WP Dev for Gravity Forms + Plugin Update

We need an experienced WordPress and PHP developer to safely update WordPress core and all plugins, with special attention to Gravity Forms and a custom PHP application that reads Gravity Forms entries by a stored userID. The work includes performing upgrades, validating the integration, and documenting the process for future maintenance.

Context
Users authenticate in our custom PHP application.
The application passes the authenticated user’s userID into a Gravity Form on our WordPress site; this ID is stored in a hidden entry field on submission.
The custom app’s admin page retrieves the matching Gravity Forms entry by that userID and displays the submitted form.
After updates, this workflow must continue to function exactly as it does today.

Scope of Work
Discovery and Setup
Review current WordPress, PHP, MySQL, and plugin versions. Identify risks and known breaking changes.
Confirm current Gravity Forms version, add-ons, and license status.
Confirm how the userID is populated and stored in the form. For example hidden field via gform_user_registered, custom snippet, or gform_pre_submission hook.
Take full backups of code and database before any changes.
Upgrades
Update WordPress core to the latest stable release.
Update Gravity Forms and all active add-ons.
Update all other plugins and the active theme. Avoid automatic major version jumps that contain known breaking changes without review.
Integration Validation and Fixes
Confirm that the authenticated userID is still captured in the Gravity Forms entry.
Verify that the custom PHP application can retrieve and display the correct entry by userID.
Audit and update any Gravity Forms API calls, hooks, or database queries. Replace deprecated functions if needed.
Ensure role and capability checks for the admin view are intact.
Quality Assurance
Create a concise test plan and run it before and after deployment.
Validate the following:
User login works as before.
Form loads, submits, and stores entries with the userID field populated.
Admin page in the custom PHP app retrieves the correct entry by userID and renders all expected fields.
No PHP notices or errors in logs.
No performance regressions on key pages.
Deployment and Documentation
Plan a low-risk deployment window and rollback plan.
Migrate changes to production.
Provide a change log, version report, and updated integration notes for future maintenance.

Deliverables and Acceptance Criteria
Updated site with WordPress core and plugins functioning as expected.
Backup images and export of database prior to changes with restore instructions.
Test plan and test results covering login, form submission, entry storage of userID, and admin retrieval in the custom app.
Code repository or archive with changes and a clear change log.
One page integration brief that explains where and how userID is captured in Gravity Forms, which hooks or snippets are used, and how the custom app queries Gravity Forms data.
Production deployment completed with zero data loss and no broken user flows.

Acceptance means the above pass on production and are signed off after a short observation window.

Required Skills
4+ years professional experience with WordPress and PHP.
Strong knowledge of Gravity Forms, including hooks, filters, GFAPI, and entries schema.
Custom plugin development and debugging skills. Ability to read and update legacy PHP code.
Experience setting up staging, backups, and safe deployment practices.
Solid MySQL skills for inspecting and migrating data.
Git and CLI experience, including WP-CLI.

Tech Stack and Environment
WordPress (version: provide current)
Gravity Forms (version: provide current) and any relevant add-ons
PHP (version: provide current).
MySQL or MariaDB (version: provide current)
Hosting: provide details
Version control: Git or provide alternative

Budget and Timeline
Please propose a fixed price for discovery and upgrade, plus an optional amount for deployment support. Include an hourly rate for unforeseen fixes.
Target start date: provide date
Discovery and staging completion target: provide date


How to Apply
Send a short proposal that includes:
A one paragraph plan for safe upgrades and rollback.
A list of three Gravity Forms projects you shipped. Include what changed and how you validated data integrity.
A brief note on how you would capture and persist the logged-in user’s ID into a Gravity Forms entry.
A quick outline of how you would let a separate PHP app query the matching entry by userID. Mention security considerations.
Your availability in the next two weeks.

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