ExpressionEngine Developer for Upgrades, Custom Builds and Support
Your ExpressionEngine site still runs your business, but it may be on an old version, an old PHP release, or add-ons nobody maintains any more. WebCodeDev is an ExpressionEngine development studio led by Arjun Kumar, a full-stack developer with 8+ years of web development experience. We upgrade legacy EE sites, fix the ones that break, build custom add-ons, and look after EE sites month to month for clients in the US, UK, Europe and beyond.
ExpressionEngine 6 security support ends 31 December 2026
The official ExpressionEngine version support table shows EE6 bug fixes ended on 31 December 2025 and security fixes end on 31 December 2026. EE1 to EE5 are already past end of life. After that date, any newly found EE6 vulnerability stays unpatched.
If your site runs EE6 or older, plan the move to ExpressionEngine 7 now. An upgrade done before a forced hosting change or a security incident is cheaper and calmer than one done after.
Sound familiar?
Problems we fix on ExpressionEngine sites
Your host is retiring old PHP releases, and an EE2–EE5 site or an older add-on throws fatal errors on PHP 8.x.
An add-on you depend on is abandoned: the developer has gone, the licence check fails, or there is no EE7 version.
The control panel is slow, and entry edit screens take seconds to open.
Pages load slowly for visitors, which hurts Core Web Vitals and enquiries.
A move to a new host broke logins, file uploads or URLs.
Your team can't update content without editing HTML by hand.
You're not sure whether to upgrade, rebuild, or leave ExpressionEngine altogether.
What we do
ExpressionEngine development services
ExpressionEngine upgrades (EE1–EE6 to EE7)
We audit every add-on, fieldtype and template before touching the live site, run a full practice upgrade on staging, then upgrade with a rollback plan. For very old EE1.x or EE2.x sites, a clean EE7 install with a content import is often safer than stepping through every version.
We move sites to a supported PHP 8.x release and fix the code that breaks: removed functions such as create_function(), stricter type errors inside bundled libraries, and deprecation warnings in templates and add-ons.
New builds on ExpressionEngine 7, with channels and fields designed around how your editors actually work: Grid, Fluid, Relationships and File fields, Live Preview, and templates that the next developer can read.
Add-on, module and plugin development
Custom modules, extensions, fieldtypes and plugins for EE7, plus PHP 8 updates or clean replacements for add-ons that are no longer maintained.
Troubleshooting and bug fixing
Login loops, CSRF and cookie-domain errors, broken upload paths, white screens, Multi Site Manager (MSM) mix-ups, template parse errors and database problems. We find the root cause and write down what we changed.
Template and query caching, WebP images, lazy loading, deferred third-party embeds, and clean-up of oversized database tables.
Hosting and server migration
Moving EE between hosts, from shared hosting to managed or cloud servers, and setting up staging environments that are genuinely separate from live: their own database, their own system folder.
Connecting EE to payment, CRM, email and social platforms. For example, publishing channel entries to Facebook Pages and Instagram through the official Meta Graph API.
Maintenance, security updates and support
Ongoing care covering ExpressionEngine and add-on updates, PHP compatibility checks, backups, uptime monitoring and developer time when you need a change.
Client names are left out until each client agrees to be named.
Multi-site EE6 install: PHP 8.3 compatibility and a staging rescue
A Multi Site Manager install on EE 6.4, serving two organisations, was failing after a PHP upgrade. A licensed maps add-on threw a fatal TypeError inside its bundled Carbon date library on every page that loaded the site header.
We patched the library call, replaced the removed create_function() with a closure, and fixed magic-method visibility so the add-on runs on PHP 8.3. We also traced a staging login failure (“configured cookie domain does not match the site URL”) to a front controller that pointed at the live system folder and the live database.
EE 6.4MSMPHP 8.3Add-on patching
Real-estate site: database clean-up and faster listing pages
An automated image import with no duplicate check had filled the files table with about 66,000 rows. An index build then locked the table and took the site offline. We cleaned the table up from the MySQL command line and added de-duplication to the import.
On the listing pages we converted images to WebP, lazy-loaded a 22-image gallery, deferred the Google Maps and YouTube embeds, and cached channel entries. We also fixed a slow control panel caused by full-size image previews inside Grid fields.
MySQLPerformanceGrid fields
Members' association newsletter, built in ExpressionEngine 7
For a US musicians' association, we turned a static two-page HTML newsletter into an EE 7.5 system that non-technical staff can fill in, preview and schedule from the control panel.
One channel holds every issue, with Grid, Relationship and rich-text fields replacing hand-edited HTML.
EE 7.5Channel designEditor workflow
Custom EE7 add-ons
A private file-storage add-on for a family archive site, with custom control-panel routes and access limited by member role.
A social publishing add-on that sends EE entries, including multi-image posts, to Facebook Pages and Instagram through the Meta Graph API.
Add-on developmentMeta Graph API
Legacy rescue: an EE 1.6 site on modern hosting
A 2000s-era EE 1.6 site had to move to a host that no longer offers PHP 5.6. Rather than chase an unsupported stack, we set up a current ExpressionEngine install and imported the old entries.
EE 1.6Content import
Client reviews
What ExpressionEngine clients say
Quoted word for word from our public Fiverr profile.
"This was the third time we engaged with Arjun. We needed help transferring an ExpressionEngine website to a subdomain and a new host. Challenges included backing up a relatively large site; troubleshooting some issues with ExpressionEngine, css and php; and then performing QA on the new site. The project took longer than expected, but Arjun was responsive and professional throughout the process. It was a pleasure working with him and we would work with him again in the future."
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festivalfreak
United States · ExpressionEngine hosting migration · Fiverr review
"Arjun was great! Professional, thorough, and effective. He was able to troubleshoot our Expression Engine website's slow loading time and to get it loading much more quickly. We plan on working with him again in the future."
fe
festivalfreak
United States · ExpressionEngine performance fix · Fiverr review
"It was very easy to communicate and get things done promptly. I would recommend Arjun to anyone looking for help with ExpressionEngine-related issues."
You share access. We record the EE version, the PHP version, every add-on and its EE7 / PHP 8 status, and any errors. You get a written report and a fixed quote.
STEP 02
Staging
We clone the site to a separate staging environment with its own database and system folder, so nothing we do can touch live.
STEP 03
Practice run
We upgrade or build on staging, fix what breaks, and you review every page type before anything goes live.
STEP 04
Launch
We go live in an agreed window with a full backup and a rollback plan.
STEP 05
Aftercare
We watch the error logs after launch and fix anything related to our work within the 14-day support window at no charge.
Decision guide
Upgrade, rebuild or move to WordPress?
Option
Best when
Watch out for
Upgrade to EE7
Your content model and design still fit, and your add-ons have EE7 versions.
Each abandoned add-on needs a replacement.
Rebuild on EE7
An EE1 or EE2 site, a lot of PHP inside templates, or a redesign that is due anyway.
Higher upfront cost; the content import needs planning.
Migrate to WordPress
Your team already uses WordPress, or you need its plugin ecosystem.
Every old URL must redirect to its new one, or you lose rankings.
We do all three, so the recommendation follows your site, not our preference.
Ways to work together
Hire an ExpressionEngine developer
Free audit
We look at your site and send a fixed quote. For an in-depth written EE Health Check, it's $199.
Fixed-price project
EE6 to EE7 upgrades from $1,200; legacy EE1–EE5 rescues from $2,000; migrations from $3,000.
Ongoing care
Care plans from $129 a month: updates, backups, monitoring and developer time.
Hourly / white-label
$45 an hour, or $35–$45 an hour for agencies working under their own brand.
Who you'll work with
The developer is the person you talk to
Arjun Kumar founded WebCodeDev and does the ExpressionEngine work himself. He works across ExpressionEngine, WordPress, PHP, Laravel and React, and has also maintained legacy Java EE systems, which helps when an old EE site sits alongside other ageing software.
Yes. ExpressionEngine 7 is the current long-term support release, and ExpressionEngine is free and open source. ExpressionEngine 6 receives security fixes only, until 31 December 2026.
Can you upgrade ExpressionEngine 2 directly to ExpressionEngine 7?
Often not in one step, and never safely without an add-on audit first. For EE2 sites we either step through the required versions on staging or build a clean EE7 install and import the content, whichever is lower-risk for your add-ons.
How long does an ExpressionEngine upgrade take?
It depends mostly on how many third-party add-ons the site uses and how much PHP lives in its templates. The audit gives you a fixed timeline before any work starts.
Will my site go offline during the upgrade?
No. All work happens on staging. Going live is a short, scheduled window with a backup ready.
My add-on has no EE7 or PHP 8 version. What now?
We look for a maintained alternative first. If there isn't one, we either patch the add-on for PHP 8 (where its licence allows) or write a replacement.
Do you work with agencies on a white-label basis?
Yes. We can work under your brand and in your project tools, and your client never needs to contact us directly.
Do you only work with ExpressionEngine?
No, but ExpressionEngine is a core specialism. We also build with WordPress, Laravel and React, which helps when an EE site has to connect to other systems or move platforms.
Tell us about your ExpressionEngine site
Send your site URL, your EE version (shown in the control panel footer), your PHP version and what's going wrong. We usually reply within a few hours on business days.