Sound familiar?
- Your WooCommerce admin crawls once you get past a few thousand orders
- A plugin stopped working when you switched on HPOS or the block checkout
- Orders are keyed into Xero or Sage by hand every morning
- Trade customers need their own prices and payment terms
- Your checkout has custom fields that were hacked into the old shortcode checkout
- Thirty WooCommerce plugins, all with renewals, all loading on every page
Key facts
- Since WooCommerce 8.2 (October 2023), High-Performance Order Storage is enabled by default on new stores, per WooCommerce's developer docs
- HPOS moves orders into dedicated tables such as wc_orders and wc_order_addresses, out of wp_posts
- The Cart and Checkout blocks are now the default checkout, so old checkout hooks may not fire
- Integrations use the WooCommerce REST API and signed webhooks (X-WC-Webhook-Signature)
- Background jobs run through Action Scheduler, which ships with WooCommerce
- We wrote WP e-Commerce plugins before WooCommerce existed, including shipping and payment plugins
- Fixed-price quote after a free chat; self-hosted means you own the store and the data
WooCommerce for businesses that want control
WooCommerce suits businesses that want their shop and their content in one place, on hosting they control, with no platform taking a share of the decisions. You own the code and the data, and you can change anything. That freedom is also the risk: a WooCommerce store can become a fragile stack of plugins and theme tweaks that nobody wants to update.
We have been building WordPress ecommerce since before WooCommerce was the default. In the WP e-Commerce era we released a free extra shipping options plugin and wrote a payment gateway, and supported real shops through years of updates. We bring that discipline to WooCommerce: fewer plugins, custom code where it is genuinely needed, and integrations that do the back-office work for you.
HPOS and the block checkout: what changed
Two big changes have reshaped WooCommerce development in recent years.
High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS). WooCommerce's developer documentation states that from version 8.2, released October 2023, HPOS is enabled by default for new installations. Orders move from the general wp_posts and wp_postmeta tables into dedicated tables: wc_orders, wc_order_addresses, wc_order_operational_data and wc_orders_meta. That makes order queries faster on busy stores, but any code that reads order data with get_post_meta() or queries wp_posts directly will break. Older stores have to opt in and migrate.
Cart and Checkout blocks. The block-based checkout is now the default. Custom fields and logic hooked into the old shortcode checkout often do not appear in the block version, which is built on the Store API and has its own extension points.
We migrate stores to HPOS safely: audit plugins for compatibility, run with synchronisation on, check order counts, then switch over. We rewrite custom checkout code for the block checkout where needed.
Extensions and custom features
- Product types and options: made-to-measure products, bundles, configurable items with price rules.
- Shipping: methods based on postcode zones, weight, dimensions or courier rates.
- Payments: gateways using Stripe Payment Intents or other UK providers, confirmed by webhook before an order moves to processing. See payment gateway integration.
- Trade accounts: customer-specific prices, quantity breaks, credit account payment and quick reorder.
- Admin tools: bulk editors, picking lists, custom reports.
Extensions are written as standalone plugins using WooCommerce's CRUD classes, declare HPOS compatibility, and run long jobs through Action Scheduler. See WordPress plugin development.
Connecting WooCommerce to the back office
WooCommerce has a mature REST API (consumer key and secret over HTTPS) and webhooks signed with an HMAC-SHA256 signature in the X-WC-Webhook-Signature header. We use both to connect stores to:
- Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage or KashFlow for invoices, payments and refunds. See accounting software integration.
- Warehouse, ERP or stock systems for two-way stock and order status sync.
- Marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay.
- Courier platforms for labels and tracking.
Every sync verifies webhook signatures, handles duplicate deliveries without creating duplicate records, retries when the other side is down and logs what it did.
Trade pricing and product data
Two jobs come up on almost every WooCommerce project we take on. The first is trade pricing. WooCommerce handles one price per product out of the box; real businesses often need a retail price, a trade price, customer-specific prices for key accounts and quantity breaks. We build that as a single extension that reads prices from your rules or from your ERP, applies them in the cart and checkout, and shows the right figures to logged-in customers, including VAT handling for trade buyers who think in net prices.
The second is product data. Supplier price lists and stock files arrive as CSV, XML or via an API. We write importers that map those fields to your products, apply margin and rounding rules, flag mismatches for a human to check, and run on a schedule through Action Scheduler, so a range update is a supervised import rather than a day of copy and paste.
Speed and starting a project
WooCommerce can be fast, but it needs decent hosting, object caching for busy stores, and care with plugins that load on every page. We profile slow stores, find the queries and plugins that cost the most, and fix those first. For hosting tuned to WordPress and WooCommerce, our sister company dijitul DNS can help.
New shop, rescue job or a single extension, it starts with a free chat and ends with a fixed-price quote for an agreed scope. Tell us about your store.
What we deliver
- New WooCommerce shops or rebuilds on a lean, fast theme
- Custom WooCommerce extensions: product types, shipping, payment, checkout fields
- HPOS migration and plugin compatibility fixes
- Block checkout customisation using the Store API and checkout extension points
- Integrations with accounting, ERP, couriers and marketplaces
- Trade and wholesale pricing, customer groups and account ordering
- Bulk product imports and scheduled supplier stock and price feeds
How it works and what it costs
Every project gets a fixed-price quote after a free initial chat and a short scoping stage. You own the code and the data.
Free chat
Tell us the problem in plain English: what you do now, what goes wrong and what "better" looks like. No charge, no obligation.
Scoping
We map the processes, systems and data involved, agree what is in and out, and write it down so there are no surprises.
Fixed-price quote
You get a fixed price for the agreed scope, or a phased plan for bigger builds, so you can start small and prove it works.
Build and test
We build in short stages you can see and try, test against real data, then go live carefully with a rollback plan.
Hand over and look after
You own the code and the data. We can host it, support it and keep improving it, or hand it to your own team.
Frequently asked questions
What is WooCommerce HPOS and do I need it?
High-Performance Order Storage keeps orders in dedicated database tables instead of the general WordPress posts tables, which speeds up busy stores. It has been the default for new WooCommerce stores since version 8.2. dijitul can audit your plugins for compatibility and migrate an older store safely.
Can you add custom fields to the WooCommerce block checkout?
Yes. The block checkout uses the Store API and its own extension points, so fields added to the old shortcode checkout often do not appear. dijitul rebuilds custom fields and validation for the block checkout, or advises when keeping the classic checkout is the better option.
Can WooCommerce send orders to Xero or Sage automatically?
Yes. dijitul builds integrations that send WooCommerce orders, customers, payments and refunds to Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage or KashFlow via their APIs, with duplicate protection and an activity log your team can check.
Is WooCommerce better than Shopify?
Neither is better for everyone. WooCommerce gives full control and ownership on your own hosting, and suits content-heavy shops and custom requirements. Shopify is hosted and lower maintenance but limits some customisation. dijitul builds on both and will recommend one after hearing what you need.
Our WooCommerce store is slow. Can you fix it?
Usually. We profile the store to find the slow database queries, heavy plugins and hosting limits, then fix the biggest costs first. Common wins include HPOS, object caching, removing unused plugins and loading scripts only where they are needed.
How much does WooCommerce development cost?
We do not publish prices. After a free chat dijitul scopes the work, whether a new store, an extension or an integration, and gives a fixed-price quote. Any later additions are quoted separately before starting.
Related
Tell us what you need to build
Free chat, clear scope, fixed-price quote. You own everything we build.