Frameworks past end of life
AngularJS support ended in January 2022, PHP 7.4 in November 2022 and Vue 2 on 31 December 2023. No security patches, a shrinking pool of libraries, and fewer developers willing to work on them.
Software migrations & upgrades
Software Migrations & Upgrades in Safe, Reversible Steps
Move off end-of-life frameworks, ageing servers and fragile databases while the business keeps trading. We help UK teams modernise piece by piece, with data reconciled and a rollback ready at every step.
- Incremental migration, not a big-bang rewrite
- Data reconciled before anything is switched off
- A tested rollback plan for every cutover
Why migrations go wrong
Legacy systems rarely fail all at once.
They get slower to change, harder to hire for and riskier to patch — until an end-of-life date, a security finding or a hosting contract forces the issue, usually at the worst possible moment.
What a well-run migration looks like
Replace the system in slices that each deliver value on their own and can each be reversed:
- New features built around the old system, not after it
- Traffic moved across route by route behind a proxy
- Data migrated in rehearsals, with counts and totals reconciled
- Old and new running side by side until the numbers match
- A rollback plan agreed before every cutover
The big-bang rewrite
A full rebuild planned over a year or more, with the old system frozen in the meantime. Scope grows, deadlines slip, and the business waits for software that is always nearly ready.
Data that does not add up
Records copied across with broken character encoding, lost relationships and silently truncated fields — discovered by finance or customers weeks after the old system has gone.
Search traffic lost in a URL change
A platform move changes every URL. Without a redirect map and monitoring, rankings, bookmarks and links from partners all break on launch day.
What we migrate
Migrations and upgrades, one reversible step at a time.
Every migration starts with an audit of the code, data, integrations and infrastructure, because the risky parts are rarely the ones in the project brief.
Legacy system modernisation
Strangler-fig migrations that replace an ageing system module by module, with old and new running side by side until each piece has proved itself.
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AngularJS and Vue 2 upgrades
AngularJS moved to current Angular as a hybrid app or route by route, and Vue 2 moved to Vue 3 using the official migration build — while your team keeps shipping.
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PHP and .NET upgrades
Old PHP versions moved to supported releases, often alongside a Laravel upgrade, and .NET Framework applications ported to modern .NET one service at a time.
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Database migrations
Version upgrades, schema redesigns and moves between MySQL and PostgreSQL, rehearsed on production-sized copies and reconciled table by table before cutover.
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Cloud migrations
On-premises servers and shared hosting moved to AWS — lifted as they are or modernised on the way — with backups, monitoring and access controls in place from day one.
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SEO-safe platform moves
CMS and eCommerce replatforms with every URL mapped to a permanent redirect, metadata carried across, and search traffic watched closely after the switch.
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How we work
From audit to a retired legacy system.
Our standard seven stages, with migration safeguards inside each: a full dependency map before planning, rehearsals before any cutover, and a way back until the old system is switched off.
- 01
Discovery
We audit the current system — code, versions, data, integrations, scheduled jobs, hosting and the undocumented behaviour people rely on — and find out what the business cannot do without, even for an hour.
A dependency map and a risk register
- 02
Strategy
Upgrade in place, migrate incrementally or rebuild: we compare the options on cost, risk and disruption, then break the work into steps that each deliver value on their own.
A phased plan with rollback points
- 03
UX & architecture
Target architecture, field-by-field data mapping from old schema to new, redirect maps for any URL that changes, and the routing layer that lets old and new run side by side.
Target architecture, data mapping and redirects
- 04
Development
Two-week sprints that move one slice at a time, with feature flags and routing so each piece can be switched on, watched and switched back if needed.
Migrated slices live, one at a time
- 05
Testing
Repeated migration rehearsals on production-like data, reconciling record counts, financial totals and sample records, plus regression tests comparing old and new behaviour.
Reconciliation reports from every rehearsal
- 06
Launch
A cutover planned to the hour: a change freeze, a go/no-go checklist, monitoring on the key journeys and a tested rollback, timed for your quietest trading period.
Cutover complete, old system on standby
- 07
Optimisation & support
We watch errors, performance and search traffic after each cutover, fix what surfaces, then decommission the old system and archive its data once you are confident.
Legacy system retired and archived
Technology
What we migrate from and to.
We work across old and current versions of mainstream stacks. The destination is always a supported release that your team can hire for.
Front-end upgrades
AngularJS to AngularVue 2 to Vue 3jQuery to ReactReact class components to hooks
Back-end upgrades
PHP 5 and 7 to PHP 8Laravel version upgrades.NET Framework to modern .NETNode.js LTS upgrades
Databases
MySQLPostgreSQLSchema and version upgradesSpreadsheets and Access to SQL
Cloud and hosting
On-premises to AWSShared hosting to containersDocker and KubernetesInfrastructure as code
Migration techniques
Strangler-fig patternFeature flagsBlue-green deploymentsChange data capture
SEO and URLs
301 redirect mapsCanonical tagsSearch Console monitoringServer log checks
Sometimes the right answer is a careful in-place upgrade rather than a migration. We recommend the least disruptive route that gets you onto supported software.
Use cases
Migrations that start with a deadline.
Usually triggered by an end-of-life date, a hosting contract or a security finding — and always constrained by a business that has to keep trading.
AngularJS still in production
A customer-facing app built on AngularJS, moved to current Angular route by route while the team carries on shipping features.
Vue 2 past end of life
A Vue 2 front end moved to Vue 3 with the migration build, updating state management and component libraries along the way.
From the server cupboard to AWS
An on-premises application and database moved to AWS, with the backups, monitoring and access controls that were never there before.
A .NET Framework estate
Line-of-business .NET Framework applications assessed, then ported to modern .NET one service at a time, starting with those that block other upgrades.
Replatforming a website
A site moved off an old CMS or eCommerce platform with every URL mapped, content migrated, and rankings and conversions watched through the switch.
Two systems merged into one
Customer, product and order data from two systems de-duplicated and merged, with a reconciliation report both finance teams can sign off.
Relevant work
Products we have designed and built.
A selection of client projects related to this work. Each case study covers the brief, the approach and the stack.
All case studiesEducation · SaaS
University Management
University management system replacing spreadsheet enrolment and timetabling.
ReactNode.jsPostgreSQLAWS
Read the case studyFinance · Mobile
Equity Bank
Digital banking app: accounts, bill payments, loans and investments.
React NativeNode.jsPostgreSQLAWS
Read the case studyHealthcare · Web
Tekish Health
Telemedicine web platform: booking, video consultations and patient records.
Next.jsWebRTCFHIRAWS
Read the case studyWhy Techsleight
What working with us is actually like.
No inflated numbers — just how we run projects, and what you can hold us to.
Product engineering, not ticket-taking
We ask what the software is for before we estimate it — and we will tell you when something should not be built, or should be bought instead.
AI where it earns its place
LLM features, retrieval and automation built with evaluation, guardrails and cost controls, and plain software where that is the better answer.
Full-stack under one roof
Design, frontend, backend, mobile, cloud and QA in one team, so nothing falls between suppliers.
UK-focused delivery
UK business hours, estimates in pounds, and a contract with a UK company. Our engineers are based in the UK and India.
Flexible engagement
A fixed-scope project, dedicated developers or a monthly retainer — and you can move between them as the work changes.
You own everything
Code, IP, cloud accounts and documentation are yours from day one. We sign an NDA before discovery if you need one.
Support after launch
We stay on for fixes, upgrades and new features, or hand over cleanly to your in-house team with the documentation to match.
FAQs
Questions we get asked.
Straight answers on scope, cost, timelines and how we work. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
How much does a software migration cost?
It depends on the size of the system, the gap between versions, the state of the code and how much data moves. A discovery sprint from £2,000 audits the system and produces a phased plan, with a fixed-price quote for the first phase — so you can commit one step at a time.
Should we upgrade, migrate or rebuild?
Upgrade in place when the code is sound and the version gap is manageable. Migrate incrementally when parts of the system need rethinking but the business cannot pause. Rebuild only when little of the existing code is worth keeping. We audit first, then recommend the least disruptive option.
What is the strangler-fig approach?
Instead of replacing a system in one go, you put a routing layer in front of it and move functionality to the new system piece by piece. Each piece goes live on its own, the old system shrinks, and at no point does the business depend on a single high-risk switchover.
Can you migrate without downtime?
Often, yes. Running old and new side by side, replicating data continuously and switching traffic gradually can avoid any visible outage. Some migrations do need a short maintenance window; when they do, we plan it for your quietest period and agree it well in advance. Either way, there is a tested rollback.
How do you make sure no data is lost?
We rehearse the migration on copies of production data several times, reconciling record counts, financial totals and sample records between the old and new systems. Discrepancies are explained or fixed before the real run, and the old data is archived rather than deleted.
Our app runs on AngularJS or Vue 2. How urgent is it?
Both are past end of life — AngularJS since January 2022 and Vue 2 since 31 December 2023 — so their maintainers no longer ship security fixes. Paid extended support exists, but it buys time rather than solving the problem. Plan the upgrade now, and patch anything exposed to the internet in the meantime.
How do you handle URL changes when we switch platforms?
We crawl the old site and pull every URL with traffic or inbound links from analytics and Search Console, map each one to its new equivalent, and test the redirects on staging before launch. After cutover we check server logs and Search Console for 404s and redirect chains, and fix gaps as they appear.
Can you move our on-premises system to the cloud?
Yes. We assess what the application depends on — servers, file shares, scheduled jobs, licences — then decide with you whether to move it as it is or modernise parts on the way. The move to AWS includes backups, monitoring and access controls, and data can stay in the UK if you need it to.
Can we keep adding features during the migration?
Yes, and with an incremental approach you should not have to stop. New features are built on the new platform wherever possible, and a short change freeze is agreed only around each cutover.
What happens to the old system afterwards?
Once the new system has run cleanly for an agreed period, we decommission the old one: data archived in a readable format, access kept for audit or retention needs, and servers and licences shut down so you stop paying for them.
Start a project
Stuck on an old framework, server or platform?
Tell us what you are running and what is forcing the change. We will suggest a first step — usually an audit — and the least disruptive route onto supported software.
What happens next
- 1A senior engineer reads your brief within one working day, and replies with questions or a first view.
- 2A 30-minute call to understand the goal, constraints and what good looks like — no sales script.
- 3A written proposal with scope, milestones, team and a GBP estimate you can take to your board.
Techsleight Labs is a trading name of Krapton IT Consultancy.
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