Open eCommerce can be contrasted to a paint-by-numbers application or drawing. There are many preset and cookie-cutter eCommerce providers out there, many of them quite popular and well regarded. Open-source software offers much more for a business or organization as it allows them to customize anything and make untold decisions to satisfy their unique needs.
Metaphorically, instead of painting preset colors within fixed lines, you can become your own Bob Ross, mixing and matching techniques as you wish as you form your next masterpiece.
Better yet, you’ll own your own masterpiece to the degree it’s open-source!
WooCommerce is the most advanced open-source eCommerce platform.
WooCommerce is itself open-source, but its ecosystem includes a large community of mixed (freemium) and fully commercial extensions, services, development and support. Those popular and well vetted commercial products can be part of your architecture but don’t necessarily define it.
Use the best tool for the job and keep your team focused on innovation and continuous improvement. Integrations and de-coupled architectures offer to connect a welath of remote services you don’t need to build from scratch – because not everything really belongs inside your website.
What better way to incorporate eCommerce than by bringing it smack into your existing website with its branding, content, and features? …using the same domain, same host, even the same menus and layouts. These days nearly all hosts support eCommerce and the ubitiquous SSL certificate. PCI friendly payment gateway extensions protect customer data, and the use of strong passwords and firewall services help a great deal.
eCommerce has an ever expanding definition. Want user accounts and dashboards? …do your invoicing off your site? …sell your time? …take events, memberships, donations, or manage licenses for digital products? …a little bit of everything? This can all be accomplished with WooCommerce using official paid extensions, free plugins, your own code overrides or combination thereof.
Painting by numbers can make for a good start, fun, educational and potentially therapudic; but it’s not the ultimate solution. Ensure your technology providers share the open-source mantra to leverage the power of community, creativity and altrusim for your business or organization.