E-Commerce shop for independent publisher with e-newsletter
European Railway Atlas is a niche online shop supplying maps of European railway networks.
Owner Mike Ball began creating the atlas back in the 1980s and over the years saw it grow into a product he could sell online. He set up his own website with a free tool, but after a few years decided it was time for a more professional, integrated website. That’s when he came to us.
We recommended a solution based on WordPress and WooCommerce, with some important customisations, complex worldwide postage rules and PayPal integration.
Customised physical and digital products
The core product was an all Europe atlas, backed by a series of more detailed editions for each country. Customers buying a map would get not only a physical copy of the map, but a PDF digital copy of it for use on phones and other devices.
Digital products can be a minefield and Mike wanted to avoid unauthorised copying and sharing of his digital maps. We were able to set up a system where, on purchase the customer would be sent a download link to the PDF file.
That link would allow the file to be accesed a limited amount of times within a limited period. The digital map was also stamped with the customer’s email address and purchase date, to further discourage copying.
All of this had to be as automated as possible, with everything triggered by a customer buying a product. The shop does everything except for packaging the maps and sending them out!
But it does produce printable invoices and packaging slips.
E-mail marketing and SSL Security
An essential part of any online shop is e-mail marketing and we included this in the project. E-mail marketing is a great way to bring customers back to an online shop again, letting them know about new products and offering discount codes.
Online shops collect a great deal of personal information, and we ensured the site meets the latest security standards, by securing the website with an SSL Certificate.
European Railway Atlas website