New Website Launch: Lighthouse Logistics –Website Design

Case Study: Lighthouse Logistics Solutions

Industry: Logistics & Freight Forwarding

Services: Joomla Troubleshooting & Repair, PHP Compatibility Fixes, Contact Form Debugging, Functional Testing, Content Restoration, CSS Fixes

Overview

Lighthouse Logistics Solutions Co., Ltd. is a Bangkok-based freight forwarding company offering consolidation, full container load, air freight, inland trucking, and warehousing services across Thailand. Their website, built on Joomla, serves as a key channel for prospective clients to learn about services and request quotes.

Over time, the site had accumulated a set of technical issues rooted in an aging, unmaintained Joomla codebase — from PHP compatibility warnings to a contact form that had quietly stopped sending emails. Our team was brought in to diagnose and resolve these issues, restore full site functionality, and get the website back to a stable, reliable state without a full platform rebuild.

Challenges Before Our Team Started

Before our team began working on the project, the client was experiencing several technical issues that affected the website's stability, functionality, and user experience:

PHP Compatibility Issues

The Joomla website was generating PHP compatibility and deprecated function errors due to an outdated codebase, causing warnings and affecting website performance.

Contact Form Not Sending Emails

Visitors were unable to submit enquiries successfully because the contact form was not sending emails, resulting in missed customer inquiries and communication issues.

Website Functionality Concerns

Due to the technical issues, parts of the website required thorough testing to ensure all pages and features functioned correctly after repairs.

Risk of Data Loss During Maintenance

Since core files needed to be modified, there was a risk of accidental data loss or service interruption without proper backups.

Incomplete Website Content

Some required pages were missing, leaving the website incomplete and affecting the overall user experience.

CSS Adjustments Required

Some pages required CSS adjustments to improve the layout and ensure the website displayed correctly.

Scope of Work

Diagnosed and resolved PHP compatibility and deprecated code issues affecting the Joomla website

Investigated and fixed the contact form email delivery problem.
Performed functional testing to ensure the website operated correctly after the fixes.
Created backups of all modified files before implementing changes.
Added missing website page to restore complete site functionality.
Fixed CSS styling issues to improve the website's layout and appearance.

The Solution

Diagnosing and Resolving PHP Compatibility Issues

We reviewed the Joomla installation against the PHP version it was running on, identifying the specific deprecated functions and compatibility warnings being thrown across the codebase. Each affected file was updated to use current, non-deprecated syntax, resolving the warnings and restoring stable performance without needing a full framework upgrade.

Fixing the Contact Form Email Delivery Problem

We traced the contact form issue back to its mail delivery configuration, testing each step of the submission process to isolate exactly where enquiries were failing to reach the client's inbox. Once identified, the mail delivery settings were corrected and the form was retested end-to-end to confirm that submissions were reliably arriving by email again.

Functional Testing Across the Site

With core files modified to fix the PHP and email issues, we performed functional testing across the website's pages and features to confirm nothing else had been affected by the changes, checking navigation, forms, and page rendering across the site before considering the fixes complete.

Backups Before Every Change

Because the fixes required editing core Joomla files, we created backups of every file before modifying it. This meant any change could be safely rolled back if it caused an unexpected issue, protecting the client from data loss or extended downtime during the repair process.

Restoring Missing Website Content

We identified a page that was missing from the site, which was affecting overall site completeness and the experience for visitors trying to reach it. We rebuilt and added the missing page back into the website structure, restoring full navigation and content coverage.

Fixing CSS Layout Issues

Several pages had layout problems caused by broken or conflicting CSS. We identified the affected stylesheets and corrected the styling issues so that the pages displayed correctly and consistently with the rest of the site.

Tech Stack

CMS: Joomla
Language: PHP
Styling: CSS
Approach: In-place diagnosis and repair, with full file backups before any core file changes

Results

PHP compatibility and deprecated function warnings resolved, restoring stable site performance
The contact form reliably delivers enquiry emails again, ensuring no customer messages are missed
Full functional testing confirmed the website operates correctly across all pages and features after the fixes
All changes were made safely, with backups in place before any core file modification
The previously missing page was restored, returning the site to complete functionality
CSS layout issues were corrected, improving the site's appearance and consistency across pages

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What issues were fixed on the Lighthouse Logistics Solutions website?

We resolved PHP compatibility and deprecated function warnings, repaired the Joomla contact form email issue, corrected CSS layout problems, restored missing website content, and performed comprehensive functional testing to ensure the website operated reliably.

Why was the Joomla website experiencing PHP compatibility errors?

The website was built on an older Joomla codebase that contained deprecated PHP functions. As newer PHP versions were introduced, these outdated functions generated compatibility warnings and affected the website's stability.

How was the contact form fixed?

Our team investigated the entire email delivery process, identified the configuration issue preventing enquiries from reaching the client's inbox, corrected the mail settings, and thoroughly tested the form to ensure reliable email delivery.

Why were backups created before making changes?

Since the project involved modifying Joomla core files, complete backups were created before every change. This safeguarded the website against data loss and allowed any modifications to be rolled back safely if needed.

Can Joomla websites be repaired without rebuilding the entire site?

Yes. Many technical issues—including PHP compatibility errors, broken contact forms, CSS problems, and missing content—can often be resolved through targeted troubleshooting and repairs without requiring a complete website rebuild or migration.