E-Commerce update for DJ-Catalog2 Sneak Peek

26 November, 2021

I wanted to share with you what are we working on recently for DJ-Catalog2 - our directory and catalog extension.

Soon it will become an e-commerce solution.

Step by step we will be adding features to make it a full shopping cart.

The first phase will be releasing the Beta version of DJ-Catalog2 with basic shop functions.

The idea is to keep the full functionality of DJ-Catalog2 used as a catalog and adding the options to use the component as an e-commerce solution for all or part of the products in case current users will like only to sell some of the products and keep some of them in catalog mode.

After gathering more feedback from you, new features will come.

What will we see in 3.6 Beta version?

A slight change in the component's menu

The new menu is more organized and divided into sections to make the browsing features easier.

Taxes, taxes, taxes

Vat rates

For a start, DJ-Catalog2 will have full control over European Union Vat tax. By default, we provide all (over 80) EU VAT rates (standard and non-standard).

Vat rules

Setting the VAT rules will be possible. For example, you will be able to set the basic rate of tax and assign other rates from other countries. For example, if standard Vat rate in Poland is 23%, I can connect standard rates from other EU countries, and then the system will use the linked rates automatically for different countries.

New "Prices" view in the back end

The new view brings the faster method of adjusting the prices. You can sort the products by the category and producer and just type new prices without the need of opening the product.

New "Orders" view in the back-end

Each shop needs to have the place where the administrator can see all the orders and their statuses. It will be no different in DJ-Catalog2.

The new orders list shows all the orders, and you can change their statuses and see most relevant information as order number, date, status, total price, user details, etc.

The details view of the order lets you see all the details for the order and change/adjust them when needed.

Payment methods

Payment plugins operate with the plugins. For a start, you will find two payments plugins: bank transfer and Paypal.

The payments can be additionally expanded and work with the delivery methods. So you can connect the payment methods with deliveries and do not use those that are not compatible with the delivery method.

You can also set the price for using particular payment method (if there is an extra fee for that), choose the tax rate, assign delivery methods, set the amount of which the delivery will be free, set the publishing status and add the description.

Delivery methods

Deliveries work the similar way as payments allowing to set the same set of features.

Development plans

Beside to gathering feedback from users, we will add those features in future updates:

selling electronic products with files downloads after the purchase
sales tax for US customers
coupons/discounts
e-mail templates

The beta version of DJ-Catalog 3.6 will be released probably next week, and you will be able to test it on your websites (copies!). Then after some time we will release the stable version with e-commerce features and will start adding new features.