"Before the website, I was handling every single order on WhatsApp myself. It was exhausting. Now customers can browse, customise, and pay all in one place. QLEVR built exactly what we needed and made the whole process smooth from start to finish."
Client: CC Serving Trays Category: Web Design & Development Live Site: ccservingtrays.com Tags: Web Design, Development, E-Commerce, WooCommerce
The Client
CC Serving Trays is a Lagos-based artisan brand specialising in premium personalised wooden serveware. From engraved serving boards and chopping platters to bowls, plates, trays and spoons, every piece is crafted for restaurants, hotels, catering businesses, and discerning home buyers who want something distinctive on their table.
Their key differentiator is personalisation. Restaurants and hospitality brands come to CC Serving Trays to have their logo, name, or a custom message engraved directly onto the wood, turning everyday serveware into a branded guest experience. Their client base spans some of the most recognisable hospitality names in Lagos.
The business was growing fast through word of mouth and social media. But without a proper e-commerce presence, every sale still required back-and-forth messages on WhatsApp. They needed a professional online store to match the quality of their product.
The Problem
CC Serving Trays came to QLEVR at a pivotal moment. Their product was excellent, their customers were passionate, and demand was growing. But their entire sales process was manual.
No online ordering system. Every enquiry came in via WhatsApp or Instagram DMs. The founder was personally handling every conversation, quoting prices, confirming custom engraving details, chasing payments, and coordinating delivery. This was unsustainable and impossible to scale.
No digital product catalogue. Potential buyers had no way to browse the full range, understand pricing, or explore customisation options without initiating a conversation. Many dropped off before ever reaching out.
No payment infrastructure. With no payment gateway in place, collecting money was slow and inconsistent. International buyers, in particular, had no easy path to purchase.
No brand presence beyond social media. With no dedicated website, CC Serving Trays had no SEO footprint, no credibility anchor for corporate buyers, and no platform to showcase client testimonials or brand partnerships.
What We Did
Discovery and Planning
We started by mapping the full customer journey, from initial discovery through to delivery. We identified three distinct buyer types: individual consumers buying for home use, restaurant and hospitality businesses ordering branded serveware in bulk, and gift buyers looking for personalised pieces for special occasions. Each had different needs, and the store architecture had to serve all three.
Platform Selection
We recommended WordPress with WooCommerce as the platform of choice. For a product-led business with custom engraving requirements and a need to manage multiple product categories, WooCommerce offered the right balance of flexibility, control, and cost-effectiveness. It also gave the CC Serving Trays team a simple backend they could manage themselves, adding products, updating stock, and processing orders without needing a developer on call.
Design
The design brief was warmth, craftsmanship, and trust. Wooden serveware is a tactile, emotional purchase, and the site needed to evoke the quality and care that goes into every piece.
Key design decisions:
- Rich, warm photography-led layouts with product imagery front and centre
- Clear product category navigation: Boards, Bowls, Plates, Trays, Spoons
- Dedicated "personalisation" section explaining the engraving process and options
- Trust signals throughout: customer testimonials, brand client logos, and WhatsApp contact integration for buyers who wanted to speak to someone before ordering
- Multi-currency support (NGN, USD, GBP, EUR) to serve both local and international buyers
WooCommerce Setup
We built a complete WooCommerce store with:
- Product catalogue across five categories with individual product pages, clear descriptions, and photography
- Custom product options for engraving: buyers can specify their name, logo, or message at the point of purchase, eliminating the back-and-forth clarification that was eating up the founder's time
- Payment gateway integration supporting local Nigerian payment methods as well as international card payments, enabling the business to accept orders from anywhere
- Order management system so the team could track every order, engraving specification, and fulfilment status in one place
- Account and wishlist functionality so returning customers could save favourites and reorder easily
- Cart and checkout optimisation with a streamlined flow designed to minimise drop-off
WhatsApp Integration
Knowing that many of their existing customers were accustomed to ordering via WhatsApp, we kept a WhatsApp chat button live on the site. This gave new visitors the confidence of direct access to the team while allowing the store to handle straightforward orders automatically.
Mobile Optimisation
A significant portion of CC Serving Trays' audience discovered them on Instagram and would arrive on the site via mobile. The entire store was built and tested mobile-first, with touch-friendly product browsing and a checkout flow that worked seamlessly on any screen size.
On-Page SEO Foundation
We set up the technical SEO baseline: optimised product titles and meta descriptions, clean URL structure, alt text on all product images, and a Google Business Profile recommendation to capture local search intent from Lagos-based restaurant buyers.
Key Results
Time to Launch
Completed in 3 weeks from brief to live site
Manual WhatsApp Orders
Reduced by over 60% as online orders became the primary sales channel
Product Categories at Launch
Successfully launched with 5 product categories
Boards, Bowls, Plates, Trays, and Spoons
Supported Currencies
Enabled payments in 4 currencies
NGN, USD, GBP, and EUR
Mobile Traffic Conversion
Improved significantly through a mobile-first checkout experience
Monthly Online Orders
Orders have continued growing month-on-month since launch
Founder Hours Saved
Estimated 8–10 hours saved weekly from reduced manual order handling
What the Client Said
"Before the website, I was handling every single order on WhatsApp myself. It was exhausting. Now customers can browse, customise, and pay all in one place. QLEVR built exactly what we needed and made the whole process smooth from start to finish."
Technologies Used
- WordPress
- WooCommerce
- WooCommerce Product Add-ons (custom engraving options)
- Multi-currency plugin
- Nigerian payment gateway integration
- WhatsApp chat integration
- Slider Revolution