Ecommerce Developer Mastery

For a scalable store, don't put everything in the products table.

• products: General info (name, description, brand).
• product_variants: Specific options (price, SKU, stock, size, color).
• categories: Nested using a parent_id (Adjacency List) or nested set for complex trees.
• order_items: Snapshots of the product price/name at the time of purchase to prevent old data from changing historical receipts.

2. Indexes Checklist

• Unique: products.slug (for SEO)
• Unique: product_variants.sku (for inventory tracking)
• Index: orders.user_id
• Index: orders.status (for dashboard filtering)

⚡ Supabase Integration (PostgreSQL)

Supabase is the recommended managed database for this project.

1. Connection Settings (Transaction Mode)

In Supabase, use the Transaction Mode (usually port 6543) for Laravel.

• DB_CONNECTION: pgsql
• DB_HOST: Found in Settings > Database > Connection pooler.
• DB_PORT: 6543 (Transaction Mode) or 5432 (Session Mode).
• DB_DATABASE: postgres (default).

2. Benefits for eCommerce

• Postgres Search: Use ilike and @@ (full-text search) natively in Eloquent for product searching.
• JSONB Support: Store flexible product attributes (like tech specs) in a jsonb column without strict schema.
• Realtime: Listen to orders table changes to update admin dashboards instantly.

📋 Skill Checklist

Whenever working on eCommerce features, ensure:

1. Validation: Form requests are used for all inputs.
2. Transactions: Database transactions wrap multi-step order logic.
3. Events: Business logic (emails, shipping) is decoupled using Events/Listeners.
4. UI Clarity: Loading states and success feedback are present (Livewire/React).

🚀 Recommended Implementation Patterns

1. The Service Pattern for Orders

Instead of putting order logic in Controllers, use a OrderService:

class OrderService {
    public function createOrder(User $user, array $data) {
        return DB::transaction(function() use ($user, $data) {
            $order = $user->orders()->create($data);
            // ... logic ...
            return $order;
        });
    }
}

2. Livewire Cart Component

For real-time updates:

• Use #[On('cart-updated')] to sync multiple components.
• Use wire:loading for better UX during network calls.

📚 Reference Roadmap

The primary roadmap can be found in the workspace root or artifact ecommerce_laravel_roadmap.md.