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About the Client
AceMatch is an online dating and social networking platform that helps singles build meaningful connections. Its features include profile discovery, private messaging, instant chat, video profiles, personality matching, compatibility tools, social events, forums, and mobile texting. As the platform evolved, maintaining its established functionality while improving performance, strengthening security through web application security solutions, and ensuring long-term technical sustainability became ongoing priorities.
Project Goals
AceMatch wanted to improve membership growth, engagement, retention, and revenue while strengthening trust, privacy, and website security. The project focused on fixing vulnerabilities, upgrading outdated dependencies, reducing load times and bandwidth consumption, and modernizing the legacy platform for building social connections while maintaining uninterrupted access to existing services.
Brief of the Project
AceMatch partnered with Radixweb for dedicated development support to maintain and secure its dating platform, which had evolved over more than 25 years. Limited documentation, outdated software, and multiple domains sharing a database made changes complex. The end-to-end application modernization project required legacy dating platform maintenance, security vulnerability remediation, and compatible dependency upgrades while preserving existing functionality.
We also needed to ensure SQL injection vulnerability remediation, strengthen server-side validations, and manage the transition from an outdated MySQL environment to MariaDB. Database queries, packages, and tools required careful adjustments, while the existing Java version had to remain unchanged. These activities called for legacy application dependency upgrades without disrupting connected websites or their shared database operations.
The engagement also focused on dating platform performance optimization, addressing slow page loads, and high bandwidth consumption. Alongside ongoing maintenance, Radixweb initiated a new Laravel-based application build to support future enhancements and improve long-term maintainability. The engagement required a dedicated team of developers to balance immediate technical priorities with the platform’s ongoing operational needs and modernization plans.
Client Feedback
Radixweb has been supporting our platform for years, and the team has been responsive to our requirements. The work has met our expectations, particularly in improving performance and addressing ongoing technical issues. We appreciate the continued support and the effort put into maintaining our platform.
Working with a long-established application requires more than applying updates. You need to understand the existing business logic, account for dependencies across connected domains, and make changes without disrupting live operations. Our focus has been to improve security and performance incrementally while building a practical path toward a more maintainable application architecture.
Hiren Dhirajlal Dadhania
Key Challenges
- The application had evolved over more than 25 years, with limited documentation available to explain its business logic, dependencies, and established workflows.
- Outdated development practices and software versions created security risks, including SQL injection vulnerabilities that required careful remediation.
- Multiple domains shared a single database, making it necessary to assess the potential impact of changes before modifying queries or application dependencies.
- Upgrading the outdated MySQL environment required changes to packages, tools, and database queries, while the existing Java version had to remain unchanged.
- Page load times reached approximately 78 seconds, while monthly bandwidth consumption stood at around 4 TB, making performance optimization a priority.
- The client needed continued maintenance of the existing platform while work began on a new Laravel application, requiring a balance between immediate fixes and longer-term modernization.
Solutions Delivered
Application Security Hardening
Radixweb strengthened server-side checks and addressed vulnerabilities in the existing codebase. Our dating platform security solutions focused on reducing exposure to common application attacks while preserving established functionality and supporting safer ongoing operations.
SQL Injection Remediation
Our dedicated development specialist reviewed vulnerable database interactions and implemented changes to reduce SQL injection risks. This included SQL injection prevention measures designed to make database operations safer without introducing unnecessary disruption to the existing application.
Dependency and Version Upgrades
We reviewed outdated packages, tools, and software dependencies, making compatible updates where required. These web application dependency upgrades helped address technical weaknesses while accounting for database compatibility and the decision to retain the existing Java version.
Database and Server Maintenance
The team assessed database queries and application dependencies while addressing the challenges of managing SQL server database operations across connected domains. Changes were made carefully to reduce the risk of affecting other websites that shared the same database infrastructure.
Application Performance Optimization
We investigated performance bottlenecks and implemented improvements that reduced page load time from approximately 78 seconds to 8 seconds. This dating website performance optimization also contributed to lower monthly bandwidth consumption, improving the platform's operational efficiency.
Laravel Application Rebuild
To support future enhancements and improve long-term maintainability, Radixweb initiated the development of a new application with Laravel. This initiative for Laravel legacy application upgradation provided a path toward a more maintainable codebase while the existing platform continued to receive support.
Work with us to address legacy application risks, improve performance, and plan your next phase of development with dedicated engineering expertise
Technologies Used
HTML, CSS and JavaScript
These front-end technologies support the platform's browser-based interface and interactive experiences. They remain part of the existing application while ongoing app maintenance address usability, compatibility, and performance concerns.
PHP
PHP supports parts of the existing server-side application. Our maintenance work focuses on understanding established code, improving validation, and addressing vulnerabilities while preserving the functionality relied on by platform members.
Java, JSP and Servlets
The application uses a traditional Java-based architecture built with JSP and Servlets and deployed on WildFly/JBoss. The existing Java version was retained while other components were updated where feasible.
MariaDB
MariaDB provides the platform's database layer. Database-related work involved reviewing queries, maintaining compatibility, and carefully adapting the application to the updated database environment without disrupting connected domains.
Dedicated Server Hosting
Dedicated hosting provides the server resources used by the application. Our web security solutions include attention to server-side security, application stability, and operational performance.
Laravel
Laravel is the framework selected for the new application build. The initiative supports developing modern Laravel solutions that can improve maintainability and provide a more flexible foundation for future platform enhancements.
Third-Party Integrations
The platform uses OpenAds, PayPal, and Pushnam for advertising, payment, and related integration requirements. These connections form part of the broader application environment that must be considered when maintaining existing functionality.
Business Benefits
Faster Page Loading
Application performance improvements reduced approximate page load time from 78 seconds to 8 seconds, an improvement of around 90%. The dating website security enhancement engagements also addressed technical issues that could undermine the member experience, helping establish a more responsive foundation for continued platform use.
Lower Bandwidth Consumption
Monthly bandwidth usage decreased from approximately 4 TB to 1.5 TB, a reduction of around 62.5%. The improvements supported website bandwidth optimization, helping the platform use its hosting resources more efficiently while maintaining its existing services.
Reduced Application Security Risk
Changes to database interactions, server-side validations, and outdated dependencies helped strengthen the application's security posture. The work focused on SQL injection prevention for legacy apps, addressing an important risk area while accounting for the constraints of a long-established codebase.
A Clearer Modernization Path
The engagement combines continued support for the existing application with work toward a new Laravel-based build. This legacy dating application modernization approach helped AceMatch address immediate technical concerns while progressing toward a more maintainable foundation that can support AI-ready features in the future.
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