Sitecore diagnostics from “the Sarge”
I get broken Sitecore estates running again.
I’m Ian Etherington — known as “the Sarge” because I’m the person teams call when the engine starts smoking. With 16+ years under the bonnet of Sitecore and 25+ years in web development, I step in when big agency projects stall, bug lists spiral, relationships strain, and the platform still needs saving.
Service-bay inspection
SPECIALIST TRIAGE
01 Sitecore engine history → 16+ years
02 Web platform mileage → 25+ years
03 Costly warning lights → inspect first
1:1
direct expert inspection
16+
years under the hood
WHAT CAN BE SAVED
Expert inspection, repair, and tuning for Sitecore estates that still have life in them.
Think of it as taking your Sitecore platform to a specialist mechanic after the main dealer has run up the bill and still not fixed the fault. I inspect the moving parts, work through the long bug list, repair what can be saved, and give you a clear view of whether you need maintenance, an upgrade, or a full rebuild.
Bug-list triage
I sort the long list into real faults, symptoms, duplicates, risks, and quick wins so everyone can finally see what is actually blocking progress.
Stalled project recovery
I help stabilise the work after large agency delivery has broken down: risky releases, unclear ownership, fragile deployments, and exhausted stakeholders.
Repair-or-rebuild advice
I give you a realistic view of whether the estate needs targeted repair, a staged upgrade, XM Cloud, or a full rebuild — without selling the most expensive answer by default.
Trust and knowledge rescue
I recover the useful platform knowledge, content model decisions, authoring conventions, and business rules that often get buried when relationships break down.
Integration fault finding
I trace CRM, search, commerce, identity, analytics, and custom API connections to isolate where the wiring has failed and how to repair it safely.
Performance tune-up
I tune slow publishing, cache misses, fragile components, and security exposure with practical engineering fixes — the Sitecore equivalent of getting the engine breathing properly again.
TURNAROUND METHOD
A mechanic’s approach to Sitecore rescue: inspect, stabilise, repair, then plan the road ahead.
01
Inspect
I inspect the estate, read the warning lights, and turn agency fallout into a clear list of faults, risks, and repair priorities.
02
Stabilise
I make the platform safe to work on again: calmer releases, fewer surprises, clearer ownership, and less stakeholder firefighting.
03
Repair
I repair the parts worth saving — content, components, integrations, and editorial patterns that still do useful work.
04
Road test
I turn the repaired platform into a practical upgrade, migration, or optimisation route the business can drive with confidence.
Inspect first
You get an experienced technical diagnosis when the previous engagement has left more confusion than confidence.
Keep good parts
Retain useful components, content structures, integrations, and editorial knowledge instead of scrapping the whole machine.
Roadworthy change
Move from agency fallout, warning lights, and emergency fixes to controlled releases, clear dependencies, and a route the business trusts.
Before you write off Sitecore, let the Sarge inspect what can still be fixed.
Send me the symptoms: failed upgrade, unstable publishing, slow delivery, broken integrations, a growing bug list, or a platform your team no longer trusts. I’ll diagnose the fault, tell you what can be repaired, and help you avoid a rebuild unless you genuinely need one.