What usually brings a Halifax business to Expression 37 is an ExpressionEngine site that's either quietly ageing without incident, or one that's actually broken with the developer no longer responding.
Karl handles it, on his own. Expression 37 has worked in nothing but ExpressionEngine and Craft CMS since Karl set it up in 2007. No account manager, just Karl direct.
He reviews the build before recommending anything. Depending on what he finds, that's a fix, a version upgrade, or an ongoing retainer.
Where we typically come in:
- Manufacturers and trade businesses with product or catalogue-driven ExpressionEngine sites that need reliable ongoing upkeep.
- Creative and independent businesses based in converted mill spaces whose sites reflect a distinct brand but need proper technical support behind the scenes.
- Installs on EE2 or EE3 where every add-on needs auditing before an upgrade can be safely quoted.
- Businesses with Stripe handling online sales directly through ExpressionEngine, needing someone who understands the whole checkout flow.
- Owners who want a clear answer about what's actually going on with their site, not vague reassurance from an agency.
How a typical engagement starts:
Most Halifax enquiries follow a specific worry: a checkout that's started failing intermittently, a security notice nobody quite understood, or a general sense that the site's been neglected for too long. Karl reviews the actual codebase before quoting anything, and a fair number of those first conversations turn into a standing monthly retainer.
Common questions Halifax clients ask:
Do we need someone local, or is remote support genuinely sufficient?
Remote covers it fully, code changes, deployments, ongoing fixes, and Halifax is close enough for the rare occasion a meeting genuinely helps. Most clients find a direct developer relationship works better than an agency's usual layers.
We're not sure what half the add-ons on our site actually do, is that normal?
Very normal, and it's usually the first thing worth sorting out. Mapping what's genuinely load-bearing against what's unused takes priority before any other change.
How out of date can our EE version be before it's a serious problem?
Security patching matters most regardless of version. Beyond that, EE2 and EE3 installs increasingly struggle to find maintained add-ons, which is the real obstacle once an upgrade's needed.
Our checkout fails occasionally and we can't work out why, can you actually diagnose that?
Usually, yes. Intermittent checkout faults are often a specific conflict, a plugin update, a hosting change, a payment gateway setting, rather than something fundamentally wrong with the site.
Do you handle the payment integration as well as general support?
Yes, it's usually built directly into the templates rather than a separate system, so proper support covers both.
What's the pricing structure?
Fixed cost for scoped project work, monthly retainer for ongoing cover. Agreed before anything starts.
What's a good first step?
A short call about the current site, its EE version, and what's prompting the enquiry. That's enough for a clear first view.
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.
