Case study · VirtueMart
Thousands of products, supplier stock and a Google feed with no manual work
Joomla 5, VirtueMart 4 and a set of our extensions — from stock import and a Google Merchant feed to online returns.
- Remote order fulfilment from several stores and a central warehouse
- Over 3,700 products in 170 categories, supplier stock updated every hour
- Almost 9,000 items in the Google Merchant Center feed
- One-page cart with pickup points and collection in stores
- Online returns, GDPR cookie banner and server-side conversion tracking
The client — a sporting goods retailer with its own brick-and-mortar stores — needed an e-shop that would keep a large supplier range up to date without manual work, show customers the right size and perform well in Google Shopping. We built it on VirtueMart and added our own extensions.
What the e-shop looks like
Click an image to enlarge it. The store name, logo and contacts are blurred at the client's request, the data is test data.
For customers
In the administration
Details that make the difference
Fulfilment from stores and the central warehouse
Orders are fulfilled remotely from several locations at once — from the central warehouse and from individual stores. Each location changes the order status and ships the parcel itself, while the shop keeps all orders in one administration. The customer can't tell where the goods were shipped from.
Stock that looks after itself
The import from the supplier feed creates new products, updates prices and overwrites stock every hour. On every product card the customer sees how many sizes are in stock.
Automatic size charts
Every brand measures differently. The extension picks the chart by manufacturer, product type and category — the shop enters it once and it appears on all matching products.
Google Shopping without export services
SemaFeed generates the Google Merchant Center feed directly from the e-shop. Categories are mapped to the Google taxonomy once and subcategories inherit them.
One-page cart
Shipping, payment and customer details on a single page. GLS pickup points, GLS, DPD and DHL couriers including Slovakia and Hungary, collection in stores. Card payment including Apple Pay and Google Pay, bank transfer or cash on delivery.
Online returns
SemaReturn gives customers a withdrawal and return form right with the order. The shop doesn't have to retype e-mails, the request is in the administration straight away.
Tracking that doesn't depend on the browser
Sema Track sends purchases to advertising platforms from the server, according to consent from the cookie banner. Ad blockers won't wipe out conversions.
Customers straight into the newsletter
Buyers who gave consent are added to an AcyMailing list every hour — no exports or imports. Login and registration are protected by Cloudflare Turnstile instead of an annoying captcha.
Overview in the administration
Charts of orders and their sources right on the dashboard, and an administration tailored to the shop staff, not the developer.
Search engines
Sema Schema gives every product structured data with price, availability and brand, and SemaSitemap keeps reporting new products and categories to Google. Together with the Merchant Center feed, Google knows the whole range without manual work.
What the e-shop is built from
The foundation is proven open-source components, on top of them sit our ready-made extensions and a few add-ons written specifically for this shop. Each layer can be updated separately.
Foundation
Joomla, VirtueMart and proven third-party add-ons.
Joomla 5
Content management, users, task scheduler.
VirtueMart 4
Products, variants, prices, orders.
Customised template
Responsive design with a drop-down menu and a mobile bar.
One-page cart
Shipping, payments and carrier pickup points.
Our extensions
Ready-made products from our catalogue — you can have the same ones.
Multi-location fulfilment
Remote order handling from several stores and the central warehouse — each location changes the order status and ships the parcel itself.
SemaFeed
Google Merchant Center feed, category mapping.
Sema Track for VirtueMart
Server-side tracking of purchases and conversions.
Sema Online Return
Online contract withdrawal and returns.
Sema Cookie Consent
GDPR cookie banner and consent management.
Sema Schema
Structured product data for search engines.
SemaSitemap
Sitemap with products and categories.
Custom
Add-ons we wrote for the needs of this shop.
Supplier import
Products, prices and stock from the feed, stock every hour.
Size charts
By manufacturer, product type and category.
Customers to the newsletter
Syncing buyers to AcyMailing.
Registration and protection
Required fields, consents and Cloudflare Turnstile.
Order charts
Orders and their sources on the dashboard.
Administration for staff
A clear interface without unnecessary options.
Looked after after launch too
An e-shop doesn't end at launch. With our Website management and monitoring service we monitor website availability, versions of Joomla, VirtueMart, extensions and PHP, security alerts and backup status. We know about a problem before your customers do, and once a month you get a report. For e-shops we built, the Monitoring plan is free.
Want a similar e-shop?
Tell us what you sell and where your goods come from. We'll suggest which parts you can have ready straight away and what would need to be added — a free inquiry takes two minutes.