Work carried out
Context
Château Feely is a wine estate that also offers tourist accommodation. The site has existed for more than 10 years, making it a tool already well established in the estate's activity. This wasn't about starting from scratch, but about working on a living site, already in use, already redesigned some time ago, and one that needed to keep evolving reliably.
This type of project calls for a measured approach: preserving what works, securing the existing setup, fixing technical weaknesses, and supporting the changes needed day to day.
Starting need
The starting need was multi-layered. The site's technical environment had to be made more reliable, its speed improved, some outdated tools modernized, and overall maintenance reinforced. The booking system and availability management also needed adjustments to gain consistency and stability.
The goal wasn't to fully rebuild the site, but to intelligently extend the life of a tool already in place, already useful, and important to the estate's activity.
Work carried out
The support focused on the technical overhaul and gradual improvement of the existing site.
The work notably covered:
- updating the server;
- moving to a more recent version of PHP;
- adapting the MySQL environment;
- checking the existing site's compatibility;
- stabilizing the WordPress install;
- ongoing maintenance of the site and its plugins;
- setting up and improving the backup process;
- optimizing overall performance;
- reducing certain technical friction points;
- replacing outdated plugins with more modern solutions;
- adapting the existing setup to these new tools;
- improving the booking system;
- working on availability management;
- adjustments to the consistency of the booking flow and calendars.
All of this fits into a logic of genuine maintenance, concrete evolution and lasting support.
Design choices
The main choice was to work with a logic of controlled evolution, not an abrupt rebuild. On a site that's been live for more than 10 years, already embedded in daily use and already reworked in the past, it's often more relevant to methodically improve the existing setup rather than rebuild everything without real need.
This approach makes it possible to:
- keep existing reference points;
- limit unnecessary disruption;
- secure changes;
- progressively improve performance and reliability;
- extend the site's lifespan on a healthier foundation.
The work therefore consisted of modernizing without breaking, making things more reliable without adding weight, and evolving the tool while respecting its history and real use.
Result
The site now has a more stable, technically healthier and more secure foundation over time. Performance has improved, maintenance has been organized more seriously, and the booking system has gained consistency.
This project shows the ability to work on an older, living, already-used site with a complete approach combining:
- maintenance;
- technical evolution;
- tool modernization;
- performance optimization;
- plugin adaptation;
- business feature improvements;
- lasting support.
It also illustrates an important skill: evolving a site that has existed for a long time, without weakening it and without unnecessarily starting from zero.