WooCommerce maintenance and custom improvements for a gluten-free online store

Artichoka Gluten Free came to FlickWeb as an existing WooCommerce store that needed technical stabilization and ongoing development. The website had been built by a previous development team, but several parts of the setup were outdated, incomplete, or no longer compatible with the latest WordPress, WooCommerce, Elementor, and PHP environment.

Because the website is an active online store, the main priority was not a visual redesign, but making sure the store works reliably. Checkout, product availability, product sorting, cart behavior, plugin compatibility, and long-term maintainability all needed attention.

One of the biggest challenges was a custom Elementor plugin created by the previous developers. The plugin included several smaller features and templates that were used across the website, but it had not been properly maintained and did not support the latest Elementor version. Instead of removing the functionality and rebuilding everything from scratch, we reviewed the existing code, updated deprecated parts, improved compatibility, and made the plugin work correctly with the updated Elementor environment.

Another important part of the project was product sorting and stock handling. The client wanted sold-out products to appear at the end of product lists, so customers first see products that are available to buy. The store also had a more complex issue caused by bundle products. When the main product was updated through the client’s stock and invoicing system, the bundle plugin did not correctly update the related bundle product data used for sorting. The product display looked correct, but its position in the sorting order was based on old information.

To solve this, we developed a custom WooCommerce solution that updates bundle product behavior when the main product changes. This helps the store show product availability more accurately, prioritize available products, and reduce confusion caused by outdated sorting data.

We also corrected the cash-on-delivery payment logic. The previous solution handled the additional cash-on-delivery cost as a separate shipping option instead of applying it as a fee when the customer selected cash on delivery. This created duplicated shipping options and unreliable checkout behavior. We replaced that approach with a custom fix that applies the logic more correctly inside the checkout flow.

The cart experience was improved as well. When a product in the cart is sold out, the warning is now clearer and the unavailable product is easier to identify. This helps customers understand what needs to be removed before they can continue with the order.

Today, Artichoka Gluten Free has a more stable WooCommerce foundation, an updated technical setup, improved product availability handling, better checkout logic, clearer cart behavior, and an ongoing development partner for future improvements.

The main challenge was taking over an active WooCommerce store with a technical setup that had not been properly maintained for several years. WordPress, WooCommerce, Elementor, plugins, and the PHP environment were outdated, which created compatibility risks and made future development harder.

The custom Elementor plugin from the previous development team was one of the most important technical issues. It included custom functionality and reusable templates used throughout the website, but it had not been updated to support newer Elementor versions. This created a risk that future updates could break important parts of the website.

Another major challenge was the way product sorting and stock information behaved. For a food eCommerce store with many products, customers need to quickly see what is available. The client wanted sold-out products to be sorted at the end of product lists, but bundle product data was not being updated correctly when parent products changed through the external stock and invoicing system. This created a situation where the product itself displayed correctly, but its sorting position was based on outdated data.

The checkout also had incorrect logic for cash-on-delivery payments. Instead of adding a cash-on-delivery fee when the payment method was selected, the previous solution duplicated shipping methods. This made the checkout more confusing and less reliable.

The project required careful technical work because the store was live and actively receiving orders. Updates needed to be tested on staging first, confirmed, and only then moved to production.

The main goal was to stabilize and improve an existing WooCommerce store without rebuilding it from scratch.

The website needed to be updated after several years without proper maintenance. This included WordPress, WooCommerce, Elementor, plugins, and the PHP version, which was no longer supported. The goal was to bring the technical foundation closer to a safer, more maintainable state while preserving the existing store structure.

Another key goal was to fix the custom Elementor plugin built by the previous development team. The plugin still supported important parts of the website, so the goal was to update and improve the code instead of removing functionality the client still needed.

The project also needed to improve product availability handling. In-stock products should be easier for customers to find, while sold-out products should be clearly marked and sorted lower in product lists. This was especially important because the store uses bundle products and stock data connected to the client’s stock and invoicing workflow.

Checkout reliability was another important goal. Cash-on-delivery payments needed to work through correct checkout logic, without duplicated or confusing shipping options.

Finally, the client needed an ongoing development partner. Artichoka Gluten Free continues to evolve, and FlickWeb actively supports new functionality, technical improvements, and maintenance based on the client’s needs.

We started by reviewing the existing WooCommerce setup and identifying the areas that needed the most urgent technical attention. Because the website was outdated, larger updates were first tested on a staging environment. After confirming that the update-related issues were resolved, the changes were moved to production.

The WordPress, WooCommerce, Elementor, plugin, and PHP environment was updated to improve compatibility, security, and maintainability. Since the site relied heavily on Elementor, the update process required additional care.

A key part of the solution was improving the custom Elementor plugin created by the previous developers. The plugin contained multiple smaller features and templates used on the site, but it was not compatible with the latest Elementor version. We updated the code, removed or replaced deprecated functionality, fixed compatibility issues, and made the plugin usable within the updated setup.

For product sorting, we implemented custom WooCommerce logic to make sold-out products appear at the end of product lists. This gives customers a clearer browsing experience because available products are prioritized.

We also fixed the deeper bundle product issue. The store uses a stock and invoicing system to update products, but the bundle plugin did not correctly update bundle product data after parent products changed. We developed a custom solution that corrects this behavior, so bundle-related sorting data stays aligned with updated product information.

The checkout was improved by correcting the cash-on-delivery payment logic. The previous approach used separate shipping methods for the additional cash-on-delivery cost, which created duplicated options and unreliable behavior. We replaced this with a custom fix that applies the additional cost as payment-related logic instead.

The cart experience was also improved. When a product in the cart becomes unavailable, the cart now makes this more visible with a clearer warning. Customers can immediately understand which product is sold out and remove it before continuing.

The result is a more reliable WooCommerce store with a cleaner technical foundation and a development setup that can continue evolving over time.

Artichoka Gluten Free now has a more stable and maintainable WooCommerce store.

The technical foundation has been updated after several years without proper maintenance, including the WordPress, WooCommerce, Elementor, plugin, and PHP environment. The custom Elementor plugin created by the previous developers was improved instead of abandoned, allowing the website to keep important functionality while becoming compatible with newer Elementor versions.

Product browsing is now more reliable. Sold-out products can be pushed to the end of product lists, available products are easier to find, and bundle product sorting behaves more accurately after product updates from the stock and invoicing workflow.

The checkout experience is also cleaner. Cash-on-delivery logic was rebuilt correctly, removing the need for duplicated shipping options and making the checkout flow more consistent.

The cart experience now gives customers clearer feedback when an item becomes unavailable. This helps reduce confusion and makes it easier for customers to understand what needs to be changed before completing an order.

Most importantly, Artichoka Gluten Free now has an active development partner. FlickWeb continues to support the store with updates, fixes, new functionality, backups, staging-based changes, and ongoing WooCommerce improvements.

This project shows how valuable technical maintenance can be for an active online store. Not every project needs a full redesign. Sometimes the most important work is stabilizing the existing system, fixing the hidden logic, improving compatibility, and making sure the store can continue selling reliably.