This is really happening!
We are going to create the ultimate ShapeDiver plugin for WooCommerce. OMG
Technically it is a plugin for WordPress that works with WooCommerce, but you know…
It will take some time to create, and I am sorry to say that it will not be free.
I know, I like free stuff as much as everyone else.
But developing and maintaining a plugin like this for years to come is going to require money.
There will be people who start entire businesses on ShapeDiver + WooCommerce.
And it would not be fair if their whole order acquisition system breaks down, because the developer of an essential plugin simply lost interest in maintaining it.
With money comes the possibility of ongoing updates, maintenance, and development.
The plugin will be subscription-based, probably on a year-to-year basis. Just like ShapeDiver.
However, we are going to give first movers an awesome deal
→ Get in on the action early and get lifetime access to the premium version of the plugin.
That way you can help with the early development and get an awesome deal.
So if you want (or need) the ShapeDiver + WooCommerce Plugin then click the link below and join the early bird waiting list.
Thanks for the news, it sounds great! Many ShapeDiver users have been requesting a WooCommerce plugin over the past few years. We fully support this initiative, do not hesitate to use this topic to discuss technical and practical details about this plugin and its functionalities.
It am glad reading your post about writing a wooCommerce-PlugIn for ShapeDiver, since “3D-product-configurators” on the basis of shapeDiver will be a major purpose in future times.
In preparation of two different, upcoming projects, I am currently researching a lot about how to integrate shapeDiver into an eCommerce-Webframework - and Wordpress/WooCommerce, as open-souce, offer big advantages therefor to start.
However I am not quite through, since the level of complexity of both - shapeDiver and WooCommerce - is very high regarding the big variety of particular needs and use-cases of each webshop. I am reffering to:
how will the shapeDiver API communicate with the REST API of WooCommerce
how do you respond to product- and price-variations, including the need of an induvidual SKU, and such
how do you go about handling configured products into the users cart (CoCart-Plugin?)
how will you manage wordpress/wooCommerce Updates that could eventually throw errors, as well as conflicts with other third-party-woocommerce-addons
and so on
I am curious about your concept, features, goals and road-map of that plug-In - perhaps you could update your milestones once-a-while here in this post - which could be also a valid choice then for my next projects.
First I must let you know that I am not a web developer, I am a designer. The actual Plugin will be created by a team of skilled web developers.
But I will try to answer what I can:
how will the shapeDiver API communicate with the REST API of WooCommerce
I can’t answer this. I only know that it is possible, and everything is documented by both ShapeDiver and WooCommerce / Wordpress.
how do you respond to product- and price-variations, including the need of an induvidual SKU, and such
All pricing and product variations will be handled by the Shapediver model. One shapediver model = one SKU in WooCommerce.
how do you go about handling configured products into the users cart (CoCart-Plugin?)
Once the product is configured and added to the WooCommerce cart, the specific Shapediver ticket will be saved in a database until checkout is completed. You can read all this info in ShapeDivers API resources.
how will you manage wordpress/wooCommerce Updates that could eventually throw errors, as well as conflicts with other third-party-woocommerce-addons
The plugin will be updated as needed when WordPress and WooCommerce are updated.
We cannot be accountable for third-party plugin conflicts. Our obligation is to make the plugin work with WordPress and WooCommerce. If conflicts with major plugins occur, we will of course resolve these to the best of our ability.
Concept: Create a plugin for WordPress / WooCommerce that makes it easy and effortless to start a webshop offering parametric custom products uploaded to ShapeDiver.
Amazing. Yes, we need this! I created a prototype integration into WooCommerce for the project/startup we are working on that was totally hacked together.
Now we are getting proper WooCommerce developers to build an integration with Shapediver and our own custom built configurator.
Maybe there is some way of collaboration on this or we can support the plugin development, so we don’t need to develop everything you will develop anyways and rather combine forces. Lets maybe talk about this privately, but definitely very much interested!
Also I would really love to see the same thing for Shopify. I love Wordpress and used to create/develop Wordpress websites professionally for many years, but from a UX and end-user perspective Wordpress is pretty hacky. I love especially the whole checkout experience on Shopify is just pretty close to perfect in terms of usability and design.
Custom WordPress/Woocommerce development is a finicky beast. Integrating ShapeDiver in this environment is relatively straight forward but the key is to design the implementation efficiently. WordPress has a bloat problem and the last thing you want is to contribute more than absolutely needed. Fortunately, there’s precedence for reference:
The development has now started for the WooDiver Plugin.
This will be the easiest way to implement ShapeDiver models into an E-Commerce checkout cart.
By combining WordPress, WooCommerce and ShapeDiver with the WooDiver plugin, you will be able to sell your custom designs within minutes after uploading your Grasshopper file to ShapeDiver.
I have created a walkthrough video of how I see the intended use.
→ Please remember that this is pre-alpha stage here.
To connect your ShapeDiver models to this plugin, you will need at least a ShapeDiver Designer Plus plan. If you have any questions about the plugin, please use the information provided on its developer’s website to contact them.
I’m working with Praneet on a project. I went to look at the newbranch solution and cannot find a plugin download.
Essentially we need to allow users on a Wordpress subdomain site to login, work on their choice of offered shapediver models (embedded as iframes), save it with a project name/version and then return to it whenever they like to continue modifying it from where they last saved it. No customer will be actually paying for their finished design at that point. The customer would submit their ‘order’ which essentially links their email to the current version of a model they’ve tweaked. The recipient of the order will then be finalizing the CNC design.
I’m describing this process because it’s not so much that we need WooCommerce or Shopify, but more the ability to create a link to a shapediver model so that it can be retrieved on demand.
Since the designer/architect playing with the model may begin their design journey 6-18months ahead of committing to the final dimensions of the model they began with, they may need to save many versions along the way.
Thank you for adding more context to your requirements. Based on your description, the WooCommerce plugin is not what you need. In my opinion (although one of my other technical colleagues might like to chime in a bit later), what you need to build will require custom web development work (and the right ShapeDiver license).
For instance, you mention embedding ShapeDiver models as iframes, but you also mention some advanced functions, like users logging in to your website and returning to previously saved states. This is not possible with iframes, as there’s no way for the iframe to remember a saved state from an unknown user.
You need to hire a web agency that knows how to integrate User Management Systems so your users can log in and you can save their data. ShapeDiver does not provide this UMS. Furthermore, you will also need to use our Viewer API to save and feed saved parameters into the ShapeDiver model.
For these reasons, on the ShapeDiver side, you will need a Designer Plus or above plan, plus the web development work I described above.
Thanks for your detailed response. I’m wondering if there is a different approach that doesn’t involve a UMS integration that instead stores a “Job Number” for the state of a model, that is essentially associated with current values of each of the model’s metadata input values. A returning user wouldn’t need to be known in that instance but they would type that “Job Number” into a text box to import the model state. Maybe that “Job Number” is uniquely generated when the model loads the first time, if none was input. If a user has one, that session state is imported with the various parameter values.
I was reading about the credit usage of a user session being 1 credit every 10 minutes of usage but being able to leave a session dormant and return to it. Is that only if the viewport is left open?
