WooNooW/PROJECT_BRIEF.md

WooNooW — Modern Experience Layer for WooCommerce

1. Background

WooCommerce remains the world’s most widely used e‑commerce engine, but its architecture has become increasingly heavy, fragmented, and difficult to modernize.
The transition toward React‑based components (Cart/Checkout Blocks, HPOS, and new admin screens) introduces compatibility issues that render many existing addons obsolete.
Store owners and developers face a dilemma: migrate to new SaaS‑like platforms (SureCart, NorthCommerce) and lose their data, or stay with WooCommerce and endure performance and UX stagnation.

Key pain points:

• Checkout performance bottlenecks and delayed responses due to synchronous PHP operations (e.g., wp_mail).
• Legacy admin and product interfaces causing friction for daily operations.
• HPOS transition breaking legacy addons that query wp_posts.
• Increasing incompatibility between modern Woo Blocks and PHP‑based extensions.

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2. Vision & Solution Direction

WooNooW acts as a modern experience layer for WooCommerce — enhancing UX, performance, and reliability without data migration.
It does not replace WooCommerce; it evolves it.
By overlaying a fast React‑powered frontend and a modern admin SPA, WooNooW upgrades the store experience while keeping full backward compatibility with existing data, plugins, and gateways.

Core principles:

1. No Migration Needed — Woo data stays intact.
2. Safe Activate/Deactivate — deactivate anytime without data loss.
3. Hybrid by Default — SSR + SPA islands for cart, checkout, and my‑account.
4. Full SPA Toggle — optional React‑only mode for performance‑critical sites.
5. HPOS Mandatory — optimized data reads/writes with indexed datastores.
6. Compat Layer — hook mirror + slot rendering for legacy addons.
7. Async System — mail and heavy actions queued via Action Scheduler.

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3. Development Method & Phases

Phase	Scope	Output
Phase 1	Core plugin foundation, menu, REST routes, async email	Working prototype with dashboard & REST health check
Phase 2	Checkout Fast‑Path (quote, submit), cart hybrid SPA	Fast checkout pipeline, HPOS datastore
Phase 3	Customer SPA (My Account, Orders, Addresses)	React SPA integrated with Woo REST
Phase 4	Admin SPA (Orders List, Detail, Dashboard, Standalone Mode)	React admin interface with 3 modes: normal (wp-admin), fullscreen, standalone
Phase 4.5	Settings SPA (Store, Payments, Shipping, Taxes, Checkout)	Shopify-inspired settings UI reading WooCommerce structure; Setup Wizard for onboarding
Phase 5	Compatibility Hooks & Slots	Legacy addon support maintained
Phase 6	Packaging & Licensing	Release build, Sejoli integration, and addon manager

All development follows incremental delivery with full test coverage on REST endpoints and admin components.

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4. Technical Strategy

• Backend: PHP 8.2+, WooCommerce HPOS, Action Scheduler, Redis (object cache).
• Frontend: React 18 + TypeScript, Vite, React Query, Tailwind/Radix for UI.
• Architecture: Modular PSR‑4 autoload, REST‑driven logic, SPA hydration islands.
• Performance: Read‑through cache, async queues, lazy data hydration.
• Compat: HookBridge and SlotRenderer ensuring PHP‑hook addons still render inside SPA.

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5. Settings Architecture Philosophy

WooNooW settings act as a "better wardrobe" for WooCommerce configuration:

Core Principles:

1. Read WooCommerce Structure — Listen to WC's registered gateways, shipping methods, and settings (the "bone structure")
2. Transform & Simplify — Convert complex WC settings into clean, categorized UI with progressive disclosure
3. Enhance Performance — Direct DB operations where safe, bypassing WC bloat (30s → 1-2s like Orders)
4. Respect the Ecosystem — If addon extends WC_Payment_Gateway or WC_Shipping_Method, it appears automatically
5. No New Hooks — Don't ask addons to support us; we support WooCommerce's existing hooks

UI Strategy:

• Generic form builder as standard for all WC-compliant gateways/methods
• Custom components for recognized popular gateways (Stripe, PayPal) while respecting the standard
• Redirect to WC settings for complex/non-standard addons
• Multi-page forms for gateways with 20+ fields (categorized: Basic → API → Advanced)

Compatibility Stance:

"If it works in WooCommerce, it works in WooNooW. If it doesn't respect WooCommerce's structure, we can't help."

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6. Community Addon Support Strategy

WooNooW leverages the irreplaceable strength of the WooCommerce ecosystem through a three-tier support model:

Tier A: Automatic Integration ✅

Addons that respect WooCommerce bone structure work automatically.

• Payment gateways extending WC_Payment_Gateway
• Shipping methods extending WC_Shipping_Method
• Plugins using WooCommerce hooks and filters
• HPOS-compatible plugins

Examples:

• Stripe for WooCommerce
• WooCommerce Subscriptions
• WooCommerce Bookings
• Any plugin following WooCommerce standards

Result: Zero configuration needed. If it works in WooCommerce, it works in WooNooW.

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Tier B: Bridge Snippets 🌉

For addons with custom injection that partially or fully don't integrate.

We provide bridge snippet code to help users connect non-standard addons:

Use Cases:

• Addons that inject custom fields via JavaScript
• Addons that bypass WooCommerce hooks
• Addons with custom session management (e.g., Rajaongkir)
• Addons with proprietary UI injection

Approach:

// Bridge snippet example
add_filter('woonoow_before_shipping_calculate', function($data) {
    // Convert WooNooW data to addon format
    if ($data['country'] === 'ID') {
        CustomAddon::set_session_data($data);
    }
    return $data;
});

Distribution:

• Documentation with code snippets
• Community-contributed bridges
• Optional bridge plugin packages

Philosophy: We help users leverage ALL WooCommerce addons, not rebuild them.

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Tier C: Essential WooNooW Addons ⚡

We build our own addons only for critical/essential features.

Criteria for building:

• ✅ Essential for store operations
• ✅ Significantly enhances WooCommerce
• ✅ Provides unique value in WooNooW context
• ✅ Cannot be adequately bridged

Examples:

• WooNooW Indonesia Shipping (Rajaongkir, Biteship integration)
• WooNooW Advanced Reports
• WooNooW Inventory Management
• WooNooW Multi-Currency

NOT building:

• Generic features already available in WooCommerce ecosystem
• Features that can be bridged
• Niche functionality with low demand

Goal: Save energy, focus on core experience, leverage community strength.

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Why This Approach?

Leverage WooCommerce Ecosystem:

• 10,000+ plugins available
• Proven, tested solutions
• Active community support
• Regular updates and maintenance

Avoid Rebuilding Everything:

• Save development time
• Focus on core WooNooW experience
• Let specialists maintain their domains
• Reduce maintenance burden

Provide Flexibility:

• Users choose their preferred addons
• Bridge pattern for edge cases
• Essential addons for critical needs
• No vendor lock-in

Community Strength:

"We use WooCommerce, not PremiumNooW as WooCommerce Alternative. We must take the irreplaceable strength of the WooCommerce community."

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7. Strategic Goal

Position WooNooW as the "WooCommerce for Now" — a paid addon that delivers the speed and UX of modern SaaS platforms while retaining the ecosystem power and self‑hosted freedom of WooCommerce.

Key Differentiators:

• ⚡ Lightning-fast performance
• 🎨 Modern, intuitive UI
• 🔌 Full WooCommerce ecosystem compatibility
• 🌉 Bridge support for any addon
• ⚙️ Essential addons for critical features
• 🚀 No data migration needed

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