Launching Open Commerce
In consistent Open fashion we have produced the work available publicly on Github before making a marketing announcement on our blog regarding an exciting development we have consistently been developing – Open Commerce.
Like all of our past developments, it is available for developers to use on their applications now on Github ahead of our coming formal launch.
We have been developing new projects within the Open Ecosystem as we see developers move to new themes in Defi and NFTs. Though these themes aren’t development heavy, we feel we are being prudent in accessing developer audiences that exist between both centralized platforms and new decentralized platforms. To facilitate this we have been working on a larger development over the past year that is unannounced but quite visible on Github.
As we have seen trends of DeFi and NFTs explode we aren’t necessarily able to access these themes with our focus on developers, however we are seeing across the board the largest coming theme of decentralized technologies is Web 3.
Web 3 is hand in hand with the vision the Open Team has and has had over the last 5 years. It is consistent with projects we completed in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021!
Over the years we have written hundreds of thousands of lines of bug free code and products constantly updated and supported. We’ve also launched bounties to support and attract developers in these avant garde areas of blockchain technologies.
What we see with Web 3 over the years is that it mimics the vision we had and developments we built (https://openfuture.io/developer-portal.html and https://docs.openfuture.io/OPEN-Chain-Yellow-Paper.html and https://docs.openfuture.io/OPEN-API.html#user-api) around technologies that bridge Web 2 and Web 3
We will expand on this in a separate post around Web 3.
OPEN COMMERCE
Designing
In designing OPEN Commerce we have carefully been researching the industry that has unfolded over the years in API development, plugin development and plug and play tools that enabled quick uptake and engagement by developers.
We took a thorough approach over many months, examining the ecosystems, available APIs, engagement by developers, ease of use and flexibility on behalf of the developer. In utilizing this criteria, we selected a solution that we believe would allow engagement and usage across various markets with various regulations and extend customization on behalf of the developer who may want to own their commerce platform entirely instead of utilizing an out of box solution that has limited capabilities for developers and their own policies around cryptocurrencies.
WooCommerce stood out for its extensive developer ecosystem https://woocommerce.com/documentation/
With 5 million+ developers actively utilizing WooCommerce we thought this would be the perfect solution to enable developers to bridge into cryptocurrency technologies and payments within their commerce stores, applications or payment acceptance methods.
Quick Facts
The official WooCommerce plugin is downloaded 161,908,802 times from WordPress.org and counting.
Over 5,106,506 live websites are using WooCommerce.
WooCommerce is the leading eCommerce platform with 23.43% of the market share worldwide.
And interestingly In 2019, WooCommerce stores had an estimated $11.8 Billion of Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV).
With the combination of stored value on DeFi and decentralized solutions like Open and Web 3 technologies we feel like this is an exciting future.
For over 5 years now we have been consistently developing in a highly organized, professional fashion with excellent product development practices.
OPEN Commerce Project in mid development January 2022
Snapshot of the consistent developments on all fronts of development processes pre-Github
And like always we will be releasing professionally developed documentation and demo video tutorials to utilize in your application stack.
We will also be releasing a sample application that we have been working on the past months for you to test drive a creative example of the capabilities of OPEN Commerce.
Our View on Crypto Commerce
As we see various platforms from Square to Paypal hint at a cryptocurrency future, we see WordPress as the ultimate gateway of websites that can be used to adopt commerce in some shape or form, as according to WordPress 455 million sites utilize the WordPress platform.
The WordPress platform is a great tool for individuals and small businesses who want to create their own ecommerce store, as it allows them to develop a web app and receive payments with little effort, with the help of multiple plugins.
One of the most popular ecommerce plugins for WordPress is WooCommerce. It is the most used plugin, with a 29% share of all sites and as mentioned over 5 million active installations.
WordPress sites using WooCommerce can receive payments in more than 100 fiat currencies. As we see a world potentially shifting to multiple digital currencies and cryptocurrencies, we would assume technology platforms like WordPress will be the first to adapt. However, cryptocurrencies today are not supported natively in the platform. With the growing usage of cryptos as a payment method, that’s where OPEN Commerce fits in.
Paying With Cryptocurrencies in WooCommerce
Whether you’re a business who wants to receive crypto payments in your online store, or a customer wishing to pay with these types of currencies, the lack of crypto support in WooCommerce can be a hassle.
This concern is even more important as cryptocurrencies become more mainstream. We have come a long way since the early days of Bitcoin, when the main narrative stated it was a vehicle for illegal purchases.
Now digital currencies and tokens are everywhere, and the array of different assets maximizes their presence. Besides volatile assets like Bitcoin or Ethereum, we also have stablecoins like USDT or USDC, whose price is almost usually pegged to the dollar.
Cryptoassets, moreover, are a safer choice to make payments online thanks to their decentralized nature. Also fees are usually lower than centralized alternatives, such as payment platforms or credit card companies like Visa or MasterCard.
While payments on WooCommerce are still being processed through centralized platforms, the decentralization aspect of cryptocurrencies gives the buyer more freedom to choose as to where they interact with their own money, before making the purchase.
Getting paid for your work in crypto is also a growing practice, especially in long-distance jobs, so many customers may prefer to buy their goods in the same currency they were paid in.
Thanks to the collaborative developer-heavy nature of the WordPress community, there are many plugins you can add on your WooCommerce site to enable new features making it the perfect focus for us.
As always for consistent updates follow https://github.com/OpenFuturePlatform