Best resources for starting with Padloper 2

[Stefanowitsch]

Hello there!

After using Padloper 1 for a project I want to look at Version 2 for a new project.

I know that Padloper 2 is entirely re-written and despite the name has nothing to to with the original version, am I right? So I can't really build upon my experience with the original Padloper 1. 

I am a bit confused on how to get started with Padloper 2.

I found that there is an official documentation available: https://docs.kongondo.com/

This Docs go through the installation process but then it kind of stops. 

I would like to have further - basic - information like:

- How to create Categories and Products in the backend
- How to handle product field data (like custom attributes, variatons, etc.)
- What fields are required for the product templates (price, amount, etc.) ?
- Does Padloper create these fields in the installation process for me or do I have to do it manually?

Basically what I love to read would be a "how to set up a simple shop with categories and products step by step".

It looks like the "Frontend" section of the documentation should handle all this, but there is almost nothing to find?

The only thing that is shown there is a kind of "category overview" page:

https://docs.kongondo.com/frontend.html

Maybe I am missing something but the Docs do not tell me how to set up the shop (I mean creating categories and adding products) besides from the installation process and the shop settings:

https://docs.kongondo.com/start/

Then theres the Demo repos on GitHub which handle different Padloper shop variants with different features:

https://github.com/kongondo/Padloper2Starter

As far as I see there you have to install these demos manually and search through the templates and source code by yourself to see "how things are done". I find this a bit irritating, isn't the Documentation supposed to support this kind of information? 

For Demo 1 it says: 

It is a complete demonstration of a Padloper shop frontend including products and categories/collections display, single product display, add products to checkout and checkout process. It utilises htmx and alpine.js in various places including checkout. It uses an ajax-powered checkout via htmx. This means ajax responses are htm

It would be great if a database-dump would be included which supports the demo with an already existing page tree with the demo categories and demo product pages to see how things are configured in the backend.

The Padloper2Starter Readme says that these template files have to be created manually:

You need to create a products and a categories page under your root page (home). They should use the similarly named templates respectively.

The template files for above pages are:

/templates/products.php -> for all or single product.

/templates/categories.php -> for all or single category.

Then again I am wondering what fields to I have to add to those templates in the first place to make the Demo work?

Thanks in advance 🙂

[kongondo]

Hi @Stefanowitsch,

I totally agree with your sentiments. The state of Padloper documentation is not good at all. I don't want to make excuses.  Written documentation was at the top of my list but other things came up. I then decided to instead create video documentation. I started on those but again was sidetracked. 

4 hours ago, Stefanowitsch said:

After using Padloper 1 for a project I want to look at Version 2 for a new project.

Great! Happy to help you with this. This doesn't mean I won't be working on the video documentation; I'll still work on that.

 

4 hours ago, Stefanowitsch said:

I know that Padloper 2 is entirely re-written and despite the name has nothing to to with the original version, am I right?

Technically, this is incorrect. Although there are a lot of new features and a new API, some aspects of Padloper 1 remain, e.g. 'padloper templates' to customise markup, e.g. summary of order line items in the basket, etc.

4 hours ago, Stefanowitsch said:

So I can't really build upon my experience with the original Padloper 1. 

Actually, you can. For instance, stuff like 'add to cart', 'checkout form', etc. are near identical.

4 hours ago, Stefanowitsch said:

I am a bit confused on how to get started with Padloper 2.

I am entirely to blame for this. As stated, the docs are not nearly good enough. They are actually still in an interim location. The plan has been to move them to the padloper domain.

4 hours ago, Stefanowitsch said:

This Docs go through the installation process but then it kind of stops. 

True. Again, I am to blame for this state.

4 hours ago, Stefanowitsch said:

I would like to have further - basic - information like:

- How to create Categories and Products in the backend

I will be covering this in the video docs. It is quite easy to create categories and products. Meanwhile, I can grant you backend access to the demo site to visualise how things work.

5 hours ago, Stefanowitsch said:

- How to handle product field data (like custom attributes, variatons, etc.)
- What fields are required for the product templates (price, amount, etc.) ?

Zero fields are required 😀. Padloper ships with its own custom fields in many cases. It also utilises a few in-built ProcessWire fields such as title and rich text area (for product descriptions).

5 hours ago, Stefanowitsch said:

- Does Padloper create these fields in the installation process for me or do I have to do it manually?

Padloper creates all fields for you during installation. At installation, you choose the features you want. For instance, if you don't want the feature 'category', Padloper will not install its related template(s) and fields. If you installed the feature 'tags' and later changed your mind, Padloper will remove this cleanly for you. Most features are optional. The core features include order and product.

5 hours ago, Stefanowitsch said:

Basically what I love to read would be a "how to set up a simple shop with categories and products step by step".

This is how I have planned the video docs. I.e., several short videos covering installation, setting up the backend, creating your first product, displaying products in the frontend, checkout, extending Padloper, etc.

 

5 hours ago, Stefanowitsch said:

As far as I see there you have to install these demos manually and search through the templates and source code by yourself to see "how things are done". I find this a bit irritating, isn't the Documentation supposed to support this kind of information? 

I understand your frustration. I agree, the docs need to provide this information. The video docs will do this. Meanwhile, I need to update the demo repos to indicate their incompleteness.

5 hours ago, Stefanowitsch said:

It would be great if a database-dump would be included which supports the demo with an already existing page tree with the demo categories and demo product pages to see how things are configured in the backend.

This is a great suggestion, thanks! Somebody else mentioned this recently. My plan now is to include an option during installation to install a demo shop. This would match the features that you have selected for install. I also plan (not sure about the timeline for this) an integrated JavaScript driven backend demo of how things work in the backend, basically a click-through thing.

5 hours ago, Stefanowitsch said:

The Padloper2Starter Readme says that these template files have to be created manually:

You need to create a products and a categories page under your root page (home). They should use the similarly named templates respectively.

The template files for above pages are:

/templates/products.php -> for all or single product.

/templates/categories.php -> for all or single category.

Then again I am wondering what fields to I have to add to those templates in the first place to make the Demo work?

Apologies the docs are not clear. Now that you point this out I see how they can be misleading and how they are incomplete. The above instructions are only for the demos. You don't need those templates for Padloper to work. You don't need to create any fields. For frontend use, the only thing that is required is a checkout page. Using the Padloper API ($padloper),  you can access and display any Padloper items in the frontend wherever you like. You don't need a products page or a categories page, etc. For instance, you could display all your products on the homepage, etc. You could add items to your cart in a modal, or in a dedicated page, or however you want. At the end of the day, things are just ProcessWire pages. Technically, you can access things using ProcessWire API but $padloper saves you a few steps. 

I hope I have addressed all your queries. The above responses are not a substitute for good, quality documentation. Video documentation and better demo repos are still a high priority for me. Thanks for honestly pointing out the current shortcomings and your frustrations. Whether or not you decide to use Padloper, I genuinely value your opinion 🙂. Thanks!

[Stefanowitsch]

Thank you for your honest response! I am still interested in getting started with Padloper 2 and I guess I will try it out in the next project. 

When do you plan to update the docs or release the video documentation? Both would be really great 🙂