Taking WordPress ecommerce to new levels

by slingshot on May 15, 2012

We’re very proud of the ecommerce site that we’ve just completed for Angel Heart, the Cape Town-based range of jewellery and accessories.

Their pieces are all created around 61 different charms and gemstones that are manufactured in the customer’s choice of silver or dipped gold. These can be ordered as necklaces, bracelets or wrap bracelets, which can be either silver chain, silk or leather. Customers can choose from 15 different colours of silk, or 10 colours of leather. And, to make matters more interesting, necklaces cannot be leather and wrap bracelets cannot be chain.

The first thing we did was to take the client’s product list – with its almost infinite combinations – and reduce it to some kind of structure (we joked that this part of the process alone was the most valuable thing we did for them). In defining the algorithm, we uncovered a number of pricing inconsistencies.

A further requirement was that the site needed to allow for three different pricing tiers, with the logged-in customer’s status/role determining which pricing should be visible to them. Of course, each tier’s pricing needed to work within the ‘order wizard’ that we built.

Thereafter followed what lays claim to being the most complex WordPress ecommerce build of all time.

We like working in WordPress because its super user-friendly and enables us to deliver a cost-effective solution for our clients. However, while WordPress happily accommodates small, medium and large as variations, with a few colours, the Angel Heart site went way beyond the previously accepted limits.

The end result ended up being far more time-intensive than we’d budgeted when we costed the job, but it works – which is ultimately the most important measure.

Click here to check out our special offers.

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eCommerce Special Offer

by Oscar Foulkes on February 28, 2012

When Gumtree.co.za is advertising on 5FM and Kalahari.net is flighting ads on TV, to reference just two online businesses buying expensive mainstream media, you know that this ecommerce ‘thing’ has taken hold in South Africa. Of course, we’ve been watching double-digit growth in international online retail for years. No matter how small the base may have been in the beginning, if you keep compounding double-digit growth you’re going to end up with a sizeable chunk of the market, which is where we are now.

I’m not going to pretend that the really big players haven’t spent millions of dollars on their websites. The fact is this: anyone can go out and sell something online. I’ve been selling various products online since the mid-noughties, most recently on sites I’ve built myself (Nomushop.co.za, Cloofwines.co.za, Ohmg.co.za and Dishfoodmarket.com). What I’m seeing is very, very exciting indeed.

Taking a leaf out of the way that I’ve promoted sales growth on these sites, I’ve launched a special offer on ecommerce sites. For as little as $999 you could have your very own online shop. There is also The Full Monty version, which comes with fully customised look and feel and bespoke sales strategy, at $2999. Or, if you already have an online shop that perhaps isn’t performing the way you expected, I’m also offering a Makeover option.

Click here to check out the detail.

Special Offer

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