Coventry businesses tend to get in touch about Craft once an install's fallen off everyone's radar, still technically running, just with nobody responsible for it anymore.
From there it's Karl who takes over. Expression 37's stuck to Craft CMS and ExpressionEngine only, the whole way through since 2007, no exceptions.
He works through what's genuinely there before recommending anything. Depending on what's found, that's a fix, an upgrade, or an ongoing retainer.
Who this tends to matter for:
Manufacturers and suppliers whose Craft site feeds a dealer portal or stock system, where a broken sync means someone downstream is looking at wrong pricing or availability. Businesses whose agency has stopped taking on Craft work in favour of another platform, leaving the site technically theirs but practically unsupported. Anyone with Stripe, Salesforce, or HubSpot wired into Craft by a developer who's since moved on. And installs old enough that an upgrade means auditing every plugin for compatibility first, not just running an update command.
What the first few weeks usually involve:
Before quoting anything, Karl reviews the plugins in use, the custom field setup, and whatever Twig logic exists, because these handovers rarely come with documentation worth trusting. Most engagements start from something specific: a plugin that's stopped working after a server change, a Composer conflict blocking an update, or a decision that the site simply can't stay unsupported any longer. From there it's a scoped project or a retainer, priced upfront either way.
Common questions Coventry clients tend to ask:
Does it matter that you're not based in Coventry?
Not for the actual work. Plugin audits, deployments, testing, all of it happens remotely and works well. If a face-to-face conversation genuinely helps, Coventry isn't far enough away to be a problem.
Our Craft site connects to a supplier or dealer system, is that a common setup here?
Very. It's typical of the manufacturing and automotive supply chain around Coventry, and it's exactly the sort of integration that needs proper mapping before anything else on the site gets touched.
Can you take over a Craft site someone else built and no longer supports?
Yes, this is a regular starting point. The first task is separating what's genuinely custom from what's a plugin someone half-configured, and that only comes from actually reading the code.
What if we're stuck on an old Craft version?
It happens more than people expect. Craft 3 installs are still common. The risk usually isn't the core version itself, it's plugins built for that version that have quietly stopped being maintained.
What does an ongoing retainer actually include?
Priority response when something breaks, proactive checks rather than waiting for a fault to surface, and a developer who already knows your Craft install instead of starting cold each time. Project work is quoted and delivered as a fixed piece separately.
What will this cost?
It's scope-dependent. A defined project carries a fixed price. Continuing support runs as a flat monthly retainer. Either way, the figure is settled before work starts.
Ready to get started?
If your website is business-critical and needs a specialist who will take proper long-term ownership of it, get in touch. Karl will respond personally and give you an honest view of how we can help.
