Updated October 2026 · Written and maintained by the Progression Agency strategy team
A WooCommerce web development company designs, builds and extends online stores on WooCommerce, the open-source commerce plugin for WordPress: product data and catalogs, checkout, payments, custom plugins and the integrations that connect the store to inventory, shipping, tax and your ERP or CRM. We build new WooCommerce stores, take over and repair existing ones, write custom extensions when no plugin fits, and keep the code on your repository and your hosting. Tell us what the store has to sell, connect to and automate, and we will put the scope, timeline and price in writing before any code is written.
On this page · 19 sections
- What does a WooCommerce development company do?
- WooCommerce development services
- WooCommerce website development: our process
- How does WooCommerce work with WordPress?
- Store architecture decisions that last
- WooCommerce plugin development
- WooCommerce checkout customization
- WooCommerce API integration: ERP, CRM, inventory, shipping and tax
- WooCommerce B2B development and wholesale
- Subscriptions, memberships and bookings on WooCommerce
- Custom WooCommerce development versus a theme and plugins
- Headless WooCommerce storefronts
- WooCommerce performance optimization and hosting
- Security, updates and WooCommerce maintenance services
- Migrating a store to WooCommerce
- How AI assistants answer questions about WooCommerce development companies
- How to hire a WooCommerce developer or choose a WooCommerce agency
- How much does WooCommerce development cost?
- Related services
The short answerAs a WooCommerce web development company, we build stores on the free, open-source WooCommerce plugin and extend them with documented hooks rather than edits to core. A store with a catalog under 200 SKUs starts from $34,000 and takes 12 to 18 weeks; one with an ERP, PIM or fulfillment integration starts from $78,000 and takes 20 to 32 weeks. Work on an existing store is quoted after a written scope. You keep the repository, the hosting account and every admin login. Progression Agency is based in New York City and works with clients across the United States and worldwide.
Prices are Progression’s published fixed-scope website prices. WooCommerce, WordPress and payment-industry details were read in October 2026 and can change with each release; check the current documentation before you upgrade.
What does a WooCommerce development company do?
A WooCommerce development company builds and maintains the code and configuration that make a WooCommerce store sell. Among WooCommerce development companies the work ranges from a straight store build to custom extensions and system integrations.
What we build
Stores that start from a clean architecture, extensions that carry a store’s special rules, integrations to inventory, shipping, tax, ERP and CRM systems, performance work on slow catalogs and checkouts, and ongoing support after launch.
When WooCommerce is the right platform
WooCommerce fits a seller who wants to own the code and the data, run content on WordPress alongside the shop, or apply pricing and fulfillment rules that a hosted platform makes awkward. It asks more of the team than a hosted service does. Our Shopify vs WooCommerce comparison covers the platform decision in detail.
What we will not take on
We do not build stores for age-restricted or heavily regulated goods, and we do not build stores aimed at minors. We work with businesses and adults.
WooCommerce is open source, and the core plugin is free; paid extensions, hosting and payment fees are separate costs. For non-store WordPress work, see our WordPress development company page.
WooCommerce development services
WooCommerce development services cover everything between a first design and the tenth year of updates. WooCommerce web development services come in the packages shown below.
| Service | What it covers | When you need it |
|---|---|---|
| New store build | Catalog, theme, checkout, tax, shipping, analytics | A new brand or a move from another platform |
| Custom theme | A theme built for your catalog and brand | When a stock theme fights your design |
| Custom plugin | Code for a rule no maintained plugin covers | A pricing, fulfillment or workflow rule that is core to revenue |
| Checkout work | Fields, rules and payment flow | A checkout that loses customers or breaks a business rule |
| Integrations | ERP, CRM, inventory, shipping and tax links | Data typed in twice or out of step |
| B2B features | Customer roles, pricing, quotes, account catalogs | Wholesale buyers who need their own terms |
| Subscriptions | Recurring billing built on a documented extension | Products sold on a schedule |
| Headless | A custom front end on the Store API | A storefront the theme layer cannot deliver |
| Performance | Caching, database and script work | Slow pages, slow admin, slow checkout |
| Maintenance | Updates, testing, backups and monitoring | Any store with revenue to protect |
Custom WooCommerce development services
Custom WooCommerce development services make sense when the store’s rules differ from what shelf plugins assume. We write the smallest piece of code that does the job, on hooks and filters, and document it for the next developer.
WooCommerce store development for new brands
A new brand needs a catalog structure that can grow, a checkout that suits the product and enough tracking to learn from the first orders. WooCommerce store development for a new brand starts with the data: names, variations, images, stock rules.
Taking over an existing store
A takeover starts with a code and plugin review on a staging copy, a list of risks, and a quoted plan. Plugin-only, extension or repair work on an existing store is quoted after a written scope.
WooCommerce website development: our process
Our WooCommerce website development runs in four phases with your approval between them, so scope and price do not drift. WooCommerce website development services that skip the specification phase tend to pay for it in change orders.
Discovery and data audit
We count and check what you have: SKUs, variations, customers, orders and every system that sends or receives data. The output is a list of risks and a draft scope.
Functional specification
A written specification describes each feature, its rules, its edge cases and how we will test it. You approve it before anyone writes code, and any change after approval is a priced change.
Prototype and phased build with approvals
A clickable prototype of the catalog and checkout comes first. The build then proceeds in sprints, with a demo and an approval at the end of each.
QA, staging and launch with a rollback plan
We test on a staging copy that matches production, run the launch checklist, and keep a rollback plan ready for launch day.
How does WooCommerce work with WordPress?
WooCommerce is a plugin that adds a store to a WordPress site: products, a cart, checkout and orders live inside the WordPress admin. It installs like any other plugin, and WordPress keeps handling pages, users and content.
Can WooCommerce be used without WordPress?
No. WooCommerce runs inside WordPress, and the plugin directory listing describes it as an open-source store platform for WordPress that installs from the Plugins menu.
Is WooCommerce free?
The core plugin is free and open source. A working store also pays for hosting, a domain, payment processing fees and any paid extensions, which WooCommerce sells separately on an annual basis.
Who owns WooCommerce?
Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, develops WooCommerce. According to the project’s about page, Automattic acquired WooThemes, the studio that launched the plugin, in 2015.
Store architecture decisions that last
The choices made in the first week, such as how products, categories and orders are modeled, shape the cost of every change afterward. Getting them right costs little; fixing them later costs a migration.
Product types, variations, attributes and custom fields
WooCommerce’s built-in product types are simple, grouped, external or affiliate, and variable, with virtual and downloadable as settings you can apply. Variations and attributes need a naming scheme before import, and custom fields should hold real data you will query, not leftovers from a spreadsheet.
Categories, tags and custom taxonomies
Categories and taxonomies decide how shoppers filter and how URLs look. Settle them early, because they are the hardest thing to change after launch. For URL and filter search work, see our search work for online stores.
Order storage and HPOS
High-performance order storage moves orders from the generic posts tables into dedicated order tables. According to WooCommerce’s developer documentation, it became stable and the default for new stores in WooCommerce 8.2, while existing stores enable it manually and an incompatible extension can block it. Check every active plugin for compatibility before switching.
How many products can WooCommerce handle?
There is no single number. What matters is database design, indexing, search, caching, the number of variations, and the hosting underneath, plus how many plugins run on every page. A large catalog on lean code and strong hosting outperforms a small catalog loaded with plugins.
WooCommerce plugin development
WooCommerce plugin development means writing a focused extension that adds one capability to a store, on the hooks WooCommerce provides. WooCommerce plugin development services and WooCommerce extension development follow the same rule: write less, document it.
Buy, configure, extend or build: a decision rule
Walk down the chart below. If a maintained plugin does most of the job, buy it. If its settings cover the rest, configure it. If a few lines on its hooks close the gap, extend it. Build from scratch only when the rule is core to revenue.
Coding to WordPress and WooCommerce standards
We write to the WordPress coding standards and follow the plugin handbook: hooks and filters instead of edits to core, escaped output, and checked input. That is what lets a store update safely.
The cost of plugin sprawl
Every plugin adds updates to track, potential conflicts and extra work on each page. Stores with dozens of active plugins tend to be slower and harder to fix, so we ask what each one earns before adding another.
WooCommerce checkout customization
WooCommerce checkout customization changes what the buyer sees and what the store requires at the last step. The risk is breaking payments, so every change is tested on every gateway.
Block checkout or classic shortcode checkout
According to WooCommerce’s status page, stores launched after version 8.3 use the Cart and Checkout blocks by default, and the classic shortcode remains an option that you can switch back to. Before moving an established store, we test every extension that touches the checkout.
Extending the checkout block
The block checkout is extended through its own extensibility points and the Store API, which exposes cart and checkout endpoints without authentication keys. Fields, validation and totals each have supported routes.
Payments and PCI scope
Any store that takes card payments falls under PCI DSS. The PCI Security Standards Council publishes self-assessment questionnaires for different setups, and the payment brands or your acquirer decide whether a small merchant must validate; see the council’s merchant guidance. We choose the gateway integration with that in mind and do not store card numbers on your server.
Store on WooCommerce that needs a checkout nobody has to apologize for?Tell us the platform version, the payment gateways and what the checkout has to do. We reply with a free proposal covering the audit, the checkout work and the staging plan, with the scope and price in writing.
WooCommerce API integration: ERP, CRM, inventory, shipping and tax
WooCommerce API integration links the store to the systems that already run the business. Our WooCommerce integration services start by deciding which system owns each piece of data.
REST API and webhooks
The WooCommerce REST API serves JSON over HTTPS and authenticates with consumer keys, and webhooks push events such as new orders out to other systems. Together they handle most links to ERP and CRM tools.
Inventory and order sync without double counting
Decide which system owns stock and which owns orders, and send only changes. Use order IDs as keys so a retried message cannot create a second order, and log every exchange so a mismatch can be traced.
Background jobs with Action Scheduler
Heavy work should not run during a customer’s page load. Action Scheduler runs queued jobs in the background in batches, with logging and an admin screen, which suits syncs and scheduled tasks.
For the wider build, see our API development, ERP development and CRM development pages. We configure and extend the documented connectors and write custom code only where they fall short.
WooCommerce B2B development and wholesale
WooCommerce B2B development adds the things business buyers expect: their own prices, their own catalog and their own terms. We configure and extend the documented tools for these jobs and write custom code only where they fall short.
Role-based and customer-specific pricing
Pricing can follow customer roles, such as retail and wholesale, or a specific account. Roles are cleaner to maintain; account-level prices suit a few large buyers. We set up the model, then test totals, tax and discounts together.
Quotes, minimum order quantities and net terms
Business buyers often need a quote before an order, minimum quantities and payment on terms. Each one changes the checkout and the order record, so we write the rules down before choosing a plugin or writing code.
Catalog visibility by account
Some products should be visible only to approved accounts. We configure visibility by customer role and verify that search, feeds and direct URLs respect it.
Subscriptions, memberships and bookings on WooCommerce
Recurring products, member access and appointments are available on WooCommerce through paid extensions. We configure and extend them for the way your store sells.
WooCommerce Subscriptions is a paid extension
WooCommerce Subscriptions is sold on an annual basis and adds recurring billing with sign-up fees, free trials and customer controls to pause or cancel. We check that your payment gateway supports automatic renewals before planning.
Memberships
WooCommerce Memberships is a paid extension that restricts content and products to members and can give members discounts or free shipping. It works with Subscriptions when memberships renew on a schedule.
Bookings and appointments
WooCommerce Bookings is a paid extension for appointments, classes and rentals, with resources such as staff or rooms and calendar sync. We configure it around your availability rules.
Custom WooCommerce development versus a theme and plugins
A theme and a few plugins are enough for many stores; custom code pays for itself when the store has a rule that makes money. A custom WooCommerce development company should say which one your store needs, even when that means less work.
When a theme and plugins are enough
Standard catalogs, common shipping rules and normal checkout flows are well served by a maintained theme and a short list of plugins. Save the budget for content and marketing.
When custom code pays back
Custom code pays back when a rule is central to revenue, when plugins conflict, or when a manual process costs more every month than the code would cost once.
Maintenance burden of each
Custom code has fewer moving parts but needs a developer who knows it. Plugins bring updates from many authors. The table lays out the tradeoffs.
| Question | Theme and plugins | Custom code |
|---|---|---|
| Who updates it | Each plugin author on their own schedule | Your developer, on yours |
| Conflict risk | Higher as the number of plugins grows | Lower, if built on standard hooks |
| Speed | Depends on how many plugins load on each page | Only the code that you need |
| Handover | Plugin documentation | Your documentation, kept with the repository |
| Change cost | Settings or a new plugin | A developer’s time, quoted in writing |
Headless WooCommerce storefronts
A WooCommerce headless setup keeps the store engine in WordPress and builds the storefront separately. It buys design freedom at the price of extra code to maintain.
When headless helps
Headless helps when the storefront must be a custom application, when one catalog feeds several front ends, or when page speed targets can only be met with a purpose-built front end.
Store API and cart state
A separate front end reads products and manages the cart through the Store API. Customer sessions there are cookie based, and requests that write data need a nonce, so the front end and the store must share an origin or handle those carefully.
Trade-offs: plugins, preview, cost
Many plugins add their output through the theme, so they may not appear on a custom front end. Content preview needs extra work, and the team maintains two codebases. See our headless WordPress page for the pattern.
WooCommerce performance optimization and hosting
WooCommerce performance optimization starts with measuring: where time goes on the product page, the cart and the checkout. Fixes then follow the cause, not a checklist.
Page caching that leaves the cart and checkout alone
Cache catalog pages, never the cart, checkout or account pages, which are specific to each customer. Hosting terms for this are covered on our WooCommerce hosting page.
Database and order tables
Slow admin screens on a large store usually trace to the orders table, overloaded queries and plugins that run on every load. Dedicated order tables and tidy queries help.
Images, scripts and Core Web Vitals
Compress and size images correctly, delay scripts the page does not need and keep third-party tags under control. Our speed optimization page covers the method.
How are performance audits conducted?
We reproduce the slow paths on a staging copy, record timings per template, profile queries and plugins, and rank fixes by effect. The audit ends in a written list that you can hand to us or to any developer.
Security, updates and WooCommerce maintenance services
WooCommerce maintenance services keep a store updated without risking a sale. WooCommerce support services add a person who answers when something breaks.
A WooCommerce development environment: local, staging, production
Developers work on a local copy, changes are tested on a staging site that matches production, and only tested code reaches the live store. A WooCommerce development environment set up this way makes updates routine.
Update testing and rollback
Each WooCommerce, WordPress and extension update is applied to staging first, checked against the launch checklist, and released with a way back.
Backups you have actually restored
A backup that has never been restored is a hope. We restore one to staging and check that orders and customers came with it. See our WordPress maintenance and website maintenance pages.
Migrating a store to WooCommerce
To migrate to WooCommerce well, move the data, the URLs and the customers’ trust together. Our ecommerce redesign and replatforming page covers the project in detail; this section lists the WooCommerce-specific points.
Products, customers and orders
Export from the old platform, map fields to WooCommerce’s product types and attributes, and import into staging first. Test customer accounts and order history on a sample.
Redirects and search
Map every old URL to its new home with a permanent redirect, and check the site in search tools after launch. See website migration.
Payment tokens and subscriptions
Whether saved payment methods and active subscriptions can move depends on the old and new payment providers and the extension you use. Confirm it with both providers before choosing a date, and plan a customer message in case cards must be re-entered.
How AI assistants answer questions about WooCommerce development companies
Assistants tend to rely on WooCommerce’s own documentation for facts and on agency pages that state their process, prices and limits. A WooCommerce web development company is easier to quote when its page does both. See our AEO for WordPress page for the method.
Questions store owners ask assistants
Common questions are what a WooCommerce store costs to build, whether to use a plugin or custom code, how many products the platform can handle and who keeps it running. Answer each in plain sentences on your own pages.
Published prices and terms assistants can cite
Published prices, timelines and ownership terms give assistants something definite to repeat. Ours are on the fixed-scope website pricing page.
How to hire a WooCommerce developer or choose a WooCommerce agency
Plan to hire WooCommerce developer help when the work is small and well defined; choose a WooCommerce agency when the project needs design, development, testing and support together. A WooCommerce development agency should show process, not only a portfolio.
Comparing a WooCommerce freelancer with an agency
A freelancer is often faster and cheaper for contained work, but you depend on one person. WooCommerce developers working in an agency cover each other and add testing and project management. An in-house hire suits a store with steady work. A WooCommerce development company USA based or remote can serve you equally well if it works in your time zone for calls.
| Factor | Freelancer | Agency | In-house |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Small, well-defined tasks | New builds and larger projects | Steady, daily store work |
| Cover when someone is away | Usually none | Team covers | Depends on team size |
| Testing and project management | You arrange | Included in scope | You arrange |
| Cost shape | Hourly or per task | Fixed scope or retainer | Salary and overhead |
| Knowledge risk | Leaves with the person | Documented and shared | Leaves with the hire |
Questions to ask a WooCommerce developer
Ask who will write the code, how it is tested, what staging looks like, what happens when WooCommerce ships a major update, and who owns the code. Ask for a reference you can call. Our PHP developers page covers the wider hiring picture.
What you must own
Whoever builds the store, you should own the repository, the hosting account, the admin accounts, the payment accounts, the domain and the analytics.
Product data in a spreadsheet and orders typed into the ERP by hand?Send the systems involved and how often the data changes. You get a free proposal for the sync design, the background jobs and the tests, scoped before any code is written.
How much does WooCommerce development cost?
WooCommerce development cost depends mostly on the size of the catalog, the number of integrations and how much of the checkout is custom. WooCommerce website development cost for a store under 200 SKUs starts from $34,000 with us. Choosing a WooCommerce web development company is easier when the price tiers are on the page.
Our fixed-scope ecommerce prices
These are the published starting points on our website pricing page.
| Build | Price | Timeline | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ecommerce, under 200 SKUs | From $34,000 | 12 to 18 weeks | Catalog, checkout, product schema, analytics |
| Ecommerce with integrations | From $78,000 | 20 to 32 weeks | ERP, PIM or fulfillment integration, data migration |
| Restyle in place | From $4,800 | 3 to 5 weeks | New type, color and imagery on the existing structure |
| Maintenance, optional | $50 to $250 a month | Ongoing | Updates, backups, monitoring for a small site |
What moves the price
The number of SKUs and variations, the integrations, the volume of data to migrate and the amount of custom checkout work.
Plugins and extension work on an existing store
Plugin-only, extension or repair work is quoted after a written scope. We do not bill by the hour for build work; the scope and price are agreed first. See our fixed-scope website pricing.
Get a WooCommerce web development company that writes the scope first
Send the catalog size, the systems the store must connect to and what is slow or broken today. We reply with a free proposal covering the build, the integrations and the price in writing.
Related services
These pages cover the work that sits beside a WooCommerce build.
- WooCommerce SEO
- WooCommerce hosting
- Shopify vs WooCommerce
- Ecommerce development
- Ecommerce web development
- WordPress development company
- Ecommerce website design
- Ecommerce redesign and replatforming
- WordPress maintenance
- Headless WordPress
- Fixed-scope website pricing
- WordPress SEO
- Speed optimization
- API development
- AI integration
- Ecommerce app development
- Product configurator
- Ecommerce email marketing
- Ecommerce marketing
- Conversion rate optimization
- B2B website design
- White label web development
- WordPress outsourcing
- BigCommerce vs Shopify
- WordPress hosting guide
- PHP hosting
- Web development services
Getting found in search
AI, AEO and what is changing
Paid media and lead generation
Websites and design
Choosing and working with an agency
Software and app development
Website design by industry and type
Web development, platforms and hosting
Social, content and brand
By industry and by situation
Frequently asked questions
What does WooCommerce development mean for a business?
What does a WooCommerce store cost to run each month?
Can WooCommerce sell digital downloads?
What are the current PHP requirements for a WooCommerce release?
What happens to our store when WooCommerce ships a major update?
What is included in the $34,000 ecommerce build?
How long is a WooCommerce build from kickoff to launch?
Do you charge by the hour for WooCommerce work?
Should I hire a freelance WooCommerce developer or a WooCommerce development agency?
What should I ask before hiring a WooCommerce web development company?
Do you build custom WooCommerce plugins?
Is the block checkout better than the classic WooCommerce checkout?
What is HPOS in WooCommerce?
Can WooCommerce handle wholesale and B2B pricing?
Can WooCommerce sell subscriptions?
Is it possible to link a WooCommerce store with our ERP system?
Why is a WooCommerce admin slow with many orders?
Can you move my store to WooCommerce from Shopify or Magento?
Can you take over a WooCommerce store another developer built?
Will we own the WooCommerce code you write?
Does WooCommerce development include SEO?
Do you build WooCommerce stores for businesses outside the US?
Store on WooCommerce that needs a checkout nobody has to apologize for?Tell us the platform version, the payment gateways and what the checkout has to do. We reply with a free proposal covering the audit, the checkout work and the staging plan, with the scope and price in writing.
Get a free marketing proposal
Tell us what you are trying to grow and we will come back with a plan, not a pitch deck. Same-day reply on weekdays.