Ecommerce Website - Product Requirements Document (PRD) and High-Level Design (HLD)

Table of Contents

1. Functional Requirements
   1.1 User Management
   1.2 Product Catalog
   1.3 Cart & Checkout
   1.4 Order Management
   1.5 Payment
   1.6 Authentication
2. High-Level Design (HLD)
   2.1 Architecture Components
   2.2 Microservices
   2.3 Database
   2.4 Message Broker (Kafka)
   2.5 Caching (Redis)
   2.6 Search and Analytics (Elasticsearch)
3. Typical Flow
4. Contributing to the Project

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Functional Requirements

1. User Management

• Registration: Allow users to register via email or social media profiles.
• Login: Secure user login with credentials.
• Profile Management: Enable users to view and edit their profiles.
• Password Reset: Allow password resets through secure email links.

2. Product Catalog

• Browsing: Users can browse products by category.
• Product Details: Product pages include images, descriptions, specifications, and more.
• Search: Provide search functionality with keyword-based queries.

3. Cart & Checkout

• Add to Cart: Users can add products to their cart.
• Cart Review: View selected items with price, quantity, and totals.
• Checkout: Seamless process to finalize purchases, including delivery details and payment options.

4. Order Management

• Order Confirmation: Confirm orders with details after purchase.
• Order History: Allow users to view past orders.
• Order Tracking: Provide delivery status tracking.

5. Payment

• Multiple Payment Options: Support credit/debit cards, online banking, and other methods.
• Secure Transactions: Ensure secure payment handling.
• Payment Receipt: Generate receipts for successful payments.

6. Authentication

• Secure Authentication: Protect user data during login and active sessions.
• Session Management: Allow users to stay logged in until they log out or after a specified duration.

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High-Level Design (HLD)

Architecture Components

• Load Balancers (LB): Distribute traffic across servers for high availability (e.g., AWS ELB).
• API Gateway: Entry point for routing requests, managing rate limits, and handling authentication (e.g., Kong).
• Microservices: Separate services for modular and scalable architecture.
• Databases: MySQL and MongoDB for structured and unstructured data.
• Message Broker (Kafka): Enable asynchronous inter-service communication.
• Caching (Redis): Boost response times for frequently accessed data.
• Search & Analytics (Elasticsearch): Efficient product searches with advanced capabilities.

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Typical Flow

Part 1: Product Search

1. User logs in and searches for a product.
2. Request passes through the Load Balancer to the API Gateway.
3. API Gateway routes the search request to the Product Catalog Service.
4. Product Catalog Service queries Elasticsearch for results.

Part 2: Add to Cart

1. User adds a product to the cart.
2. Cart Service stores the item in MongoDB and produces a Kafka message.

Part 3: Checkout

1. User checks out.
2. Order Management Service processes the order and sends a Kafka message.
3. Payment Service consumes the message to handle payment.

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Contributing to the Project

We welcome contributions to enhance the functionality, design, or performance of this ecommerce website. Here are the steps and types of contributions you can make:

Types of Contributions

• Feature Development: Add new features such as wishlist functionality, discount coupons, or support for new payment methods.
• Bug Fixes: Identify and fix issues in the existing system.
• Performance Optimization: Improve response times, database queries, or overall system efficiency.
• Documentation: Enhance this README or create new documentation for onboarding contributors.
• Testing: Write unit, integration, or end-to-end tests.

Steps to Contribute

1. Fork the Repository

   • Go to the GitHub repository and click on the "Fork" button.

2. Clone your forked Repository

   git clone https://github.com/<username>/ProductServiceNovember2024.git

   Navigate into the project directory:

   cd ProductServiceNovember2024

3. Create a New Branch

   git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

4. Make Your Changes

   • Develop the feature or fix the issue.
   • Ensure that your changes follow coding standards and are well-documented.

5. Commit Your Changes

   git add .
   git commit -m "Add feature/bugfix description"

6. Push to Your Fork

   git push origin feature/your-feature-name

7. Create a Pull Request (PR)

   • Go to the original repository and click on "New Pull Request."
   • Select your fork and branch, and provide a detailed description of your changes.

8. Address Feedback

   • If maintainers leave comments, address them promptly.

Contribution Guidelines

• Write clear and concise commit messages.
• Follow coding standards and best practices.
• Ensure your code passes linting and tests.
• Be respectful and collaborative in code reviews.

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Thank you for contributing to this project! Together, we can create a robust, user-friendly ecommerce platform.