WooCommerce or Shopify: how to choose well
Both platforms are good. The wrong one is expensive. Here is the decision framework we use in discovery, including the three questions that settle it more often than any feature comparison.
Web development & ecommerce agency
Websites built to perform. Support you can rely on.
DEVIEC designs, develops and improves high-performing websites, ecommerce stores and custom web solutions for businesses worldwide — backed by 14 years of hands-on development experience.
- WordPress
- WooCommerce
- Shopify
- Laravel
- Custom PHP
14 years
of hands-on delivery across rebuilds, rescue work and ecommerce projects
Worldwide
clear communication, scoped milestones and support that carries beyond launch
- New builds, redesigns and rescue work on existing sites
- WordPress, WooCommerce, Shopify and custom PHP
- Senior technical ownership from first call to launch
- Ongoing care once the site is live
- 14 years
- of hands-on development experience
- Worldwide
- clients supported across time zones
- 6
- core services, from new builds to ongoing care
What DEVIEC does
What does DEVIEC do?
DEVIEC is a web development and ecommerce agency for small and mid-sized organisations. We build new websites and online stores, redesign sites that no longer perform, fix sites that are slow, broken or hard to manage, and build custom applications, plugins and integrations. We work on WordPress, WooCommerce, Shopify, OpenCart, Laravel, CodeIgniter and plain PHP, and we choose the platform to suit the job rather than the other way round.
- Fourteen years of practical development experience behind every engagement
- One senior developer accountable for your project from discovery to launch
- Clear scope, defined milestones and a working site you can actually maintain
Outcomes
What a DEVIEC engagement is meant to change
Technology is the means, not the point. Every project starts from the commercial result it has to produce.
-
Generate more enquiries
Clear journeys, persuasive service pages and calls to action placed where a visitor is actually ready to act.
-
Sell with confidence
Ecommerce that handles payments, shipping, stock and business integrations without daily firefighting.
-
Fix what holds you back
Structured diagnosis for sites that are slow, broken, insecure or impossible to update.
-
Grow without rebuilding
Maintainable foundations, clean handover and ongoing improvement, so the next change is not another rebuild.
Core services
Six ways we usually get involved
Most engagements start as one of these and grow from there. Each page explains who it suits, what it includes and how the work runs.
-
WordPress development
Custom themes and lean, plugin-light builds that your team can edit without breaking the layout.
Explore WordPress development -
Ecommerce development
WooCommerce and Shopify stores designed around conversion, fulfilment and the way you actually trade.
Explore ecommerce development -
Custom web development
Portals, dashboards, integrations and applications in Laravel, CodeIgniter and plain PHP.
Explore custom development -
Website redesign
A structured rebuild of a site that looks dated, converts poorly or has outgrown its original scope.
Explore website redesign -
Website fixes & optimisation
Diagnosis and prioritised repair for broken, slow, insecure or unstable websites.
Explore website fixes -
Maintenance & support
Updates, backups, monitoring, security checks and monthly improvement time after launch.
Explore maintenance
Industry expertise
Built around how your business works
A dental practice, a plumbing company and a car rental operator all need a website — but they need different things from it.
We start with the way enquiries actually reach you: a referral form, a quote request, a phone call at seven in the morning, a booking made on a phone in a car park. The structure of the site follows from that, not from a template.
Industry knowledge shapes the brief. It does not replace proof of delivery, and we will always tell you where our direct experience in your sector ends.
- Healthcare: NDIS providers and dental practices
- Trades: builders, tradies, plumbers and HVAC
- Professional services: accountants and law firms
- Property, hospitality and travel: real estate, restaurants, tourism and car rental
Fourteen years of practice
Not a first attempt at your problem. Patterns we have seen fail before, and the ones that hold up.
Senior technical ownership
The person who scopes the work is the person who builds it. Nothing is handed down to be guessed at.
Platform-neutral advice
We are not paid to recommend a platform. If WooCommerce is wrong for you, we will say Shopify.
Why DEVIEC
What you get that a marketplace developer will not give you
-
Clear scope and milestones
Defined deliverables, stated exclusions and a change process agreed before work starts.
-
Accessible and responsive by default
Keyboard operation, sensible contrast and usable layouts from 320 pixels upward are part of the build, not an extra.
-
Support after launch
Updates, monitoring and improvement time, so the site keeps working once the project ends.
How it runs
Six stages, no surprises
The same sequence whether you are building a five-page site or migrating a store with two thousand products. What changes is the depth of each stage.
-
01
Discover
What business result must this achieve, who uses it, what exists now and what is failing.
A written brief and a recommended approach
-
02
Plan
Structure, page inventory, integrations, content responsibilities and a milestone schedule.
Scope, exclusions and timeline
-
03
Design
Layouts for the templates that matter, resolved on mobile first and reviewed before any build work starts.
Approved key templates
-
04
Build
Development against the agreed scope, with a staging URL you can look at throughout.
A feature-complete staging site
-
05
Test & launch
Content, forms, responsive behaviour, accessibility, performance, security and redirects.
A verified production launch
-
06
Improve
Post-launch review against real data, then ongoing care or a planned next phase.
A prioritised improvement list
Insights
Practical guides from the work
Written from projects, not from keyword lists.
-
-
Why your WordPress site is slow, and how to find out
Installing another caching plugin is the most common response to a slow WordPress site and one of the least effective. Here is how to find the actual cause, in the order the causes usually occur.
-
What a website rescue diagnostic actually includes
When a site is broken, slow or compromised, the temptation is to start fixing. That is usually the expensive route. Here is what a structured diagnostic covers and why it is charged as its own piece of work.
Common questions
Before you get in touch
Do you only work on WordPress?
No. WordPress and WooCommerce are the largest part of what we do, but we also build on Shopify and OpenCart, and we develop custom applications in Laravel, CodeIgniter and plain PHP. The platform is a decision we make with you during discovery, based on what the site has to do and who will maintain it.
Will you take on a site somebody else built?
Yes. Inherited sites are a large part of our work. We start with a paid diagnostic so that we are reading the actual code, hosting and database rather than guessing, and you get a prioritised list of what is wrong and what it will take to fix. You are free to take that list elsewhere.
How do you handle projects across time zones?
We work with organisations in several regions. Written scope, a shared staging URL and asynchronous updates do most of the work, with scheduled calls at a time that suits you for the decisions that genuinely need a conversation.
What do you need from us to start?
A clear statement of the business result you want, access to the current site and hosting if one exists, and one person on your side who can approve scope and content. Missing content is normal at the start; what matters is knowing who is responsible for producing it.
Do you provide hosting?
We can advise on hosting and set the site up on a host appropriate to its traffic and complexity, and we offer support and maintenance once it is live. Hosting arrangements are agreed per project rather than bundled by default, so you keep ownership of your own accounts.
Where to next
Start where your problem is
-
Something is broken
The site is down, slow, hacked or throwing errors, and you need a diagnosis rather than a sales pitch.
Website fixes -
It works, but it is not selling
The site functions and looks dated, converts poorly and no longer reflects how the business operates.
Website redesign -
You need something built
A new site, a new store, or a system that no off-the-shelf product handles properly.
Custom development
Tell us what you are trying to fix or build
Describe the goal and the current problem. You will get a straight answer on whether we are the right fit and what we would do first.