Case Study: Cross-Platform Charity Donation System Architecture

The Challenge

A charity organization initially needed a donation plugin for their Shopware 5 store. After the successful implementation, they expanded their e-commerce presence to Shopware 6, Shopify, and WordPress, requiring the exact same donation functionality across all platforms.

Critical Pain Points

Each platform has fundamentally different architecture and extension mechanisms
No code reuse possible between platforms
Must maintain 100% feature parity across all implementations
Different database schemas, templating engines, and APIs per platform
Need for consistent user experience and admin interface across platforms

The challenge was not building one plugin, but solving the same business problem four different ways, each optimized for its platform while delivering identical functionality including donation tracking, checkout integration, automated tax receipts, and donor management.

The Solution

I built four completely separate native implementations, each leveraging its platform's best practices and architectural patterns. Rather than forcing a generic solution, I created platform-specific plugins that feel native while delivering identical business functionality.

Technical Implementation

Shopware 5 & 6 Native Plugins

Shopware 5 used ExtJS components and event subscribers, while Shopware 6 leveraged entity definitions, DAL, and the admin SDK. Both integrated seamlessly with their respective checkout processes and admin panels.

Shopify App with Liquid Integration

Built a Shopify app using webhooks for order events, integrated donation options via Liquid templates, and created a custom admin dashboard using Polaris components for consistent Shopify UX.

WordPress Custom Post Types

Leveraged WordPress hooks, custom post types for donations, and WooCommerce integration for checkout. Built admin interface using WordPress settings API for familiar management experience.

Unified Feature Set

Despite different implementations, all four plugins provide donation tracking, tax receipt generation, donor management, reporting dashboards, and automated email notifications with identical business logic.

Results & Business Impact

Multi-Platform Presence Achieved

Charity successfully expanded from one platform to four with consistent donation functionality, reaching wider donor base across different e-commerce ecosystems.

Native Platform Integration

Each implementation feels native to its platform, with admin interfaces matching platform conventions and seamless checkout integration, reducing training time and adoption friction.

100% Feature Parity

All platforms deliver identical donation features including tax receipt automation, donor management, and reporting, ensuring consistent experience regardless of storefront.

Platform-Optimized Performance

Each plugin leverages platform-specific optimizations and patterns, resulting in better performance than a generic cross-platform solution could achieve.

Shopware Cross-Platform Charity Donation System