ColdFusion has been the backbone of serious web applications since the mid-nineties. We’ve been writing it since 2000 - through every version, every acquisition, and every developer who swore it was dead.
Adobe ColdFusion 2025 - released in February 2025 - is the current version, bringing enhanced containerisation and DevOps support, modern security hardening, cloud and API integrations, and a move to subscription-based licensing. Previous versions - ColdFusion 2023, 2021, 2018, 2016, 11, and 10 - remain in active use across legacy enterprise environments.
It didn’t die. It just stopped being fashionable, which is a different thing entirely.
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Our average rating from clients on Trustpilot
We deliver Fast ColdFusion Code for all our clients.
We’d love to do the same for you.
ColdFusion does a specific set of things exceptionally well - rapid application development, database integration, complex business logic, and server-side processing that’s fast and readable. We use it where it’s the right tool, and we’ve been using it long enough to know exactly when that is.
Starting from scratch with ColdFusion as the backend of choice - whether that’s because your team knows it, your infrastructure runs it, or you simply want a developer who won’t try to talk you out of it. We design and build production-ready CF applications that are clean, maintainable, and built to last.
You have a ColdFusion application that works. It just needs someone who can get into it, understand it, and keep it moving - without breaking what’s already there. We’ve worked in other people’s codebases for over two decades. We know how to read code we didn’t write.
Moving from an older CF version to a current release, or modernising the front end of a CF-backed system without touching the logic underneath. We know what breaks between versions, what needs rewriting, and what can stay exactly as it is.
Whether you’re migrating from ColdFusion 10 to 2025, or need ongoing support for legacy CFML applications - we’ve seen every version, every migration path, and every edge case over 20+ years.
Before anything changes, we understand what’s there. Every system has its own logic, its own quirks, and its own reasons for being built the way it was. We map it before we modify it - so nothing breaks that shouldn’t, and nothing gets rewritten that doesn’t need to be.
The instinct to modernise everything at once is expensive and risky. We identify what’s actually causing the problem, fix that, and leave the rest alone. Targeted intervention over wholesale rewrites - unless a rewrite is genuinely the right answer, in which case we’ll tell you why.
Legacy systems often have no documentation. After we’ve worked in yours, they will. Every change is recorded, every decision explained. The next developer - including us, twelve months from now - will know exactly what they’re looking at.
Front end, back end, database, server - handled by the same person who read the brief. No handoff between someone who knows CF and someone who knows CSS. No blame gap when something at the seam doesn’t work. Just a clean line from problem to solution.
If you’ve ever had to justify your technology stack to a developer who spent the first week Googling basic CFML syntax, you’ll understand why this matters. We don’t need onboarding. We arrive knowing the language, the quirks, and the gotchas - and we get to work.
Production systems don’t break during business hours. We understand the stakes of a live application going down, and we treat your system with the same urgency we’d want applied to ours.
ColdFusion runs on Adobe ColdFusion and the open-source Lucee engine. We’re comfortable with both - and with the hosting environments, server configurations, and deployment pipelines that keep them running reliably. We don’t just write the code and hand it over. We make sure it actually works in production, under real conditions, with real traffic.
Version compatibility, session management, scheduled tasks, mail servers, datasource configuration, PDF generation, web services - the parts of a CF application that sit outside the code editor but inside the application’s reliability. We’ve dealt with all of it, across multiple platforms and hosting environments, for over two decades.
ColdFusion is a server-side scripting language and application server used to build web applications, automate database interactions, process forms, handle file uploads, send transactional email, consume web services, and generate PDFs. It is particularly common in enterprise environments where rapid application development and database integration are priorities. Production deployments exist across UK finance, healthcare, legal, and government sectors.
Yes. Adobe actively maintains and develops ColdFusion. ColdFusion 2023 is the current major release, following ColdFusion 2021, 2018, and 2016. Adobe provides commercial support contracts, regular security updates, and ongoing feature development. ColdFusion is not end-of-life and has no announced deprecation date.
Adobe ColdFusion is the commercial implementation of the CFML language, sold and maintained by Adobe. Lucee is an open-source CFML engine maintained by the Lucee Association Switzerland - it runs the same CFML syntax and is widely used in production as a cost-free alternative. Most CFML code runs on both with minor differences; the choice is typically driven by licensing cost, hosting environment, or support requirements.
Yes. ColdFusion supports REST API consumption and creation natively, JSON and XML handling, OAuth authentication flows, and HTTP/HTTPS requests to any external service. ColdFusion applications routinely integrate with CRMs, payment gateways, marketing platforms, and cloud services. The language's age does not limit its ability to communicate with modern web services.
ColdFusion developers are rare compared to mainstream language developers, but they exist - primarily among agencies and freelancers who have specialised in the platform over many years. When evaluating a ColdFusion developer, look for demonstrated experience across multiple CF versions, familiarity with both Adobe ColdFusion and Lucee, and evidence of working in legacy codebases rather than greenfield projects only. Outside5 has been writing ColdFusion professionally since 2000.
Yes. The majority of ColdFusion work involves existing codebases - legacy systems that need maintenance, upgrades, or new features added by someone who can read and work within code they didn't write. We document everything we change, so the system is in a better state after we've been in it than before.
It depends on the size and complexity of the application. A small site migrating from ColdFusion 10 to a current release may take days; a large enterprise system with custom tags, scheduled tasks, and deep third-party integrations may take weeks. Common breaking points between versions include deprecated tags, changes to session management, PDF service configuration, and datasource handling - all of which we've encountered and resolved across multiple migrations.
Every page has a job: move visitors toward action. No dead ends. No ambiguity. Just clear paths from landing to conversion
Fast load times. Clean UX. Zero friction. Your site won't just look good, it'll feel effortless. And that's what converts
Front-end to back-end, API integrations, we handle the full stack. You get speed, consistency, and a site that just works
Whether you are starting from the beginning, know exactly what's broken, or just sense something's off - tell us your goals, and we'll take it from there.
We'll jump on a call, dig into what's holding you back, and map out a solution - whether that's a rebuild, a redesign, or targeted fixes.
Once you've signed off, we launch the new site - streamlined, fast, and designed to convert. Need ongoing support? We're here.
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Not only did Paul deliver a great site at the front end, but he can also organise the back end that provides the lead information etc. Great communication and quick work even when I kept asking for changes.
Duncan Deaves
Director, KeyMan Adviser Ltd
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Outside5 is a true asset - proactive, highly skilled, and a great collaborator. I would highly recommend them to any business looking for robust IT solutions, expert CRM development, ColdFusion expertise, and meaningful lead generation support.
Matthew Stone
Founder, Integrity Network Consultants Ltd
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I have worked with Outside5 since he first started the company, and have never looked back. I would not hesitate in recommending Outside5.
James Stait
Founder, British Life Ltd