Simple E-commerce Platform

A simple yet scalable e-commerce web application built with Django, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Currently being modernized into a full-stack e-commerce application with:

• Django serving as the backend API using Django REST Framework (DRF).
• React Native for a sleek, responsive, and mobile-first frontend experience.

Features

• User authentication and management
• Product catalog with categories
• Shopping cart and checkout functionality
• PostgreSQL database integration
• RESTful APIs (in progress) for seamless integration with modern frontend frameworks
• Mobile-friendly UI (planned with React Native)

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Getting Started

Follow these steps to set up and run the project locally:

1. Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following installed:

• Python 3.8+
• PostgreSQL
• Node.js and npm (for future React Native integration)

2. Clone the Repository

git clone <repository_url>
cd <repository_name>

3. Set Up the Backend

1. Install Python virtual environment tools:

   sudo apt-get install python3-venv python-is-python3

2. Create a virtual environment:

   python -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate

3. Install project dependencies:

   pip install --upgrade -r requirements.txt

4. Configure your PostgreSQL database:

   • Create a database for the project.
   • Update the DATABASES setting in settings.py with your database credentials.

5. Run database migrations:

   python manage.py makemigrations
   python manage.py migrate

6. Start the development server:

   python manage.py runserver

Your backend is now up and running on http://127.0.0.1:8000.

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4. Frontend Setup (Coming Soon)

The frontend is being reimagined with React Native for a modern, mobile-first experience. Stay tuned for updates!

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Project Roadmap

• Basic e-commerce functionality with Django templates
• PostgreSQL integration
• Transition to RESTful APIs with Django REST Framework
• Develop a modern React Native frontend
• Implement push notifications for order updates
• Add payment integration (e.g., Mpesa, Stripe, or PayPal)
• Incorporate AI-driven product recommendations (using FAISS + LLM)

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Contributing

Contributions, issues, and suggestions are welcome! Here's how you can help:

1. Fork this repository.
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature-name).
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m "Add feature-name").
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature-name).
5. Open a pull request.

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Support

If you have questions, need help, or want to collaborate, feel free to reach out:

• Open an issue in this repository.
• Email me at [[email protected]].

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Let me know if there’s anything else you'd like to include or change! 🚀