Ballooney is a balloon decoration e-commerce website that was already running on WordPress before the revamp. The project later came to Melon Branding Agency because the previous developer was no longer maintaining the site.
The design team prepared the new direction and prototype in Figma, then I handled the development work to bring the redesigned experience into the existing WordPress and WooCommerce environment.
Overview
The project was not a full rebuild from zero. It was a takeover and revamp of an existing production website, which meant the work had to balance new visual implementation with the realities of an existing WordPress setup.
The site continued to use WordPress, WooCommerce, Midtrans for payments, and RajaOngkir for shipping integration. My work focused on implementing the new design, cleaning up the technical setup, reducing plugin dependency, closing security gaps, and improving performance.
Problem
The existing website had become difficult to maintain after the original developer was no longer involved. Like many long-running WordPress projects, it also carried technical debt from accumulated plugins, unclear ownership, and areas that needed security and performance attention.
The goal was to refresh the website without breaking the existing e-commerce flow, payment integration, shipping calculation, or content management workflow.
Role
I worked on the development side after the Figma prototype was prepared by the design team.
My responsibilities included translating the design into the WordPress theme, maintaining WooCommerce behavior, checking existing plugin usage, reducing unnecessary plugins, improving security posture, and optimizing the site where possible.
Stack
- WordPress for content and site management
- WooCommerce for e-commerce features
- PHP and MySQL for the WordPress backend
- Midtrans for payment gateway integration
- RajaOngkir for shipping cost integration
- Figma as the design handoff source
Scope
- Implement the refreshed visual design from Figma
- Preserve the existing product and checkout flow
- Keep WooCommerce, Midtrans, and RajaOngkir integrations working
- Audit plugin usage and remove unnecessary dependencies
- Improve theme structure where possible
- Close obvious security gaps in the WordPress setup
- Optimize performance and reduce avoidable overhead
Implementation Notes
The main challenge was working inside an existing WordPress system rather than starting from a clean codebase. That required checking how the previous site was assembled, understanding which plugins were actually required, and making changes without disrupting the store flow.
Reducing plugin usage was important because every extra plugin can increase maintenance cost, performance overhead, and potential security exposure. I kept the necessary e-commerce integrations while removing or replacing parts that were no longer needed.
E-commerce Flow
The core e-commerce flow remained based on WooCommerce:
- Product browsing
- Cart and checkout
- Payment through Midtrans
- Shipping cost calculation through RajaOngkir
- Order management through the WordPress admin
The goal was to improve the website experience while keeping the operational workflow familiar for the client.
Outcome
The result was a revamped WordPress e-commerce website with a refreshed frontend, retained payment and shipping integrations, fewer unnecessary plugins, better security hygiene, and improved maintainability.
This project reflects the kind of work that is common in agency development: taking over an existing production site, understanding the constraints, and improving it without breaking the business-critical parts.