Services · 03 · Two routes
E-commerce platforms.
WooCommerce when WordPress is the right home, custom Laravel when it isn't - real product logic either way, and one team that owns it in year five.
WooCommerce when WordPress is the right home for the shop: a custom theme and a short plugin list. Custom Laravel when it isn't: multi-warehouse stock, B2B catalogues, a bespoke checkout. The routing follows the pricing, WooCommerce inside the WordPress range and a custom Laravel storefront inside the platform range, and the same team builds and keeps either. The La Danse store we built in 2015 still sells on the same codebase.
Pick this when
- You sell through a catalogue and need real product logic, not a Shopify theme dressed up.
- Your buyers are B2B - quotes, multi-warehouse, account hierarchies, FacetWP-class filtering.
- You've outgrown a SaaS commerce tool and need to own the code in year five.
There is no single right way to build a shop, so we do not pretend there is. We route the same way the pricing does: WooCommerce when WordPress is already the right home for the rest of the site, custom Laravel when the rules are too specific for WordPress-shaped data. In the first reply we will tell you which one you actually need - and when the honest answer is Shopify, we will tell you that too, and not quote.
WooCommerce, done without the pile
A real WooCommerce build is a custom theme and a short list of trusted plugins - FacetWP for filtering, ACF for structure - not a page-builder with a checkout bolted on. It carries catalogues into the low thousands of SKUs with custom pricing, B2B rules, and integrations to payment, shipping, and ERP.
Custom Laravel when the rules get specific
Multi-warehouse stock, per-account B2B contracts, real-time carrier or ERP integrations, checkout flows that break WooCommerce’s assumptions - that is where a bespoke Laravel storefront earns its budget. Same team, same standards, and a codebase you own outright.
- Scope / budget
- €12-180k
- Per the route - WP or Laravel.
- Timeline
- 5 wk-6 mo
- Per the route.
- Routes
- Two
- WooCommerce or custom Laravel.
- Long haul
- Same team
- Year-five maintenance available.
Sverdrup Steel
Multilingual B2B catalogue for a stainless-steel supplier. Custom WooCommerce theme, FacetWP filtering, in-house steel calculators, signature-PDF archiving, no plugin-pile underneath. Built 2024, still maintained, still the same codebase.
Read the caseWhat we won't do
- Drop Elementor on a starter theme and call it a custom store.
- Wire seven "must-have" plugins, one per feature, and call it integrated.
- Run B2B pricing rules through a no-code form-builder.
Common questions
Why not just use Shopify?
Shopify is a good fit when the catalogue is simple, the buyer is a consumer, and the integrations live inside Shopify’s app store. It’s the wrong fit when you need bespoke pricing rules, multi-warehouse logic, B2B account hierarchies, custom checkout flows, or you’d rather own the code than rent the platform. We’ll tell you when Shopify is the cheaper, simpler answer - and then we won’t quote.
WooCommerce or custom Laravel - how do you decide?
WooCommerce when WordPress is already the right home for the rest of the site, the catalogue is in WP’s range, and FacetWP, ACF and a curated plugin set cover the gap. Custom Laravel when the rules are too specific for WP-shaped data - multi-warehouse stock, B2B contracts with per-account pricing, real-time integrations with ERP or carrier APIs, custom checkout flows that violate WooCommerce’s assumptions. The pricing routes the same way: WooCommerce in the WP range, Laravel storefronts in the platform range.
What about WooCommerce - can you do a real shop?
Yes, for catalogues up to a few thousand SKUs with custom rules - multi-currency, B2B pricing, configurators, integrations with ERP, payment and shipping. Above that, WooCommerce stops being the right tool and we steer you to either headless Woo (Laravel frontend, WP admin) or a different platform entirely. We’ll tell you in the first reply.
Bring us the plan. We'll price it.
If this isn't the right pattern for you, we'll say so in the first reply.