your problems and challenges
  • Get code & architecture quality reports for free
  • Discuss suggestions and findings on a 2nd call
  • See the demo of possible improvements & solutions
  • No commitment, NDA secured!
1
Optimized development Taking care
  • Gathering & completing technical documentation
  • Creating complete product backups
  • Preparing environments for development/testing
  • Introducing development processes and tools
  • Automating deployment and essential tests
2
Security & performance Product strengthening
  • Security audits and removing breaches
  • Performance optimization and load testing
  • Fixing urgent issues and recurring bugs
  • Introducing essential observability & metrics
3
Maintenance & new features Continuous improvement
  • Delivering new features monthly or bi-weekly...
  • ...and reducing technical debt at the same time
  • Implementing new features in a debt-free codebase
  • Migrating old features to new codebase step by step
  • Fixing bugs & issues even before users notice them!
4+
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Results

Let the numbers speak

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Performance
Website load time reduced by 83 % See how
Conversion
Conversion rate improved by 65 % See how
Scalability
SaaS scaled to new market larger 12 × See how
Time to market
Reduced time to market by 87 % See how
Full Stack Refactoring Services

Refactoring?
It is not just the sustainable code!

Our PHP refactoring services are focused on scalable, future-proof web applications. Although Symfony is our core framework, as a full-stack development company we use a lot of other tools so you can get most of the technology.

We not only write good code, but we also focus on the business value of delivered features. Every feature can be implemented, but not each makes sense and will have a good return on investment. Writing code and functions is fun, but it is demotivating when nobody uses it later on. That is why we focus a lot on business analysis and make sure that each function we develop is the correct solution for the correct problem.

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  • Symfony logo
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  • Javascript logo
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  • Gogole Cloud logo
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We will also take care of

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Cloud

Clouds and
DevOps

User interface

UI/UX
Design

Website

Front-end
development

Gear

Maintenance

About Accesto

Meet Accesto — PHP refactoring company

We are a web development company focused on refactoring and improving existing PHP & JavaScript software. We fix, secure and optimize applications, to make them scalable & future-proof. For the past 14 years, we’ve focused on solving deep issues within existing SaaS products and saw them flourish as a result. This gave us awards and recognition among the best web development companies.

Why Accesto?

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    Expertise in improving SaaS products

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    14 years on the market 100+ products built or improved

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    High seniority level - 8 years of experience for the average Symfony developer

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    Focus on good, scalable architecture, clean & high-quality code

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    Battle-proven approach to working with existing PHP/Javascript software

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    Expertise in performance optimization and scaling web applications

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    Building high-quality products due to multi-level quality assurance and code review

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    Great products owning experience, released also 2 own successful startups

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    Providing full stack software development services, from ideation to ready product

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    Speakers at conferences (PHPCon, 4Developers, Boiling Frogs, PHPers Summit)

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    Teaching & consulting other teams on how to improve their development

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    Certified Symfony developers on board

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    Working with clients around the world: United States, Great Britain, the whole EU and UAE

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    Clients getting awards for products we create

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    Recognized among the best Symfony development companies in Poland

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    Average rating 4.8/5 from many reviews on Clutch.co

Clients

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    Placker

    PM SaaS, Netherlands

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    MediaHQ

    PR SaaS, Dublin

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    Bestcruiter

    HR platform, Germany

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    Divante

    eCommerce experts, Poland

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    Blossom

    edu-tech platform, London

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    Healthgrahpic

    health-tech, California

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    Cupsell

    marketplace, Poland

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    WorkPanda

    HR platform, Dubai

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    bSafer

    health & safety SaaS, Norway

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    Skylegs

    aviation platform, Belgium

Case studies

See the refactoring success stories we are proud of

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Placker

Ongoing partnership since 2018

Placker.com

Project management SaaS from the Netherlands used globally by 130k users. Our agile process of architecture refactoring reduced Placker’s maintenance and development time & effort by 40%. Recently a new module built in just 2 weeks made Placker win Atlassian’s Codegeist 2020 for the Best app for remote working.

Placker

Ongoing partnership since 2016

MediaHQ.com

PR & media SaaS platform from Dublin, used by Bank of Ireland and National Museum. For the 4 years of cooperation we gradually reduced their technical debt by 87% converting their legacy software to highly scalable cloud applications. This resulted in a successful launch on the 12x larger UK market last year.

Placker

Ongoing partnership since 2016

Notebookrank.com

E-commerce service that uses AI-algorithms to advise on laptop purchases. Code & architecture tweaks enabled scaling from Polish market to the UK & India - and soon also other countries. Reduced by 83% load times and redesigned usability improved conversion rate by 65% compared to the local version.

Blog

Read more about legacy code & PHP refactoring