E-Commerce Platform

A full-featured e-commerce web application built with Flask and PostgreSQL.

Features

• User authentication (Admin, Store Owner, Customer roles)
• Multiple stores with independent inventories
• Product management with images
• Shopping cart functionality
• Discount system (Seasonal, Special Event, Shipping discounts)
• Order processing
• Product reviews
• Search and filtering

Tech Stack

• Backend: Flask 3.1.2
• Database: PostgreSQL
• ORM: SQLAlchemy
• Authentication: Flask-Login, Flask-Bcrypt
• Forms: Flask-WTF, WTForms
• Frontend: HTML, CSS, Jinja2 templates

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher
• PostgreSQL installed and running
• pgAdmin 4 (recommended for database management)

Installation

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/psyPan/e-commerce-platform.git
cd e-commerce-platform

2. Create Virtual Environment

• On Mac

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

• On Window

python3 -m venv venv
venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Set Up PostgreSQL Database

1. Open pgAdmin 4
2. Create a new database:
   • Right-click on "Databases" → "Create" → "Database"
   • Database name: mystore
   • Click "Save"

5. Configure Database Connection

Edit the POSTGRES dictionary in both seed_data.py and run.py with your PostgreSQL credentials:

POSTGRES = {
   'user': 'postgres',        # Your PostgreSQL username
   'password': 'your_password',  # Your PostgreSQL password
   'db': 'mystore',
   'host': 'localhost',
   'port': '5432',
}

6. Initialize Database

Run the seed script to create tables and populate with sample data:

python3 seed_data.py

This will create:

• 1 Admin account
• 5 Stores with 2 owners each
• 8 Customer accounts
• 25 Products (5 per store)
• 50 Discount codes
• Shopping carts for all customers

Running the Application

Start the Flask development server:

python3 run.py

The application will be available at: http://127.0.0.1:5000

Sample Login Credentials

Admin Account

• Email: admin@email.com
• Password: adminpass

Store Owner Accounts

• Email: owner1@email.com to owner10@email.com
• Password: ownerpass

Customer Accounts

• Email: cust1@email.com to cust8@email.com
• Password: customerpass

Store Categories

• Store 1: Laptops (Dell, Apple, ASUS, HP, Lenovo)
• Store 2: Headphones (Sony, Bose, Apple, Sennheiser, Beats)
• Store 3: Cameras (Canon, Sony, Fujifilm, Nikon, Panasonic)
• Store 4: Monitors (Dell, LG, ASUS, Samsung, BenQ)
• Store 5: Gaming Keyboards (Keychron, Logitech, Razer, Corsair, SteelSeries)

Project Structure

e-commerce-platform/
├── flask_store/
│   ├── __init__.py           # App factory
│   ├── users/                # User authentication & management
│   ├── credit_card/          # User's credit card
│   ├── stores/               # Store management
│   ├── products/             # Product CRUD operations
│   ├── discounts/            # Discount system
│   ├── cart/                 # Shopping cart
│   ├── line_items/           # Line item
│   ├── orders/               # Order processing
│   ├── reviews/              # Product reviews
│   ├── static/               # CSS, JS, images
│   └── templates/            # HTML templates
├── seed_data.py              # Database initialization script
├── run.py                    # Application entry point
├── requirements.txt          # Python dependencies
└── README.md                 # This file

Database Schema

The application uses the following main tables:

• users - User accounts with role flags (admin, owner, customer)
• stores - Store information
• products - Product catalog
• line item - Line item
• discounts - Discount codes with inheritance (Seasoning, SpecialEvent, Shipping)
• carts - Shopping cart items
• orders - Order records
• reviews - Product reviews
• credit card - User's credit card

Development Notes

• The application uses Flask's development server (not for production use)
• Debug mode is enabled by default in run.py
• Product images are stored locally in static/product_pics/
• Passwords are hashed using bcrypt

Troubleshooting

Database Connection Error

• Verify PostgreSQL is running
• Check database credentials in POSTGRES configuration
• Ensure database mystore exists in pgAdmin

Import Errors

• Activate virtual environment: source venv/bin/activate
• Reinstall dependencies: pip install -r requirements.txt

Product Images Not Showing

• Place image files (product1.png - product25.png) in flask_store/static/product_pics/
• Ensure filenames match exactly (case-sensitive)