265 lines
10 KiB
Markdown
265 lines
10 KiB
Markdown
# expressCart
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## Installation
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1. Create a folder to hold your installation: `mkdir expressCart`
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2. FTP/Copy the contents of the zip to your newly created folder
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3. Enter folder: `cd expressCart`
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4. Install dependencies: `npm install`
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5. Start application: `npm start --production`
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6. Visit [http://127.0.0.1:1111](http://127.0.0.1:1111) in your browser
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Keeping expressCart running after closing the terminal can be done in a few ways but we recommend using the `PM2` package. To set this up:
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1. Install PM2: `npm install pm2 -g`
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2. Add expressCart to PM2: `NODE_ENV=production pm2 start app.js --name "expressCart"`
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3. Check PM2 has our app: `pm2 list`
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4. Save the PM2 config: `pm2 save`
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5. To start/stop: `pm2 start expressCart` / `pm2 stop expressCart`
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> Note: Node.js version 7.x or greater is needed.
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## Admin
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Visit: [http://127.0.0.1:1111/admin](http://127.0.0.1:1111/admin)
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A new user form will be shown where a user can be created.
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### Styling
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Adding your own custom style is done by accessing the `Admin` panel then selecting `General settings`.
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#### Demo images
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Sample homepage
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Admin page
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##### CSS
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You can add your own custom CSS into the `Custom CSS` box. This will be minified and added to each page.
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##### Footer
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You can add your own custom HTML footer which may have contact details, social media links etc into the `Footer HTML` box. This will be added to bottom of each page.
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### Products
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Adding of new products is done via `/admin/product/new`.
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##### Product price
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Set this value to a full 2 decimal value with no commas or currency symbols.
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##### Permalink
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A permalink is a nice link to your product which is normally shown in search engine rankings. By default, a no Permalink value is set when adding a product one will be generated using the Product title with spaces replaced by dashes.
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##### Options
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You may want to set product options such as `Size`, `Color` etc.
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Below is an explanation of the fields and what they do
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`Name` = Something easy to recognize to administer
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`Label` = This will be shown to the customer (eg: `Select size`, `Select color` etc)
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`Type` = You can set the option to a `Select` (drop down menu), `Radio` (An optional button) or a `Checkbox` for an on/off or true/false option
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`Options` = Available options are added using a comma separated list. For size options you may set: `Small,Medium,Large` or `S,M,L`
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Note: An `Options` value is not required when `Type` is set to `Checkbox`.
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##### Product tag words
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Tags are used when indexing the products for search. It's advised to set tags (keywords) so that customers can easily find the products they are searching for.
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## Database
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`expressCart` uses a MongoDB for storing all the data. Setting of the database connection string is done through the `/config/settings.json` file. There are two properties relating to the database connection:
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Example MongoDB configuration:
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```
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{
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"databaseConnectionString": "mongodb://localhost:27017/expresscart"
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}
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```
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Note: The `databaseConnectionString` property requires a full connection string. You may need to add authentication parameters to your connection string.
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> For a good and reasonably priced MongoDB Host, we recommend [mLab](https://mlab.com).
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## Configuration
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All settings are managed from the admin panel ([http://127.0.0.1:1111/admin](http://127.0.0.1:1111/admin)) except the Payment gateway and database settings.
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##### Cart name and Cart description
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These values are used for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes. They will be used as the title and description when your website is listed in Google and other search engines.
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The `Cart name` is also used if there is no logo set.
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##### Cart image/logo
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Generally you would place your logo into the `/uploads` folder. You would then add the value `/uploads/mylogo.png` to the `Cart image/logo` setting value.
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##### Cart URL
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This value is vital for your cart to work. Set this value to your domain name/URL which customers will access your website. This value is used in returning from Paypal
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payments and the sitemap for search engine indexing.
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##### Cart Email
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This email is used for any email receipts which are sent by your website.
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##### Free shipping threshold
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expressCart allows for the addition of a free shipping threshold. The cart will remove the shipping costs once the order has exceeded the `Free shipping threshold`
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value. If the value of the cart is beneath the `Free shipping threshold`, the cart will add the `Flat shipping rate` to the total amount.
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##### Payment Gateway
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This determines which payment gateway to use. You will also need to configure your payment gateway configuration file here: `/config/<gateway_name>.json`
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##### Currency symbol
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Set this value to your chosen currency symbol. Eg: $, £, €.
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##### Themes
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Themes are a set of handlebars views and a stylesheet file. See `Cloth` theme as example.
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Themes are loaded from `/public/themes/`.
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It would be great to have some themes contributed back for others to use.
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##### Number of Products per page
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You can set the number of products per page by changing the `Products per page` value to a whole number of your choice. You may want to ensure
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the number of products per page matches up with the `Products per row` value. Eg: if you have the `Products per row` value set to 3, you may want
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to ensure the `Products per page` is a multiple of 3 for the best look.
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##### Number of Products per row
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This is the number of products displayed per row on your website. You can select anywhere up to 4 `Products per row`.
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##### Menu enabled
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Enables/disable the menu setup in `/admin/settings/menu`.
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##### Menu header
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This is the text which will be displayed at the top of your menu.
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##### Menu position
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You can set position where your menu will be displayed. Setting the value to `side` will position the menu to the left of your products, setting the value to `top`
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will create a 'breadcrumb' menu at the top of the page
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##### Paypal (Payments)
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The Paypal config file is located: `/config/paypal.json`. A example Paypal settings file is provided:
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```
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{
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"mode": "live", // sandbox or live
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"client_id": "this_is_not_real",
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"client_secret": "this_is_not_real",
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"paypalCartDescription": "expressCart", // Shows as the Paypal description
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"paypalCurrency": "USD" // The Paypal currency to charge in
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}
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```
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Note: The `client_id` and `client_secret` is obtained from your Paypal account.
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##### Stripe (Payments)
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The Stripe config file is located: `/config/stripe.json`. A example Stripe settings file is provided:
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```
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{
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"secretKey": "sk_test_this_is_not_real",
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"publicKey": "pk_test_this_is_not_real",
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"stripeCurrency": "usd", The Stripe currency to charge in
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"stripeDescription": "expressCart payment", // Shows as the Stripe description
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"stripeLogoURL": "http://localhost:1111/images/stripelogo.png" // URL to the logo to display on Stripe form
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}
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```
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Note: The `secretKey` and `publicKey` is obtained from your Stripe account dashboard.
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##### Authorize.net (Payments)
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The Authorize.net config file is located: `/config/authorizenet.json`. A example Authorize.net settings file is provided:
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```
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{
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"loginId": "loginId",
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"transactionKey": "transactionKey",
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"clientKey": "clientKey",
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"mode": "test"
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}
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```
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Note: The credentials are obtained from your Authorize.net account dashboard.
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## Email settings
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You will need to configure your SMTP details for expressCart to send email receipts to your customers.
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You will need to consult your email provider for the relevant details.
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##### Gmail settings
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- `Email SMTP Host` = smtp.gmail.com
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- `Email SMTP Port` = 465
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- `Email SMTP secure` = True/Checked
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- `Email SMTP Username` = example@gmail.com
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- `Email SMTP Password` = yourpassword (you may need to setup an application specific password for this to work)
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##### Zoho settings
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- `Email SMTP Host` = smtp.zoho.com
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- `Email SMTP Port` = 465
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- `Email SMTP secure` = True/Checked
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- `Email SMTP Username` = example@zoho.com
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- `Email SMTP Password` = yourpassword
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##### Outlook settings
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- `Email SMTP Host` = smtp-mail.outlook.com
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- `Email SMTP Port` = 587
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- `Email SMTP secure` = False/Unchecked
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- `Email SMTP Username` = example@outlook.com
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- `Email SMTP Password` = yourpassword
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You can use the `Send test email` button to ensure your email settings are correct.
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## Menu
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Although `expressCart` is a search based shopping cart, you can also group your products into categories using tags. You can then setup menu Items to "filter" based on
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keywords (tags) to make it easier for your customers.
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Setting of menu items is done via `/admin/settings/menu`.
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To add a new menu item to filter products, you will set the menu text using the `Menu` field and setting the keyword to filter is using the `link` field.
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To add a new menu item to link to a static page, you will set the menu text using the `Menu` field and set the static page URL using the `link` field. Eg:
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An `About` page would be set. Menu = 'About Us', Link = 'about`
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You can re-order menu items by clicking and dragging the arrows icon and placing the menu item in desired position.
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## Static pages
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You may want to create a static page to show contact details, about us, shipping information etc.
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New static pages are setup via `/admin/settings/pages`.
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## Contributing
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I'm looking for contributors of any kind. I'm working on turning the admin panel into something more modern and using Vue.js. The frontend part of the website will always be a normal webapp with no SPA frameworks as I believe eCommerce apps should have SEO as top priority.
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Contributing payment providers and themes would be much appreciated. Payment providers are added by simply adding the payment provider file to `/routes/payments/providerName.js`, then adding the route to the `app.js` file by adding `const providerName = require('./routes/payments/{providerName}');` and mounting the route `app.use('/providerName', providerName);`.
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If you see current code which could be enhanced (note: parts of the code is quite old but new to Github) you are welcome to submit a PR.
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