Magento 2 Experts Who Build Their Own Tools
We don't just build on Magento — we build tools for it. Byte8 (formerly SoftCommerce) is a London-based commerce engineering studio that has shipped Magento since the Magento 1 era, and now builds Pulsar, Orbit, Horizon, and Cargoman to run it.
What is Magento 2 development?
Magento 2 development is the work of designing, building, and maintaining an online store on Magento Open Source or Adobe Commerce — the open-source-rooted commerce platform that powers a large share of mid-market and enterprise retail. It spans custom module development, theme and headless frontend work, third-party and ERP integrations, performance optimisation, version upgrades, and migrations from Magento 1 or other platforms.
Byte8 is a London-based Magento development studio — formerly SoftCommerce — that has worked across the Magento 1 and Magento 2 eras. Our differentiator is that we build our own Magento products (Pulsar monitoring, Orbit zero-downtime deployment, Horizon AI gateway, Cargoman registry) and run real stores on them, so client builds get an engineering team that operates Magento at scale, not just one that writes code against it.
What we do
Custom Module Development
Bespoke Magento 2 modules built to your specification — payment gateways, ERP integrations, checkout customisations, and complex business logic. Tested, documented, and production-ready. We were appointed by Barclays to build the ePDQ payment gateway extension.
Performance Tuning
Full-stack optimisation — database query profiling, Varnish/Redis caching strategy, PHP-FPM tuning, and frontend performance. We've taken stores from 8-second to sub-2-second load times.
Headless Commerce
Next.js and React storefronts powered by Magento's GraphQL API. Decoupled architecture for faster page loads, better SEO, and complete frontend freedom — including Hyvä and our own VelaFront storefront.
System Integrations
ERP, accounting, warehouse, payment, and shipping integrations. We were appointed by PlentyMarkets (now PlentyONE) to build the official Magento ERP connector, and ship accounting connectors for Sage, Xero, and FreeAgent.
Complex Backend Systems
Multi-source inventory (MSI), B2B pricing and company accounts, custom checkout flows, multi-store and multi-website configurations, and high-volume order-processing pipelines.
Migration & Upgrades
Magento 1 to 2 migrations, version upgrades, and re-platforming. We handle data migration, extension compatibility, theme conversion, and SEO preservation — with zero-downtime go-lives.
Specialist Magento services
Dedicated services for the work merchants need most often — each with its own deep-dive.
The Magento stack we work across
Open Source or Adobe Commerce, Luma or Hyvä or headless, single-store or multi-region B2B.
Editions
Versions
Frontend
Backend
Infra & performance
Integrations
Shipping Magento since the Magento 1 era — first as SoftCommerce, now as Byte8
We're a London-based commerce engineering studio that has been building and maintaining Magento stores across the Magento 1 and Magento 2 eras. The same team now ships the Pulsar, Orbit, Horizon, and Cargoman products — tools born from the real stores we run.
The Tile Depot → CTD Group
Built and maintained the Magento storefront for The Tile Depot's London branches for years — through to the business being acquired by CTD Group.
Barclays ePDQ
Appointed by Barclays to build the ePDQ payment gateway extension for Magento — bank-grade payment integration to their specification.
PlentyMarkets → PlentyONE
Appointed by PlentyMarkets (now PlentyONE) to build the official Magento 2 / Adobe Commerce ERP integration — still shipped today as the Byte8 PlentyONE Connector.
UK & EU merchants
Haka Kunz (Germany), Dampfi (Switzerland), Wills Vegan Shoes (London), and many more stores built and run across the UK and Europe.
Tools we built for Magento
Every product in the Byte8 platform was born from real Magento challenges we faced building stores.
Frequently asked questions
What does a Magento development agency do?
Why choose Byte8 for Magento development?
Do you work with both Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce?
Can you build a headless or Hyvä Magento storefront?
Do you handle Magento 1 to 2 migrations and re-platforming?
Can you speed up a slow Magento store?
Do you offer ongoing Magento support and maintenance?
Where are you based, and do you work with international clients?
Let's build something great on Magento
Tell us about your project. We'll scope it, quote it, and get started.