Taking Over After a Failed E-commerce Migration

See how we rescued a large-scale WooCommerce project from technical debt left by another company

Client

NDA

Industry

Finance

Technologies

WooCommerce WooCommerce
WordPress WordPress

Main benefit

Restoring stability and further store development

Link4
Logo Enea
Logo WSB Merito
HTI logo
Colas - logo
Logo BergeratMonnoyeur
Home & Passion – logo

What Was Our Cooperation Like Before Taking Over the Store?

We've been working with the client since 2022. Over the years, we've supported five Magento 1-based stores – one main and four additional ones.

At the same time, an external company migrated the brand's main store to WooCommerce (WordPress). After the new platform launched, we stopped supporting this particular store but carried on with the other four projects.

About a year after implementing the new solution, the client came back to us asking to take over this store as well.

Why Did the Client Turn to Us?

No visible results and a slow pace of work were the company’s main problems.

The previous team focused primarily on maintaining existing solutions, rather than developing the store and implementing new features. Furthermore, changes were time-consuming, and despite the client's budget approval, the implementation was significantly delayed.

The client has been working with us on other projects for several years, so they knew our approach and commitment. They turned to us for help in getting the stalled store project back on track.

Benefits

What Condition Was the Project in When We Took It Over?

Background element

  1. Inconsistent Architecture and Lack of WordPress Standards

    JavaScript and CSS were contained within a single PHP file. The lack of layer separation meant that any change could unpredictably impact the entire store.

  2. Improper Integration Data Storage

    Integration access data was written directly into the code, increasing the risk of misuse in inappropriate environments and potential data security issues.

  3. One Checkout Flow for the Entire Store

    The checkout process was built around a single, highly complex form, so making every change took a long time.

  4. No Separation Between Test and Production Environments

    Production data was used in the test environment, violating basic environment separation principles and creating the risk of real customer data being accidentally used during testing.

  5. Inefficient Search Functionality

    Typing just one letter into the search field returned almost every product in the store, putting a heavy load on the website and slowing it down.

Sebastian Zawadzki

E-commerce Tech Lead

Solutions like this should not exist in any industry, let alone in the financial sector, where data security and control are critically important.

How Did We Fix the Store?

Since they're our long-term client, we had a deep understanding of their industry, target audience, and mode of operation. However, this didn't make it easy for us to quickly navigate the highly complex and chaotic code or understand why the previous agency had built it in such a disorganized manner.

From the beginning, we took a cautious approach. We didn't want to risk data leaks or store disruptions while implementing the changes.

  • Step one: we cleaned up the deployment processes (CI/CD) and test environments. From that point on, the system automatically verifies every change before it is deployed to the test environment. There, we can review it before publishing it to the live store. This significantly reduced the risk of anything unintended making its way to the official store.
  • Step two: we focused on the so-called spaghetti code – it’s highly complex, chaotic and difficult to maintain. We removed hard-coded dependencies and decluttered the system logic. Only then could we be sure that changing one part of the system would not cause errors elsewhere.
  • Step three: we worked on the ERP integration responsible for orders and stock levels. We improved the data flow between the store and the system, shortening data synchronization times and speeding up the entire order process.
Make sure your project is in good hands
Contact us
Background element

Benefits for the Client

  1. Peace of mind regarding the store's operation – changes do not negatively impact other website elements.
  2. Assurance that customer data is secure, which is an absolute must in this industry.
  3. An easier-to-manage store and a faster, smoother checkout process.
  4. Better performance and reduced system load after removing integration bottlenecks.
  5. Enhanced store stability through cleaner architecture and structured deployment processes.
  6. More efficient order processing thanks to improved system integrations.
  7. The ability to focus on developing the store’s functionality rather than constantly dealing with technical issues.

How We Continue to Work with the Client

Since 2022, we have been continuously supporting our client’s four Magento stores. After successfully restoring the WooCommerce one, we also took it under our support. In addition, we develop and maintain Laravel-based applications that support the client’s business processes, including AML verification systems.

Recently, we also took over the client’s AWS server infrastructure, which has helped us further organize the cooperation and consolidate most of their key systems under one team.

Does your website feel stuck?

We’ll find the cause and recommend a solution