Halifax's Craft CMS enquiries tend to fall into one of two camps: an install that's stable but untouched for years, or one that's stopped working properly with the original developer gone.
Karl's the only person who'll ever work on it. Craft CMS and ExpressionEngine are the two platforms Expression 37's stuck to since 2007. You go straight to him.
Before saying what it needs, he checks the install itself. That's usually a fix, an upgrade, or an ongoing retainer.
Where we typically come in:
- Manufacturers and trade businesses running catalogue or product-driven Craft sites that need dependable ongoing upkeep.
- Creative businesses based in converted mill spaces with a distinctive brand but limited in-house technical capability.
- Craft installs several major versions behind, where plugins need proper compatibility checking before an upgrade is quoted.
- Businesses selling online through Stripe and Craft Commerce, needing someone who understands the full checkout path.
- Owners who want a straight answer about their site's actual state, not vague reassurance from an agency relationship that's stopped delivering.
How a typical engagement starts:
The usual prompt is a specific worry: an intermittent checkout fault nobody's traced, a security notification that didn't make much sense, or a general feeling the site's been neglected too long. Karl reviews the codebase and Composer setup properly before quoting, and plenty of those first conversations become standing monthly cover.
Common questions Halifax clients ask:
Is remote support genuinely enough, or should we look locally?
Remote handles the work fully, code, deployments, ongoing fixes, and Halifax's close enough for an in-person meeting the rare time it's genuinely useful. Direct developer access tends to beat an agency's usual process anyway.
We don't really know what half our plugins do, is that a common situation?
Extremely common, and it's usually the first thing worth untangling. Mapping what's genuinely load-bearing against what's dormant comes before anything else changes.
How far behind on Craft versions is a genuine risk?
Security first, regardless of version number. Beyond that, older installs tend to run into plugins that have stopped being maintained, and that's what actually blocks an upgrade.
Our checkout fails now and then for no obvious reason, can that actually be diagnosed?
Usually, yes. Intermittent faults tend to trace back to something specific, a plugin update, a hosting change, a payment gateway setting, rather than a fundamental fault in the build.
Is the payment integration something you'd take on alongside the CMS?
Yes, it's normally built directly into the Craft templates rather than kept apart, so proper support covers both together.
How is the cost structured?
Fixed cost for scoped project work, monthly retainer for ongoing support, agreed before anything starts either way.
What's a sensible first step?
A short call about the current site, its Craft version, and what's prompting the enquiry now.
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.
