Craft CMS Support & Maintenance in Manchester

You have a Craft CMS website that your business depends on, and you need a developer who can take proper ownership of it. Karl Bowers has been working with Craft CMS since version 2 and supports business owners in Manchester and across the North West. Greater Manchester has a large digital and creative sector that adopted Craft CMS heavily during its growth years, and a number of those agency-built sites are now in need of specialist independent support — either because the original agency has moved on, the codebase has outgrown what a generalist can maintain, or a major version upgrade has become unavoidable.

Craft Commerce is a significant part of the Manchester work Karl handles. The city has a strong retail sector, and several North West businesses run Craft Commerce stores that need specialist knowledge to maintain and extend. The migrations from Craft 2 and Craft 3 to later versions are particularly involved for ecommerce sites, where plugin dependencies and custom checkout logic require careful compatibility work.

Who Karl typically works with in Manchester:

• Businesses whose Manchester agency has moved away from Craft CMS and left them without proper specialist support.
• Craft Commerce businesses in Greater Manchester where downtime or broken functionality directly costs revenue.
• Sites on older versions of Craft — Craft 2, 3, or 4 — that need upgrading to Craft 5, including all plugin and template compatibility work.
• Media and creative companies with complex content-driven Craft CMS installations that need ongoing development and support.
• Owners who need a long-term partner, not a one-off fix — someone who learns the codebase and takes ongoing responsibility for it.

What working with Karl typically looks like:

Most Manchester Craft CMS clients start with a handover situation — Karl learns the codebase that an agency built, identifies what needs immediate attention, and takes on ongoing responsibility for the site. This process takes a few weeks rather than a few days, because understanding a complex Craft installation properly before making changes is how Karl avoids creating new problems while resolving existing ones.

Common questions:

Can you take over a Craft CMS site built by another agency?

Yes. This is one of the most common starting points for new clients. Karl takes on Craft CMS codebases built by agencies and other developers regularly, including sites with custom plugins, complex Matrix field structures, multi-site configurations, and Craft Commerce integrations. He takes the time to understand what exists before making any changes.

My Craft CMS site is on version 2 or 3, can you upgrade it?

Yes. Karl has carried out upgrades across every major version of Craft CMS, including the significant migrations from Craft 2 to Craft 3, Craft 3 to Craft 4, and Craft 4 to Craft 5. Each major version involves breaking changes to plugins, templates, and configuration. All upgrades are thoroughly tested before going live.

Do you work with businesses anywhere in the UK?

Yes. Karl supports Craft CMS clients across the UK, with most work handled remotely. He is based in West Yorkshire and is available to meet clients in person in the North of England when that is useful for a handover or initial review.

How much does Craft CMS support cost?

Pricing depends on the nature of the work. Karl works on a project basis for one-off work such as upgrades, plugin audits, and handovers, and on a monthly retainer for ongoing support. A clear cost is agreed before any work begins.

What versions of Craft CMS do you support?

Karl has worked with every major version of Craft CMS from Craft 2 through to the current Craft 5 release, including all Craft Commerce versions that align with those CMS releases.

What if something goes wrong with my Craft site urgently?

Retainer clients receive priority response for urgent issues, including Craft Commerce stores where a broken checkout costs revenue by the hour. Consistent priority access is part of what an ongoing retainer provides.

How do I get started?

The starting point is a brief conversation about the site: which version of Craft is running, what plugins are in use, what the immediate priorities are, and what ongoing support looks like. Karl will give an honest assessment of what is involved before any commitment is made.

Can you work with custom plugins built by my previous agency?

Yes. Working with custom Craft CMS plugins and bespoke modules built by other developers is a core part of what Karl does. He takes the time to understand how the existing code works before modifying it, which is how problems get properly fixed rather than worked around.