I know many hobby embroiderers who don't hoop much, but the pros I know always hoop everything possible! Pros also use cutaway stabilizer whenever possible. I learned I can have 7,000-8,000 stitches per 4" square while using a mid-weight cutaway stabilizer. For designs more dense than that, I use multiple pieces of cutaway, put at 45 degree angles to each other.
Note the the only thing I don't hoop on my multi-needle machine are very odd shaped things that I have to use my Fast-Frames on. That is a very small number of items! In summary, my recommendations would be to not stretch when you hoop, use a quality cutaway whenever possible, and use the correct amount of stabilizer.
Pam