Joys of looking...

[Martin]

Well, I've started the process in earnest and realised that I really do not want to be spending months of my time writing custom modules, add-ons or other tinkering just to get it to work so this is turning into something of a slog fest.

Prestashop is a dead duck as it doesn't support true multi-currency (ie: payment in the displayed forex currency) but just shows what it might cost based on an exchange rate. Doesn't help that the modules available get slated for their support so no joy there.

Magento just got a big no from BabyReflux and having spent some time trying to understand it, the update process really put me off...

BigCommerce... LOL... Do you need to ask?

Shopify
Not self-hosted and doesn't support single stores with multi-currency. Also has a frustrating monthly app cost for most add-ons which adds to the price... Throw in Stripe as the primary payment processor and extra costs for using an external processor I'm not too keen.. That said it's ticking a few small boxes so may become a test site sometime soon just to kick the tyres.

All in all, it's going to be a long, painful process...

[DBMAN]

It's a true shame there are not decent alternatives and I agree.

Real shame that Prestashop seems to have gone downhill in many ways recently and at one point I thought they would be the go-to next step.

I'm thinking about writing an html site from scratch with a landing page (of course) and lots of animated gifs and links to irrelevant sites at this point!

[Martin]

As it happens I've been spending a bit more time on this thanks to a gently nudge from a couple of people and I seem to be leaning towards WooCommerce for a limited range store, particularly because of its support for real multi-currency payment gateways and orders.

If it works out well then I'll be pushing things forward towards another site using the same system but it will depend heavily on how well I can integrate a couple of key services in.

I'm also giving very real consideration to shifting to Xero instead of Kashflow for my accounts as the lack of API support is really starting to hurt now.

Anyway... we'll see... But I can tell you the lack of proper multi-currency support without requiring a PhD has been a real trial..

[DBMAN]

Hey Martin!
Don't think I ever saw a posting on what you actually went with for development.

Since my USPS issue is not fixable with my feeble mind and no one is really around these days to help I'm forced to start the process everyone dreads.

Without USPS automatic and maybe Paypal breaking not far behind it is a required journey unfortunately and I guess I had a good run!
That run was lengthened in large part due to your support and in whole by your creation of the community here.

I'm confident that your vetting process is a complete one and would be interested in your opinions and final choice if it has been made and if you have the time.

[Martin]

Very short version is that I've opted to hit WooCommerce...

It is nothing like ISC's tidy system as the whole thing bolts on the Wordpress so it's not going to be for everyone.

My first foray is going to be with two specific small scale sites that cover a small sub-section of my product base where a few mistakes won't cost us too dearly.

If all goes well I'll be moving our product base across for the main store to WooC' in about 6 months time...

I'll feedback as/when.

[DBMAN]

Thanks Martin.

Seeing no USPS file or fix I've begrudgingly started in earnest today. I figured you yourself would not likely have the USPS files/fixes due to your location but worth asking in context.

I looked at Woo but as you note it is tied to Wordpress and I don't like that option though it would work well I think for a lot of people. Looked again at Prestashop and Magento and now I think I will go with Magento which appears to have a little more support out there despite a lower share.

My first issue is multiple images but I've started to get that to work somewhat at least with getting the images themselves in (no joy yet with alt labels).

It appears that I will have to create a number of CSV imports as a work around to unknown import issues with Magento. I will say their database structure is a mess and makes direct importing a nightmare if not impossible.

Out of the box I'm ok with most of it including the vanilla theme which is clean and for my purposes will need minimal adjustment. Seemed like a number of half decent themes available too for those that don't like to tweak the hell out of things.