WP ecommerce choices

[findtim]

I have 4 different ecom sites to do starting next week, i've always used oscommerce MS2.2 but have gone off it, i've just worked on 2 getshopped WP ecoms and am struggling to be be impressed by it, it certainly hasn't given me the WOW factor i expected .

a few people talked up WOO commerce on friday, and i think i might head down that path but it doesn't do Eway?

I also can't work out the pricing of WOO, some pages say you get it all " free download" and other pages say you have to then pay monthly? which is it? i've never been a fan of paying $25 a month "forever"

any other suggestions?

tim

 

[helloworld]

I've been using opencart. It's pretty nice.

 

[Joel]

I've been using opencart. It's pretty nice.

+1. It's fairly easy to setup and get running.

 

[johno69]

i've just worked on 2 getshopped WP ecoms and am struggling to be be impressed by it

It's horrible. I used it and will never again.

a few people talked up WOO commerce on friday, and i think i might head down that path but it doesn't do Eway?

Yes it does.

I also can't work out the pricing of WOO, some pages say you get it all " free download" and other pages say you have to then pay monthly? which is it? i've never been a fan of paying $25 a month "forever"

Free forever.

Some extensions cost money, but none are monthly forever type fees that i've seen.

There are some really good extensions on CodeCanyon for it too.

 

[FirstPageResults]

Don't recommend using WP for ecom. Hard to beat Magento right now... So much so that there is a shortage of local developers

 

[johno69]

So much so that there is a shortage of local developers

Because nobody wants to work with it any more.

Woocommerce is quite impressive really, you should check it out.

 

[Snooks]

@Findtim

I have Woo Ecommerce and after i bought that download theme, it doesnt cost anything. I believe the monthly cost refers to Developers fee and entitles you to EVERY theme that Woo have, including ongoing updates.

Woo Ecommerce is so easy that even i have developed a semi decent site and given my skill levels are low, its an indication that if you are conversant in WP, the ecommerce theme (module?) would be a breeze

 

[johno69]

You can grab Woocommerce here without needing to register at woothemes etc..

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/woocommerce/

 

[findtim]

thanks johno69 for your multiple advice, EWAY: i meant not using an SSL but pushing it to them for processing this way the client does NOTHING and the money ends up in their "NAB" bank account the next day.

tim

 

[findtim]

@Findtim

I have Woo Ecommerce and after i bought that download theme, it doesnt cost anything. I believe the monthly cost refers to Developers fee and entitles you to EVERY theme that Woo have, including ongoing updates.

Woo Ecommerce is so easy that even i have developed a semi decent site and given my skill levels are low, its an indication that if you are conversant in WP, the ecommerce theme (module?) would be a breeze

do i still get updates? i'm worried that if there is a security breach update down the track the sites will have to be rehashed.

tim

 

[Webfunk]

From my understanding, WooCommerce is a FREE plugin. The monthly fee refers to the Club Subscription where you pay a startup fee + an on-going monthly fee to have access to all their available themes (normal or eCommerce).

I haven't used WooCommerce yet, but if its anything like the normal WooThemes themes and setup then I'm sure it would be awesome and certainly worth looking at. I'm also considering giving it a shot for my next eCommerce project.

As an alternative, OpenCart also gets my recommendation. Fairly user-friendly I always hear good things about Magento, but I also hear it's fairly complex and is ideal for medium-large businesses.

My 2 cents

 

[johno69]

Yes, it's a free extension Tim. They do not charge money for it.

 

[johno69]

EWAY: i meant not using an SSL but pushing it to them for processing this way the client does NOTHING and the money ends up in their "NAB" bank account the next day.

Yes it isn't hosted, but everything else works the same. You just need SSL (which is cheap). Money still goes into bank as normal.

 

[findtim]

magento: i know oscommerce back the front so moving to magento doesn't interest me, i kinda.... ish agree with johno69 that its not a good long term platform from what i have seen, complex code, CONFLICTS between addons, i have been down this road with oscommerce thus why i am moving away from it.

these new sites only have @ 100 - 500 products so i don't need a powerhouse.

if i want a powerhouse then i'm already working on one which the guys on the goldcoast are GREAT, but they work in ASP...bugger but they are the beezz neezz

evopos dot com

this client of mine is doing @ 4000+ products fully integrated to his accounting and warehouse system ( sorry can't give a link till its launched )

but for now its just an ecom solution for the local florist/gift store/or whatever... you get the drift.

woo commerce is winning, opencart looks good... it has eway and australiapost !

at this stage i think i will build 2 test sites , woo and opencart, and see what suits my method of working.

thanks heaps for the input so far.

if anyone wants to pm me a link to a completed project that would be great.

tim

 

[FirstPageResults]

Because nobody wants to work with it any more.

Magento is far from perfect, but this doesn't reflect what I'm seeing and hearing from my peers.

Each to there own I guess. Just as Magento isn't well suited to mum and pop operations, WP doesn't scale up well for medium to enterprise.

Woocommerce is quite impressive really, you should check it out.

I will take a closer look.

 

[findtim]

WP doesn't scale up well for medium to enterprise.

this is the first thing i talk to clients about, "where will this be in 5 years time" , how many products in the future etcccc, i always build for 3-5yrs ahead in growth.

if they grow out of it then that just means they have made their money and can reinvest as we just do not know what will change in that time.

i got out of joomla when they went from v1.5 to v1.7 because of the conversion issue, i got out of oscommerce when it took a big step from MS2.2 to MS3.0+

its just a fact of life that what is GREAT now may not be done the track.

i say to clients " you sweep the floors, clean the windows of your shop and update your computers.... its no different to a website"

tim

 

[FirstPageResults]

if they grow out of it then that just means they have made their money and can reinvest as we just do not know what will change in that time.

I agree, but with the exception of the "PayPal only" mentality some people take when starting out in ecommerce.

 

[fatzebra]

I have 4 different ecom sites to do starting next week, i've always used oscommerce MS2.2 but have gone off it, i've just worked on 2 getshopped WP ecoms and am struggling to be be impressed by it, it certainly hasn't given me the WOW factor i expected .

a few people talked up WOO commerce on friday, and i think i might head down that path but it doesn't do Eway?

I also can't work out the pricing of WOO, some pages say you get it all " free download" and other pages say you have to then pay monthly? which is it? i've never been a fan of paying $25 a month "forever"

any other suggestions?

tim

Hi Tim,

So are you looking for WooCommerce with a Hosted Payment Page to avoid requirements for SSL and potential security issues?

We have had great feedback about WooCommerce for smaller retailers (up to 500 SKU's).

Thanks

Pred

 

[findtim]

I agree, but with the exception of the "PayPal only" mentality some people take when starting out in ecommerce.

i explain to businesses that paypal can be ok if its small turnover sites (no bricks and mortar) , but there is a breakeven point to then step up to Eway once volume increases and then another step to your own eftpos which has mostly been bricks and mortar but with the mobile eftpos and iphone eftpos i then use SSL

Hosted Payment Page to avoid requirements for SSL and potential security issues

i generally use eway hosted payment as i said above, its an affordable method until volume increases, and yes you get the benefit of no hassles.

tim

 

[helloworld]

I posted this in the web dev forum at some stage, Tim. Open cart site is pillowhunter.com I have a 1 other example if you want to see it. But ph has a few custom mods, like 1 page check out