Overview

Back in the 90’s and early 2000’s we were developing and programming custom eCommerce systems by hand for our clients. These days companies like eJunkie, PayPal, WooCommerce and Shopify have created systems that can be used as a starting point for most e-commerce needs. Unfortunately fitting your needs into somebody else’s shopping system vision can feel like trying to put a square peg in a round hole. If this describes your situation, drop us a note. We’ve helped businesses sort through and solve the inevitable hick-ups that come with using a pre-made shopping cart solution. From help with specific issues to full end-to-end projects, experience counts and we’ve been doing it since 1995.

Full Service Projects

No end-to-end eCommerce solution fits all needs, but most fall into one of three scope sizes.

Small projects cover single item stores, small stores and stores with products that have no (or very limited) options or variations. eJunkie or PayPal integration often covers this area.

Medium size stores, stores with products that have options and variations and stores that have slightly more complex shipping and billing options need an eCommerce solution a little more sophisticated. This fits well with WooCommerce.

Complex stores with lots of products, complicated product variants and complex shipping or billing issues need something bigger. This is where solutions like Shopify fit well.

eJunkie / PayPal

Very simple eCommerce projects can be under $100. For example, selling a single product with little or no options or variations using simple shipping and payment options can be quickly added to most existing web sites, even WordPress sites. This might also include selling on Facebook or Twitter, when applicable.

WooCommerce

Medium sized eCommerce projects usually fair well using WooCommerce. It nicely integrates with WordPress and has a huge base of plugins to choose from. Ideal for merchants with a budget between $100 and $1000. Of course WooCommerce could be used for very small projects or very large projects which would ultimately determine the project cost. But in our experience (knowing what merchants who are willing to spend in the hundreds and not thousands need) WooCommerce hits the sweet spot.

Learn a little more about WooCommerce in the video below. Of course we take care of all the details of building your site – remember,  this is a marketing video make by WooCommerce after all. Unfortunately there is a never ending list of inevitable hiccups that stop less experienced store builders in their tracks, often frustrating store owners as they end up having to become web designers instead of being able to focus on their core business. Nonetheless the video is a nice introduction to WooCommerce.

Shopify

Shopify is a great solution for serious merchants who are looking to spend thousands, not hundreds to get their e-commerce presence established.

In Shopify we’ve specifically solved the problem of products that have multiple options, sometimes called variants. Most businesses want each of their variants to have their own unique image, and this is not easy to accomplish using Shopify. For example, you might sell t-shirts but you have 3 sizes and 5 colors. You want to have one product (the t-shirt) and two drop down boxes so your customer can choose their desired size and color. You also want an image of these variations. Additionally, when your customer clicks on a variant image you want the drop down boxes to automatically switch to the corresponding settings. Finally you want it to work the opposite way so that if the customer uses the drop down boxes the image displayed switches to match that specific variation. This often does not work correctly with Shopify. Many businesses think this type of functionality is simply built into all shopping cart systems, especially Shopify. But it is not. And to make it all happen seamlessly is enough to make you want to pull your hair out. This is just one example.

We’ve worked through many other anomalies with eJunkie, WooCommerce and Shopify. Let us help. Drop us a note. Introduce yourself!

Specific eCommerce Services

Sometimes you might find yourself in a situation where you’ve already chosen an eCommerce solution but it needs some tweaking. There is no way to list all of the specific things we might be able to help you with. Here are a few examples where we’ve already solved a specific issue and if you just happen to need that solution then please get in touch with us.

WordPress + WooCommerce + CDG Commerce / Quantum Gateway Integration

Are you a CDG Commerce customer looking to process credit cards through your WordPress based WooCommerce store? Not only can we help you make this happen, but we can integrate it so that it doesn’t look clunky and unprofessional. Let us help. Drop us a note. Introduce yourself!