Daniel Defense

Platform: Magento 2

Project Engagement: Partial Development / Current Support

Daniel Defense's premium firearms platform required mission-critical reliability for military, law enforcement, and civilian markets, compounded by technical challenges including a problematic Git repository structure and unstable deployment processes. The ecosystem demanded rigorous regulatory compliance while battling performance limitations that affected both security and operational efficiency.

The project faced multifaceted challenges impacting both user experience and technical stability:

• Performance Bottlenecks: Slow page loads due to inefficient MySQL queries, Redis misconfigurations, and unoptimized catalog pages.
• Security Gaps: Missing critical headers like Content-Security-Policy (CSP) and vulnerabilities in third-party modules.
• Codebase Complexity: Outdated modules, unmaintained custom code, and fragmented deployment processes.
• User Experience Issues: Delayed image loading, non-compliant UI elements, and checkout errors affecting conversions.
• Technical Debt: Frequent exceptions in core workflows (e.g., FedEx shipping, inventory syncing) and outdated Magento version).

Our goal was to stabilize the platform, future-proof its architecture, and align it with Magento best practices while minimizing downtime.

Performance Enhancements

• Reduced MySQL query counts by 80% on category pages, cutting response times by 40%.
• Optimized Redis caching, resolving memory leaks and improving cache-hit ratios.
• Conencted New Relic and started to monitor and fix reported issues

Security & Stability

• Enabled CSP in report-only mode, identifying and whitelisting trusted resources to block malicious scripts.
• Patched and updated 3rd party modules
• Upgraded Magento and still keeping it up to date

User Experience

• Implemented plnety of features to improve UI & UX
• Fixed checkout bugs to ensure smooth order placement

Impact

Daniel Defense’s platform now operates with heightened reliability, faster page speeds, and fortified security.