Hire a WooCommerce developer who can run a store, not just style one

What makes WooCommerce hiring different

WooCommerce is a free plugin, so the build fee is rarely the biggest cost. The running costs are: hosting that can handle checkout traffic, paid extensions, payment fees and the time to keep everything updated. A developer who ignores these will hand you a store that looks fine on launch day and struggles under load.

WooCommerce also gives you freedom. You can change nearly anything, from the checkout fields to the way shipping rates are worked out. That freedom needs someone who knows when to write code and when to use an existing extension.

Where the real work is

Tax and consumer rules differ by country. Check with your accountant or the relevant regulator, and ask the developer to show how the store handles your markets.

Ask the developer to show a test order on a staging copy of a store they built. Seeing the order email, the stock change and the refund in one sitting tells you more than any portfolio page. It also shows whether they work carefully or only fast.

Freelancer, agency or in-house for a store

If you are choosing between platforms, our Shopify vs WooCommerce guide and WooCommerce vs Magento guide set out the differences.

Before you hire: five checks

1. Ask for live storesBrowse them on a phone. Add a product, go to checkout and look at speed and error messages.
2. Ask about extensionsGet a list with price, renewal date and what each does. Prefer fewer, well-supported ones.
3. Ask about hostingWooCommerce needs more resources than a brochure site. The developer should recommend a plan and say why.
4. Ask about security and compliancePayment details should be handled by the gateway, not stored on your server. The store should use HTTPS everywhere.
5. Ask about the handoverYou need admin logins, license keys in your name, a backup plan and a note on how to run an update safely.

Interview questions

1. How do you test checkout, refunds and failed payments before launch?
2. How would you move our products and customers from our current store?
3. What is your approach to caching without breaking the cart?
4. Which extensions do you avoid, and what do you do instead?
5. How do you handle stock for products with many variations?
6. What do you do when an update breaks a payment gateway?
7. How do you keep order and customer data safe during development?

How hiring Liftup works

Liftup Technologies builds WooCommerce stores and also works on Shopify. Our head office is in Pune, with offices in Coventry and New York, and we work remotely in your hours.

You describe the catalog, payment methods and shipping rules on a short call. You get a fixed quote within one working day, one lead for the whole project and a demo each week. The store and its licenses are in your name. We charge $30 an hour, and projects start at $1,500.

See our ecommerce solutions and the ecommerce website cost guide, or contact us. Other roles are listed on our hire page.