ConsuTrade

A C2C e-commerce platform for South Africa's informal traders.

Why I Built This

South Africa's informal economy is worth nearly R900 billion and employs about 20% of the workforce. But most informal traders still sell through WhatsApp and Facebook — not because it's the best option, but because nobody built a proper platform for them.

This project was my attempt to fix that. I built ConsuTrade as a C2C marketplace specifically for township traders and home-based sellers. It gives them a digital storefront, a way to get verified, and a secure payment system through PayFast.

Who It's For

• Informal traders who currently sell through social media
• Township entrepreneurs running small businesses
• Buyers who want to support local sellers

What I Built

Buyers can:

• Browse and search products (filter by category, price, location)
• Add items to cart with stock validation
• Checkout securely with PayFast
• View order history and track status
• Leave reviews for completed orders
• Report problematic products
• Register and verify their email address
• Reset forgotten passwords

Sellers can:

• Manage products (add, edit, delete, suspend)
• Upload up to 4 images per product (first image = main photo, rest = gallery)
• Track orders and update status (pending → processing → shipped → completed)
• View earnings and store stats
• Get verified by uploading ID or proof of address

Admins can:

• View platform stats (revenue, users, products)
• Manage users (suspend, ban, verify sellers)
• Review uploaded verification documents
• Moderate all products
• Review flagged reports from buyers

Tech Stack

Layer	What I Used
Frontend	HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, jQuery
Backend	PHP 7.4 (OOP)
Database	MySQL
Payments	PayFast (sandbox/live)
Images	Client-side WebP compression via JavaScript
Email	PHPMailer with SMTP (Gmail)
Hosting	InfinityFree (free tier)

Project Structure

consutrade/
├── admin/                      # Seller & admin dashboard
│   ├── css/                    # Dashboard styles
│   ├── includes/               # Sidebar component
│   └── *.php                   # Dashboard pages
├── css/                        # Main stylesheets
│   ├── components.css          # Reusable components
│   ├── layout.css              # Header, footer, hero
│   └── variables.css           # CSS variables
├── includes/                   # PHP components
│   ├── header.php
│   ├── footer.php
│   ├── breadcrumb.php
│   └── flash-message.php
├── js/                         # JavaScript
│   ├── main.js                 # Core functionality
│   ├── products.js             # Product listings & details
│   ├── dashboard.js            # Admin/seller dashboard
│   └── image-compressor.js     # Client-side WebP conversion
├── php/
│   ├── classes/                # All PHP classes
│   │   ├── Domain/             # Business logic (Product, User, Order)
│   │   ├── Repository/         # Database operations
│   │   ├── Services/           # Business services
│   │   └── core/               # Auth, Database, RateLimiter
│   ├── endpoints/              # AJAX handlers
│   ├── cron/                   # Scheduled jobs (cleanup-orders.php)
│   └── config.php              # Configuration
├── uploads/
│   ├── products/               # Product images (WebP)
│   └── profiles/               # Profile pictures
└── *.php                       # Public pages

OOP Architecture

I used the Repository Pattern to separate business logic from database code:

Domain classes: Product, User, Order, Cart, Review, Report, Transaction — contain business rules only. No SQL.

Repository classes: ProductRepository, OrderRepository, UserRepository — handle all database queries.

Service classes: Auth handles login/session, PayFastService handles payments, EmailService handles SMTP email delivery, CartService handles cart operations, OrderService handles order processing.

Example: Instead of writing SQL in 5 different files, I call $productRepo->findById($id) everywhere. If the query changes, I update it once.

Security

• Prepared statements for all database queries (SQL injection protection)
• Password hashing with BCRYPT
• HTTP-only cookies
• XSS protection with htmlspecialchars()
• Role-based access control (buyer/seller/admin)
• User status: active, suspended, or banned
• Email verification via SMTP (Gmail)
• Rate limiting on API endpoints
• Session timeout

Multi-Language Support

The platform supports all 11 official South African languages:

• English, Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sepedi, Setswana, Sesotho, Xitsonga, siSwati, Tshivenda, isiNdebele

Users can switch languages via the dropdown in the header, and the language preference is remembered. The entire UI auto-translates using PHP output buffering.

Image Management

All product images are:

• Compressed on the client-side using JavaScript (WebP format)
• Uploaded with a max resolution of 1200x1200px
• Stored with the first image as the main product photo
• Up to 4 images allowed per product

What I Learned (The Hard Way)

• Plan the database schema before coding. I kept adding tables mid-build and it cost me time rewriting queries.
• Use the repository pattern from day one. Refactoring into it halfway through was painful and took 2 days.
• Test with real users early. Reviews and product reporting came from feedback — they weren't in my original plan.
• Client-side image compression saves server resources. Instead of relying on GD PHP, I compress images in the browser.

Installation

This project is for portfolio/demonstration purposes. The SQL schema is not included in this repository.

To run this project locally:

1. Place the folder in your web server's document root (htdocs for XAMPP)
2. Create a MySQL database with the appropriate schema (the structure is defined in the code)
3. Create a .env file in the root directory:

# Database credentials
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_NAME=your_database_name
DB_USER=your_username
DB_PASS=your_password

# Base URL
BASE_URL=http://localhost/consutrade/

# PayFast Credentials
PAYFAST_MERCHANT_ID=your_id
PAYFAST_MERCHANT_KEY=your_key
PAYFAST_SANDBOX=true

# Email (SMTP) - For verification and password reset emails
SMTP_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_USER=your_email@gmail.com
SMTP_PASS=your_app_password
SMTP_FROM=your_email@gmail.com
SMTP_FROM_NAME=ConsuTrade

# Maintenance Mode Allowed IPs (optional)
MAINTENANCE_ALLOWED_IPS=your_ip_address

4. Make sure uploads/products/ and uploads/profiles/ are writable (chmod 755)
5. Access the site at http://localhost/consutrade/

Note: The database structure and sample data are not included. This is for portfolio demonstration purposes only.

Module Info

• Module: ITECA3-12 — Web Development and e-Commerce
• Institution: Eduvos
• Student: Kamogelo Phale
• Student Number: EDUV4810351
• Year: 2026

License

This project is for educational purposes as part of the ITECA3-12 module at Eduvos. The SQL schema is not included in this repository.