August 6, 2025
5 mins
builtmighty
Starting a WooCommerce project is exciting—you’re taking your business online or giving it a major upgrade. But after working with hundreds of clients across every industry imaginable, we’ve learned that the most successful projects happen when everyone’s on the same page from day one.
Think of this as our friendly guide to what really happens when you work with a WooCommerce agency. We’re not trying to scare you off (we love what we do!), but we want to make sure your project runs smoothly and delivers exactly what you need.
Table of Contents
Here’s something that might surprise you: building a WooCommerce site isn’t just a technical project. It’s a business transformation project that happens to involve technology.
We’re not just moving products from a spreadsheet to a website. We’re helping you think through how customers will discover your products, how they’ll navigate your catalog, how you’ll handle returns, what happens when inventory runs low, and dozens of other business processes that need to work seamlessly together.
What this means for you: Come prepared to dive deep into your business operations. The more we understand how you work, the better we can build something that actually supports your goals.
Let’s talk about something that catches many clients off guard: how agency pricing actually works.
We provide detailed estimates because we want you to understand the scope and budget for your project. But here’s the reality—we charge for the actual work we do, hour by hour. Think of our estimates like a GPS route: it’s our best prediction of the journey ahead, but sometimes there’s construction, traffic, or a better path that emerges along the way.
This isn’t because we’re trying to inflate costs. It’s because every business is unique, and we often discover requirements that weren’t apparent during initial planning. Maybe your product data needs more cleanup than expected. Maybe you realize you need an integration with a system you forgot to mention. Maybe your payment processor has specific requirements we need to accommodate.
What this means for you: Budget some flexibility into your project timeline and costs. The clients who have the smoothest experience are those who understand that good work takes the time it takes.
One of the biggest misconceptions we see is that clients think they can hand off everything to us and check back in when it’s done. But the most successful projects are true partnerships.
We need you to:
What this means for you: Plan to be actively involved throughout the project. Block out time for reviews, feedback sessions, and testing. The more engaged you are, the better your final result will be.
“We just need a simple online store” is something we hear a lot. But when we start digging, we discover you need to sync with your existing inventory management system, connect to your accounting software, integrate with your email marketing platform, and maybe even connect to a fulfillment service.
WooCommerce is incredibly flexible, but making it play nicely with your existing business systems often requires custom development. This is where a lot of those “simple” projects become more complex.
What this means for you: Make a list of every system and service your business uses before your first meeting with us. Include things like:
The more we know upfront, the better we can plan for integrations.
Everyone knows their site needs to work on mobile devices. But there’s a big difference between a site that technically works on mobile and one that provides a great mobile shopping experience.
We build all our sites to be truly mobile-optimized, but this requires thinking through the entire customer journey on a small screen. How do customers browse categories? How do they compare products? How easy is checkout with just their thumbs?
What this means for you: Know if your customers prefer desktop or mobile. Spending money in the right place is a better investment.
This isn’t a “set it and forget it” situation. WordPress and WooCommerce receive regular updates that include security patches and new features. Your hosting environment needs monitoring. Your backups need to be tested. Performance needs to be optimized as your product catalog grows.
Some clients are surprised when we recommend ongoing maintenance plans, but think of it like a car—it runs great when properly maintained, but neglect it and you’ll eventually have problems.
What this means for you: Factor ongoing maintenance into your budget from day one. It’s much less expensive to prevent problems than to fix them after they break your site.
We’ve seen projects stall for months because clients keep tweaking product descriptions, can’t decide between two shades of blue, or want to add “just one more feature” before launch.
Here’s the truth: your first version doesn’t need to be perfect. It needs to be functional, secure, and ready for customers. You can always improve things after launch (and you will, based on real customer feedback rather than guesswork).
What this means for you: Set a “good enough” threshold for launch. You can always iterate and improve once you have real customer data to guide your decisions.
The projects that go smoothest are the ones where we establish clear communication patterns from the start. We like to use project management tools that keep everyone in the loop, have regular check-in calls, and document decisions as we make them.
But communication goes both ways. If something’s bothering you, speak up early. If you’re not sure about a recommendation we’ve made, ask questions. If your business priorities shift, let us know so we can adjust accordingly.
What this means for you: Designate one person from your team as the primary point of contact for the project. Make sure they have authority to make decisions and access to all the information we need.
Getting your WooCommerce site live is a major milestone, but it’s not the finish line. That’s when the real work begins—driving traffic, optimizing conversions, analyzing customer behavior, and continuously improving the experience.
Many of our most successful clients treat launch as “version 1.0” and immediately start planning version 2.0 based on what they learn from real customers.
What this means for you: Think beyond launch day. Have a plan for marketing your new site, analyzing its performance, and making improvements based on real data.
Working with an agency should feel like gaining a team of experts who care about your success. We’re not just vendors executing a work order—we’re partners invested in helping your business grow.
The best client relationships we have are built on mutual respect, clear communication, and shared commitment to creating something great. We bring technical expertise and e-commerce experience. You bring deep knowledge of your business and customers.
When that partnership works well, the results speak for themselves.
If all of this sounds reasonable to you, you’re probably going to be a great client to work with. WooCommerce projects can be incredibly rewarding when everyone understands what they’re getting into.
Have questions about anything we’ve covered here? Want to talk about your specific project? We’d love to hear from you. The best projects start with honest conversations about goals, expectations, and how we can work together to make your e-commerce vision a reality.
Ready to discuss your WooCommerce project? Contact us to set up a consultation and start planning your success.
2025-07-29 
4 mins 
Jack 
2025-08-07
4 mins
builtmighty Whether you're kicking off a new project or looking to improve your current site, we're here to make it happen. Let’s build something that not only works for your business but helps it grow.
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206-806-7809
Headquarters
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110, US
We’ve built more websites than the hairs on Peter’s head 😎
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