Zend Framework Support, Migration & Modernisation
get it onto a supported PHP first, then choose where it lands.
For businesses running a PHP application built on Zend Framework 1, 2 or 3. We take over the code, make it safe on a supported version of PHP, keep it maintained, and move it to Laminas, Mezzio or Laravel in stages where that is worth doing.
More about this service
We are an Australian team working remotely with businesses in the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. Every engagement starts with a scoped technical assessment, so the estimate that follows is based on your code and your data.
- Assessment A scoped technical review before any estimate
- 18+ yrs Building business software
- Independent No licence commission, no reseller agenda
- US UK NZ AU Australian team, working remotely
Built here. Your data stays here.
- No offshore development. Everything is written by our own team in Australia. Nothing is subcontracted overseas.
- Your data stays onshore. Hosted in Australia, on infrastructure you own, under Australian law.
- Every state, not just ours. Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and everywhere between.
The framework ended. Your application still runs on it
Zend Framework was the serious choice for business PHP for many years. It was chosen for the systems that mattered: ordering portals, membership systems, quoting tools and the back offices behind them. Many are still in daily use, on the version they were built with.
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The project has since ended. Version 1 reached the end of its life in 2016, and the later versions continue under a new name, Laminas. What usually prompts the call is a hosting company warning about an old PHP version. Changing PHP alone tends to break the application, because the framework is what holds the PHP version back. So the framework has to be dealt with first.
Our Zend Framework developer service is for businesses in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. It covers three kinds of work: code fixes and updates, migration to a modern technology stack, and ongoing maintenance and support.
Three ways forward for a Zend Framework application
Which one fits depends mostly on whether you are on version 1.
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Keep it and support it
The application stays on Zend Framework. We take over the code, put it in source control, fix security faults and move it to the newest PHP it runs on reliably. For version 1 that can mean a community-maintained edition tested on PHP 8.4. This is a holding position, and often a sensible one.
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Move it to Laminas or Laravel
Versions 2 and 3 can be carried across to Laminas, which is the same code under new names, and from there to Mezzio, the framework the Laminas project now recommends. Version 1 has no such step, so its code is reworked onto a current framework such as Laravel, section by section.
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Replace it in stages
Where the application has been patched for too long, or does less than the business now needs, sections are rebuilt as a modern application one at a time against the same database.
What we do with Zend Framework applications
Six kinds of work. Most engagements are two or three of them.
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Taking over the code
An unfamiliar application read, set up to run on our machines with the framework version it expects, and documented.
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Security fixes
Known faults in the framework and its libraries patched, with unsafe queries, weak password storage and file uploads repaired.
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PHP version moves
The application made to run on a PHP version that still receives security fixes, with what the newer PHP rejects repaired.
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Zend Framework to Laminas
Version 2 and 3 applications renamed with the migration tool the Laminas project provides, then checked by hand and retested.
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Migration to Laravel or Mezzio
Controllers, forms, database code and views reworked onto a current framework one section at a time, while the old application keeps running.
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Ongoing maintenance
Changes, fixes and monitoring afterwards, so the application stops being an emergency.
Supporting it, migrating it and replacing it are different projects
Each trades cost against how long the result will last.
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Stay on Zend Framework
Lowest cost. The application is secured as far as it can be and looked after. The framework gets no fixes from its makers, and each new PHP release is harder to follow. Sound for a year or two. Not a place to stay.
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Move to Laminas, then decide
For versions 2 and 3 this is the smallest real step, and most of the code is untouched. But Laminas MVC is itself being retired, with security fixes ending on 31 December 2028 and no support for PHP 8.5. It buys time. It is not the destination.
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Migrate to Laravel or Mezzio
A maintained framework with years ahead of it. Much of the code has to be reworked, although the database and the business rules usually carry over. Right when the application is sound and worth keeping for years.
What a Zend Framework assessment looks at
The dates are from the Zend Framework, Laminas and PHP projects. The rest is about how the application was written.
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Which version
Version 1 reached the end of its life on 28 September 2016, and its last release was 1.12.20. The 2.4 series, the last supported line of version 2, ended on 31 March 2018. The version 3 packages were abandoned on 31 December 2019. Version 1 and the later versions share little but the name.
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The PHP version
Which PHP the server runs. PHP 5.6 reached the end of its life on 31 December 2018 and PHP 7.4 on 28 November 2022. PHP 8.2 to 8.5 are supported today, and 8.2 only until 31 December 2026. This is usually what the hosting company is warning about.
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Where Laminas stands
Laminas MVC, the direct successor to versions 2 and 3, runs on PHP 8.1 to 8.4. It receives security fixes only, until 31 December 2028, and will not be updated for PHP 8.5. The Laminas project recommends its Mezzio framework for the long term.
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The source and how it was installed
Whether the code is in source control, and whether the framework came through Composer, the standard PHP package tool, or was copied into a library folder by hand. Hand copies are sometimes edited, and those edits have to be found before anything is updated.
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Components and libraries
Which parts of the framework the application uses, such as forms, database access, email, search and PDF, and which third-party libraries sit beside them. Each one needs a maintained equivalent before a move.
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The database
MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQL Server or Oracle, its version, and whether queries go through the framework safely or are built by joining text together. The second is the main security concern.
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Tests and hosting
Whether any automated tests exist, where the application is hosted, who controls the server, and how new code reaches it. Tests are usually missing, and that is fixed early.
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Logins and integrations
How passwords are stored and how sign in works, and which payment, email, accounting or stock systems the application talks to. Old integrations often use methods the other side has since switched off.
Still on Zend Framework, and nobody will say what comes next?
What the assessment needs from you
A fixed-scope piece of work with a written result: the options, the risks of each, and a staged estimate. No production data is sent by email. We agree a secure way to share it first.
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Versions
The Zend Framework and PHP versions if known, or the warning your host sent.
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The code
Access to the code, and whether it is in source control.
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How it was installed
Whether the framework came through Composer or was copied in by hand, if anybody knows.
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Hosting
Where it is hosted, who has the logins, and how new code is released.
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The database
MySQL, MariaDB or another, its version and its size.
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Integrations
Payment gateways, email, accounting and other systems it talks to.
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Who built it
Whether the original developer or agency can still be reached.
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What is hurting
The two or three problems that started the conversation.
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The way back
How long the business can run on the old system if a cutover has to be reversed.
From assessment to a supported application
Done remotely, with meeting times agreed to suit your time zone.
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Technical assessment
We read the code, establish the Zend Framework and PHP versions, check the hosting and look for security faults. You get written findings and options, with the risks of each and a staged estimate.
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Take it over
The application is put into source control and made to run on a copy, so every later change can be tested before it is released.
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Urgent fixes
Security faults, and anything that stops the application running on a PHP version that still gets fixes, are dealt with first.
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Staged migration
One representative section is moved first as a proof. The rest follows in stages agreed from the assessment, each with its own scope and estimate, while the old application keeps running.
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Comparison and user testing
Old and new are compared on the same data, and your staff test the work they do every day.
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Cutover and support
Each switch is planned with a way back. We watch the first days of live use, then maintain the system for as long as it stays in service.
What people ask us about Zend Framework
Is Zend Framework still supported?
No. Version 1 reached the end of its life on 28 September 2016, the 2.4 series of version 2 on 31 March 2018, and the version 3 packages were abandoned on 31 December 2019. The code continues under new names as the Laminas Project, which is hosted by the Linux Foundation.
Is Laminas the same thing as Zend Framework?
For versions 2 and 3, very nearly. Laminas is the same code with new names, and the project provides a tool that renames a Zend Framework application to match. Version 1 is not covered. It was a different design, and its code has to be reworked by hand.
Should we move to Laminas?
As a step, often yes. As a destination, be careful. Laminas MVC now receives security fixes only, until 31 December 2028, and will not be updated for PHP 8.5. The Laminas project recommends Mezzio for the long term. The assessment sets out that route and the Laravel route side by side.
Can you only update our PHP version?
Sometimes, for a while. Zend Framework 1 was written for PHP 5 and has had no official release since 2016, before PHP 8 existed. A community-maintained edition is tested on PHP 8.4 and can buy time. The version 3 packages were written for PHP 5.6 and 7, so the move to Laminas comes before the move to PHP 8.
Laravel or Laminas: which should we move to?
It depends on where you start. From version 2 or 3, Laminas and then Mezzio keeps more of your code. From version 1, everything is reworked anyway, so a widely used framework such as Laravel, where developers are easier to find, is often the better home.
Do you take on code written by somebody else?
Yes. That is the normal case. A Zend Framework application was usually written by a developer or agency who can no longer be reached. These applications tend to be large and carefully structured, which makes them slower to read but easier to move one section at a time.
Do you provide Zend Framework developers in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane?
Yes. We are an Australian team and we take on Zend Framework work for businesses in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and elsewhere in Australia. Most of the work is done remotely, by video call and screen share, with secure access to a copy of your system. The service is the same in every city: code fixes and updates, migration to a modern technology stack, and ongoing maintenance and support.
How does this work from the United States, the United Kingdom or New Zealand?
Remotely. We are based in Australia and do not have offices elsewhere. Discovery is done by video call and screen share, with meeting times agreed to suit your time zone. Confidentiality, who can reach your systems and where your data is held are agreed in writing before work starts.
What does it cost?
The assessment is a fixed-scope piece of work with an agreed fee. The estimate for anything after it comes from what the assessment finds, in stages, so you are not asked to commit to a whole project on a guess.
Sending your details…
You can stay on this page while we send it.
Tell us about your Zend Framework application
What the application does, the Zend Framework and PHP versions if known, where it is hosted, and what is forcing the question. Include your country so we can suggest meeting times. Please do not send production data.
Prefer a quick chat? Call 0425 531 127. We answer the phone in Perth.
Kasun Wijayamanna, founderYou deal with Kasun from scope to delivery. No account managers and no offshore handoff.