WordPress/WooCommerce Technical Specialist for Existing Sites

WordPress/WooCommerce Technical Support — Preliminary Estimate Request Hi, I am preparing a website renewal project for an established education business with two existing WordPress websites that use WooCommerce for registration/payment. The client wants to keep the two websites separate and preserve the existing registration/payment system, which is currently working well. My team will handle the website strategy, information architecture, content organization, design, copywriting, and all front-end page building. I am looking for an experienced WordPress/WooCommerce specialist to handle only the technical portions that require deeper WordPress/WooCommerce expertise. The two public websites are: * shareworld.org * shareworldlearning.com At this stage, I do not have backend access available for subcontractors. I understand that a firm technical quote is therefore not possible yet. I am requesting a preliminary budget range based on the public websites, your experience with comparable WooCommerce sites, and the limited technical scope below. Based on our own public-site review, we have identified a few possible technical elements that may be relevant. These should be treated as **unverified observations, not confirmed backend facts**: * A custom post type or profile structure associated with instructor/counselor content, possibly using the name “speaker” * A multilingual/Chinese-language layer, possibly using WPML, Polylang, or a similar system * Existing WooCommerce-based registration/payment functionality that the client wants preserved Please use these only to inform your preliminary estimate and confirm the actual implementation later if backend access is provided. ### Technical Scope **1. Initial Technical Review** Once backend access becomes available: * Review the existing WordPress/WooCommerce configuration * Review the active theme/child theme and relevant plugins * Identify custom code, functions, hooks, or custom post types that could affect the redesign * Confirm how the instructor/counselor profile structure is implemented * Identify multilingual plugin configuration and any theme-dependent translation setup * Identify dependencies that could affect registration, checkout, payment, customer/order data, or other important functionality * Identify outdated or incompatible components that could materially affect the project **2. Staging / Clone Setup** * Create or assist with a safe staging/clone environment for each website * Confirm appropriate backup and restore procedures * Ensure development work can be performed without affecting the live websites * Identify any hosting/staging limitations that could affect development or deployment **3. Functional WooCommerce Technical Review During the Build** After our team completes **all design, styling, and page-building work**: * Review the completed build for WooCommerce-related functional conflicts * Identify and correct functional problems such as broken cart/checkout behavior, PHP errors, plugin incompatibilities, or WooCommerce template/functionality issues * Review product/registration, cart, checkout, customer account, and related WooCommerce functionality as necessary * Review relevant custom WooCommerce functionality that must be preserved Our team will remain responsible for visual/CSS polish and normal template styling. Please do not include general visual refinement or front-end design work in your estimate unless a technical issue is directly blocking required WooCommerce functionality. **4. Checkout / Payment Technical QA** * Test the registration and checkout flow * Verify that existing payment functionality remains operational * Verify relevant order processing and transactional email behavior * Check for technical errors caused by the redesign * Confirm that the existing working payment/registration process has not been unintentionally changed **5. Production Deployment / Cutover** * Create a final backup before deployment * Safely deploy the approved website renewal * Protect current WooCommerce orders, customer data, and other live transactional data during deployment * Avoid overwriting newer live transactional data with an older staging database * Provide a rollback plan * Perform final technical checks after launch **6. Optional Post-Launch Technical Support** Please price this separately from the core technical estimate. * Address technical problems caused by deployment during an initial post-launch period * Please state the suggested post-launch period, included hours, and estimated cost ### Work Our Team Will Handle Please **do not include** the following in your technical estimate: * Website strategy * Information architecture * Website design * Copywriting * Content organization and cleanup * General content entry * Page building * CSS/visual polish unless directly required to restore broken functionality * Client communication * General project management Our goal is to use the specialist only where deeper WordPress/WooCommerce technical expertise is genuinely required. ### Preliminary Estimate Requested Please provide: 1. Your hourly rate. 2. Estimated technical hours and/or cost range for the first/larger website. 3. Estimated additional technical hours/cost for the second website. 4. Estimated combined technical cost range for both websites. 5. For each numbered scope item above, please indicate whether you would propose: * fixed fee, or * hourly work. 6. Where hourly work is required, please indicate whether you could work with a **not-to-exceed cap**. 7. We would expect items 1, 2, 4, and 5 to potentially be suitable for fixed pricing, with item 3 being the primary variable/hourly component. Please confirm or challenge that assumption based on your experience. 8. What backend access, hosting access, payment-system information, or other information you would eventually need before providing a firm technical quote. 9. Please separately identify anything that **cannot reasonably be estimated until backend access is available**, rather than including a large unspecified contingency in the base estimate. 10. Please identify technical conditions that could materially increase the cost after backend review, such as significant custom code, theme-dependent functionality, custom post types, multilingual dependencies, outdated software, unusual WooCommerce customization, hosting limitations, database issues, or other dependencies. 11. For those potential issues, please provide a **rough additional hour/cost range where reasonably possible**, so we can understand the potential financial exposure. 12. Please identify anything you believe may be required for the **safe completion of this project that is not included in your estimate**. 13. Please identify all expected **third-party costs that are not included in your labor estimate**, if applicable. This may include premium plugins or licenses, hosting/staging upgrades, backup services, migration tools, software, or other required services. 14. Please clarify whether your deployment estimate includes protection of new WooCommerce orders/customer data created on the live website while development is occurring on staging. 15. Please clarify whether backup, rollback preparation, final checkout/payment verification, and immediate post-launch technical checks are included in your estimate. 16. Please indicate whether, if selected, you would be willing to work under an agreed technical scope and **not-to-exceed budget**, with any work beyond the approved scope or budget requiring written approval before proceeding. 17. Please describe your experience preserving an existing WooCommerce registration/checkout/payment system while the front end of a live website is redesigned. 18. Please describe your experience deploying staging changes to an active WooCommerce site while protecting newer live orders and customer data. ### Important This is currently a **preliminary subcontractor budgeting request only** and is not authorization to begin work. If the client proceeds, the selected specialist will receive appropriate backend information/access for technical verification and a final technical scope. We understand that previously unknown backend conditions may affect the final scope. Our purpose at this stage is to establish a realistic technical budget and identify the major potential cost variables before committing to the overall client project. If an unexpected technical condition is discovered later, we would expect the issue, recommended solution, estimated additional hours/cost, and project impact to be communicated **before additional work is performed**. This request is shared on the condition that you will **not contact ShareWorld Learning Center directly, market services to them, solicit them, or disclose this project to third parties**. Please confirm in your response that you understand and agree to this condition. Thank you, Christina Jun