Photo of furniture from lifestyle shoot
Throughout this time, I not only handled all development but also played a key role in design work for every version except the final facelift. I also did the initial studio and lifestyle photography for the site.
Existing website
Originally, the company operated with a simple Squarespace site featuring a basic form that stored submissions in a Google Doc. It had minimal features, analytics, and interactivity. Customers had no way to order online, pay, or even receive immediate feedback—they had to wait for a representative to contact them.
The rental model at the time was limited to three pre-defined furniture packages with minimal customization. Credit checks were conducted manually through Experian, adding another layer of inefficiency.
v2.0: Interactivity & automation
Recognizing the need for a more modern, efficient system, I spearheaded the transition to a WordPress site hosted on Azure. This version introduced significant improvements in performance, SEO, and user experience.
Tech stack: WordPress, WooCommerce, PHP, MySQL, jQuery
Key improvements
- Performance optimizations: Implemented HTTP/2 push, preloading, prefetching, and multiple caching strategies, leading to drastically improved load times.
- Design & responsiveness: While marketing provided rough wire frames, I was responsible for translating them into a sleek, fully responsive website.
- SEO enhancements: Structured data and “rich results” optimization improved search visibility.
Interactive request form
To streamline customer interactions, I developed an interactive web app that replaced the static request form. The new form dynamically adjusted based on user input, reducing back-and-forth and improving the customer experience. Data was submitted to a custom backend API.
Automated credit checks with Experian API
Previously a manual process, I automated credit checks by integrating the Experian API:
- If above a threshold, requests were auto-approved
- If below, they were flagged for manual review by managers
- A custom admin panel allowed managers to review and update request statuses while ensuring private data remained masked
Impact
- Thousands of employee hours saved by automating credit checks
- Improved customer experience with faster request processing
- Reduced operational friction by eliminating unnecessary back-and-forth with customers
v3.0: eCommerce integration
This version introduced eCommerce capabilities, allowing customers to configure packages, add them to a cart, and pay online—marking the company’s first foray into online transactions.
Key features
- WooCommerce customization: Built custom plugins to accommodate package-based pricing and dynamic product configurations
- Braintree API integration: Enabled online payments and subscription functionality via WooCommerce Subscriptions and custom plugins
- Refined credit check system integration: Automated credit checks now linked directly to WooCommerce’s order status system for seamless approval handling
- Location-based ordering: Customers entered their zip code, which was validated against a database to determine if they were in the delivery area and calculate possible extra delivery charges if outside
Additional enhancements
- Custom CSV export functionality for Sage integration
- Admin notices – used to communicate website feature updates/changes/fixes to employees when they logged into the side
- “Blackout dates” plugin allowing each city the ability to prevent customers from selecting a particular delivery date
- used custom taxonomy and was configurable by managers via admin interface
- Improved front-end user experience and interactivity
- Backend refinements to streamline admin processes
v4.0: Full site redesign
The company underwent a full rebrand, requiring a complete site overhaul. This version introduced a new logo, color scheme, fonts, photos, and copy, while maintaining the core functionality.
- While I worked from mockups provided by a designer, I made critical design refinements to ensure responsiveness and usability.
- Functionality enhancements were developed in parallel with the redesign, including a new rental model: rent by the piece.
v5.0: “By the piece” & rent-to-own
This phase introduced a significant shift: customers could now rent individual furniture pieces rather than being locked into pre-defined packages.
Key features
- Flexible ordering: Customers could build custom packages with a minimum monthly spend
- Rent-to-own option: Customers selecting a fixed rental term accumulated payments toward ownership
- Payments were tracked and displayed in emails and the customer portal
- The system dynamically adjusted the final payment to reflect any remaining balance
- Inventory tracking: Items were tied to specific locations, ensuring availability and accurate order fulfillment
Challenges & solutions
- Location-based inventory: Implemented per-city product categories and inventory tracking
- Subscription tracking enhancements: Since WooCommerce Subscriptions didn’t support prorated final payments, I developed a custom solution to handle last-month adjustments
v6.0: Site split & rebranding
Initially, the site was built to handle both “by the package” and “by the piece” offerings. However, the company decided to launch a completely separate brand and website for the new model.
This required:
- Building an entirely new website with a distinct brand identity, design, and user experience
- Migrating and adapting key functionalities from the existing platform
- Ensuring both sites remained optimized and operational simultaneously
All in few month’s timeframe.
Final thoughts
Over four years, I transformed this company’s online presence from a basic Squarespace form to a sophisticated, interactive, multi-site eCommerce platform.
I handled every aspect of development—back-end, front-end, API integrations, performance optimizations, automation, and even significant portions of the design process. Despite juggling multiple other projects for the company during this time, I built, optimized, and scaled the entire system without additional development support.
This project stands as a testament to my ability to architect and execute large-scale, business-critical solutions from the ground up.