Shop Project - Documentation

Project Roadmap

Roadmap by stage with recursive hierarchy.

🗺️ Stage 0 | 📚 Current | 📟 2026 06 15 | 📍 Management

Note

Translations stay in this page. Status comes separately from roadmap.data.php. An empty child[] node is allowed.

Project reality

The technical base (app/core, app/model, app/service, dev/tools) is far along. The real user flow in public/ is still much thinner.

Roadmap

Get the basic system up and running.
- Basic marketplace for the first functional MVP.
  - A user needs a stable and secure access to the website for interactions.
    The registration must be smooth, fast, and straightforward.
    Reliable receipt of the email confirmation code for registration with successful application.
    Login must work 100% reliably.
    Session clear.
  - The user profile must be clearly viewable and intuitively editable.
  - A simple menu to make the website usable.
  - Create main categories for the shop and the marketplace.
  - A registered user can easily create an article for the marketplace.
  - The marketplace shows the available articles.
  - An article can be selected in the marketplace and will then be displayed with all details.
  - If your own article is displayed in detail or in the marketplace, there is a delete icon and the article can be deleted with confirmation.
  - If your own article is displayed in detail or in the marketplace, there is an edit icon and the article can be edited with confirmation.
- Structure, layout and navigation flow.
  - Clear page hierarchy and meaningful grouping of menu entries.
  - Header fixed at top, footer visible at bottom, main area with independent scrolling.
  - Validate desktop/mobile sidebar behavior including independent scroll logic.
- Internal and external communication in the system.
  - Add a chat area in the profile menu. Create a basic chat page where recent chats are visible and selectable.
  - On every listing except own listings, show a chat bubble icon. Clicking it opens the chat window with listing name and other user name, and the text input is ready and focused.
    The chat must be able to securely transmit and render interactive system messages (action cards like bank detail exchange) encrypted between two IDs.
  - The chat page is still opened manually. Unread messages use a different color tone.
    Reception and UI processing of status actions (e.g., "Mark as paid", "Mark as shipped") for isolated dashboard synchronization.
- Product base with category and set model. Sellers can offer their goods more easily once a product has been introduced, and buyers get a very efficient overview of the available offers.
  - At the beginning, support or admin can create, edit, or delete categories. The overview in trading is public.
  - At the beginning, support or admin can create, edit, or delete sets. The overview in trading is public.
  - At the beginning, support or admin can create, edit, or delete products. The overview in trading is public.
  - At the beginning, a seller, merchant, support agent, or admin can create, edit, or delete their own articles. The overview in trading is public.
- Simple buying flow without expansion features.
  - The cart does not check out centrally in the DB, but formats a purely local data package that initiates the P2P chat process as a buy intent.
- Improvements for overview and usability.
- Managing support cases and requests.
- Ratings for trade and trust.
- Simple shipping flow.
- Basic stock and storage logic.
- Admin access and protection.
  - For admin and support, users must be visible to a certain degree depending on permissions.
  - An admin can create a user, edit them to a certain degree, reset critical items like profile images, and require the user to change their password.
- Internal module interfaces.
- Technical optimization work.
- Final cleanup before launch.
- Close the gap: what exists technically must be usable end-to-end in public.
  - Done when a new user can register, confirm email, login, and open the article list without manual intervention.
  - Done when each product detail page provides one obvious next action for the buyer.
  - Done when a buyer can submit a binding request and the seller can track its state.
  - Done when logs/diagnostics expose step-level error rates and drop-off points.
  - Done when Intro/Quickstart/Request Flow describe the current runtime behavior without stale statements.
- System is ready for launch.
Expansion of the system with community and user features.
- Foundation for accessible usage.
  - Verify alt texts and useful image descriptions for screen readers.
  - Provide multiple display modes including a contrast mode.
  - Collect additional accessibility requirements and priorities.
- Profiles, social, and settings.
- Reputation and reward logic.
- Variants per product.
- Attributes like color, size, edition, condition.
- Handling of fees and cost models.
- Integration with shipping providers.
- Dynamic shipping costs.
- Feed and voting for community content.
- Communication and updates.
- Trust as a technical and functional base on top of real interactions.
Stable e-commerce features for daily use.
- Complete shop mode.
- Persistent searches.
- Wishlists and alerts.
- Comparison and watchlist.
- Search and filtering.
- Mobile integration.
- Returns and conflict cases.
- Seller reports.
- Dashboards for both roles.
- Rules and detection for problematic listings.
Advanced business logic for demanding workflows.
- Mature commerce features.
- Accounting and invoicing.
- Tax logic and automation.
- Financial summaries and reports.
- Pickup and appointment handling.
- Stripe, PayPal, and more.
- Subscriptions and professional accounts.
- Partner and merchant API.
- Fraud detection.
- Bulk upload and CSV import.
Multilingual support and international scaling.
- International launch.
- Multiple languages in the system.
- Multiple currencies.
- Shipping across the EU.
- Country-specific legal topics.
- Global platform model.
- Scalability and load.
- Integrate external partners.
- Growth data and analytics.
- Global payment routing.
Project-in-project: tooling is advanced, but still underrepresented in the official product roadmap.
- Unify diagnose.php, testDB.php, and renderSQL.php into one consistent diagnostic workflow.
- Standardize data-export for reproducible exports with defined formats and checks.
- Document setup-db and SQL structure so local and fresh instances are initialized the same way.
Fahrplan for knowledge building. Prevents deviation by linking documentation scopes to fixed stages.
- Entry and presentation of the project for helpers and developers.
  - Documentation on how to set up and start the project locally on a new device or as a new helper.
  - Documentation on the project structure, the main modules, and their interrelationships in the big picture.
    Presentation for outsiders without technical knowledge to explain the project.
    Basic introduction to the project, the key terms, and the first steps for beginners.
    Project overview for experienced developers who want to quickly get started and understand the interrelationships.
    The detailed structure of the project, the key modules, and their interrelationships.
    Basic documentation of the key classes and their interrelationships within the project.
  - Reference of the key terms in the Shop project
  - Minimum requirements and guidelines for a stable local development environment.
  - Lists of used licenses and legal frameworks.
  - Guidelines for customer support and handling inquiries, errors, and feedback.
  - Guidelines on how to contribute as a helper, report bugs, provide feedback, and contribute content.
  - Not yet defined.
- The IT core: tables, relations, and data streams.
  - Overview of the models
    Map of the database structure and its relations.
    Detailed description of tables, columns, relations, and notes.
  - Explanation of how the database is set up for operation and how future migrations are handled.
  - Explanation of what, how, and when data is exported, which formats (CSV/JSON) are used, and which validation checks are performed.
  - Documentation of the external data sources and interfaces used by the system (e.g., shipping APIs, payment providers).
  - Instructions on how backups of the project and user data are created and how recovery is performed in case of an emergency.
  - Not yet defined.
  - Not yet defined.
  - Guidelines for storing files (images, uploads) in the project, including path rules, permissions, and separation of temporary, permanent, private, and public files.
  - Rules and checks to ensure data consistency and integrity in the system.
- The technical infrastructure of the framework (routing, sessions, rendering).
  - Documentation: Details the precise sequence of initialization steps from the HTTP entry point to the authorization check.
  - Documentation: Details the central services and interfaces provided by the framework, such as the label system, AJAX handlers, and cron jobs.
  - Documentation: Details the rendering processes and the architecture of the MVC framework.
- Documentation: Details the business logic, e-commerce processes, financing, and interactions.
  - Documentation: Details the e-commerce processes, including shopping cart, shipping, and payment.
  - Documentation: Details the financing of the project, including fees, advertising, and other revenue sources.
  - Documentation: Details the interactions with users, including communication and support.
- Quality assurance, code standards, and tools for ongoing operations.
  - Documentation: Details the development standards, including coding guidelines and best practices.
  - Documentation: Details the operational processes, including diagnostics, deployment, monitoring, logging, and maintenance.
  - Documentation: Details the project's progress, including milestones and status reports.
- Legal framework and juridical issues.
Collection area for later experiments and extensions.
- 7.1 Livestream selling
  Closed
- 7.2 Product auctions
  Open
- 7.3 Automatic product recognition
  Open
- 7.4 Serial numbers & device passport
  Open
- 7.5 Integrated chatbot support
  Open
- 7.6 Gamification
  Open
- 7.7 Expand community helper feedback
  Open
- 7.8 Product history / price trends
  Open
- 7.9 Marketplace for services
  Open
- 7.10 AI-based accounting assistant
  Open