When we talk to clients about Hyvä, performance, Magento and long-term platform decisions, we are not speaking from the sidelines.
We built our own website on the same foundations we recommend to clients.
That was a deliberate decision.
Aware Digital is built around Adobe Commerce, Magento and Hyvä. It is the stack we work with every day, the stack we trust for ambitious ecommerce projects, and the stack we believe gives brands the right balance of performance, flexibility and ownership.
So when it came to rebuilding awaredigital.co.uk, the question was simple:
If Hyvä is our go-to solution for performant ecommerce builds, why would we not use it for our own site?
As Umar Miah puts it:
“Hyvä made sense for our own site because it is already the framework we trust for client builds. It gives us a cleaner frontend, better performance and much more flexibility than a traditional Magento theme.”
Why Hyvä was the right choice
Hyvä has become the modern frontend framework for Magento and Adobe Commerce projects. It gives teams a cleaner, faster and more scalable way to build, without carrying the frontend bloat that often holds traditional Magento builds back.
For us, it made sense technically, commercially and strategically.
Technically, it gave us a leaner foundation to build from. Commercially, it allowed us to create a site that could better support content, services, lead generation and future growth. Strategically, it meant our own website could properly reflect the work we deliver for clients.
We already knew Hyvä inside out. We use it across client projects. We know how it performs, how it supports development, and how it helps create better experiences for both users and internal teams.
The timing was also right. Hyvä Commerce and Hyvä CMS gave us a stronger content setup, making it easier to create flexible page structures, build reusable content blocks and give the wider team more control over the site.
What needed to change
The old Aware site no longer reflected where the brand had moved to.
It had been through several iterations, with layers of custom development added over time. That made it harder to maintain, harder to evolve and less suitable for the kind of site we needed next.
There were also limitations around performance, flexibility, content management and long-term security. The look and feel did not fully match the direction of the brand, and the CMS setup was becoming restrictive.
We needed a site that was easier to manage, easier to scale and better aligned with the quality of work we produce for clients.
What we wanted the new site to do better
The new site needed to be faster, cleaner and more flexible.
We wanted stronger page structures, clearer service content, better ways to showcase our work, and a content setup that did not rely on developers for every update.
It also needed to support future functionality. That meant thinking beyond the first launch and building in a way that could support more modules, more content types and more commercial features over time.
Most importantly, we wanted the site to show what is possible when Magento and Hyvä are used properly.
Umar Miah explains:
“We wanted the new Aware site to show what Magento and Hyvä can really do when they are built properly. It is fast, flexible and gives the team more control over content without adding unnecessary frontend bloat.”
The stack behind the site
The site is built on Magento 2, using Hyvä as the frontend framework and Hyvä Commerce CMS for content, pages and reusable blocks.
The wider stack includes Aware Hosting, Google Tag Manager, tracking and marketing integrations, forms, and a custom Aware blog integration.
On the frontend, the site uses Hyvä’s leaner technology stack. This allowed us to bring the Aware brand to life without unnecessary frontend weight.
The result is a site that gives us more control over performance, content and future development.
How Hyvä shaped the build
Hyvä played a central role in how the site was built.
Compared with a more traditional Magento frontend, it allowed us to write leaner code, create cleaner templates and reduce the technical debt that can build up over time.
It also made the development experience better. When developers are working with a cleaner foundation, builds become faster, more enjoyable and easier to maintain. That has a direct impact on quality.
For the Aware site, we created bespoke Hyvä CMS blocks that could be reused, adapted and extended. That gives the team more flexibility when building pages and gives developers a more structured foundation to work from in future.
Building performance in from the start
Performance was not something we wanted to fix at the end. It was built into the thinking from the start.
Core Web Vitals were considered throughout the block and template setup. The site uses next-generation media where appropriate, and the blocks were designed to be flexible from both a frontend and code point of view.
That means sections can be switched, adapted and reused more easily without compromising the quality of the build.
Andy Jones says:
“Performance was considered from the start, not treated as something to fix at the end. Every block was built with Core Web Vitals, flexibility and future use in mind.”
The aim was not just to create a fast site on launch day. It was to create a site that could stay performant as new content, pages and features are added.
Andy Jones adds:
“The aim was to create a set of blocks that could be reused, adapted and built on over time. That gives us a stronger foundation now, but also makes the site easier to evolve as Aware grows.”
SEO and content structure
From an SEO perspective, we made sure the site kept the important URL structures from the previous website, reducing unnecessary disruption and helping preserve existing visibility.
The blog also remained a key part of the structure. Our custom blog integration allows us to publish insight-led content, support internal linking, build out service areas and create a stronger content ecosystem over time.
The rebuild gave us a cleaner structure for service pages, case studies and thought leadership, while keeping technical SEO considerations front of mind.
Stuart Otter explains:
“Keeping the site technically clean was just as important as making it look good. We wanted to preserve the right URL structures, keep the blog in place and make sure the new site gave us a better base for SEO.”
It was not about throwing everything away and starting again for the sake of it. It was about keeping what still worked, improving what did not, and creating a stronger platform for what comes next.
As Stuart Otter puts it:
“The rebuild gave us the chance to improve the site structure without starting from scratch on everything that already worked. It was about protecting the value of the old site while creating a much better platform for the future.”
The build process
The process followed the same kind of structure we use with clients.
It moved from Figma, into HTML, into Magento.
That meant starting with the design direction, then translating that into frontend components and finally building it properly within the Magento and Hyvä setup.
As with any project, one of the biggest challenges was keeping the final build aligned with the original design direction. With a distinctive brand like Aware, the look and feel mattered. It was not just about performance. It had to feel like us.
The hardest part was avoiding unnecessary deviations from the design and making sure the final site reflected the brand properly.
What we are most pleased with
The two standout things are the speed and the look of the site.
It feels much closer to the Aware brand, while also giving us a stronger technical foundation underneath.
The custom blocks, front-end setup, and content structure give us more flexibility than we had before, and the site is now much better positioned for future improvements.
What clients should take from it
The Aware site demonstrates what we believe about Magento and Hyvä.
Used properly, they can create fast, flexible and content-rich websites that give businesses more ownership over their platform, code and data.
It also proves that we trust the same technology we recommend.
We are not asking clients to take a leap on something we would not use ourselves. We built our own site this way because we believe in the platfor, the performance benefits and the long-term value it can create.
Who should consider Hyvä?
Hyvä is a strong option for Magento and Adobe Commerce businesses that want better performance, cleaner development, more flexibility and a stronger foundation for growth.
That could be a smaller business looking for a faster, more manageable site. It could also be an enterprise-level brand that needs scalability, integrations and deeper control over its ecommerce setup.
It is especially relevant for businesses struggling with restrictive themes, slow frontend performance, difficult customisations or content management limitations.
In short, Hyvä is worth considering if you want a Magento site that is easier to build, easier to maintain and better equipped for long-term growth.
What we would do differently next time
As with any build, there are things we would expand on next time.
More block options would give even greater flexibility across different page types and layouts. We would also look at building more specific modules earlier in the process, such as page hierarchy tools and other functionality that can support future site growth.
That is part of the benefit of building in-house. The site can keep evolving, and improvements we make for ourselves can also feed back into the work we do for clients.
The takeaway
Hyvä gave us the right foundation to build a site that is faster, cleaner and easier to manage.
It allowed us to reduce frontend bloat, improve the development experience, create reusable content blocks and build a site that better reflects who Aware is today.
More importantly, it shows the kind of work we believe in.
Not just a nicer-looking website, but a stronger platform for future growth.
