Geek Culture
Custom WooCommerce
Development
Custom WooCommerce
Development
WooCommerce Customised for B2B Ordering Website
Geek Culture Distribution imports a variety of games and accessories in the sci-fi and fantasy genres. Through a spellbinding combination of expertise and digital wizardry, Hart Design has conjured a custom WooCommerce B2B ordering website that once seemed like something from the realms of science fiction for Geek Culture.
A wholesaler that sells to over 100 retailers around New Zealand, they came to Hart Design seeking a reliable web platform capable of handling the demands of their customers. Specifically, we have built for Geek Culture a product catalogue visible to the public, yet the online ordering portal is locked down to their approved customers only. The portal allows customers to place orders while easily navigating their vast product range quickly. Orders generated online automatically connect to their preferred accounting platform, Xero. The web design project included two purpose-built WooCommerce plugins developed to fit Geek Culture’s needs.
Speedy, reliable eCommerce for B2B
Geek Culture had an online ordering website built for them pre-Covid. However, the website failed to meet even the most fundamental requirements. It was clunky and difficult for their customers to use. The old website’s performance was extremely slow and laggy. Plus, it was a challenge to update their ever-evolving product range. The site was so poor that many of their customers simply refused to use it.
Hart Design proposed using WooCommerce to solve their issues. Originally designed as a B2C e-commerce platform for WordPress, WooCommerce can be modified to meet the demands of B2B businesses, too. There is no upper limit to the number of products it can handle, it is easy to manage, and when built right and hosted on a well-spec’d environment, there are no issues with performance or speed.
Custom Built Plug-ins for WooCommerce
Geek Culture identified two unique functions that they wanted from their B2B ordering website. Firstly, they wanted to provide a snapshot of details for the products that a customer had purchased previously. We designed and built a custom WooCommerce plugin that added an icon to each qualifying product at the Catalogue level. This provides a visual cue for customers to hone in on items they’ve bought before quickly. On the product page itself, the customer can view their recent order history for the item, including date and quantity information, and links to view their corresponding past orders.
Secondly, as a wholesaler, they wanted to sell items in bulk. Geek Culture had some specific requirements for this feature that meant that the available off-the-shelf WooCommerce bulk buying plugins, let alone the out-of-the-box functionality, didn’t satisfy their stipulations. Again, our web development team designed and built a custom WooCommerce bulk buying plugin that was perfectly tuned to answer their needs
Xero integration for WooCommerce
There is a commercially available plugin that provides an integration between WooCommerce and Xero. When an order is placed on your website, the order details, including customer details as well as product information, are passed through to your Xero account. An invoice is automatically drafted for you in Xero. From here, your dispatch team can check and fulfil the order, and your accounting department has the information at their fingertips, making their job easier. There is no need to copy order details from an email into Xero manually or to create invoices from scratch. Additionally, as units are sold in WooCommerce, the orders can automatically reduce stock levels held in Xero.
Problem-solving through custom WooCommerce development
B2B e-commerce has a surprising array of unique challenges from one business to the next. Each project we encounter is in some way different from the rest. Our creative team of web developers is always open to taking on the individual demands of Kiwi businesses. We welcome the opportunity to create custom WooCommerce solutions to meet your specifications.
If you have tried to launch an online ordering website, but it hasn’t quite answered the brief, reach out to Hart Design. Our web designers are adept problem solvers and are motivated to craft unique e-commerce websites that revolutionise how you sell to your customers.