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The usual milestones and stages…

It’s not a bug. It’s an undocumented feature!

Anyone who is inexperienced in Internet technologies may be intimidated by the phrase “online store”. In reality, there is nothing mysterious and otherworldly in web commerce technology. There is only very sophisticated software. The function of this software is to make the site visitor see all the information in a convenient form, as well as to solve certain problems with the help of this software.

Software that the customer receives in the form of a working site, can be divided into two fundamentally different parts. The first part - conditionally standard programs developed for hundreds and thousands of users, for example, the WordPress content management system or the Wooocommerce plugin. The second part is software developed specifically for the customer. The task of this software is to link together all the capabilities of standard software tools, and also solve those problems for which there are no ready-made solutions. This article is devoted to the software from the second part of this classification.

In order to develop a specialized part of the project, the contractor must have a document that will list required functions and characteristics of the future site. On the one hand, the contractor cannot guess the wishes of the customer. On the other hand, the customer does not always have complete information about the capabilities of a particular software. Therefore, we will try to list the usual stages and the typical milestones for the development of an online store. For the sake of clarity, we will use the WordPress/Woocommerce technology, however, all the information below is quite applicable to other technology options. Note that many of these milestones are valid for creating a corporate portal or personal blog.

Installing a template
Finding and downloading a suitable template.
Importing demo content.
Negotiating with the technical support of the template store.

Often, contacting technical support does not bring results, web studio programmers solve problems and fix problems on their own.

Bringing the website software kit and purchased template to a technically sound state.
Elimination of conflicts between the site software and the template related to the mismatch of software versions and errors and shortcomings of the template developers.
The software errors
Elimination of errors of developers of rarely used software.

Often the specialized software modules such as templates (for Wordpress we use the term “theme”) are rarely used. They are used by a small (several hundred, or even less) number of programmers. In this regard, in the event that there is an error in the code, there is a possibility that this error will not be detected immediately.

Elimination of software version conflicts.

There are often errors related to the lack of compatibility of the purchased template with new versions of software such as Wordpress, Woocommerce, etc.

The main menu
Programming and filling the menu.
Elimination of possible collisions, such as, for example, unwanted overlap of menu sections on some content of pages.
Elimination of possible layout and/or logic errors, especially in the mobile version of the menu.

The appearance of the menu in most paid templates is programmed by the template developers.

Product category menu
The refinement of the product categories menu.

Elimination of possible layout and/or logic errors, which are often found in template developers, especially in the mobile version of the menu.

The programming of the product categories menu.

Product categories can be created automatically from the product categories available in the system (original development by the programmers of our web studio).

The development of the product categories menu layout.

As a rule, the product categories menu is not a part of the paid templates software, with rare exceptions. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the menu layout, both for stationary and mobile devices.

Special features
Product data import systems.

Integration of structured XML, XLS, or other files with the product database of an existing online store using specialized software.

Discount systems.

Non-standard software, with the help of which product prices in an online store become dynamic, i.e. they depend on the amount of the order, the category of the buyer, etc.

Articles section
The programming of a system of article categories.

The feasibility of costs for the placement of original texts discussed in detail in this article. The system of categories serves to organize publications if the number af them does exceed several dozen.

Настройка страниц вывода списков статей.

The site administrator has the opportunity to publish one-page articles that automatically fall into in the appropriate category sections. All publication lists have automatic pagination (the so-called fragments that a site visitor can scroll through).

Photo gallery
Photo gallery programming

There are many frequently used JavaScript/jQuery plugins to implement the photo gallery, they are usually free. The task of the programmers is bind server-side image management algorithm to the external presentation of the photo gallery.

Filling the photo gallery

Uploading of images to projects based on technologies HTML/CSS or PHP template engine, executed by web studio staff. The customer could upload images by himself, in case of the site that have a content management system such as Wordpress.

It is recommended to upload photos with captions and alternative texts.

Logo
Logo development

Web studio employees could develop a simple loto for the customer.

Logo placement

The logo is placed in the upper left corner site pages. On some sites, the logo is duplicated in the page footer.

Иногда, в зависимости от технического и художественного решения, логотип на мобильной версии размещается по центру экрана устройства.

Favicon
What is a website favicon

The favicon is a small stylized image, which is displayed on the browser tab. It helps PC user to navigate in their open tabs. In addition, some search engines display a favicon in search results.

Favicon development

A simple favicon can be designed by employees of our web studio.

Page appearance
Our web designers and layout designers will change the appearance of the site according to the wishes of the Customer.

We will be able to change the color and nature of the background and frames. We will select the appropriate colors for the page elements, choose sizes and typefaces.

Administration panel translation
Translation from English menu and messages in the administrative panel of the site in the required language.
Creating pages
Creation of the necessary pages – “Feedback”, “How to find us” etc.

Such pages are called static pages because the nomenclature of them is predefined in the terms of reference. Pages of feature articles can be called dynamic, because in the terms of reference the number of such articles is not regulated. Accordingly, in the online store the product description pages are also dynamic.

Installing widgets
Installing widgets on the sidebar

The professional template comes with numerous widgets. Widgets are a logically separate block on the top, side or bottom panel of the site, which implements the logic for displaying or managing data. Placing widgets significantly improves the appearance and improves the quality of the functionality.

Woocommerce Settings
Configuring online store parameters

Here are just some of the parameters which we have to configure: currency display format, trade zones, delivery options, payment options, etc.

Selective access
Creating functionality for registered users.

If the site visitor has passed the registration procedure, then he has additional features: personal account, order history, etc.

Search engine indexing
Registration in the “Functionality for Webmasters” environment.

The site registration in the services “Google for Webmasters” and “Yandex-Webmaster”.

The site map.

Create a special XML file with a list of all the site pages. This file is necessary for more complete and faster indexing of the site by search engines.

Placement of links to site pages.

To speed up indexing, you need to place at least a few links to various pages of the site. Links can and should be posted both on social networks and in articles published on other sites on the Internet.

The visitor counters
The visitor counters are needed to analyze the actions of website visitors.

Counters can be placed explicitly, or they can be hidden. For an in-depth analysis of site usability, improving the conversion of advertising clicks, it is necessary to install analytical software, such as “Google Analytics” and “Yandex Metrics”.

The robots.txt file
Create a system robots.txt file.

The file is required for the correct indexing of the site by search engines.

Site security
Performing a series of special measures for preventing hackers from hacking the site.
Feedback log
Creation of functionality for storing information sent via the feedback form in the database.

The log entries contain the texts of feedback messages that have been verified by captcha, as well as additional information about orders.

There are a lot of options for improving the quality of the site. We have listed the main ones. In each specific case, the terms of reference must be clarified according to the wishes of the customer and based on the analysis of competitors operating in the market.

Piggyback campaign…
Typical customer q…

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