Build an Online Store

We operate a weekly Veg Box scheme to distribute our produce. Please see www.suttoncommunityfarm.org.uk. We are looking for a reliable, experienced web developer for two stages of work: 1. Stage I: Conduct a review of our Veg Box ordering system. This involves: a) Reviewing the code and design: we have a custom built ecommerce plugin for Wordpress, integrated with GoCardless, our payment processor. Order data is downloaded each week as a .csv and the data manipulated further in Google Sheets to generate order summaries, labels, driver routes and sheets. We expect the consultant to comfortably understand how the existing system works by reviewing the code and spreadsheets. b) Identifying areas of inefficiency and areas for improvement: the algorithms may be improved and there’s efficiency needed, particularly in the way data is managed after it’s downloaded. At present we use spreadsheets that are technically advanced, but clunky and lack robustness. A database system might enable better management of customers. c) Reviewing options for development: - Consider overall systems: we have invested a lot of time and energy into the existing system. Given our situation, needs and limited budget, should we continue working with this system or are there alternative designs worth pursing? E.g. off-the-shelf packages or bespoke? If transferring to new systems, how would this transition be managed with minimal/zero customer disturbance? -Anticipate costs for implementing improvements/development. - Present all findings and recommendations in a clear, comprehensive report. 2. Stage II: Developing the Veg Box ordering system. This involves: a) Fixing any immediate bugs that are causing problems; b) Delivering recommendations from Stage 1: improvements to the existing system, or transition towards a new system. c) Ongoing technical support: on agreed terms as appropriate. We expect the contractor to have: - Strong PhP skills; - Experience with ecommerce and ideally GoCardless API; - A fine attention to detail; - Intuition for designing excellent user/customer experiences; - Strong understanding of our product and service; - Experience in testing and systems thinking. Further expectations and arrangements Timing: It’s anticipated that the Stage I review will take 6-12 days, depending on experience; Pricing: we suggest quoting for Stage I and giving an indication of your expectations/costs for Stage II. Affordability: we understand that web development is a specialised skill and expensive. We are a small, non-profit community food project. We operate with tight margins and have a small number of customers. Therefore we do not have the budgets typically needed for web development. To this end, we expect the contractor to have an understanding and supportive nature. We are open to providing benefits such as our high quality Veg Boxes and contractor advertising. Fundraising may be required before agreeing to higher quotes and this will delay or stall the project. Quality: Due to our small operation, it’s paramount that have a reliable, robust and efficient system.