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Website Rescue · WordPress · WooCommerce

Sunshine Herbs

A website rescue for a locally owned Yuma wellness shop. Online pickup ordering and CBD checkout were rebuilt as two separate systems on one site the owner can run herself.

The project and market

The Sunshine Herbs homepage with the store address, phone, live open status and Order Pickup button above the fold

Sunshine Herbs is owned by Krista Ducharme and based in the Fortuna Foothills area of Yuma, Arizona. At the time of the rebuild it sold handmade smoothies, açaí and dragon fruit bowls, and a retail line of CBD and wellness products, including Maggie’s Balm.

The project came out of GSL Design’s website rescue contest, which Sunshine Herbs won.

Visit Sunshine Herbs

The challenge

The original scope was narrow: replace a separate Lightspeed store with WooCommerce, connect the shop’s existing Authorize.Net account, improve Maggie’s Balm visibility, and move hosting. The existing site showed why a narrow fix wouldn’t hold up. The only food ordering path was a phone call. The menu was static text. A “store is closed for maintenance” panel sat in the middle of the homepage. Three product cards were still showing page-builder placeholder copy. The owner had no practical way to keep menu items, prices, or availability current.

Strategy and implementation

Two systems, one site

Prepared food and CBD retail have different payment, tax, and risk profiles, so they were built as separate transaction paths. Food is reserved online and paid at pickup, and the in-store register handles tax. CBD and Maggie’s Balm use standard WooCommerce checkout through Authorize.Net with shipping or local pickup. This keeps frequent made-to-order refunds off a CBD-capable merchant account.

A Sunshine Herbs CBD product page with the price, stock status, an Add to Cart button and a View Certificate of Analysis link
The retail side runs through standard WooCommerce checkout. Compare Add to Cart here with Reserve for Pickup on the order pad. Captured October 2026.

A menu the owner controls

Every smoothie, bowl, liquid, and add-in is a WooCommerce product, not text hardcoded into a template. Names, prices, photos, and stock status are changed in the dashboard. An item can be marked out of stock and brought back later without deleting it.

Compliance built in

CBD surfaces carry an age gate and the FDA disclaimer. Lab certificates (COAs) are linked only when verified against the exact product. Reviews shown on the site are real Google reviews, presented without edits. Product pages avoid treatment and cure claims.

The Sunshine Herbs CBD and Wellness category page, with the FDA disclaimer displayed beside the page heading and product cards below
The FDA disclaimer sits at the top of the CBD category, not buried in the footer. Captured October 2026.

What the order pad handles

The order pad replaced “call to order” with a guided pickup reservation. It enforces the menu rules the counter already used:

  • Liquid: smoothies require one liquid choice before they can be added
  • Add-ins: priced add-ins attach to eligible items only, and drizzles stay with bowls
  • Totals: the server rechecks prices, stock, store hours, and pickup time, and it ignores totals sent from the browser
  • Handoff: the kitchen gets a ticket email and the customer gets a confirmation

The order pad is tested against a 29-case validation suite before any change goes live.

The Sunshine Herbs pickup order pad with category tabs, a required liquid choice, add-ins and a running order summary
The order pad as launched: category tabs, a required liquid choice, tap-to-add add-ins, and a running order summary that ends in Reserve for Pickup. Pay in store. Captured July 2026.

Order-pad screenshots reflect the site as launched in July 2026. No order volume or conversion change is inferred.

Before and after

These are side-by-side captures of the same business before and after the rebuild. They are design observations, not a measured performance comparison.

First screen

The previous Sunshine Herbs homepage first screen, with a Start Your Day Bright headline and a single See Smoothie Menu button
Before A generic headline and a single “See Smoothie Menu” button. No address, hours, or phone in the first screen.
The Sunshine Herbs homepage first screen with the address, phone and open status in the top bar and Order Pickup and View the Menu buttons
After Address, phone, and live open status in the top bar. A local headline, then Order Pickup and View the Menu as the two clear next steps.

The menu

The previous Sunshine Herbs smoothie menu as static text, with the liquid choice in a banner and a Call to Order button
Before A static text menu with the liquid choice in a banner and a “Call to Order” button as the only action.
The Sunshine Herbs pickup order pad with category tabs, a required liquid choice, add-ins and a running order summary
After The same menu as selectable items, with the liquid choice and add-ins built into the order and a running total.

Full homepage

The full previous Sunshine Herbs homepage, from the first screen through the footerView the full page
Before Placeholder copy on product cards and a maintenance notice mid-page.
The full Sunshine Herbs homepage as launched, from the hero through the visit sectionView the full page
After CBD products, Maggie’s Balm, Our Story, verified reviews, FAQ, and a Visit section with map and hours.

Before captures predate the rebuild. After captures are from July 2026; CBD retail captures are from October 2026.

Why food never touched the card processor

The most important decision on this build is invisible to customers. CBD merchant accounts are higher risk, and made-to-order food produces refunds whenever an item runs out. Routing $8 smoothie reservations through the same processor would have put the CBD account at risk for no benefit. Food reservations therefore stay unpaid until pickup, are taxed at the register, and are excluded from online revenue reporting. Retail orders run through normal checkout. Checkout was confirmed at launch with a live order placed by the owner.

Krista, in her words

I was fortunate enough to be the recipient of a free website makeover, and I am beyond grateful for the time, talent, and care Greg put into every detail. He not only created an amazing website but also took the time to provide clear, easy-to-follow instructions so I could confidently manage and update it myself.

Because of Greg’s expertise, my website now allows customers to place online orders for smoothies and acai bowls, and I also have a fully functional e-commerce store. He set everything up seamlessly—with no cost to me and no monthly fees. The value he provided is truly incredible.

Krista Ducharme, owner, Sunshine Herbs · Google review, July 2026

Krista received the rebuild at no cost as the winner of GSL Design’s website rescue contest.

Read the full review on Google

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