My slidedeck 2012 WordCamp LA Presentation

1. eCommerce & WordPress: What’s the right
solution for you?
WordCamp Los Angeles, 2012 #wcla
Presented by Belsien Thomas (@belsien)
WP Power Guide http://wppowerguide.com

2. About Me – Belsien Thomas (@belsien)
• Have been building websites with various programming languages (Java,
PHP, ASP) for over 12+ years. Built and designed fully custom shopping
carts with Enterprise technology (Java/Oracle) as well as Open Source
Platforms like WordPress and Magento.
• Worked with WordPress since 2006 (version 2). I use WordPress & other
Open Source Platforms & software everyday.
• Worked on eCommerce for last 7 years as a technology manager working
with consumer brands, clients, and companies.
• Visit my Blog http://wppowerguide.com for detailed guides and use cases
on how to utilize WordPress as an Application Platform & CMS in powerful
ways. “Take WordPress further than a blog.”

3. Agenda
eCommerce & WordPress: What’s the right solution for you?
1 General eCommerce requirements & factors Shopping Cart
Graphic here
2 Creating a store: What are your choices?
3 Review of WordPress specific solutions
http://wppowerguide.com

4. eCommere, why should you care?
U.S. e-commerce market over $200 Billion, Growth rate of
9% through 2015. Yet still only 10% of all total retail in U.S.
Source: Forrester, USOnline Retail Forecast (Feb 2011)
(http://www.forrester.com/rb/Research/us_online_retail_forecast%2C_2010_to_2015/q/id/58596/t/2)

5. What was that again?

6. What goes into eCommerce websites?
Order History
PCI Compliance Merchant Accounts
Analytics
Product Search
Navigation & Filtering
SSL Certificates
Security
Mobile Support Order Fulfillment
Customer Support Coupons & Promotions
Product Images
Customer Reviews Payment Gateways
My Account
Email Confirmations
Checkout Funnel Address
Shipping Rates Validation
Performance &
Dedicated Hosting
Returns and Refund
Affiliates
Taxes
Campaign Tracking

7. Your options when accepting Payments
Online
Onsite Payments Offsite Payments
• Seamless checkout, preserve • Different website, some users
user experience may not be used to bouncing
• Control over all pages & to another website
limit checkout steps • More checkout steps
• More work to setup: • No need for SSL certificate
Dedicated hosting, SSL • No PCI Compliance
Certificate Required • More fees associated for
• Must meet PCI Compliance handling complexity
• Merchant Account Required
*Hybrid Solutions exist like Stripe: No PCI Compliance needed, but still need
SSL Cert and development integration to work.

8. Payment Processing: Authorize & Capture
What that happens in the few seconds
when you place an order?
Customer Places
Order on Secure
Server
Funds are transferred Application attempts
to Merchant Account to Authorize Credit
(funds are Captured) Card data.
Payment Gateway Credit Card Data
connects to actual Securely Transferred
Bank (Authorize) to Payment Gateway

9. Payment Card Industry (PCI)
Compliance Requirements
• PCI-DDS has 12 total requirements all merchants & businesses that transmit and
store credit card data for online payments have to meet.
– Build & Maintain a Secure Network
– Protect Cardholder Data
– Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program
– Implement Access Control Measures
– Regularly Monitor & Test Networks
– Maintain Information Security Policy
Full Standard here: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/security_standards/pci_dss.shtml
• Enforced by Credit card brands Visa, MC, Amex, etc. Fines as much as $50,000 each
offense
• You are legally responsible to ensure your business & website is PCI compliant. Even
though you may not own the servers or networks used.

10. Other Security & Web Hosting
Requirements
• Tell your web host you are doing eCommerce and specifically ask
which plans are PCI compliant.
• Most, if not all, shared hosting plans are NOT PCI compliant. Even
VPS plans may not be compliant. Best to go with dedicated hosting
solution.
• Shared hosting environments do not have enough resources to run
most eCommerce software. Will need at least 128MB (preferably
more) of dedicated server memory.
• SSL Certificates require dedicated IP’s as well.

11. Agenda
eCommerce & WordPress: What’s the right solution for you?
✓ 1 eCommerce requirements and factors
Shopping Cart
Graphic here
2 Creating a store: What are your choices?
3 Review of WordPress specific solutions
http://wppowerguide.com

12. What are your choices for an Online Store?
Build it! Buy it!
• Do you have years of web design and • Do you have some web design &
web development experience? development experience?
• If not, can you afford to hire • Can you purchase an Enterprise
someone/team to built it from scratch? shopping cart
platform?(Demandware, Marketlive, A
• Can you continue to support software TG/Oracle)
& fix bugs?
• If not, can you leverage an Open
• Do you require many features which Source Shopping Cart platform?
are not already developed by any (WordPress, Magento, Drupal, osCom
prebuilt solution? merce, etc.)
• Are you willing to wait months or over a • Hosted eCommerce options exist
1 year to have your store live?
• Do you want less software
maintenance?
• Do you want your site live sooner
rather than later?

13. Fully Hosted
(Shopify, BigCommerce, Volusion)
-Easy to start selling quickly -Website functionality and features
-Least amount of technical steps are not in your control.
involved -Websites designs and templates are
-Common Marketing features mostly poor, little to no
available differentiation between stores.
-SEO customizations hard to make.
-Shipping Integration options limited
-Monthly costs and fees add up and
limit growth. Pricing based on
Catalog size and Transactions

14. Magento Commerce
(Community & Enterprise)
-Comes with plenty of eCommerce Features -Steep learning curve: Higher Complexity &
Harder to troubleshoot. Requires
-Great support for Catalog Management experienced developer for many tasks.
(unlimited product attributes)
-Admin interface is not intuitive, options are
-Product Search works well buried in unrelated & different sections.
-Multi-store support -Very little (if any) control over Theme
-Internationalization support options such as Navigation menus & styles
-Solid Development Framework for by non-developers.
extending core features -CMS features of community edition are
-Regular Software Updates rudimentary, page hierarchies only allowed
in Enterprise version.
-Poor & outdated documentation.
-Very intensive server
requirements, otherwise runs very slow.

15. WordPress
(wp e-
Commerce, WooCommerce, Shopp, etc.
-Easy to use & intuitive admin -No real “Multi-store” support, WPMU
-Can customize Theme look & feel installs don’t work well with many
without touching much code eCommerce plugins.
-Multiple Low cost eCommerce -No common support for Integration
solutions, support for standard & Enterprise Systems (Shipping &
advanced eCommerce features Warehouse management, Accounting)
-Over 19,000+ existing plugins for -eCommerce support relatively
additional features & functionality (SEO) new, only 5 years since first plugin
developed (wp-eCommerce circa 2007)
-Very Strong & Flexible CMS
-Active Support Community &
Documentation
-Regular Software Updates

16. Typical Lead Time & Preparation with various solutions
Enterprise Software (Marketlive, Demandware)
Grow/Hire Dedicated
Development & Designers
Magento
(Custom Look & Feel)
Find Experience Web
Developer with knowledge
WordPress
Setup & Configure Complex of Framework (not just
Network & Web Server Frontend Templates) Setup Single Dedicated Server
Infrastructure
Setup & Configure Multiple Install eCommerce Plugin &
Integrate with Web Servers add-ons/extensions
Shipping, Accounting, and
other Enterprise Software Build Integration with
Systems existing Software Systems Find compatible
Theme, change settings in
Admin.
Customize advanced Customize shopping cart
shopping cart code & code, features, & Templates
features Customize as needed

17. Which solution is ideal for your business size?
eCommerce Platform Enterprise Magento WordPress
Provider
Budget $1M - $100,000 $50,000 - $1,000 $1,000 - $100
Orders Per Day 1000+ 500+ Under 500
Products in Catalog 100,000+ 10,000+ Under 1000
Other Software Integrations Multiple Systems 1-2 Systems 0-1 System
(Warehouse, (Warehouse, (Accounting)
Accounting, CRM) Accounting)
Development Skills & Resources Large Team 1-5 0-1
Internationalization/Multi Language YES YES YES
Ideal for Multiple Stores YES YES NO

18. Takeaways: WordPress vs. other choices
• Most economical choice
• Least technically complicated to setup and
maintain
• Easy to use & flexible CMS
• Leverage thousands of Plugins and Themes
• Active User & Development Community
• Best option for solo-entrepreneurs, startups &
small businesses

19. Agenda
eCommerce & WordPress: What’s the right solution for you?
Your own sub headline
✓ 1 eCommerce requirements and factors
Shopping Cart
Graphic here
✓ 2 Creating a store: What are your choices?
3 Review of WordPress specific solutions
http://wppowerguide.com

20. eCommerce on WordPress
2 Types of Solutions
Plugin Theme
• More flexible, works • Takes over the entire
with many difference User Frontend
themes Experience
• Usually single plugin • Usually comes with
itself is not complete many Widgets & Plugins
solution. Additional built into theme
Modules required
• Easier to setup, good if
• Finer Control over purpose of website is to
storefront features sell a single type of
• Takes more time to product/service.
setup

21. WordPress eCommerce Themes
• Templatic: 11 Themes built on Custom eCommerce Framework
(Great Professional UI)
• StoreFrontThemes: 12 Themes build on WP e-Commerce Plugin
(extra modules are additional cost)
• Splashing Pixles: Design studio focused on eCommerce themes
for multiple plugins (WP e-Commerce & WooCommerce)
• WooCommerce: 24 Themes built on WooCommerce Plugin
• MarketPress by WPMU (theme + plugin): Focus on Multisite &
BuddyPress Support
• Themeforest.net Over 70+ eCommerce Themes

22. Popular WordPress
eCommerce Plugins

23. Factors to consider when choosing
an eCommerce Plugin
1. Cost Involved: Software + Support
2. Features & Overall Completeness of
eCommerce Solution
3. Theme Options & Providers
4. Support & Developer tools

24. Review of 3 Popular eCommerce plugins
• WP-eCommerce
– First eCommerce plugin on WP, circa 2007
– Upcoming overhaul of code v3.9+
• WooCommerce
– Popular choice for features & themes, plenty
of extensions & add-on
• Shopp
– All in 1 solution, different approach to support
& services

25. Scorecard

26. Summary of eCommerce plugin review
WP e-Commerce WooCommerce Shopp
3.8.8.5 1.6.5.1 1.2.3
Core Plugin FREE FREE $55 (single) /
$299 (unlim)
Additional Modules $47 - $197 $20 - $75 $50 - $75
Professional/Priority Support $47- $247 External partners $49 - $199
Marketing Features & Overall 3 4 3.5
Completeness (scale 1-4)
Theme Options & Providers (scale 1-4) 3 4 2
Support & Developer Tools (scale 1-4) 2.5 3 3.5

27. Future Improvements for eCommerce on WP
• Providers need some standardized
integration tools to 3rd party software
systems for larger businesses
(Accounting, Warehouse, CRM etc.)
• Need more adoption & buy in from larger
business clients.

28. eCommerce & WordPress:
What’s the right solution for you?
Slides available online: http://wppowerguide.com/wordcampla
Upcoming Hands-On WordPress Workshops in Los Angeles:
1. Oct 6th: Intensive Guide to WordPress
• Signup via Southern California WordPress Group
Meetup Group Event Page
2. ~ Late November: eCommerce Workshop
• Updates on Event Signup http://wppowerguide.com

29. THANK YOU!