Website replatforming

A website replatform replaces the technology that runs your site without changing the design, content, or experience your audience sees. It's not a redesign. It's an infrastructure upgrade that pays for itself through lower ongoing costs and a better experience for your team.

We've completed replatforms for some of New Zealand's most prominent organisations, moving them off aging platforms onto modern architecture. In every case, the site looked the same to visitors on launch day. What changed was underneath: how it's hosted, how content is managed, how quickly changes can be made, and what it costs to keep running.

The organisations we work with don't come to us because their website looks wrong. They come because it costs too much to maintain, takes too long to change, and their team finds it frustrating to use.

These are symptoms of an aging platform, not problems that a redesign would fix. The design is fine. The content is fine. The foundations aren't.

"The previous site was really complicated to use. Compared to Silverstripe the new platform is a 'game changer'. Thanks very much for making my life easier!"

           Graeme Acton, Asia Media Centre Manager

Your design, content, URLs, and search rankings stay the same. What changes is underneath: the CMS, hosting, and how quickly and cheaply your team can make changes. A typical replatform takes less time and costs less than a redesign, because you're not starting from scratch.

We use AI to compress the slow parts of delivery — content migration, QA preparation, documentation — so timelines stay predictable and our developers focus on the work that needs them.

These are the main reasons organisations have come to us for a re-platform:

• A significant portion of the annual web budget goes to maintenance and platform upkeep, before any improvements

• New features or content changes take longer and cost more than they should

• The CMS is difficult for editors to use, creating bottlenecks and workarounds

• Security patches, framework updates, and server maintenance are a constant overhead

• There's a growing sense that the platform is holding the organisation back, but a full redesign feels too expensive and disruptive.

If you're currently on SilverStripe, we've also written a detailed guide covering why organisations are moving, what the alternatives look like, and what's involved.

Replatforming pays for itself through lower ongoing costs. Every organisation we've replatformed has seen a significant drop in hosting and maintenance spend — and the savings fund improvements that would never have been affordable on the old platform.

We've been building and maintaining websites for New Zealand non-profits, government agencies, and purpose-driven organisations for over a decade. We know these platforms well, which is exactly why clients trust us when it's time to move.

Some of our replatform clients include:

See further readings that might be of interest to you.

What is a website replatform and when does it make sense? — a plain-language explainer on replatforming vs redesign.

What does a website replatform actually cost? — a breakdown of where the money goes and what drives costs up or down.

SilverStripe alternatives: a guide for NZ organisations considering a move — a quick review of what is out there.

If you're wondering whether a replatform makes sense for your organisation, we can help you figure that out. No obligation, no pressure.

Get a ballpark estimate: submit your URL, answer a few questions, and we'll give you a ballpark cost and payback estimate.