Modernizing a 20-Year-Old Ontario Tourism Platform

Client Overview

Client: Summer Fun Guide (SFG)
Industry: Travel & Tourism
Region: Ontario-Wide (GTA, Ottawa, Niagara, Northern, Central, Eastern, and Southwestern Ontario)
Project Type: Full Website Redesign & Legacy Code Refactor
Timeline: 3 Months
Legacy Stack: PHP, 20,000+ lines of CSS, custom-built CMS

Summer Fun Guide is Ontario’s definitive directory of fun and adventure — a trusted resource for locals and tourists alike for over 20 years. Their print and digital platform reaches thousands of travelers across the province, and their annual physical guide is distributed to rest stops, welcome centers, and businesses across Ontario.

But with parts of their codebase dating back to 2004, it was time for a serious upgrade.

The Challenge

SFG approached us to redesign and modernize their aging website ahead of their seasonal print distribution deadline — giving us just under 3 months to fully transform the experience.

Their existing site included:

• Extensive legacy PHP — built and modified over two decades
• ~20,000 lines of outdated CSS
• A mixture of styles, scripts, and partials from multiple developers
• Custom features like giveaways, user-submitted events, and business listings

“We knew this wouldn’t just be a reskin. It was a full modernization of a complex legacy platform — and it had to be done fast.”

The Solution

Code Audit Before Commitment

Before accepting the project, we performed a free code walkthrough to evaluate the scope. We uncovered:

• Deeply nested, undocumented PHP templates
• Non-standard CSS overrides going back years
• Repetition and bloat across templates

By scoping early, we ensured realistic timelines and transparent communication with the SFG team from day one.

Modern CSS From Scratch

Instead of patching old styles, we:

• Created a new modular CSS system from the ground up
• Used semantic HTML5 for accessibility and SEO
• Segregated old styles to prevent visual bugs and collisions

This gave the site a fresh, clean aesthetic without disturbing legacy functionality early in the project.

Smart PHP Refactors

While we aimed to preserve stable backend systems, deeper integration and UI features required:

• Carefully refactoring PHP templates
• Creating clean interfaces for giveaways and business listings
• Addressing bugs in older form and submission logic

Every update was tested in both modern browsers and SFG’s production environment to ensure long-standing features remained intact.

New Features & Extras

Despite the tight timeline, we delivered more than just the redesign:

• Giveaway System: A new promotional feature integrated into the site flow
• Legacy Bug Fixes: Cleaned up long-standing front-end quirks and UX issues
• Listing UX Enhancements: Streamlined the way businesses and regions are displayed across devices

The Results

Delivered on time and in full, the new Summer Fun Guide site went live just in time for their 2024 print distribution campaign — ensuring a seamless experience between the physical and digital guides across Ontario.

Outcomes:

• Full redesign of a 20-year-old site in under 90 days
• Legacy code refactored without downtime
• New modular CSS and cleaned-up templates
• New features like giveaways added in scope
• Responsive and mobile-first interface
• Seamless launch before seasonal traffic spike

“The team at Databending pulled off a full modernization on a complicated old system — and did it on a tight deadline. We’re thrilled with the results.”

Built for Businesses That Have History

Have a platform that’s been around for years? We specialize in:

• Modernizing legacy PHP, WordPress, and CMS systems
• Updating UX/UI without breaking backend logic
• Collaborating across large teams and tight deadlines

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