Websites & commerce
Websites and online stores, built to the same standard as our software
Websites and online stores on WordPress, WooCommerce, Shopify, Squarespace or Wix, or a custom front end when a platform won’t do. The platform is recommended in writing, then the site is built with the same performance budgets, testing and documentation as our software, so it stays fast and easy to change.
- Typical timeline
- Several weeks for most sitesLonger for stores with integrations or migrations
- How it’s quoted
- IndividuallyAfter a 30-minute call
- Who edits it
- Your teamIn the platform’s own editor, with a written guide we leave behind
- Stack
- Chosen per projectWordPress, WooCommerce, Shopify, Squarespace, Wix or a custom front end
In your name Accounts and repositories, from day one Yours The code and documentation, under the signed agreement
On this page
Is it the right call?
When it’s the right call
- Your team needs to publish and update without waiting on a developer
- Your content and catalog fit a proven platform with room to grow
- The site has to connect to real systems, such as a CRM, inventory or a product API
- An existing site is slow, hard to edit or failing accessibility checks
When it isn’t
- Customers need to log in, manage accounts or run workflows inside the site We’d suggest: A custom web app
- The core of the product is an experience people carry on their phone We’d suggest: A mobile app for iOS and Android
Sound like you? The first step is a 30-minute scoping call with the engineer who would lead the work.Request a scoping call
Standard equipment
What we usually hand over on a project like this. Your proposal lists exactly what’s included.
- WordPress
- WooCommerce
- Shopify
- Squarespace
- Wix Studio
- PHP
- JavaScript
- SCSS
Platform recommendation
A short written comparison of the options for your case, and the reasons one wins.
Production site or store
Built on accounts you own, with templates and components shaped around your content.
Integrations
Connections to your CRM, inventory, ERP or product API, built and logged like our software.
Accessibility and performance report
Results from testing against WCAG 2.2 AA and Core Web Vitals budgets at launch.
Editing guide
Plain-language instructions for the updates your team will make most often.
Analytics and consent setup
Measurement that respects consent choices, configured and documented.
Platforms we engineer on
WordPress
A WordPress site your editors enjoy using, built on code you can read, test and maintain.
WooCommerce
A store you own outright, wired into the inventory, shipping and accounting systems you already use.
Squarespace
A site your team updates in minutes, with structure, accessibility and code extensions done properly from the start.
Wix & Wix Studio
A Wix site your team edits visually, with custom code doing the work the editor cannot.
Shopify
No separate page: Shopify work is held to the same standard as the platforms above, and the questions below set out what it covers.Ask about Shopify
What we build
Marketing sites, content-heavy publications and online stores, on the platform that fits the people who run them. The platform changes. The standard does not.
Engineering, not templates
Platform work is still engineering. We write custom WordPress blocks and PHP plugins, connect WooCommerce and Shopify stores to inventory and shipping systems, extend Wix with Velo code, and migrate sites between platforms with redirects and metadata mapped to protect search rankings. When the site has to talk to real systems, such as inventory, a CRM, an ERP or a product API, we build those integrations the same way we build software.
We also move WordPress sites and WooCommerce stores off PHP versions that no longer get security fixes, tested on staging first. PHP 8.2 end of life: what to do before 2027 →
Planning a launch page? We measured a carmaker’s reveal-day page on a phone and wrote down what to copy and what to avoid. What a reveal-day page has to do →
When you outgrow the platform
Where a platform stops fitting, we say so and recommend what comes next, often a custom application behind the same site. When a site needs accounts and workflows: custom web apps →
Questions about websites and stores
Which platform should our website be on?
The right platform depends on who edits the site and what it has to connect to. Squarespace or Wix suit small teams who want to edit everything themselves. WordPress suits sites with structured content, many editors or integrations. WooCommerce suits stores that sync with inventory or accounting, and Shopify suits stores that want commerce hosting and checkout handled for them. When no platform fits, a custom front end does.
Do you build on Shopify?
Yes. We build new Shopify stores and custom themes, custom apps and integrations with your ERP, CRM or fulfillment systems, and migrations to and from Shopify. After launch we provide ongoing support, held to the same performance, accessibility and documentation standard as the rest of our work.
How long does a new website take?
Several weeks for most sites, depending mostly on how ready the content is. Stores with integrations, and migrations from another platform, take longer, often a couple of months. The proposal sets out the timeline in writing, and you review the site on a staging address before anything goes live.
Can you redesign our site without losing search rankings?
Yes, in most cases we can redesign a site without losing search rankings. We crawl the current site, map every old URL to its new home with permanent redirects, and carry over titles, descriptions and structured data. Rankings can shift for a few weeks after any launch, so we monitor Search Console and resolve issues as they appear.
Will our new website meet accessibility standards?
We build to WCAG 2.2 AA and test every site against it before launch, with automated checks and manual keyboard and screen-reader passes, and you get the results in writing. On closed platforms such as Squarespace and Wix, a few built-in components are outside our control, so we document those limits instead of claiming more than the platform allows. What’s tested is set out in your proposal.
Who owns the website, the domain and the hosting accounts?
The domain, hosting, platform subscription and analytics are set up in your organization’s name from the start, and any code we write is yours under the signed agreement. We work through invited access you can remove at any time, so if you move to another team later, nothing has to be transferred back from us.
Every build, any stack
One standard.
Performance
A performance budget is set before launch and enforced on every change.
Accessibility
Built to WCAG 2.2 AA and tested against it, with automated checks and manual keyboard and screen-reader passes on client builds.
Security
Least-privilege access, secrets kept out of code, dependencies monitored and security headers configured.
Handover
Accounts and repositories in your name from day one. The code and documentation are yours under the signed agreement, written so another team could take over.
Start a project
Tell us what you’re building.
We reply within one business day, with questions or a time to talk.
Pittsburgh, PA · Since 2015 · First step: a 30-minute call