Behind the Scenes: The Making of Checkout Summit 2026

What does it really take to build a WooCommerce site that can handle a major international conference? For Checkout Summit 2026, I started with nothing but an idea — and turned it into a fully functioning platform for ticketing, content, and community. In this session, I’ll take you through the journey of creating the website from the ground up: why I chose certain hosting and stack options, which plugins and themes made the cut, and the custom code that tied it all together. And since this is more than just a website — it’s an in-person WooCommerce event — I’ll also reflect on why these gatherings matter, and what it means to run one entirely solo. If you’re curious about how WooCommerce can power something ambitious, and want to hear the full story of building it from scratch, this is your chance.

Hosted by Rodolfo Melogli

Session overview

When it comes to conferences, most people only see the polished end result — the talks, the networking, the community coming together. But behind every event there’s another story: the website that makes it possible. For Checkout Summit 2026, that meant building a WooCommerce-powered platform from scratch, designed to handle everything from ticket sales to program announcements.

In this session, we’ll pull back the curtain on how the summit site came to life: why I chose a particular stack, which plugins and themes were worth relying on, and where custom code was the only solution. You’ll hear the real trade-offs, the missteps, and the “aha” moments that shaped the final product — a story any Woo developer will recognize from their own projects.

Of course, the site is only part of the journey. Running an event solo also means juggling logistics, partnerships, and community outreach, and I’ll share how those decisions connected back to the technical build. Along the way, we’ll reflect on why in-person WooCommerce gatherings matter more than ever, and how the tools we use as developers help make them possible.

Whether you’re curious about how a real-world WooCommerce project gets built, or want a rare inside view of what it takes to run a major event, this session promises both code-level insight and a bigger-picture story.

Author, WooCommerce expert and WordCamp speaker, Rodolfo has worked as an independent WooCommerce freelancer since 2011. His goal is to help entrepreneurs and developers overcome their WooCommerce nightmares. Rodolfo loves travelling, chasing tennis and soccer balls and, of course, wood fired oven pizza.

Rodolfo Melogli@rmelogli

Video Recording

More WooCommerce Masterclasses

Here’s a list of free live webinars and member-only class recordings (we usually take a break for June-August, otherwise you should expect about 2 live classes per month). Make sure to attend live so you can interact with the teacher and the other attendees!

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