So, I decided to kick off this little project, called it “cherish boutique”. Sounded nice, right? Like a cozy little online spot. The idea was simple enough, or so I thought: set up a small web shop, maybe sell some handmade stuff, keep it minimal.
First thing, I jumped straight into looking at platforms. You know, the usual suspects. Shopify, Etsy, maybe even WordPress with WooCommerce. Spent a good few evenings just clicking around, comparing features, pricing. Honestly, it felt overwhelming pretty fast. Each one had its own way of doing things, its own costs. I just wanted something straightforward.
Getting Hands Dirty (and Messy)
I figured, why not try building something simpler myself? How hard could it be? Famous last words. I started sketching out pages, thinking about the look and feel. Wanted it clean, kinda personal. Then came the actual doing part.
- Tried a template: Found some free HTML template online. Looked okay at first. Started customizing it.
- Hit snags: Realized tweaking the template beyond basic colors and text was a nightmare. Things kept breaking. The code was… well, let’s just say it wasn’t pretty.
- Looked at static site generators: Heard about things like Jekyll or Hugo. Seemed like a good middle ground. Less complex than a full CMS, more control than a rigid template. Installed one, tried to get the hang of it.
- More hurdles: Getting the product listing part working dynamically, even in a simple way, wasn’t plug-and-play. Needed more fiddling than I expected. Plus, handling payments? That opened a whole new can of worms. Stripe, PayPal… integration wasn’t just a button click.
It ended up being this weird mix. Some parts were from the original template I hacked apart, other bits were trying to follow the static site generator’s structure, and then there were chunks of code I cobbled together myself after watching a dozen tutorials. What a patchwork quilt.
Why Even Bother? The Real Story
Truth is, I started “cherish boutique” during a bit of a rough patch. Work was intense, long hours, felt like I wasn’t really creating anything, just churning stuff out. This little project was meant to be an escape, something tangible I could build and say ‘I made this’. Something simple and, well, cherished.
But you know how it goes. Life gets in the way. What started as a fun little side thing turned into another source of frustration. Every time I hit a roadblock with the code or the setup, it just felt like another failure. I’d leave it for weeks, then come back, forget where I left off, get annoyed, and leave it again. It wasn’t the peaceful creative outlet I’d hoped for. It mirrored the chaos I was trying to get away from.
Where It Stands Now
So, where is “cherish boutique” today? Honestly, it’s sitting on my hard drive. It’s a half-finished collection of files. Some pages look okay, others are broken. The payment stuff never got fully implemented. It’s not live, not selling anything. It’s basically a digital ghost.
Sometimes I think about reviving it, maybe just simplifying it drastically, turning it into a simple gallery page instead of a shop. But then I remember the headaches. For now, it serves as a reminder: sometimes the simple ideas are the trickiest to actually finish, especially when you try to do it all yourself from bits and pieces. Maybe one day. Or maybe not.