A Redesign That Required Rebuilding the Foundation

How we adapted third-party modules, preserved the entire Magento 2 business logic, and launched a complete store redesign on the planned date.

Visit Masterbooks

Reviewed by: Jack Ananchenko, Co-founder, CTO

Aug 12, 20265 min read

NLPG Masterbook (Bookstore)

One of the largest publishing groups in the Netherlands, running the Masterbook online bookstore on Magento 2 with numerous third-party modules.

The Essentials

15 Stellar Soft specialists

February – April 2024 (3 months)

One of NL's largest publishing groups

Amasty & Hyvä compatibility work

Tech Stack

Magento 2

PHP 8.1

Hyvä Theme

The Client Came for a Redesign. The Audit Revealed a Much Bigger Challenge

Masterbook already had approved Figma designs and a confirmed launch date. At first glance, the project seemed to require nothing more than frontend implementation. The initial technical audit told a different story: the store ran on an outdated Magento theme and had accumulated numerous third-party modules, primarily from Amasty, powering business-critical functionality.

Hyvä could not simply accommodate that legacy environment — many extensions were built specifically for Magento's traditional frontend and were incompatible with the new theme. Migrating "as is" wasn't an option, and postponing the launch was equally impossible. What began as a redesign project ultimately became a complete migration of the store's frontend architecture.

3 Months in 10 Seconds

Rebuilt, Logic Preserved

Third-party extensions were adapted to be fully compatible with Hyvä. The store's business logic remained unchanged.

Pixel-Perfect Redesign

The approved Figma designs were implemented pixel for pixel across desktop, tablet, and mobile.

Launched on Schedule

From audit to production launch in three months, without postponements or disruptions to critical user journeys.

Changing Everything So Nothing Changed for the Customer

Migrating to Hyvä meant preserving a complex Magento codebase without disrupting checkout. Three problems emerged.

Three Problems

Modules Incompatible

Amasty and other modules were built for Magento's traditional theme — each had to be adapted for Hyvä individually.

Logic Stayed Intact

Customer accounts, checkout, and business rules had to work as before — the migration needed to be invisible to customers.

No Room for Compromise

Every page had to match Figma pixel-perfectly across devices, all while meeting the launch date.

Understand the Scope First, Then Run Two Parallel Workstreams

Instead of starting with development, the team began with a technical audit to determine which modules could be migrated as-is, which required adaptation, and which needed a full rebuild — identifying risks before development began. From that point, the work progressed in parallel: one part of the team made third-party extensions compatible with Hyvä while adapting backend logic, the other implemented the new frontend from the approved Figma designs.

Custom Hyvä-compatible modules. Amasty and other third-party extensions adapted to the new architecture.

Extended backend logic. Customer accounts, order management, and platform-specific business rules continue to function without any changes for users.

Pixel-perfect frontend. Responsive implementation based on the approved Figma designs across all device types.

What Really Stood Behind the Migration to Hyvä

Identifying the Problems Before They Appeared

Over the years, the platform had accumulated numerous third-party extensions powering critical functionality, with no guarantee they'd keep working on the new architecture. Every module was evaluated individually to determine whether it could be adapted or would need a full rebuild — eliminating a significant portion of the technical risk before a single line of code was written.

A New Interface Required a New Foundation

The greatest challenge wasn't the redesign itself — it was preserving the store's functionality. Some Amasty modules couldn't be used without modification; each had to be adapted to the new architecture while preserving existing business logic. Internally, the implementation changed completely. Externally, the experience remained exactly the same.

Multiple Workstreams, One Deadline

The migration, module adaptation, and redesign weren't completed one after another — there wasn't enough time within the three-month schedule. Both workstreams progressed in parallel and came together during the final page integration stage.

The Launch Was the Beginning of Stabilization, Not the End

After launch, the project entered a stabilization phase: the team validated key user journeys, resolved issues that only appeared under real production traffic, and further optimized the platform — the stage that separates a store that simply looks new from one that also performs reliably.

Technology Stack

Magento 2, Hyvä Theme, PHP 8.1, Tailwind CSS, Alpine.js, customized Amasty modules and other third-party extensions.

New Interface. The Same Business Logic.

A faster frontend built on a modern architecture
Before: store performance was limited by an outdated Magento theme. After: the Hyvä frontend delivered noticeably faster page loading on a modern foundation.

A complete redesign without delaying the launch
Before: the design was ready, but implementation depended on migrating to Hyvä. After: the approved designs were implemented across all pages and devices, on the planned three-month timeline.

A launch without losing critical functionality
Before: migrating risked disrupting third-party modules, customer accounts, and checkout workflows. After: the store operates with all business-critical functionality fully preserved.

Modernization without expanding the client's team
Before: delivering the migration, adaptation, and redesign simultaneously would have required a dedicated in-house team. After: Stellar Soft delivered the entire project, from audit to launch.