PHP website migration
Your PHP site still works. Keeping it that way is the problem.
Many small business sites were hand-built in PHP years ago and have run quietly since. But PHP versions stop getting security fixes, hosts force upgrades, and the person who wrote the code may be long gone. I move your site to Redline as plain, fast pages with nothing on the server to maintain, and every link kept. Enter your address to see what your move would involve.
Typical level
A quick move for small, simple sites. Booking tools, several forms or many pages add some custom work.
Typical price
$1,800–4,000 for most PHP sites, $4,000–6,000 for big ones. Hosting and care is $150 a month.
Time
Usually 1–3 weeks. Your current site stays live until the new one is ready.
After the move
Edit your pages yourself in a simple editor, or let me: an hour of edits a month is included.
What an old PHP site costs you
A hand-coded PHP site is simple until something around it changes:
- PHP versions expire. Each PHP version gets security fixes for a few years. When your host upgrades, older code can break, sometimes with a blank page.
- Contact forms become spam gateways. Old mail scripts are a favorite target for spammers, and can get your domain's email blocked.
- Nobody knows the code. Small changes need someone willing to read code written years ago, often without notes.
- A database to look after. If the site uses MySQL, it needs backups, updates and protection too.
On Redline your pages are plain and fast, forms are built in and protected from spam, and there's no server code for you to maintain.
What moves over
Comes over
- Every page, with your words and images.
- Your design, rebuilt as plain pages.
- Contact forms, set up again with spam protection.
- Content kept in a database, such as news or listings.
- Your domain, and every page address you have now.
- Logins and free members-only pages: Redline supports sign-in and different access levels.
Needs a closer look
- Pages behind a login, and who is allowed to see each one.
- Custom features the PHP code runs, such as calculators, quotes or search.
- Payments, paid memberships and online stores, which aren't covered yet.
I can't see pages behind a login from outside, so for sites with logins I work with whoever built your site to list every one and who can see it. Each is tested before we switch over.
Your PHP links keep working
PHP sites often have addresses ending in .php, like /about.php or /news.php?id=7. Every one of those keeps working on the new site, or redirects to its new page, and I test them all before we switch over.
How the move works
- Check your siteEnter your address above. You'll see the level, and I'll reply with a fixed price.
- I rebuild itI work from your live site. Access to the code or the database helps me get any custom features and stored content exactly right.
- You review itYou see the new site before anything changes, and I test that every old address still works.
- We switch overI point your domain at the new site. Then the old server or hosting plan can be shut down.
If you ever leave, here's what you take with you
Your website
As standard HTML, CSS and JavaScript files that any web host can run.
Your data
If your site keeps records such as members, bookings or form entries, you get a complete copy in a format other tools can read.
Your code
Anything built just for your business is yours. I don't own it and I won't keep it.
Your domain
It was always yours, and it goes wherever you go.
The Redline engine stays with me. Everything else goes with you. Your files, data and code are always handed over free. If you'd like help setting them up somewhere else, that's billed at my normal rate.
Questions about moving from PHP
My host says I have to upgrade PHP. Is moving an option?
Yes. Instead of fixing old code to run on a new PHP version, your site moves to Redline, where there's no PHP for you to maintain at all.
Will my .php links still work?
Yes. Addresses ending in .php, including ones with ?id= and similar in them, keep reaching the right page after the move.
How much does it cost to move a PHP site?
Most PHP sites are $1,800–4,000: a small, simple site is a quick move, and booking tools, several forms or many pages add some custom work. Big sites are $4,000–6,000. Hosting and care is $150 a month, or $1,500 a year, with an hour of edits a month included. The free check on this page shows your site's level.
Can my site keep its logins?
Yes. Redline supports sign-in and different access levels. Because pages behind a login can't be seen from outside, I work with whoever built your site to map every one and who should see it, then test each before we switch over. Paid memberships, where people pay for access, aren't covered yet.
Will my domain and links stay the same?
Yes. Your domain stays yours, and every page address you have now keeps working. I test each one before we switch over.
Who's behind this
I'm Brad Simon, and Coder B Dev is my one-person studio. I've been writing software for more than 30 years: enterprise systems, web applications and SaaS platforms, for companies from startups to large enterprises. Redline is the platform I built so small business sites can get that same engineering without the upkeep. I take on a small number of sites at a time, so each one gets my full attention.
I'd rather you stay because you want to. I've seen too many business owners stuck with a platform because leaving meant losing their site. I don't work that way. Your words, images and data are yours, and so is any code written for your business: I don't claim any rights to it. If you ever decide to move on, I'll hand you your site as standard files, a full copy of your data and all of your own code, with no runaround. The only thing I keep is the Redline engine itself.