Rescuing a WPBakery site stuck on PHP 7.4

Rescuing a WPBakery site stuck on PHP 7.4

The site couldn't move to PHP 8.2 because WPBakery shortcodes broke. Shortcode-soup also made content un-editable outside the builder. We rebuilt in Bricks across four weeks.

Outcome:
— Now running PHP 8.2: ~35% faster TTFB
— Removed 9 abandoned WPBakery addon plugins
— Content stored as clean blocks, not shortcode strings

Pros:
— Unblocked a security-critical PHP upgrade
— Dropped a pile of unmaintained dependencies

Cons:
— 4 weeks of rebuild before any visible gain
— Some shortcode content needed manual re-entry

Best for: WPBakery legacy sites where shortcode lock-in is blocking PHP upgrades and security patches.