Custom WooCommerce Transformation Spurs Jack Rudy Cocktail Co Sales Surge

Introduction

Jack Rudy Cocktail Co is a family-run cocktail mixer brand that needed a fresh online store to match its premium reputation. With only five SKUs, the goal was to create a simple yet engaging experience that would let product packaging shine and make shopping straightforward for customers.

Cobble Hill, a Charleston-based digital agency, stepped in to build a custom site on WordPress paired with WooCommerce. The combination offered the flexibility to tailor every part of the store, an intuitive dashboard for the client, and a design system that adapts smoothly across devices.

Background

Founded by owner Brooks Reitz, Jack Rudy Cocktail Co crafts elegant mixers like tonic water and specialty syrups for home bartenders. Distributed internationally, they rely on e-commerce as a core sales channel. They needed a platform that would support growth without adding complexity to order processing.

Challenges

With only five products, it was vital to keep the storefront clean and uncluttered. The client also faced manual shipping tasks, scattered fulfillment steps, and fragmented communication with customers. They wanted branded order notifications and a system that would let them handle promotions without extra coding.

Custom WooCommerce Solution

Cobble Hill designed a fully adaptive theme, delivering a unified look across desktops and phones. They installed the authorize.net extension for payment processing, integrated ShipStation and UPS to calculate real-time shipping rates and automate fulfillment, and enabled shipment tracking emails so customers would get their tracking numbers instantly.

On the purchase page, a custom AJAX filter sorted products by category, helping shoppers find mixers fast. They also added the WooMobile extension, letting the owner check orders on an iPhone app. Coupon codes and inventory management launched out of the box with WooCommerce, so no extra plugins were needed.

Development Process

The project wrapped up in under 100 hours. Cobble Hill worked locally in test mode, then moved to a beta site for client review and cross-browser QA. Each page was walked through step-by-step, mimicking a customer journey. Once everything passed, the site went live, and the team monitored performance closely to catch any issues.

Results & Impact

Within weeks of launch, the new store saw a dramatic uptick in traffic and sales. The client reported that order fulfilment time dropped significantly thanks to automated ShipStation workflows and UPS integration. Customers praised the clean design and quick checkout. The simple dashboard made content updates and inventory control painless, freeing the team to focus on marketing and product development.

Design Approach

The visual style leaned into negative space and high-resolution product photography. Every section was stripped back so the bold labels and crisp glass bottles could take center stage. Color accents matched the mixers, creating a sense of unity and guiding users through the page hierarchy.

Sign-up modals and calls-to-action were introduced subtly, avoiding pop-up fatigue. The checkout flow was simplified to two clicks beyond the cart, reducing friction that often leads to abandoned sessions.

Shipping & Fulfillment Integration

ShipStation was set up to pull orders directly from WooCommerce, printing packing slips and shipping labels in a few clicks. Using the UPS extension, real-time shipping rates appeared at checkout, so customers always paid accurate costs. Tracking data merged with WooCommerce emails and made its way back to the mobile app, keeping the entire team in sync.

The agency also configured automated status updates so buyers could see their package location without sending support requests. This cut down on manual follow-up and freed the team to focus on growth tactics instead of logistics.

Quality Assurance & Testing

A full QA cycle ran across Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge, plus simulations on iOS and Android devices. The team tested edge cases like high cart totals, coupon stacking, and mobile portrait to landscape switches. Any breakpoints were fixed immediately, ensuring a stable launch.

Performance checks reduced average page load times under 2.5 seconds. Images were compressed, scripts deferred, and caching tuned. Even with heavy product photos, the site felt snappy.

Conclusion

By focusing on clarity, automation, and brand consistency, Cobble Hill delivered a WooCommerce store that met Jack Rudy Cocktail Co’s exact needs. The minimal design, combined with powerful extensions and a smart development workflow, has the company well-positioned for its next phase of growth.