Magento Stores
Magento, for when the store is the business.
Large catalogues, trade customers, several storefronts, deep integrations: Magento handles all of it, at a cost, and a Magento developer should tell you that before anything else. I build, rescue and speed up Magento stores, and I help smaller shops leave it when it has become more platform than they need.
When Magento fits.
An honest answer, because it is the wrong choice more often than the right one.
Magento is the platform for stores that have outgrown everything else. Thousands of products with complex attributes, trade customers with their own catalogues and prices, several brands or countries run from one back end, and integrations with warehouse, ERP and accounting systems. For that kind of business it is excellent, and little else comes close.
For a shop with a few hundred products and one storefront, it is expensive hosting, demanding maintenance and a steeper learning curve for no real gain. If that is you, I will tell you, and recommend WooCommerce instead. I would rather lose a Magento project than build the wrong thing.
What I do with Magento.
Four kinds of work, each scoped and priced on its own.
- New Magento storesFor large or B2B operations: catalogue architecture, custom theme, integrations, and a realistic running budget agreed up front.
- Taking over existing storesA full review of version, patches, extensions, hosting and code, then a plan to stabilise and improve rather than start again.
- UpgradesMoving stores onto supported versions safely, with extension compatibility checked and the upgrade rehearsed before it goes live.
- Speed and performanceHosting, caching, indexing, extension audits, image and front-end optimisation, measured before and after.
- Security and patchingKeeping a store on current security patches, with monitoring and backups under a care plan.
- B2B featuresCustomer groups, tiered and negotiated pricing, quotes, account ordering and approval flows.
- IntegrationsERP, warehouse, accounting, shipping and marketplace connections built or repaired.
- Migrations awayMoving smaller stores from Magento to WooCommerce with products, customers, orders and rankings intact.
- Honest adviceIncluding “you do not need Magento”, when that is the truth.
How a Magento project runs.
Review before anything else.
Whether the store is new to me or new altogether, the first stage is understanding: what it sells, how orders flow, what systems it talks to, and, for an existing store, exactly what state it is in. The review produces a written plan with options and costs, so decisions are made on evidence.
- Technical review of version, extensions, hosting and code
- Commercial review of catalogue, customers and process
- Written plan with options and realistic running costs
Fix the expensive problems first.
On an existing store that usually means speed and stability: a slow Magento store loses sales on every page, and an unpatched one is a liability. Performance work is measured before and after, and security patches come before features, every time.
- Core Web Vitals measured and improved
- Patching and upgrades rehearsed before going live
- Extension audit: remove, replace or repair
Build only what the business needs.
Magento can do almost anything, which is exactly why discipline matters. Features are built to how the business actually trades, integrations are kept simple and documented, and the store is handed over with the knowledge your team needs to run it. Then it is looked after, because Magento does not look after itself.
- Catalogue and B2B features built to your process
- Integrations documented, not improvised
- Care plan for patching, backups and monitoring
Leaving Magento.
For many smaller stores, the best Magento project is the one that moves them off it.
If your Magento store has a few hundred products, one storefront and a hosting bill that makes you wince, you are probably paying for capacity you will never use. A move to WooCommerce keeps everything that matters, products, categories, customers, order history and search rankings, and cuts the running cost to a fraction.
The migration is planned so trading never stops: the new shop is built and tested alongside the old one, every product and category address is redirected, and the switch happens on a quiet day with the old store ready to fall back to. Most owners wish they had done it sooner.
About WooCommerce shopsWhere this leads in practice.
Most shops that ask about Magento end up on a WooCommerce store, and the guide to what drives website cost explains why platform choice moves the number so much. For a shop that needed genuinely custom logic, Quote & Cut is the example.
Often paired with.
Ecommerce Websites
Online shops built to be found, trusted and bought from.
Learn more about ecommerce websitesAds Management
Google Ads campaigns and landing pages planned around enquiries, not clicks.
Learn more about ads managementSoftware Development
Custom web tools, WordPress plugins and integrations when a standard site isn’t enough.
Learn more about software developmentWebsite Care
Updates, backups, monitoring and small changes, so the site keeps performing.
Learn more about website careWooCommerce Shops
Online shops on WordPress, built lean and entirely yours.
Learn more about woocommerce shopsMagento questions, answered.
Only if the shop is large or complex: thousands of products, several storefronts or currencies, trade customers with their own pricing, or integrations with warehouse and accounting systems. For most small and medium shops it is more platform than you need, and the hosting and maintenance costs reflect that. I will say so plainly if that is the case, and point you to WooCommerce.
It is a heavy application. It needs capable hosting, regular security patching, careful extension management and, often, specialist attention when something goes wrong. The flexibility is real; so is the cost of keeping it healthy. A realistic running budget is part of every Magento conversation I have.
Yes. The first job is a review: version, patch level, extensions, hosting, speed and the state of the code. From there we decide whether to stabilise and upgrade, improve performance, or plan a move to a lighter platform.
Usually, considerably. Slow Magento stores are typically slow because of hosting, caching that is not configured, indexing problems, heavy extensions or unoptimised images and front-end code. Each is fixable, and the gains are measured before and after.
Yes, and for many smaller stores it is the right call. Products, categories, customers and order history move to WooCommerce, every product and category address is redirected, and the switch is planned so trading continues. The result is a shop that costs a fraction to host and maintain.
The Magento stores I have worked on belong to businesses that have asked not to be named publicly, so I describe the work rather than link to it. I am happy to talk through what was involved on a call.
Talk to me about your Magento store.
Tell me what it sells, roughly how big the catalogue is and what is frustrating you. As a Magento developer I’ll tell you honestly whether to invest in it, speed it up or move on.
- 1You send a few lines.What the business does and what the website needs to do.
- 2I reply, personally.Usually the same day, with questions and a time for a call.
- 3You get a written proposal.Scope, stages and price for exactly that. No obligation, no hard sell.
Monday to Sunday, 9am to 9pm. You talk to me, not an account manager.