Hi, I'm a fresh graduate with a BSc in Comp sci, and I am wondering how reasonable the project I'm considering taking on as a commission is. I'm a relatively experienced programmer, but newish to web development.<p>The project is a simple ecommerce site:<p>-A couple of static pages<p>-A product listing, and the ability to add to a cart with various custom options/dropdowns<p>-Ability to edit cart<p>-Ability to place order for delivery or pickup<p>-Process payment using stripe.<p>No shipping, no need to worry about stock, as it is a food establishment. It seems pretty doable to me but Im worried about wasting the client's time, so I would like some input on how reasonable this would be for me to build in Django and React.<p>I don't need perfection, both I and the client will be satisfied with something that loads fast, looks nice, and doesn't lose orders. Though I have also found it difficult to research common pitfalls building such a site, as all I get are results related to the marketing side of ecommerce. Thoughts?
Does the client care how it's built? If they don't then build it with something like Shopify and charge them for the time you worked on it. Don't reinvent the wheel if you can help it. The point of being a software developer is to provide value, and a tried-and-true solution is more valuable to the customer than something that's not battle tested.
If you go ahead with this, you’re not building a website, you’re building an app - essentially a micro e-commerce platform.<p>I’ve built out a custom e-commerce app with Django for a client. Very similar to your requirements - product options, cart, orders etc.. There is a lot more than you think.<p>We actually championed using Shopify in the beginning but the client needed custom functionality and integration with a legacy system so we had to go with Django.<p>I would strongly suggest using something off-the-shelf if you can. There is a lot of work and maintenance in even a "small" app like this.
For a personal project, the scope doesn't seem bad. There are a lot of edge cases in both e-commerce and food ordering, though. The delivery part is especially hairy.<p>For a commercial project, the client is making a huge mistake by hiring you to build something new. There are a dazzling number of inexpensive solutions that already do this and handle the edge cases. None of those would cost nearly as much as building and maintaining this.<p>There are also open-source options that would still be more expensive than using an existing SaaS, but still doable.
Rails/Django is the quickest route. Especially rails with huge gems ecosystem and dev experience way beyond what python can offer.<p>React seems like overkill for a simple task like this.
hey, good luck with your first project<p>There are so many open source projects that would solve your problems.
Yes, setting up shopify for your client is one (easiest) way to go (at the expense of your client paying some percentage for every order)<p>Depending on your clients requirements, we can find a solution that works best for them<p>Reply here, ill try to help you