K. Hovnanian Homes

Overview

K. Hovnanian Homes, a national homebuilder known for building communities and single-family residences across the United States, engaged InGen after an attempted Sitefinity enterprise CMS upgrade failed. The site contained a complex custom content type ("Community Builder") that stored community data, home designs, and images; when the upgrade encountered issues, InGen was brought in to triage and resolve the situation and re-enable forward progress.

The Challenge

In early 2016, K. Hovnanian's Sitefinity upgrade effort was underway but ran into failures due to the complexity of custom coded community and home design structures. The core challenges included:

• Correcting a failed CMS upgrade without causing downtime or data loss
• Ensuring continuity of operations while stabilizing the platform
• Supporting the complex custom content models ("Community Builder") that power core site functionality
• Enabling the organization to expand digital capabilities rather than regress to legacy versions
• Establishing a foundation for ongoing improvements and feature expansions

The Solution

InGen stepped in to triage the Sitefinity upgrade failure and then deliver a reliable path forward that enabled K. Hovnanian to continue using and enhancing its CMS.

Expert Upgrade Recovery & Stabilization

Rather than abandoning the platform or falling back to an unsupported Sitefinity version, InGen resolved the upgrade issues and enabled the site to run on a modern, stable CMS foundation, preserving the custom content structures that supported communities and home designs.

Extended Feature Development

Once the platform was stabilized, InGen delivered a series of enhancements to improve editorial workflows and extend functionality:

• Centralized content approval workflow to replace siloed site approvals
• Automated tools for copying similar home designs across multiple communities
• A Community Search feature linked with CRM data to improve internal customer service efficiency
• Ongoing development of productivity features to support editorial teams and content operations

Long-Term Partnership

The engagement evolved into a multi-year partnership, with InGen supporting K. Hovnanian's CMS operations and digital initiatives over at least five years, ensuring the platform continued to meet the organization's evolving needs.

Solution Benefits

The collaboration delivered practical, business-centric benefits:

• Rescued platform modernization — Stabilized a failed Sitefinity upgrade and preserved existing investments.
• Enhanced editorial workflows — Centralized approvals and automation improved internal efficiency.
• Improved data consistency and usability — Feature enhancements reduced manual effort and errors.
• Sustained technical partnership — Ongoing support ensured long-term value from the CMS investment.

Results

The Sitefinity upgrade recovery and enhancement engagement successfully transitioned K. Hovnanian's CMS to a stable, modern environment while minimizing friction for internal teams. The partnership extended well beyond the initial engagement, with InGen delivering feature improvements that supported editorial and operational efficiency.