In the Docklight: Killer Ink’s Front-End refresh with Hyvä

In eCommerce, speed matters. Not just in your delivery times, but in how fast your website responds, how quickly you can add new features, and, crucially, how smoothly customers can check out. 

So, when it was time to give one of Europe's leading suppliers of tattoo equipment a serious front-end upgrade, Hyvä was the only option.  

Here's how this modern platform has made Killer Ink's Magento website slicker, leaner, and faster than the speed of regretting ill-advised body art. 
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The Needle

Magento 2 - (Adobe Commerce) - has always been brilliant from a back-end perspective. But front-end development is tricky. 

Customisation is complex. Adding new features can be cumbersome. And slow loading speeds can cost sales. 

So, although Killer Ink's previous Magento site was doing its job, it wasn't performing to its full potential. And, in competitive markets like France and Germany, shaving seconds off page load time can mean the difference between winning and losing a sale.

Killer Ink promises speed and efficiency. To help deliver on that promise, we needed a front-end solution that matched Magento’s power on the back end and provided the speed, flexibility, and user experience to keep them ahead of the competition.
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Why Hyvä?

Hyvä (pronounced 'Hoover', btw) has reinvigorated Magento's front end. It keeps the functionality of the platform's back end, but has rebuilt the customer-facing side with an intuitive, standards-based design. 

The benefits to Killer Ink are: 

Faster load times – Less JavaScript means quicker pages, better SEO rankings, and a smoother mobile experience.

A slicker checkout – Fewer clicks and more responsive performance improve conversion rates.

Quicker development – New pages and features are simpler to roll out.

Lower maintenance costs – Less time fixing bugs, more time building new ideas.

Consistent design – A cleaner, more professional look across the site.

Importantly, Hyvä is compatible with payment and shipping gateways, third-party modules, Klaviyo integration, and Facebook and Google ads marketing.
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Development and Early Results 

Killer Ink's site redevelopment was a six-month project, from January to June. The work followed a rebrand we delivered for the client in December, so the refreshed visuals tied in perfectly with Hyvä's framework. 

Six Dock team members covered marketing, design, development, and project management, working alongside Killer Ink's in-house team to make sure everything went as expected. 

There were no hiccups at launch, which is unusual for web development. Better yet, the benefits are already showing. 

Checkout is now up to 100% faster, and feature development is twice as fast. 

We'll see definitive results down the line, but Hyvä’s speed gains put Killer Ink in a stronger position for SEO and conversion improvements.
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Ready to Grow

Thanks to Hyvä and our team's expertise, Killer Ink's new site is easier to maintain, more cost-effective to update, and better placed to compete internationally. We can now roll out new landing pages, customer service tools, and marketing integrations rapidly, without the bugs and bottlenecks that come with older Magento front ends.

It also frees us up to work on growth-driving, creative projects with our client. Much more enjoyable than spending time fixing avoidable bugs. 
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Why Dock Recommends Hyvä

Hyvä has been on Dock's radar for a few years, but Killer Ink was our first large-scale rollout with the framework - and one of the most complex Magento builds you can get. Multiple sites, language translations, B2B and B2C platforms, catalogue complexity, customer pricing - you name it. 

That we delivered all this without a hitch has reinforced our view that Hyvä is the most future-ready front end for Magento. Supported by one of the most active, trusted communities in the eCommerce ecosystem, it makes development faster, keeps maintenance costs down, and gives brands the flexibility to adapt. 

Whether you're running a single online store or a complex multi-site setup like Killer Ink's, the upgrade can pay for itself within a year or two in saved development time alone.

We're now ready to deliver the same streamlined, scalable solution for any Magento front-end refresh.
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Want a faster, leaner Magento website?

Dock can help you generate momentum, convert more customers, and leave the competition in your wake.

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