eCommerce Site Questions

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Whats up again code gang!

Got some questions for you guys regarding a eCommerce site I am building to add to my portfolio.

So at the moment I’m just building the site using HTML, CSS, and Javascript…so once I’m done building the site and functionality works well etc. etc. how is this transferred to a backend platform that will give the business owner information on their site. Like site traffic, active browsers…kinda like shopify?

I guess Im super unaware of what happens next after I build the site. How do I allow users to checkout, how do I store customer information.

Any guidance or help is appreciated.

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I would actually plug it into Shopify, tbh. i.e. convert your HTML/CSS/JS to a Shopify theme. That would be the easiest way, it’s a complete backend platform. There are other applications that allow you to do this, but Shopify is possibly the best. It has a pretty good API as well, so in theory you could just use what you have for the front end and wire it up to the Shopify API.

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Awesome, thank you very much.

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Hopping on this thread since this is a learning path definitely in my future. @DanCouper:

  • on what are you basing your recommendation: simplicity, security, robustness, or all of the above?
  • Did you figure this out through personal experience working with it, word-of-mouth, or online reviews?
    • followup question: any reviews you have bookmarked that it wouldn’t be too much trouble to point our way?

Your responses are always appreciated. If others with experience want to weigh in, please do so.

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The easiest way to do this is with Google Analytics. You’d just need to include a short JS snippet in all your pages, or your master template.

For a VERY simple e-commerce site (i.e. click to BUY, or ADD TO CART) and not having to worry about having your own merchant account, SSL, gateway account, security for keeping CC numbers or any of that… is using the Paypal Shopping Cart. People just click “BUY”, then they checkout using Paypal (paying for your items using either their PP account/balance or a credit card).

https://developer.paypal.com/

The next level of complexity is having your own Inventory Management Database/Cart system… total the orders, and then send the total final amount to Paypal (including shipping, taxes, fees, etc) and let Paypal handle the checkout process. When the transaction is successful/finished, Paypal sends a callback to a “secret URL” you specify, where you receive the confirmation and know that order has been paid, etc. Paypal just gets a small percentage cut (varies depending on your sales volume amount).

The next level of complexity is using a Gateway, like Paypal Payflow.

Now, this is more along the traditional way of doing things where you must have a merchant account. And the process in getting an MA is more involved… linked bank account, business license, credit check, etc… Here, you’d be responsible for keeping customer accounts secure, their credit card #s secure, address validation, etc…

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