New Magento 2 builds
Open Source or Adobe Commerce, built from a clean install rather than a bloated theme. Catalogue, checkout, payments, shipping and the admin your team will actually use.
Magento stores built and run from Johannesburg.
Magento 2 builds, upgrades, B2B dealer portals, ERP integration, hosting and security for South African retailers and distributors. We have been doing it since 2015 and we run the stores we build.
What we do
Everything between the catalogue and the bank.
Upgrades and patching
Moving stores onto current Magento and PHP with every Adobe security patch applied, tested on a staging copy before production. We know the static-deploy and extension traps that break checkout.
B2B and dealer portals
Tiered pricing, company accounts, credit limits, quick order and quote flows for resellers. Built for distributors who move volume, not for a demo.
ERP and accounting integration
Live API where your ERP offers one, file-based exchange where it does not, a reconciliation loop either way. Stock, pricing and orders stay in sync without re-keying.
Performance and hosting
Tuned nginx, PHP-FPM, MariaDB, Redis and Varnish on servers we run. Full-page caching that actually hits, CDN in front, and someone watching it at 2am.
Security and incident response
Hardening, patch schedules, integrity checks on checkout, and a team that has cleaned up real compromises. If something is already wrong, we find it and take the store back.
Why Chronon
A Magento shop that answers the 2am call.
We run stores, not just build them
Several high-traffic South African Magento stores are on our servers right now. We see what breaks in production and build accordingly.
No vendor code edits
We never patch third-party modules or purchased themes. Configuration first, then our own module or child theme, so updates do not silently undo the work.
Local payment and logistics
PayFast, PayJustNow, Peach, Ozow, PayGate and the courier integrations South African retailers actually use. VAT rules that hold even when an upstream system is down.
Staging before production
Every upgrade and every module lands on a staging copy with its own database first. We click through checkout as a customer before anything goes live.
From the journal
How it goes in practice.
Keeping a B2B dealer portal honest against a live ERP
Real-time orders, stock drift, VAT guards and patching without breaking the integration.
Upgrading a retailer to Magento 2.4.8, and why checkout broke
The static-deploy trap, never patching third-party code, and what the SEO audit found.
Anatomy of a storefront compromise
An unpatched extension, a checkout skimmer, and the incident response that took the store back.
Questions we get asked
Straight answers.
How much does Magento development cost in South Africa?
A new Magento 2 store on a clean theme with local payments and shipping starts in the low hundreds of thousands of rand and scales with catalogue complexity, integrations and B2B requirements. Upgrades and patch cycles are quoted per store after we audit it. We give fixed quotes for defined scope and a monthly retainer for running the platform.
Magento or WooCommerce?
Magento for large catalogues, B2B pricing, multiple stores or websites from one install, and deep ERP integration. WooCommerce for smaller catalogues, content-led stores and teams that live in WordPress. We build and run both and will tell you honestly which fits. See our WooCommerce page for the other side of the comparison.
Can you take over an existing store from another agency?
Yes, and it is a large part of our work. We start with an audit: versions, patches, extensions, performance, security and the state of the codebase. You get a written report and a prioritised backlog before we change anything.
Do you work with Adobe Commerce as well as Magento Open Source?
Both. Most South African stores run Open Source with carefully chosen extensions; Adobe Commerce makes sense for B2B features, page builder and Adobe support at scale. We can advise on licensing without a sales incentive either way.
Which ERPs have you integrated?
Live API integrations with Epicor-based systems, and file-based exchange with SYSPRO, Sage and others over SFTP, JSON and flat files. The pattern is the same whatever you run: a sync layer, a reconciliation loop and guards at the money end.
Where do you host?
On Linux servers we tune ourselves, in South African and European data centres, with Cloudflare in front where it helps. We also work with stores on existing hosting if you would rather keep it.
Next step
Start with a store audit.
Send us the URL. We come back with versions, patch status, extension risks, performance numbers and a prioritised list, whether or not you hire us for the work.
Also see eCommerce platforms, WooCommerce development, hosting and security.