Cosmetics retail

Family Choice: a full e-commerce store built without a platform fee

A complete cosmetics store built in PHP and MySQL rather than assembled on a hosted platform, so there is no monthly platform fee and no transaction cut.

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Retail and e-commerceSector

PakistanMarket

Project basisTimeframe

4Services used

E-commerce development
Admin panel
Order management
Print slip generation

Built, not rented

Family Choice needed an online cosmetics store. The default answer is a hosted platform, which means a monthly fee, a cut of every transaction, and a shop you do not own.

We built it instead: a server rendered PHP and MySQL application with no build step, running on standard hosting.

What it does

Full product catalogue and storefront
Multi-role user system, so staff get the access they need and nothing more
Order tracking through the fulfilment process
Print slips generated for packing and dispatch

Why it matters commercially

At low volume a hosted platform is cheaper. Past a certain order count the percentage cut becomes the single largest line item in running the shop, and by then migrating is expensive and disruptive. Building it properly at the start removes that decision entirely.

Outcome

What changed

Complete storefront and admin built in PHP and MySQL with no build step
Multi-role user system with order tracking and print slip generation
No platform subscription and no per-transaction percentage
Runs on standard shared hosting

The honest bit

Family Choice is a family member's business. We include it as a demonstration of e-commerce capability rather than as an arms-length commercial engagement.

FAQs

Questions this project raises

Why build an online store in PHP instead of using Shopify or WooCommerce?

There is no monthly platform fee and no per-transaction percentage. The storefront and admin were built in PHP and MySQL with no build step, and the whole thing runs on standard shared hosting.

What does the store include?

A complete storefront and admin, a multi-role user system, order tracking and print slip generation.

Is a custom store harder to maintain than a hosted platform?

It depends on what it is built on. This one has no build step and no plugin stack, which is the usual source of maintenance pain on a hosted platform. It runs on ordinary shared hosting with nothing unusual required of it.

Is Family Choice an arms-length client?

No. It is a family member's business, included as a demonstration of e-commerce capability rather than as a commercial engagement.

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