Mithat Konar (the wiki)

User Tools

Site Tools

You are here: Mithat Konar (the wiki) » eCommerce » Shopping for eCommerce solutions
ecommerce:shopping_for_ecommerce_solutions

Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

Link to this comparison view

Both sides previous revisionPrevious revision
Next revision		Previous revision
Next revisionBoth sides next revision
ecommerce:shopping_for_ecommerce_solutions [2021/10/18 02:11] – [Shop 0.0.2] mithatecommerce:shopping_for_ecommerce_solutions [2021/10/18 20:46] – [Conclusions] mithat
Line 4: Line 4:
  
   * Very low cost --- because it’s not really going to make money, at least for a while.   * Very low cost --- because it’s not really going to make money, at least for a while.
-  *  Automatic sales tax computation --- because I live in a state that has difficult and complex tax collection policies. +  *  Automatic sales tax computation --- because I live in a state that has complex tax collection policies. 
-  * Ability to use a fulfillment center (e.g., Fulfillment by Amazon) -- to handle things if things really end up growing and/or if I travel for an extended period.+  * Ability to use a fulfillment center (e.g., Fulfillment by Amazon) --- to handle things if the shop really ends up growing and/or if I travel for an extended period.
  
 ===== Shop 0.0.1 ===== ===== Shop 0.0.1 =====
 +
 +==== WordPress+WooCommerce ====
  
 **TL;DR:** [[https://woocommerce.com/|WordPress+WooCommerce]] has a lot of potential. More research is needed to evaluate fulfillment features. The plugin-based architecture could create maintenance issues. The reliance on third-party stuff diminishes the FOSS-appeal. **TL;DR:** [[https://woocommerce.com/|WordPress+WooCommerce]] has a lot of potential. More research is needed to evaluate fulfillment features. The plugin-based architecture could create maintenance issues. The reliance on third-party stuff diminishes the FOSS-appeal.
Line 24: Line 26:
 ===== Shop 0.0.2 ===== ===== Shop 0.0.2 =====
  
-The concerns and issues with the above led me to search for potential alternatives. I was drawn away from other FOSS solutions (e.g. [[https://www.opencart.com/|OpenCart]], [[https://www.prestashop.com/en|PrestaShop]], [[https://www.abantecart.com/|AbanteCart]]) because they seemed to require a lot of development work to make work for me, they relied on third-party and especially non-FOSS plugins for desired functionality, or both.+The concerns and issues with the above led me to search for potential alternatives. I was drawn away from other FOSS solutions (e.g. [[https://www.opencart.com/|OpenCart]], [[https://www.prestashop.com/en|PrestaShop]], [[https://www.abantecart.com/|AbanteCart]]) because they seemed to require a lot of development work to make work for me, relied on third-party and especially non-FOSS plugins for desired functionality, or both.
  
-This in turn led me to consider what’s available in the proprietary camp. I’ve built eCommerce sites for others using Shopify, but I eliminated it for my own shop because of their fees. Yes, even their admittedly meager monthly cost would be hard to justify based on the expected income from the shop — at least for a while. I quickly eliminated other alternatives that charge similar or higher fees.+This in turn led me to consider what’s available in the fully-proprietary camp. I’ve built eCommerce sites for others using Shopify, but I eliminated it for my own shop because of their fees. Yes, even their admittedly meager monthly cost would be hard to justify based on the expected income from the shop — at least for a while. I quickly eliminated other alternatives that charge similar or higher fees.
  
 I finally narrowed things down to a few interesting candidates, which I discuss briefly below. I finally narrowed things down to a few interesting candidates, which I discuss briefly below.
Line 32: Line 34:
 ==== Square Online/Weebly ==== ==== Square Online/Weebly ====
  
-**TL;DR:** Good if their template works for you. Tax needs testing. Fulfillment integration needs research.+**TL;DR:** [[https://squareup.com/us/en/online-store|Square Online]] (formerly Weebly) seems like a solution if their template works for you. Tax needs testing.
  
 In terms of required features: In terms of required features:
Line 38: Line 40:
   * It’s very affordable: there’s no cost to start.   * It’s very affordable: there’s no cost to start.
   * It promises automatic sales tax computation. But this needs testing, esp. for local tax granularity.   * It promises automatic sales tax computation. But this needs testing, esp. for local tax granularity.
-  * Support for third-party fulfillment doesn’t seem to be mentioned by Square, but [[https://www.shipbob.com/partners/square/|ShipBob]] says they provide [[https://www.shipbob.com/blog/square-fulfillment/|it]].+  * It supports third-party fulfillment with the [[https://squareup.com/us/en/app-marketplace/app/shipbob|ShipBob plugin]]. (See also [[https://www.shipbob.com/partners/square/|this]] and [[https://www.shipbob.com/blog/square-fulfillment/|this]].)
  
 Other pros and cons: Other pros and cons:
  
-  * No plugins, so much less anxiety of abandonware.+  * No plugins (i.e., apps in Squarespeak) are required and only a few plugins available, so much less anxiety of plugin abandonware.
   * It's easy to use, though not nearly as easy as they would have you think.   * It's easy to use, though not nearly as easy as they would have you think.
   * Running under your own domain will require a paid tier. But the ''%%<subdomain>.square.site%%'' URL they give you is decent, and the ''%%<subdomain>%%'' is easy to change.   * Running under your own domain will require a paid tier. But the ''%%<subdomain>.square.site%%'' URL they give you is decent, and the ''%%<subdomain>%%'' is easy to change.
   * The retail template is functional, but they only offer one, along with a number of styling (font and color) options.   * The retail template is functional, but they only offer one, along with a number of styling (font and color) options.
 +  * Supports print on demand sales with a [[https://squareup.com/us/en/app-marketplace/app/printful|Printful plugin]].
  
  
 ==== Shift4Shop/3dcartstores ==== ==== Shift4Shop/3dcartstores ====
  
-**TL;DR:** Would be good if manually updating tax tables was acceptable (and if they aren’t pro-guns).+**TL;DR:** [[https://www.shift4shop.com/|Shift4Shop]] (formerly 3dcartstores) would be good if manually updating tax tables was acceptable (and if they aren’t pro-guns).
  
 In terms of required features: In terms of required features:
Line 65: Line 68:
  
 ==== Ecwid ==== ==== Ecwid ====
- +** 
-TL;DR: [[https://www.ecwid.com/|Ecwid]] presents an interesting alternative, but automated tax calculations will require a paid tier. +TL;DR:** [[https://www.ecwid.com/|Ecwid]] presents an interesting alternative, but automated tax calculations requires a (modest) paid tier. 
  
 In terms of required features: In terms of required features:
Line 72: Line 75:
   * There’s a no-cost tier, but …   * There’s a no-cost tier, but …
   * You don’t get automated tax calculations unless you pay for the $15/mo package.   * You don’t get automated tax calculations unless you pay for the $15/mo package.
-  * I'm assuming integrations are possible, but without automated tax for no cost, I decided not to do more research.+  * Fulfillment using the [[https://www.ecwid.com/apps/storemanagement/efulfillment-service|eFulfillment Service plugin]], [[https://redstagfulfillment.com/integrations/ecwid-fulfillment-services/|Red Stag Fulfillment]], and purportedly the [[https://www.ecwid.com/apps/featured/zapier|Zapier plugin]].
  
 ===== Conclusions ===== ===== Conclusions =====
  
-TBD.+Assuming it passes sales tax testing, it's going to be a fight between Square Online and WooCommerce. 
 + 
 +Stay tuned.
  
ecommerce/shopping_for_ecommerce_solutions.txt · Last modified: 2021/12/25 05:54 by mithat
Donate Powered by PHP Valid HTML5 Valid CSS Driven by DokuWiki