MINI-ECOMMERCE SOLUTIONS ON THE GOOGLE PLATFORM

Introduce

The streamlined e-commerce solution (Mini-Ecommerce) is built entirely on Google’s ecosystem. This solution combines familiar tools including Google Sites, Google Sheets, and Google Apps Script to create a fully functional online store. Its core differentiator is that it gives users full ownership of both the source code and business data, eliminating monthly maintenance fees and dependence on third-party platforms.

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This solution is designed for individual sellers, small businesses, and companies looking to build satellite sales websites. Although it has certain limitations in large-scale performance and depends on Google’s policies, it provides a powerful, flexible platform with deep scalability within the Google ecosystem, including AppSheet, Google Analytics, and AI tools such as Gemini.

The operating model is built on three main pillars: Google Sites serves as the “storefront” (frontend), Google Sheets functions as the “inventory and records system” (database), and Google Apps Script acts as the “control brain” (backend) that automates processes. The setup process is simplified through an offline tool called “Setup Store,” which generates the necessary code snippets without requiring advanced programming knowledge.

1. Solution Architecture and Operational Workflow

The solution is built on three core components within the Google ecosystem. Each component serves a specialized role while working closely together to form a complete e-commerce system.

1.1. The Three Main Pillars

Component

Google Sites

Role

Storefront

Main Functions

Frontend (User Interface)

Detailed Description

This is where customers access, view products, and place orders. The store interface is embedded into the Google Sites page via an HTML code snippet generated by the "Setup Store" tool.

Google Sheets

Inventory and Records (Database)

Database Systems

The system stores all business data. It uses two main files: 1 order management (managing order information) and 2 product management (managing product catalog, prices, images, and promotional codes).

Google Apps Script

The Control Brain (Backend)

Automation and logic processing

The "glue" connects Google Sites and Google Sheets. Automated scripts handle tasks such as recording orders, sending confirmation emails, and retrieving product data for display. The solution has two main "employees": the Order Management Employee and the Product Catalog Management Employee.

1.2. The Order Journey

The order processing flow of the system is illustrated through the following steps, showing the interaction between three pillars:

Customer Access: The customer visits the Google Sites page.
Product Display: The Google Apps Script (2 product management) immediately retrieves product information (name, price, image) from the Google Sheets (2 product management) and displays it on the website.
Order Placement: The customer selects the product, fills in the information, and clicks "Buy Now".
Order Receipt: New order information is sent from Google Sites to the Google Apps Script (1 order management).
Data Recording: The script automatically records all order details into a new line in the Google Sheets (1 order management).
Notification Sending: Almost simultaneously, the system automatically sends a confirmation email to the customer and notifies the store owner (via email, AppSheet, or Telegram).

2. Differentiators, Advantages, and Target Audience

This solution offers unique advantages compared to traditional e-commerce platforms, targeting a specific segment of users.

2.1. Key Differentiators

Full Ownership of Digital Assets
- Source Code:
  Users have complete ownership of the source code, allowing them to freely customize, expand features, or hire third parties for further development without depending on the solution provider.
- Data Ownership:
  Business data (purchase history, customer behavior, etc.) belongs entirely to the user, creating a strong foundation for analysis and utilization through tools such as Google Analytics and AI.
Operating Costs
- No Maintenance Fees:
  There are no monthly fees. Users only make a one-time payment to purchase the “Setup Store” tool and can use it permanently.
- Unlimited Products:
  The solution allows displaying a large number of products without additional upgrade fees, unlike many free platforms that limit users to only 5–6 products.
Flexibility and Scalability
- Built on Google’s open ecosystem, the solution can be deeply integrated with other powerful tools such as AppSheet (mobile management), Google Analytics (behavior analytics), Looker Studio (data visualization), and Google BigQuery for advanced data analysis.
- It also enables easy “duplication” of stores to sell products in different business sectors.
Basic SEO Support
- Google Sites allows optimization of basic SEO elements such as page titles and product descriptions, helping websites appear in Google search results without requiring paid advertising.

2.2. Target Audience

This solution is designed for:

Individual sellers and small household businesses.
Businesses that want to create satellite websites to increase engagement and expand sales channels.
Users who are already familiar with Google’s ecosystem of products (Sheets, Docs, Drive).
Users who want to build and fully own their own platform.

3. Deployment and Setup Process

3.1. Store Development Roadmap

Building a basic store consists of three main stages, corresponding to the three pillars of the solution:

1. Stage 1: Building the Data “Warehouse” (Google Sheets)

Objective:
Create two Google Sheets files — 1 order management and 2 product management — from the provided templates.
Result:
Two database files fully owned by the user, each with a unique Google Sheet ID, which can be considered the “warehouse address.”

2. Stage 2: Creating the Operational “Staff” (Google Apps Script)

Objective:
Create and deploy two Apps Script projects (1 order management and 2 product management) by pasting code generated from the “Setup Store” tool into the Apps Script editor linked to the corresponding Google Sheets files.
Result:
Each script, once deployed as a “Web App,” receives a unique Deployment ID, which can be considered the “staff ID.” This ID serves as an identifier that allows the system to correctly communicate with each “staff member.”

3. Stage 3: Creating the Store “Front” (Google Sites)

1. 1. Objective:
    Embed the HTML code (which already includes the Deployment IDs of the two Apps Script scripts) into a Google Sites page.
  2. Result:
    A complete online store page, ready to be published and go live.

3.2. Offline-to-Online Method

At each stage of building the store, the process is supported by the “Setup Store” tool. This is a specialized tool that helps users with design, allowing them to simply click a button to automatically generate code snippets. Users only need to copy and paste them into the appropriate environment. For example, the Google Sites code is pasted into the editing interface on Google Sites, while the Google Apps Script code is pasted into the Apps Script editor.

This approach is called “OFFLINE-TO-ONLINE”:

OFFLINE: generating code using the tool
ONLINE: deploying that code to an online internet environment to run

The total setup time is estimated to be about 40–60 minutes for non-technical users.

Step 1 – OFFLINE:

Use the “Setup Store” tool on a personal computer to:

Design the store interface (colors, fonts, layout).
Automatically generate required code: HTML for Google Sites and Apps Script for the backend.
This process does not require programming knowledge.

Step 2 – ONLINE:

Deploy the generated code to the Google environment. This mainly involves copying and pasting the code into the corresponding platforms and performing configuration steps to activate the system.

4. Features and Scalability

The solution provides a set of features sufficient for small and medium-scale operations, while also offering strong scalability.

4.1. Basic Features and Operations

Product Management:
- Add/edit/delete products directly in Google Sheets 2 product management..
- Support adding multiple product images by creating additional columns. Images are stored in Google Drive and must be publicly shared.
- Add detailed product descriptions by embedding a Google Docs file that has been “Published to the web”.
Promotion Management:
- The system supports 6 flexible promotion scenarios configured in the sheetname 2 setting coupon management..
- Promotion types include percentage discounts (%) or fixed amount discounts.
- Applicable scopes include: entire order (Total), specific products (Product), or product categories (Category).
Order Management:

Update order status (e.g., “Confirmed,” “Shipped to carrier”) directly in Google Sheets 1 order management..
Automatically send email updates to customers when the store owner checks the “Send notification to customers” box.

4.2. Advanced Extension Features

AppSheet Integration for Mobile Management:
- Users can copy a sample AppSheet application (My Store Management) and connect it to their own Google Sheets files.
- The app enables:

Instant mobile notifications when new orders arrive.
Remote management of orders, products, and discount codes.

Google Analytics Integration for Data Analysis:
- The solution can be integrated with Google Analytics to track customer behavior.
- Automatically tracked events include:view_item (product view), add_to_cart (add to cart), begin_checkout (start checkout), purchase (successful purchase)

This data helps analyze business performance and optimize marketing strategies.

Email Sending Quota Expansion:
- Issue: Free Gmail accounts are limited to 100 outgoing emails per day, which may not be sufficient for stores with many orders.
- Solution: The system allows integration with secondary email accounts. When the primary email reaches its quota limit, the system automatically switches to secondary emails to send customer notifications.
- Mechanism: A secondary Apps Script web app is used, deployed with the backup email and communicating with the main Apps Script via a secret key (SECRET_KEY) to ensure security.

5. Limitations and Considerations

To make an informed decision, users should clearly understand both the advantages and the limitations of the solution.

Dependence on Google:

The store operates entirely based on Google’s policies and the availability of its services (Sites, Sheets, Apps Script). Any changes made by Google may impact the system.

Limitations of Free Accounts:
- Google Sheets performance:
  Google Sheets has data read/write limits (e.g., around 60 write requests per minute per user). The system is optimized for small to medium scale usage (approximately under 100 orders per day) and is not suitable for high traffic loads (thousands of concurrent users).
- Apps Script quotas:
  Free accounts have limitations on daily email sending (100 emails/day) and script execution time. Users can upgrade to Google Workspace to increase these quotas.

Initial Setup Requirement:

The solution requires users to spend initial time reading documentation and manually setting up the system. It is not a “plug-and-play” solution.

Lack of Advanced Features:

Compared to professional e-commerce platforms, this solution may lack some advanced functionalities. However, the flexibility of the source code allows users to extend and develop additional features themselves.

In summary, this solution is an ideal choice for those who want to start an online business with low cost, full control over data, and are willing to invest initial time in building their own platform within the Google ecosystem.

Google Sites

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