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first time poster here at the Photography Stack Exchange. My question relates to a self hosted eCommerce option for a photography website. First, I'll give a few details that may better help understand what I am looking for.

I have a client who is a freelance photographer. I am a WordPress developer. I initially created her site using a heavily modified Photocrati theme about a year and a half ago. At the time she did not wish to include any eCommerce functionality. From the start I noticed a log of buggy behavior with the Photocrati theme, and created many code work-arounds to achieve what I wanted with regards to design and functionality. The client now wishes for the added functionality of eCommerce, with the ability to have private password protected galleries for her clients. I've began working some with the site, and have now found that the Photocrati theme is no longer functioning correctly. That being said, I think it is time to rebuild the site from scratch not using a pre-built theme.

I'm looking for a self hosted eCommerce solution that will work on sub-domains, and also be non Flash as Flash is not supported on iOS devices. The portfolio/informational site will be a WordPress site and the idea is to include the eCommece portion of it at a sub-domain. The eCommerce software would not need to actually send the orders to be printed, just allow the user to select print size and quantity and of course pay for their order.

If I've left anything unclear, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll look forward to some great replies!

AndyWarren
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  • possible duplicate of What solutions are available for a self-hosted portfolio website? – mattdm Jan 22 '13 at 02:36
  • @mattdm - While that is related, that isn't specifically about the eCommerce and print fulfillment side, which this question is. This is also for non-flash only options. – dpollitt Jan 22 '13 at 02:39
  • That one also specifically asks for non-flash, which is what I remembered about it. You're right that it doesn't focus on e-commerce. – mattdm Jan 22 '13 at 02:42
  • Ah yes, you are right. Well in any case I think that a portfolio site is really different then a eCommerce/print fullfillment site. They are really important distinctions, although some sites do contain both. – dpollitt Jan 22 '13 at 02:45
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    Really it this point I am wondering why you do not just make the software yourself. If fulfillment is not needed, you have a very simple problem on your hands considering Wordpress handles content and publication. – Itai Jan 22 '13 at 02:48
  • @Itai it isn't easy to build an application if you have zero experience in it :). Specifically he's looking at handling the commerce. Factor in things like payment gateways you'll see that this is a lot of work involved. Packaged solutions would be great for him. – Peng Tuck Kwok Jan 22 '13 at 04:59
  • Thanks for the info guys/gals. Building the application myself is an option I'd rather not venture after. It's a possibility, but at this point more work and time than I'd like to put into this. I'll take a look at that first comment's link as well. – AndyWarren Jan 22 '13 at 12:48
  • The thing is that you have to balance control and reuse. Doing it all from scratch is a huge task but I usually prefer reusing components that are easier to isolate. For example, using an API to process payment and handle the cart is easier and that leaves the business logic of choosing paper sizes and framing options (for example) to you. – Itai Jan 22 '13 at 14:25
  • Isn't website development off-topic?

    http://photo.stackexchange.com/faq

     – MikeW Feb 01 '13 at 05:40
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is about web site development. – scottbb Nov 28 '17 at 12:26
  • @scottbb This question is almost five years old, and also NOT about website development, but rather recommendations for photography based websites. I think its relevant because I am asking what people use or have experience with. Why vote to close a decent question with a good answer that was asked five years ago? – AndyWarren Nov 29 '17 at 14:12
  • @AndyWarren This came up in the close review queue, so I assume it was flagged as OT. Perhaps it's not strictly web site development per se, but it has elements of that, considering some of the recommendations go that direction. – scottbb Nov 29 '17 at 20:02
  • @AndyWarren However, the question seeking a product recommendation (which is generally OT here). And considering the relatively short lifespan of web hosting services (the first 2 recommendations of the accepted answer are EOL or dead links), IMO that argues in favor of closing as OT. We have several questions that have been closed as important historically, but not necessarily indicators of good (or topical) questions by today's standards. – scottbb Nov 29 '17 at 20:02
  • @scottbb I understand. Close if you must or feel like it will better the exchange. – AndyWarren Nov 29 '17 at 20:55
  • @AndyWarren Also, I'm only a 13k rep user. I'm not a mod with close power. It still requires 4 other users to agree to vote to close. I could easily be wrong or an outlier. – scottbb Nov 29 '17 at 21:09

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My original recommendation was RedCart. I was thinking that they did have a non-flash based option for mobile users. Unfortunately at this time they do not. They have promised that as an option with or right after version 4, which is slated for February 2013. Since that is still down the road, you might want to hold off. I still really like RedCart and suggest you browse it anyways.

Other options beyond RedCart include:

Redcart is a great all around solution and very popular. RedCart isn't cheap at $599 for the self hosted option, but it is a very complete and industry tested solution. Description from the Redcart site:

RedCart is a host-it-yourself online proofing and shopping cart system for professional photographers. You install the system on your own web site (or we host it) and you maintain complete control over the print fulfillment process to maximize profits!

You might even want to try something like ZenFolio. It isn't self hosted, but really print fulfillment is a complicated process and having it hosted can be a great thing.

dpollitt
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  • My answer is bad, but I'll leave it here anyways as someone may find it useful :( – dpollitt Jan 22 '13 at 02:57
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    Thanks for the info. RedCart was actually towards the top of my list. My concern is that is front end is Flashed based. I had emailed them asking some questions, they did tell me about Version 4 having mobile support, but they didn't have a firm ETA for it. Said it was still a few months out. I'll take a look at the other options you provided. Thanks. – AndyWarren Jan 22 '13 at 12:51
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    From the looks of it I think PhotoCart from PicturePro is going to be a decent option. Thanks again. – AndyWarren Jan 22 '13 at 17:22