WebCitz started working with this client in 2015
- Client: Cardinal Activewear
- Platform: Other
- Industry: Retail / E-Commerce
- Services: Ecommerce, Maintenance / Support, Web Hosting
The Challenge
Cardinal Activewear, a supplier of high-quality jackets and athletic apparel, relied on a PrestaShop environment to manage their B2B and B2C sales. Over the years, the platform faced several technical hurdles typical of aging e-commerce installations:
- Technical Drift: The core PrestaShop platform required periodic major version upgrades to remain secure and compatible with modern PHP versions.
- Performance Bottlenecks: Issues with the built-in caching system often led to slow load times or “stale” data appearing to customers.
- Logistical Complexity: As shipping rates and payment security standards (PCI compliance) evolved, the site’s backend logic needed constant fine-tuning.
The WebCitz Solution
Since 2015, WebCitz has served as the technical guardian for Cardinal Activewear’s digital operations:
- Platform Lifecycle Management: We successfully executed several core PrestaShop upgrades. These are high-stakes projects that require careful testing of theme compatibility and database integrity to ensure no order history or customer data is lost during the transition.
- Deep-Level Cache Troubleshooting: We performed extensive debugging on the PrestaShop caching architecture. By resolving conflicts within the system, we were able to significantly improve site speed and ensure that inventory and pricing were always reflected accurately in real-time.
- Streamlined Ordering & Logistics: We frequently customized the checkout experience to better serve their customers. This included updating payment gateway integrations and building out complex shipping rules that accounted for the bulk nature of activewear orders.
- Search Authority Preservation: To protect their search engine rankings during site changes, we managed an extensive list of 301 redirects. This ensured that long-standing product links and category pages didn’t lose their “link juice” or result in 404 errors for returning customers.
- Secure Managed Hosting: We provided a stable, optimized hosting environment specifically configured for the resource-heavy requirements of a PrestaShop store.
The Result
For nine years, WebCitz ensured that Cardinal Activewear’s digital storefront remained a reliable asset. By handling the complex “under-the-hood” work of PrestaShop maintenance, we allowed the client to focus on their inventory and customer service. While the website has recently been taken offline due to health-related circumstances, our long-term partnership stands as a testament to WebCitz’s ability to sustain and evolve a complex e-commerce platform through nearly a decade of industry changes.
