WebCitz started working with this client in 2012
- Client: Furry Partners (website offline)
- Platform: X-Cart
- Industry: Retail / E-Commerce, Veterinary / Animal Care
- Services: Digital Marketing, Ecommerce, Maintenance / Support
The Challenge
X-Cart is a powerful, “classic” e-commerce engine, but in 2012, it required a high level of development expertise to keep running smoothly. Furry Partners faced several hurdles:
- Platform Instability: They were dealing with persistent glitches and “bugs” that affected the checkout process and administrative backend.
- Outdated Architecture: Their version of X-Cart needed a professional upgrade to access newer security features and better performance tools.
- Hosting Friction: Their previous hosting environment wasn’t optimized for the unique database requirements of X-Cart, leading to slow load times and downtime.
- Market Competition: As the pet niche grew, they needed to modernize their features to keep customers engaged.
The WebCitz Solution
We provided the specialized engineering needed to turn their X-Cart store into a reliable, revenue-generating machine:
- X-Cart Platform Upgrades: We successfully managed the complex process of upgrading their X-Cart installation. In X-Cart, upgrades often require manual merging of custom code, and we ensured the transition was seamless with zero data loss.
- Custom Feature Development: We built out new site functionalities tailored to their niche. Whether it was improving how customers filtered by “Breed” or “Pet Type,” or enhancing the display of high-detail jewelry, we customized the code to fit their specific sales cycle.
- Aggressive Debugging: We went “under the hood” to resolve long-standing glitches that had plagued their storefront. By cleaning up the PHP and optimizing the database queries, we made the site significantly more stable.
- Hosting Remediation: We resolved their recurring hosting issues by moving them to an environment properly tuned for the X-Cart engine. This immediately improved site speed – a critical factor for e-commerce conversion rates.
- Digital Marketing & Visibility: We didn’t just fix the code; we helped them grow. We worked on online marketing strategies to help their unique “animal-lover” gift items stand out in search results, driving targeted traffic to their newly stabilized store.
The Result
Our three-year partnership with Furry Partners took them from a place of technical frustration to a place of digital growth. By mastering the complexities of X-Cart on their behalf, we allowed them to focus on curating their massive selection of pet-themed gifts. This project remains a great example of our ability to handle “legacy” or specialized e-commerce platforms that other agencies often find too difficult to manage.
