LemonStand CMS - Just been released on public beta. LemonStand - Beta Registration I've got my copy but won't be able to install

Gaz

Just been released on public beta.
LemonStand - Beta Registration

I've got my copy but won't be able to install it till i get home tonight

saltedm8

It looks like a good sytstem, its unfortunate that they are planning to charge $300.00 for it as I had a look into it and I dont see anything in it that you cant do with wordpress.. which as we know has loads of extra stuff on top too...

one word to sum it up ? erm 'pointless'

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web design kent

WelshStew

looks interesting - I've signed up as it's always good to have another option in your toolbox.

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WelshStew
follow me on twitter here | WelshStew - Web Design & Web Development | Motorhome hire uk

Danny

LemonStand cannot be compared to Wordpress. Firstly, they serve completely different markets. Secondly, their feature sets and approach to design implementation are 100% different.

WP is not a platform meant to create professional, high end eCommerce websites. While there are plugins available, you're trying to force a blogging platform to do something it wasn't never meant to, and it will show.

Your comments make it pretty clear you may have only looked into LemonStand on the surface, perhaps reading a page or two on the website.

Things are still new and there are lot more things inside that are not yet demonstrated in our live demo or the Tour page.

If you tried out the demo, and dug into the system I think you would see comparing LS to WP is "pointless". The Beta is going terrific so far and we're getting excellent feedback from the community already.

Regards

WelshStew

Hey Danny, thanks very much for popping in and giving us some more information on your product.

I agree, $300 is an great price for a supported product, other than a plugin with no dedicated support and as you mention; your platform is dedicated to the ecommerce market and from what I have seen it looks like it caters very well for it's market requirements. In fact I am already telling a few close clients about it to start building the foundations of a business case to move across (once it comes out of beta).

A couple of questions if you have the time:

As both LemonStand and WordPress are looking to be "best of breed" for their own markets can I ask why you have decided to implement a simple blog rather than building a bridge to WordPress for the blogging platform?

Also, how do you compare your product to something like Magento / PrestaShop ? and what are the benefits of your product over Magento / PrestaShop ?

I look forward to your thoughts.

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WelshStew
follow me on twitter here | WelshStew - Web Design & Web Development | Motorhome hire uk

Danny

Thanks WelshStew

We decided to do that basically because we weren't interested in using two separate systems. There are a lot of issues to contend with when bridging an existing system that uses different security concepts and things like that. Issues like PS-DSS/PCI security compliance. It's a lot of work that we felt did not have major payoff for us.
That being said, there is nothing stopping someone from doing this in the future and releasing a module, for free, or selling it. We are encouraging developers to distribute their work and get paid for it if it has value. Here is a blog post about it: LemonStand - Our plans for a thriving marketplace

We can't and won't add every nice feature that we or anyone else can think of. That results in bloatware. For example, not everyone wants or needs WP integration. Instead, we're focusing on including amazing features that are crucial to building a high end, custom eCommerce website. And then we provide you with the tools to easily extend the platform if you want more.

I don't want to comment on Magento specifically, or other products.
But I will say that LemonStand was built on the idea that implementing websites should be easy and flexible. You don't have to fight with a pile of different files spread over a complex folder structure just to change some HTML. You can use the built-in tools like the syntax highlighting code editor and Resource Manager to easily build your templates/pages/partials however you want. And there is no imposed HTML structures you are forced to work with either. If you want certain output, you can get it.
LemonStand can also be extended through modules very easily. The included API is powerful and has everything you need to add any feature you can dream up.
There are really too many features and unique approaches to list it all here. It needs to be experienced. Enjoy the beta :)

Considering the templating system, included CMS, API and the user-friendly UI we feel we're providing immense value.

You need to ask yourself: Is Magento easy to crate unique themes for, from scratch? Does it impose any limitations? What is the process for managing theme files? Is the CMS flexible and easy to understand? Is the codebase clean and architected well? Is it easy to add functionality to accomplish whatever you need on a custom project?

Thanks!

saltedm8

I did not mean to sound rude lol

you are right that wordpress was never meant for ecommerce use, the only thing I am thinking of is those that want an ecommerce site for very little money ( and yes, wordpress was never meant for that use, but it is used like that so it must be compared for those on a small budget )

for example

I could create a wordpress site, outsourcing the design and coding, the design would probably cost me no more than £60.00 and the coding into wordpress, another £100.00

Then I can pick up a plugin like this WordPress › WP e-Commerce WordPress Plugins for nothing

I will then have a completely unique ecommerce site for very little money ( yes, the prices are real ) and it has cost me no more than £200.00 but still do everything I need by setting up products, including vat, and a payment gateway etc etc

If I knew nothing of development I could easily S.E.O it, and easily add my content and anything else that took my fancy from wordpress.

I did look in your back end, but what have you got that I cant find elsewhere for allot cheaper or even free ?

If I were to purchase yours, for the price you are considering offering it for, it would cost £300.00 + customisation of the template.. lets say another £200.00 due to it not being a well known system yet. In total I would be looking at around 500.00 but I would also sacrifice some abilities I might want to use with my site.

I am not trying to be rude, I would just like you to sell it to me.. please look at it as an opportunity for a free sales pitch..

thanks

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web design kent

Danny

I don't mean to be rude, but you aren't going to get anything "unique" let alone effective at selling for £200.00. In my opinion, and anyone else who respects their profession, that is slave labor. However, that is another topic that I don't wish to debate here.

You're still comparing it to Wordpress. The WP eCommerce plugin doesn't have near the same level of functionality that LemonStand has. Not even close. The custom account management, product management, sales/promotion management are simply not comparable.

What can you not find for cheaper? Did you try the CMS? Did you read the Wiki at all and set up some pages with editable content blocks? Did you use the syntax highlghting code editor? Did you use the resource manager? Then there is the shop functionality... did you dig into all the things you could do using the included features? What about the API?

The fact is, there is nothing else that uses the same approach to building websites. If you read my post above, you'll quickly learn other current solutions simply don't compare in many regards.

You can't evaluate a product by logging into the admin panel and looking at things on the surface.

To be honest, it sounds like you haven't had to build out a very custom site in platforms like Magento or even Wordpress yet. Coding custom modules and implementing designs from scratch is not always straightforward to say the least. If you have tried to build a professional eCommerce website in other platforms you'll know the common challenges and the benefits of LemonStand will become very apparent.
And again, why are we comparing to Wordpress? WP is a blogging tool. I don't know of any serious online retailer who would/should use a blogging tool to manage their store.

If you want to sell 1 or 2 basic products and already know WP, then there is no reason to switch. However, if you want to build a serious eCommerce website to move serious product, you should use an ideal solution. And LemonStand is the most flexible and user-friendly.

MDG-IT

Doesn't really equate to:
I think the comments above re Wordpress are valid to a point. If you're doing this kind of stuff on the cheap (and don't want to pay someone to develop Magento etc) then $300 isn't a great starting price for what's an untested product.

If you have a budget that equates to the fact that you really want to run a business, then I personally don't see the attractiveness of using an unproven, closed-source product. In any case there doesn't seem to be an awful lot of functionality not present in existing carts. And if you've ever actually put a site together in Magento, you realise that managing the theme, CMS etc isn't really that hard.

I think that if introducing yet another ecommerce platform it has to be compared, very specifically, to existing products. Especially when these include products that are open source, free or have a well established community.

WelshStew

Forgot about this thread, does anyone know when LemonStand is coming out of beta?

here are some online retailers using wordpress & wpEcommerce:
IconDock - The Art of Stock Icons
PedalPlay | Ride on and Pedal Cars
— Freeride – Surf Skate and Snow gear in Waitakere, Auckland, New Zealand
Northland Ski Rent & Shop – Canazei
City Surf, a core surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding shop providing the best in surf, skate and snow gear

I would say that all of these are serious about moving product

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WelshStew
follow me on twitter here | WelshStew - Web Design & Web Development | Motorhome hire uk