WebCitz started working with this client in 2009
- Client: Essential Wellness (website offline)
- Platform: X-Cart
- Industry: Health & Wellness, Retail / E-Commerce
- Services: Digital Marketing, Ecommerce, Maintenance / Support, Web Hosting
The Challenge
In 2009, e-commerce was significantly more technical to manage than it is today. Essential Wellness needed an online presence that could handle a highly varied inventory. The main challenges included:
- Complex Variations: Managing dozens of different essential oil scents and sizes, ensuring that inventory and pricing were accurate for every “flavor.”
- Platform Maintenance: X-Cart was a robust but complex PHP-based platform that required regular manual updates and server-side management to remain secure.
- Communication Continuity: As the business shifted its focus away from direct e-commerce, maintaining a professional and reliable email presence remained a top priority for brand and personal communication.
The WebCitz Solution
We provided the technical backbone for Essential Wellness through several phases of its business lifecycle:
- X-Cart E-commerce Management: We maintained the technical health of the X-Cart platform. This involved managing the database, ensuring the checkout process was secure, and configuring the complex product variations that allowed customers to easily pick their favorite oils.
- Product Matrix Engineering: We assisted in the setup of “flavors” and attributes, making a large catalog of essential oils manageable for the site owner and intuitive for the shopper.
- Transition & Legacy Support: When the decision was made to shut down the online storefront, WebCitz handled the transition professionally, ensuring that data was preserved and the public-facing domain was handled according to the client’s wishes.
- Continuous Email Hosting: For over a decade, we have provided managed email hosting for Patty. By hosting her email on our secure servers, we ensure she has a reliable, professional communication channel that remains stable regardless of the status of her website.
The Result
Our 15-year relationship with Essential Wellness is a testament to the trust we build with our clients. We helped Patty navigate the complexities of early e-commerce and have remained her “technical safety net” for her communication needs long after the store closed. This project highlights our commitment to continuity – whether we are building a complex store or simply ensuring that a client’s email never goes down.
