LemonStand – A Fresh Approach to eCommerce

In this post Nick Toye shares with us his initial experience using a new e-commerce application called LemonStand, which is set to move out of final beta to an initial release on July 28, 2010.

Having spent 9 months at the mercy of Interspire Shopping Cart I really wanted to try out a new system.  Magento I felt was far too complex for what the level of store I was looking to build, and Shopify just didn’t really grab me as something I would enjoy working with.

Then one day I noticed this application called LemonStand by Limewheel Creative Inc – and right I way I was sucked into the simplicity of their site.  It’s not overbearing, it’s certainly not corporate like many eCommerce systems.  It felt like it was created with the attention to detail that I personally like in a design.  If I’m being honest, if I don’t like the website of the application I very rarely go beyond a quick glance.

At $300 for a full license of LemonStand I found it very reasonable, especially as I was rewarded with a 25% discount if purchased during the Beta phase.  So I took the plunge and was instantly glad that I did.

Installation

The installation was as simple as any application needs to be.  Within 5 minutes of me uploading the files to the server, I was installed and ready to go.  One nice touch I found was the ability to change the name of the backend folder, which I believe most will agree is just another level of security.

Off The Shelf

Now you are able to work with the off the shelf store if you like, or if your confident enough in your own HTML and CSS, then its just as simple to create your own store.  There are plenty of features available within LemonStand that you can drop in, if and when you need to.

Feature such as:

• Featured Products
• Compare Products
• Search Facilities
• Category Lists
• Blog
• many more

If your PHP minded and have at least an intermediate level of understanding of the language, well then your able to really plug into the API and get creative with some customised modules and extensions.

For me though I really enjoyed the fact that the store wasn’t drowning with features that I may or may not want.  It was simple, and it’s this simple and clean approach that I believe E-Commerce stores should adopt.  Rather than believing hype about what some critics say you should have on your stores, I prefer to tap into my own theories and experiences with design, and LemonStand allows me to do just that.

If I could have one critcism at this point, I would say it is a lack of Banner management, although I’m fairly sure if it was a feature required by many, it would be adopted.  Such is the attitude of the developers, and their desire to listen to the people who put money in their pockets – an attitude sadly lacking in other eCommerce stores.

The Backend

Now we can usually mould and shape the front-end of a store to our own personal tastes, by hook or crook we can pretty much do what we want.  So how much hacking do I need to do in the backend to produce my own personal utopian store?  Well the answer is none at all.

LemonStand New Product Dashboard

Now I won’t pretend to know everything about this store, I am still developing within it – but I have to report it’s an absolute dream to work with.  The care and attention that has been applied to this backend interface is for me the absolute key, whilst other so called stores are great for clients, but a nightmare for developers – LemonStand is great for clients and a dream for developers.

When you arrive in the backend, you are initially greeted with analytical data – which store owners just love, and then you have the Dashboard link to the right which gives you quick and clean access to your development area and also product management.

Updates

I love updates, makes me feel I am on the cutting edge of what is available.  Whether it be in the App store or Software Update on my Mac – I get an exciting thrill when I see there are Updates available.  However, this guilty geek pleasure was not something I enjoyed whilst working with Interspire, mainly because it wasn’t a simple case of pressing an update button.  I had to download all the files again, re-upload all the files again, check my customised templates to make sure that it all fitted and worked, and then I had to double check the store to ensure it worked.

LemonsStand allows me to view the updates, and press Update to see the changes applied.  I don’t need to download files, upload files, its job done and it’s out of the way – safe in the knowledge that I am on the cutting edge once more.

Now if you had clicked the demo version you will not see the updates section as it is part of the System section  which obviously is not going to be available to the general public to tinker with.  It’s just the basic settings, user management, updates, backup facilities and so on.

Customer Service

LemonStand is built and supported by two wonderful co-founders and other team members who fully appreciate the impact their customers will have on their continued success. There are forums, a wonderfully detailed API for those who want to really roll up their sleeves and create some magic, I’ve even been Skyped to help with certain issues – which is really going that extra mile to keep the customer happy.

Summary

So in summary would I recommend LemonStand to friend and family?  Well put it this way, I almost gave up on offering eCommerce as a viable service from my web design studio, but LemonStand has put it right back up there as something I want to do.  I actually enjoy working within the system, and it’s no longer a chore to just pay the bills.

So if you want to enjoy developing eCommerce stores, and at a price that is more than reasonable, then I won’t hesitate to recommend LemonStand app.  It puts the creativity back in your hands, and the smile back on your face.

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