This chapter has explored some advanced e-commerce features related to pipe-lining the order, payment, and shipping process. This sort of integration is traditionally very complex and expensive. Prior to web frameworks like Django it would often involve a team of developers and numerous home-grown modules and tools. Using a modern web framework combined with innovative third-party APIs provided by Google Checkout and shipping companies, it now becomes feasible for a small development team to implement on a reasonable schedule. These features include:
- Tracking an order's status as it moves through our system
- Retrieving information from the payment processor to automatically update order information
- Shipping services APIs for calculating delivery costs
- Integrating carrier-calculated shipping costs with our Google Checkout shopping cart
- A simple pair of views for receiving customer feedback
These are relatively advanced features that may not be necessary for all e-commerce sites. However, for medium-to-large sized organizations that struggle to find an off-the-shelf e-commerce solution that fits their needs, this sort of integration is easily within reach and could be customized for any industry or product. This is part of what makes Django and other frameworks exciting, if unexplored, territory for e-commerce businesses.