PHP 5 e-commerce Development -- Table of Contents -- PHP 5 e-commerce Development -- Credits -- About the Author -- About the Reviewers -- Preface -- What this book covers -- What you need for this book -- Who this book is for -- Conventions -- Reader feedback -- Customer support -- Errata -- Piracy -- Questions -- 1. PHP e-commerce -- e-commerce: Who, what, where, why? -- An overview of e-commerce -- eBay -- Amazon -- Brick 'N Mortar stores -- Service-based companies -- Why use e-commerce? -- Rolling out your own framework -- Why PHP? -- Why a framework? -- When to use an existing package? -- Existing products -- A look at e-commerce sites -- iStockphoto -- Features -- WooThemes -- Features -- eBay -- Features -- Amazon -- Features -- Play.com -- Features -- e-commerce: What does it need to do/have? -- Products -- Checkout process -- General -- Our framework: What is it going to do? -- Our framework: Why is it going to do it? -- Juniper Theatricals -- Summary -- 2. Planning our Framework -- Designing a killer framework -- Patterns -- Model-View-Controller (MVC) -- Registry -- Singleton -- Structure -- Building a killer framework -- Pattern implementation -- MVC -- Registry -- Settings -- Data -- Code -- Singleton -- Registry objects -- Database -- Our database object -- Extending the database object -- User authentication -- Template management -- Extending the template management object -- E-mail sending -- Other potential modules -- Email parsing -- Security management -- Filesystem management -- Routing requests -- An alternative: With a router -- Processing the incoming URL within our registry object -- index.php -- .htaccess file -- Configuration file -- What about e-commerce? -- An e-commerce registry? -- Summary -- 3. Products and Categories -- What we need -- Product information -- Category information.

Structuring content within our framework -- Pages -- Content -- Versioning -- Building products, categories, and content functionality into our framework -- Database -- Content -- Content types -- Content versions -- Products -- Categories -- Pages within our framework -- Model -- The constructor -- Other methods -- View -- Header template -- Footer template -- Page template -- 404 error template -- Other templates -- Controller -- Products -- Model -- View -- Controller -- Categories -- Model -- View -- Category template -- Subcategories template -- Products template -- Controller -- Some thoughts -- Product and category images -- Routing products and categories -- Featured products -- Embedding products -- Summary -- 4. Product Variations and User Uploads -- Giving users choice -- Simple variants -- How could this work? -- Combinations of variants -- How will this work? -- High-level overview -- Database structure -- Attributes table -- Attribute values table -- Product-attribute-value-association table -- Template switching -- Changing our product query -- Switching the template -- Templates -- A look back at simple variants -- Giving users control -- How to customize a product? -- Uploads -- Custom text -- Limitations to this method -- Maintaining uploads -- Security considerations -- Database changes -- Extending our products table -- Template switching -- Shopping basket preparation -- Stock control -- Product variations -- Product customizations -- Basket templates -- Product subtotals -- Summary -- 5. Enhancing the User Experience -- Juniper Theatricals -- The importance of user experience -- Search -- Finding products -- Search box -- Controlling searches with the products controller -- Constructor changes -- Search function -- Search results -- Improving searches -- Filtering products -- Product attributes -- Database changes.

Filter attribute types -- Filter attribute values -- Attribute associations -- Filter options -- Processing filter requests -- Displaying filtered products -- Improving product filtering -- Providing wish lists -- Creating the structure -- Saving wishes -- Wish-list controller -- Add to wish list -- Viewing a wish list -- Controller changes -- Wish-list view -- Purchases -- Gift purchases -- Self purchases -- Improving the wish list -- Recommendations -- Related products -- Controlling the related products -- Viewing the related products -- E-mail recommendations -- Help! It's out of stock! -- Detecting stock levels -- Changing our controller -- Out of stock: A new template bit -- Tell me when it is back in stock please! -- Stock alerts database table -- More controller changes -- It is back! -- Giving power to customers -- Product ratings -- Saving a rating -- Viewing ratings -- Improving the user interface for ratings -- Product reviews -- Processing reviews/comments -- Submission form -- Adding the review -- Displaying reviews/comments -- Combining the two? -- Any other experience improvements to consider? -- Summary -- 6. The Shopping Basket -- Shopping baskets -- Our basket -- Per-page basket -- Considerations for our shopping basket -- Creating a basket -- When to build a user's basket -- Basket database -- Basket contents -- Viewing the basket -- checkBasket method -- The controller -- Adding products -- An addProduct method -- The controller -- A note on etiquette -- Adding customizable products -- Changing our basket database -- Viewing the basket -- Changing the model -- The controller -- Adding product variants -- A new database table -- Model changes -- The controller -- Editing quantities -- From visitor to a user -- The transferToUser function -- Performing the transfer -- Cleaning the basket -- Expired contents.

Displaying the basket on every page -- Functionality -- Summary -- 7. The Checkout and Order Process -- Some examples -- Amazon -- Limitations -- Useful features -- eBay -- Interesting points of note -- Play.com -- Interesting points of note -- The process -- The basket -- Voucher codes -- Shipping method -- An overview -- Authentication -- Why should we authenticate the user at this stage? -- Login -- Register -- Do nothing -- Delivery address -- Payment method -- Offline payment method -- Off-site payment method -- On-site payment method -- Confirmation -- Payment details -- Payment made -- Order processed -- Other points of note -- Summary -- 8. Shipping and Tax -- Shipping -- Shipping methods -- Shipping costs -- Product-based shipping costs -- Weight-based shipping costs -- To think about: Location-based shipping costs -- Regional shipping costs -- Third-party APIs -- Shipping rules -- Free shipping -- Capped shipping -- Tracking -- Integrating shipping costs into the basket -- Shipping methods and a default -- Calculating shipping costs based on products -- Calculating shipping costs based on product weights -- Considering shipping rules, and adjusting prices accordingly -- Tax -- Separately calculating tax values -- To think about: Location-based tax costs -- A look at our basket now -- Summary -- 9. Discounts, Vouchers, and Referrals -- Discount codes -- Discount codes data -- Discount codes database -- Discount codes functionality -- Reducing the number of codes available -- Purchasable voucher codes -- Existing functionality -- Discount codes -- Product variations -- Required additional functionality -- Referrals -- Database changes -- New table: Referrers -- Changes -- Functionality -- Checkout process consideration -- Summary -- 10. Checkout -- Order process review -- Authentication -- Delivery address -- Payment method -- Confirmation.

Storing orders in the database -- Orders table -- Order statuses -- Order items -- Order item attributes -- Payment methods -- Summary -- 11. Taking Payment for Orders -- Taking payment -- Our payment system -- Taking payment online -- PayPal -- The payment button -- Processing payment to update the order -- Direct with a credit/debit card -- Storing card details -- Not storing card details -- Other payment gateways -- Payment gateway tips -- Taking payment offline -- Summary -- 12. User Account Features -- User account area -- Changing details -- Changing password -- Changing default delivery address -- Viewing orders -- Listing orders -- Query -- Viewing an order -- Order model -- Query for order details -- Query for order items -- Cancelling an order -- Order model additions -- Controller code -- Expansion -- Summary -- 13. Administration -- Dashboard -- Products and categories -- Products -- Creating a product -- Product photograph -- Additional photographs -- Shipping costs -- Categories -- Customizable products -- Editing a product -- Save existing or new variant -- Categories -- Creating a category -- Editing a category -- Deleting a category -- Orders and customers -- Orders -- Updating an order -- Dispatch note -- Refunds -- Customers area -- Listing customers -- A customer's orders -- Miscellaneous -- Shipping -- Creating a shipping method -- Voucher codes -- Creating a voucher code -- Summary -- 14. Deploying, Security, and Maintenance -- Deploying -- Hosting accounts and domain names -- Hosting providers -- Domain name registrars -- Nameserver changes -- Manual deployment -- Setting up the database -- Creating a database on the hosting account -- Exporting our local database -- Importing the local database to the hosting account -- Uploading our store -- Settings -- Automated deployment -- Security -- Server security -- Software.

Securing the site with a firewall.