When thinking about strategies for developing a web store, we tend to consider two main options, much like we would for a website: a template based design versus a custom design. In fact, there’s another option, one that lies between the previous two. This third option is called modular design. A modular design can have significant advantages, depending on the type and size of website we're building.
Let’s think about building a site for a large webstore, one, featuring a considerable number of pages. A template design may seem tempting in this case because it is inexpensive and easy to set up. Also, because you are using a pre-formatted design, all the pages will have a similar appearance, making the whole site more consistent. However, the known caveat with this is that the design will not be unique and truly distinguishable from other webstore sites.
In contrast, we have a custom, page-driven design with a lot of focus on details. Because of time and budget constraints with an approach like this, you'll only be able to get a few pages with high-quality design. By focusing on the unit, you'll lose track of the big picture, so if the number of pages increases too much, the site you end up with will lack coherence.
To overcome this dilemma, your best bet is to go for a modular design. Because this design works with reusable modules, you can use said modules on several pages, just like a template design. But because each module can be customized, you'll get some of the uniqueness inherent to a custom design.
This brings us to another question. Should you buy pre-made modules or develop your own? As we'll see, building modules yourself can have some important benefits.
Customization of Third-Party Modules
There are some risks in developing your own software. For that reason, most people believed that it is best to buy modules from a third-party. However, buying pre-made packages also has disadvantages, and with the advancements in software development in recent years, the opinions on this seem to be shifting slightly.
When thinking about strategies for developing a web store, we tend to consider two main options, much like we would for a website When thinking about strategies for developing a web store, we tend to consider two main options, much like we would for a website: a template based design versus a custom design. In fact, there’s another option, one that lies between the previous two. This third option is called modular design. A modular design can have significant advantages, depending on the type and size of website we're building.
Companies that design pre-built modules usually do a good job covering all their customers' needs. Still, there is a chance that you won't find one that fits your requirements perfectly. Maybe you found a great, high-quality module, but you just wish it had that extra design or functionality detail.
Although this can happen, it is not very likely. Because they are aware of the potentially different requirements, module-developing companies often deliver complete packages that are packed with features.
In this situation, you may want to venture into the development field and customize the module to better suit your needs. Perhaps you want to remove a feature that you do not use and make your system just a bit lighter and faster. However, doing this could give you some trouble later on, as we'll see shortly.
Security Concerns
Let's talk about security, which is one of the main concerns for any website or webstore. When buying modules from a third party, you are exposed to potential security flaws existent in these modules. On the other hand, building the modules yourself gives you full control over the code, but no guarantee that it does not have vulnerabilities, either.
In fact, security flaws in pre-compiled modules are not such a big concern. Even if there are flaws in the first place, the companies that build the modules will often release security and general bug-fixing updates.
However, if you choose to previously customize the module, the upgrade process may not be so straightforward. Since you altered the source code, the package updates released by the third-party company may no longer be directly applicable. In this situation, you have two possible solutions, but none of them is perfect.
The first way is to not update the module at all and cling to an older version that has already been fully customized by you. However, this is not very wise, because the updates released by the third-party may contain important security fixes.
The second method is to keep updating the module. But if the update happens to make major changes in the code, you'll have yet another dilemma. You can reapply the customizations in the newer version, which will be incredibly time-consuming.
The alternative is to have the company release the most important security fixes as small patches of code that can still be applied directly to the older version. But even this solution won't last for long, because the newer versions of the module will end up straying so far from your version that it is no longer possible to create individual patches.
Developing Your Own Modules
Based on what we've said so far, we can see that buying modules for your webstore or website, albeit a generally good option, can also have some disadvantages. Pre-built modules can potentially include some functionalities that you do not require, or even not include some that you do.
As a solution, you can customize each module according to your needs, but that will make it difficult to apply updates or security patches.
So, if customizing a module developed by a third party is an option, why not consider developing your own? It may be more time-consuming, especially to get it up and running, but after the initial stage, it probably has more advantages than disadvantages.
Since you know exactly what your webstore will need, you can optimize each module right from the start. Furthermore, you have full control over the whole code, so you will develop your own updates. There won’t be any conflicts between your customizations and the security patches.
If you don't feel confident enough to develop the modules yourself, you can always hire a developer or third-party company to do it for you. It will be more expensive, but the result will be a fully functional webstore based on modules that perfectly suit your needs.
