You're not sure if the problem is the agency, the platform, or the scope—but you know this isn't normal.
It's not. We see this pattern in roughly 20% of Magento projects. Most can be rescued faster and cheaper than rebuilding from scratch.
Your Magento Project Isn't Delivering
We've rescued four failed Magento projects in the past two years. All are now stable and running on modern Hyvä frontends. Let us assess the best path forward for your project.
This Sounds Familiar
Your project started with a clear timeline and budget. Now you're dealing with...
6+ Months Behind
No realistic launch date in sight
Budget Doubled
While functionality stays broken
Agency Gone Silent
"Next sprint" promises that never deliver
Daily Fires
Checkout errors, disappeared products, slow loads
Can't Explain Progress
Leadership wants answers you don't have
Not Sure What's Wrong
Is it the agency, the platform, or the scope?
How We Actually Fix This
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Days 1-5: Technical Audit
We get access to your codebase, production database, and hosting environment. You get an 8-14 page technical document with prioritized issues and honest recommendations. If rebuild makes more sense than rescue, we'll tell you.
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Days 5-15: Stabilization
We fix the top 3 problems preventing your site from functioning: checkout errors, product visibility issues, and critical integration failures. Goal: site stable enough to take orders without daily firefighting.
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Days 15-45: Backend Optimization
Replace poorly-written customizations, optimize database queries, fix integration patterns, and clean up technical debt. Goal: site runs efficiently and is ready for growth.
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Days 45-165: Hyvä Migration
Rebuild frontend with modern architecture. We replicate 100% of existing functionality—you don't lose features. Typical 40-60% improvement in Core Web Vitals.
What Actually Goes Wrong in Failed Projects
We've seen the same problems repeatedly:
1. Reindexing Implementations That Break Product Visibility
Symptoms: Products randomly disappear from category pages, search returns no results, catalog seems to randomly break.
Root cause: Custom code triggering full reindex on every product save, conflicting indexer schedules, or bad database schema changes breaking Magento's indexing logic.
We've fixed this four times. It's never "Magento's fault"—it's always custom code treating the index like a real-time database.
2. Synchronous API Calls Destroying Checkout Performance
Symptoms: Checkout takes 30+ seconds to load shipping methods, timeout errors during order placement, random 500 errors under load.
Root cause: Custom integrations hitting external APIs (ERP, shipping calculators, tax services) synchronously during checkout. Every customer request waits for every API to respond.
Proper fix: Queue-based architecture, cached responses, async processing. We've rebuilt checkout integrations three times—average improvement is 80% faster checkout.
3. Low Code Quality Creating Maintenance Nightmares
Symptoms: Every minor change breaks something unrelated, developers spend more time debugging than building, agency estimates keep growing.
Root cause: ObjectManager everywhere, no dependency injection, Helper classes doing database queries, plugins stacked on plugins, core file modifications.
Why Small Agencies Fix Big Agency Problems
We Tell You The Truth
One of our rescue assessments ended with us recommending a complete rebuild because it was the right thing to do. You need an honest assessment, not another agency selling hours.
Senior Engineers Only
Rescue projects don't go to junior developers. You get our Deputy Director (10+ years Magento) and senior backend/frontend developers. We've seen these problems before.
Fixed Scope After Assessment
After the initial audit, you get a fixed quote for each phase. If we discover new problems during rescue, we address them in weekly status calls and adjust timeline accordingly.
We Work Fast
Colorado Cyclist stabilized in 11 days, fully optimized in 6 weeks, launched on Hyvä 90 days later. You're burning money every day your site isn't live. We treat rescue projects with crisis priority.
Recent Rescue: B2C Cycling Retailer
Products were disappearing from catalog daily. Checkout threw 500 errors multiple times per day. The previous agency had no clear path forward.
What We Found:
- Custom reindexing triggering full catalog reindex on every product update
- Real-time inventory lookups hitting their ERP on every page load
- 47 third-party extensions, 12 conflicting with each other
The Results:
- Site stabilized in 11 days — checkout working, products visible
- Full optimization in 6 weeks — proper caching, optimized queries, cleaned up extensions
- Hyvä migration in 90 days — modern frontend, 60% performance improvement
When Rebuild Beats Rescue
We recommend rebuild instead of rescue when:
- Core files heavily modified — makes upgrades impossible, creates security holes
- Custom systems built outside Magento — middleware pushing data directly to database, bypassing Magento logic
- Multiple versions behind with no upgrade path — usually means core modifications
- Rescue cost > rebuild cost — we'll tell you when this is true
Example: The Project We Didn't Rescue
Client came with Magento 2 site built by in-house team. They'd modified core files throughout codebase, built custom CMS system inside Magento, integrated ERP by writing directly to database, and fallen 8 versions behind at launch.
A proper rescue would have been endless—constant patching without ever achieving stability. We rebuilt it properly over 5 months. They're now on current version, upgradeable, and stable.
We could have sold them rescue hours. We didn't, because it would have been wrong.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you know our project can be rescued?
We don't—until we audit it. Week 1 assessment tells us whether rescue is cost-effective. About 80% of projects we evaluate can be rescued for less than rebuild cost. For the other 20%, we recommend starting fresh.
What if our current agency gets upset?
We handle transitions professionally and discreetly. Many merchants run our assessment in parallel before making any changes. Your current relationship is your business—we just provide the facts.
How much does a rescue project cost?
It depends on the current state and scope. Rescue engagements typically range: Stabilization + Optimization ($50-80K), Hyvä Migration ($54-120K). Significantly less than rebuilding from scratch. We provide a fixed quote after the initial assessment.
How long does a typical rescue take?
Assessment: 1 week. Stabilization: 2-3 weeks. Full remediation and optimization: 4-6 weeks. Hyvä migration: 90-120 days. Total timeline varies but averages 5-6 months for complete rescue + Hyvä.
Do you offer ongoing support after rescue?
Yes. Most rescue clients move to a managed services retainer for ongoing maintenance, upgrades, and development. This prevents future rescue situations.
Why not just hire a bigger agency?
Bigger agencies mean longer timelines (3-6 months just to start), junior developers (whoever's available), and higher costs (overhead, account management layers). We're small but highly technical. Your project gets senior developers who've fixed these exact problems before. We start next week, not next quarter.
