I am pretty decent with HTML and CSS, but have never done anything with shopping cart. I am wondering how to create a simple product page. Are there simple templates for this? I suppose something like jquery is needed? I am pretty confused about that part. Any instructions?
Also, how does all of the ordering take place? I guess you can go through paypal and it will send and email that a payment has been made and to ship the part? Total newbie with products.
Gazillions. Very specially for Joomla, WordPress, Drupa or CMS. Just do a quick search in Google.
Javascript (whether you use a library like JQuery or not) is never necesary but it adds to the experience, making it more pleasant. So much that some shopping carts can’t live without it. Be aware, though, that a minority of your visitors may have Javascript turned off.
Regarding how the ordering takes place… Haven’t you bought anything in Amazon or any other popular site?
Basically, you select your itmes and they go to the shopping cart, when you have everything you want, you fill the payment and shipping details and click the button. Confirming the details and paying adds the order to the database and, most of the time, sends an e-mail to the supplier so he’s aware that a new order is in place
Thanks.
The problem with templates is, like you said, a google search turns up gazillions. A lot of them are old or not great (but got there via SEO, etc). I have not been impressed what what I was able to find.
So I guess the question is can this be done via HTML and CSS with some JS? I don’t know anything about the ones you mentioned (Joomla, WordPress, etc.). Or do you need something more advanced than HTML/CSS/JS? I can code the HTML/CSS easily and could pick up enough JS to get through it if I had a decent template.
Haha, and yes of course I know what happens on the BUYERS side. I don’t know what happens on the coders/fulfillment side. I suppose you answered that…it is added to a database and an email is sent. But where is this database?
Of course!
[quote=“aerodoc, post:3, topic:114572”]
Or do you need something more advanced than HTML/CSS/JS?
[/quote]Most of the time, a backend language like PHP. But there are a few that use HTML .CSS and Javascript only. The thing is… if the user turns off Javascript, they don’t work.
Regarding the database, it would be the database that you create in your server. Your hosting will include the ability of creating one or more databases
Your not going to be able to process orders without using a server-side language unless you rely on the very limited client-side integrations of a payment service like Paypal. Depending on the scope of what you are trying to achieve it would be best to start off with a CMS since the process of entering products, managing orders, etc can’t be achieved with only client side technologies. Without relying on a CMS to handle the dynamic portions your left building your own which is a lot of work requiring knowledge of a server-side technology such as php, ruby, node, .net, etc. Off the top of my head here are some recommendations for self hosted solutions using well known tried and true solutions with php.
Wordpress + Woocommerce (small to medium catalog)
Drupal + Commerce Module (small to large catalog)
Magento Community Edition (medium to large catalog focus on commerce)
You could also consider a hosted solution but I’m not familiar with any of those. This would probably be the easiest route but significantly reduces customization options because you don’t control the source code having limited access to only change specific things.
Shopify is great and Paypal has the ability of keeping the records for your products, stock, etc.
Maybe paypal is a better way to go? This will only be for 1 product…maybe up to 3 in the future. And the volume is low (maybe 2-3 units a week).
So if I can do a standard HTML/CSS template and just add in a paypal link, maybe that would do it?
Definitively! Anything else would be too much work!
It would be different if you wre planning to have 100 items within the next six months
Great. I am sort of a hack in that I can write HTML/CSS from scratch and modify HTML/CSS templates decently. It is a fun thing for me.
But there are sooo many other aspects and it can be overwhelming. This is great information since I would just get bogged down for no reason. I don’t need a true ecommerce site.
Any idea where I can find a really simple HTML/CSS template without (or minimal) javascript? It just needs to have a flat/clean layout with a horizontal navigation bar (preferably fixed width) and look decent on mobile devices. Most of the templates I see are too advanced for what I really want. And I am not skilled enough to make them work from both an aesthetic and functional point of view. I can just do basic HTML and CSS.
I have no problem paying for a decent template, but a lot of times it seems you get the run around with these companies. They are trying to sell you this that and the other thing when all you want is a template. I don’t know of a credible source for simple and current HTML/CSS templates.
I believe all you would need to do is create the page(s) than add paypal buttons to them. Treat it as any other static site than add the buttons following the instructions.
Hmmmm I can’t think of any right now. Javascript (in its JQuery version) is huge right now.
Follow @oddz suggestion.
Or maybe a HTML/CSS framework like Boostrap would help you. Bootstrap allows you to personalize what you want to download. It is a clean template although with some complex CSS and some JQuery for the most usual effects.
Gotta say that using Bootstrap has its ups and downs and it may not be straight forward but it is not complicated to learn.
What are the thoughts on something like Wix or Squarespace? I don’t like the idea of not coding everything because it seems like I am losing control. But maybe that is just a psychological thing. I have wondered how Wix and Squarespace do with SEO since the result is a crytic code.
I am looking to do something simple like www.makergear.com (but without the drop downs). It looks like they are using Shopify. That may be overkill, but perhaps another option?
Not all all you are losing control and many would argue quality using a service such those. If you know CSS and HTML than the most flexible option would be to build the site completely yourself. If you don’t know these things than yes consider a service like square space or wix to get something up and running quickly without much thought.
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