An E-Commerce Platform for Artisan Products in Abeokuta, Ogun State

Artisan producers in Abeokuta, Ogun State, face significant market access limitations due to their reliance on physical marketplaces and the absence of formal digital sales channels. This project develops a dedicated e-commerce platform for artisan products in Abeokuta, targeting weavers, potters, tie-dye producers, and leatherwork craftspeople. The platform is built using the WooCommerce framework on a WordPress CMS backend, with Paystack payment gateway integration for local and diaspora transactions. The development methodology employed is the iterative model, allowing gradual feature additions guided by 25 artisan seller interviews and 50 buyer usability sessions. Key features include a product catalogue with multimedia uploads, vendor dashboards, order management, logistics partner integration with GIG Logistics, and a WhatsApp-based customer support widget. Evaluation covers transaction success rate, seller onboarding ease, and buyer retention after first purchase. Data shows an 88 percent transaction success rate and a 33 percent repeat purchase rate within the first 90 days of pilot operation. The study acknowledges that digital literacy gaps among older artisans require sustained training investment. Recommendations include state government subsidy programmes for artisan digital onboarding and integration with the Ogun State cultural tourism portal to drive external traffic. This research establishes a replicable model for South West artisan economic empowerment through software engineering. Keywords: e-commerce, artisan products, Abeokuta, Paystack, digital marketplace