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Best platform for eCommerce with complex custom products?

by mjwhit
8 replies
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Looking to build my first e-commerce store and I have hit a snag.

I am looking to build a site with custom product functionality simular to that of Custom Tailored Mens Suits and Shirts | Suitly.com.

All platforms that I have seen have custom product options, but I need more than what they offer, at least out of the box/plugins etc.

I dont want image previews of the product as each step is selected, but thumbnail images and extra text describing each option is a must.

How would you go about building such a thing?
#complex #custom #ecommerce #platform #products
  • Profile picture of the author serpyre
    No one, oh well, try Magento and bundles, don't make it complex by building complex scripts, just use where there is out of the box.
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    • Profile picture of the author Solid Commerce
      Originally Posted by serpyre View Post

      No one, oh well, try Magento and bundles, don't make it complex by building complex scripts, just use where there is out of the box.
      I would agree with this. When it comes to building out specific functionality exactly the way you want it, the high level of customizability that Magento offers is almost definitely your best bet.
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  • Profile picture of the author tiana with ecomdash
    Magento Community could be a good fit. It's open sourced, meaning you'd be responsible for developing and implementing code. You've also got access to the other developers using Community, who often contribute code for others to use. But, if the back-end development isn't really your forte, I'd say maybe Shopify? You can customize your template and download apps from there app store. Might be worth a look.

    Good luck!
    Tiana with ecomdash
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  • Profile picture of the author mjwhit
    Thankyou everyone for the advice.

    The functionality I need is available in Shopify using the "product builder" app but unfortunately it has no options available to how it displays. Im fairly sure I will have to use something custom as I want the options to appear in a full width lightbox step by step, and when an option is selected the lightbox will refresh and display the next option.

    I looked into the Magento bundles and that is the functionality needed I believe, but again I would need to edit how it displays. Would that be a difficult job for someone to customise? This is definately looking like my best bet at the moment.

    I talked to a developer and he said his preference would be to use Wordpress for the site and write something custom for the product options, or even better to build a fully custom php site. Im guessing that was his attempt at an upsell and probably not really necessary. Wordpress or shopify certainly appeals to me as it has a back end that I am comfortable with.

    I will have a look into Spree.
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  • Profile picture of the author serpyre
    Why does everyone make it so complex, you don't need any custom code, you can do it with custom options or bundles in Magento, and if you want something a little more user friendly there are some extensions that allow you image selections just like the example.

    There is rarely a need to custom code in better plaforms, the smaller platforms are targeting smaller businesses so yes you do need to code, but the key is that if it isn't in the box you have probably chosen the wrong platform. We knock these Magento sites out end-to-end in a couple or weeks, last one was $2,500 and is happily running without any material custom code - just some minor tweaks.

    All people are ever trying to do is upsell their services and startups wanting some fancy widget that can be covered 95% out of the box, what is wrong with just paying a fair price for something that works - never did get it.
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    • Profile picture of the author mjwhit
      Originally Posted by serpyre View Post

      but the key is that if it isn't in the box you have probably chosen the wrong platform
      My thinking as well, Im just not familiar with many platforms so I thought it would be prudent to ask. What I need isn't too complex so I was reasonably sure I could find a platform that supported it without much hassle.

      Originally Posted by serpyre View Post

      Why does everyone make it so complex, you don't need any custom code, you can do it with custom options or bundles in Magento, and if you want something a little more user friendly there are some extensions that allow you image selections just like the example.
      Ok my mind is made up, thankyou.
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      • Profile picture of the author thriftgirl62
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