Onboarding a full service school photography application
Fraser Portraits wanted a new provider to host, support and develop an existing custom web application.
Fraser Portraits is a professional photography and portraiture company working with schools and children of all age groups across the south of England. Founded in 1978, the business remains family-run and has built a strong reputation for reliability and quality.
In addition to its core education work, the company also delivers photography services in specialist sectors including the military and private events, managing large volumes of imagery and time-sensitive customer orders throughout the year.
With decades of experience in school and portrait photography, Fraser Portraits operates a high-volume, seasonal business model that depends on efficient image processing, secure data handling and a smooth online purchasing journey for parents and guardians.
Its ecommerce platform is central to these operations, enabling customers to view, select and order photographs while supporting internal workflows for image management, fulfilment and administration.
In 2023 Fraser Portraits appointed OWA as its new technology partner to support and evolve key aspects of its long-standing custom platform:
- Highly bespoke system with limited documentation
- Legacy architecture from original film-to-digital transition
- Benchmarking required for performance and security
- Improve user experience (UX) and internal workflows
- Robust, cost-effective hosting with safe migration
Migration planning, workflow analysis and system stabilisation all needed to be delivered in a way that minimised risk and operational downtime. By addressing these challenges upfront, OWA helped Fraser Portraits to confidently prepare the platform for ongoing improvements and to future-proof its technology for the evolving needs of the business.
We began with a detailed onboarding and discovery phase, working closely with Fraser Portraits to map the platform, understand workflows and identify priorities. Following this, we benchmarked performance, security and usability before migrating the system to our secure UK-based hosting facility. Framework updates, code optimisation and server upgrades were implemented to handle high volumes of images efficiently, while UX and UI (user interface) improvements enhanced both customer and administrator experiences. This structured approach stabilised the system, reduced costs and prepared it for future development, all with minimal disruption to ongoing operations.
The platform now delivers clear, measurable benefits:
- Strong technical foundation for ongoing enhancement
- Improved performance, security and hosting reliability
- Streamlined workflows for customers and administrators
- System resilient during peak image and order periods
- Lower operational overhead and monthly costs
If you rely on a long-standing, mission-critical platform, bringing in a new technology partner can feel high risk. A structured onboarding and benchmarking approach helps you to understand what you have, reduce technical risk and create a roadmap for future improvements – all without disrupting day-to-day operations:
- Take over and support an existing custom platform
- Benchmark performance, security and scalability
- Migrate to secure, fully managed UK hosting
- Optimise legacy systems for speed and resilience
- Deliver phased improvements through a clear roadmap
Whether you’re looking to create a new application or facing legacy system challenges and performance bottlenecks, we're here to help.
UK-based design and development
Project planning and scope definition
Technical architecture recommendations
Migration strategy for legacy systems
Fully managed UK-based hosting and support
