SimpleCaddy

SimpleCaddy is offered by Atlantic Intelligence. It is an easy to use interface to offering products to site visitors and handing off payment processing to PayPal.

Installation

In order to install, download the SimpleCaddy Package, and unzip it locally. Next, separately install the Component and Plugin located within the zip file. There is a Module that can be installed if you want to display the cart on the page. If the developer were to create a package installer for all extensions, it would make the installation easier for novices.

The SimpleCaddy Control Centre allows you to choose options available.

Configuration

Voucher Editor

A nice feature is the ability to define vouchers that can be used for specific periods of time.

Product Editor

The Product Editor provides a means for defining a produce code, name, Category, available quantity, unit price, and shipping points.

Product Manager

Items can be sorted by code, description, category, price, or quantity. Products can easily be published and unpublished.

Checkout Fields

Custom Checkout Fields can be defined and ordered for order processing. There is also an interface for viewing orders. SimplyCaddy passes off order processing to PayPal.

Product Display

SimpleCaddy displays products using a normal Joomla! Article. To display a Product, simply add the Plugin code: {simplecaddy code=1} to your Article where the code number matches the product number defined.

Site Display

To display the products on the site, use normal Joomla! Article Menu Items. Product information is added to your article. The customer can enter the number of items desired and press the Add to cart button.

Cart

The shopping cart is then displayed and the customer can place the order, continue shopping, or empty the cart.

PayPal Interface

Before the order is processed, the customer enters information configured as required and then presses the PayPal button to complete the order. The workflow seems confusing and could result in lost sales if customers do not recognize they must press the Pay Pal button to continue.

PayPal

Links & Further Information:

• Team EaSE Resources
• Check out Issue 5 Comparison Spreadsheet .pdf below

EWID

Ecwid is a Web Service that makes it easy to embed e-Commerce capabilities into any Web site, including Joomla!. It is well integrated with other Web services, allowing you to authenticate with services like Google email, Facebook, Flickr, Yahoo!, Twitter, and Windows Live ID.

Configuration

Product catalogs, customer, and sales data can be accessed and configured using the Ecwid Web site and a secure protocol. You can sign up for a free account, and also upgrade to a professional service for added functionality.

Product Editor

To begin, you can define your products. There is a rich array of attributes available. Basic information like product name, price, description, unit of measure, product weight, and images are available. It is possible to include a gallery of images per product. The interface makes it easy to distribute software and files after payment processing is complete.

Product Categories

You can define categories (and subcategories) using text and images.

Shipping & Taxes

Several shipping options are available and tax can be calculated using a fixed rate. There are sophisticated options available for different shipping options, taxes, payment options, and so on.

Payment Processing

Payment Processing can be accomplished in a number of ways including Google Checkout, PayPal, Credit Card, ECheck, Check, Fax order, Money order, personal check, purchase order and phone order. The choices are extremely flexible.

Standard & Custom CSS

The standard CSS provides an attractive, nuetral look that blends well with most designs. There are choices of standard CSS themes available, along with ability to customize the CSS, as desired.

Copy & Paste HTML

Ecwid offers widgets that display single products or groups of products within your Web site. You simply copy the HTML code from Ecwid.

Joomla! Custom HTML Module

To display products within your Web site, create a Joomla! Custom Joomla! Custom HTML Module, and paste the Ecwid HTML into the Module text. Alternatively, you can paste the HTML into an Article and use the Article to display single Products or the entire Product Catalog.

Note: Make certain you are logged on as an Administrator so that the HTML is not filtered by Joomla! (or modify the HTML filter settings, as needed.) Also, turn the WYSIWYG Editor off for the Administrator to prevent filtering of the HTML.

Site Interface

The interface is attractive and very simple to use. Customers can specify the values required, like color and size, and press the “Add to Bag” pushbutton.

Shopping Cart

Once a product has been added to the cart, a small “shopping bag” is displayed at the bottom of the page, containing an “Open Bag” link that leads to the checkout process, payment options, and confirmation, placing the order, email notifying the customer, and providing a “print this invoice” option.

Customer & Order Information

Within the Ecwid Web site, you can review your list of orders, and individual orders. Each order can be reviewed individually, too.The Web Service is very powerful and extremely easy to use. Novice users should feel very comfortable with the User Interface and integrating with Joomla!.

Links & Further Information:

• Team EaSE Resources
• Check out Issue 5 Comparison Spreadsheet .pdf below

GoogleCheckout

Google Checkout offers services and methods that help create simple e-commerce functionality. Google merchants can create “Buy Now” buttons with custom attributes and paste resultant code into their Joomla! website with ease. Although, not as feature rich as Paypal with mobile and virtual payment enhancements, Google Checkout offers an extra layer of simplicity to create a basic online shop with a gadget.

3 Simple steps to a Google Checkout Gadget Store

• Sign-up or sign-in to access your Google checkout account;
• Select or Create a Google docs spreadsheet to populate inventory information.
• Copy and paste to embed code into your Joomla! article or module.
  •  
    1. Login to access your PayPal Merchant Account;
    2. My Account tab > Click on Profile>Selling Preferences> Click on My Saved Buttons;
    3. Click Create New Button in the right sidebar:
       • Step 1: Choose button type and enter payment details;
       • Step 2 : Save button and modify selection of optional features which include track inventory as well as profit and loss;
       • Step 3: Customize checkout pages and advanced HTML form variables;
       • Click Create Button to generate your button code.
    • Copy generated code;
    • Paste into your article or module position of choice.

  Google Checkout (Buy Now Button Code)

PayPal

The process of integrating PayPal into your websites can be extremely simple. You do not have to have a Joomla! extension because PayPal offers merchants a button creation tool that generates several types of buttons, including: Buy now, add to cart, donations, gift certificates, subscriptions, automatic billing, and installment plan.

You can add attributes such as sizes, colors, and any custom attribute, with a few clicks of a mouse. Once the button code is generated, simply copy and paste into your article or Custom HTML module and publish. Yes, it is just that simple.

Step by Step

PayPal Button Code