Zen Cart custom software development, Zen Cart modules, Zen Cart Expert eCommerce with Zen Cart!

About That Software Guy


That Software Guy helps small businesses sell online!

My name is Scott C. Wilson and I'm That Software Guy. I have over 30 years of experience in software development, and I am passionate about helping you convert visitors into customers and browsers into buyers. Let me help you increase sales and profits in your store. I appreciate your visit to my site, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Here are some things new customers like to see:
   Reviews and Testimonials from happy clients.
   Pricing - a bit about how I work with clients.
   Credentials Summary - my background.
   Contact Information - Email is best.


That's me!

Credentials Summary

  • After a 30 year professional career of doing software in corporate (LinkedIn page), I now run my own business as an independent software developer.
  • I have been working with Zen Cart since 2006. The first plugin I built was Quantity Discounts, which has now been downloaded over 30,000 times.
  • I am deeply involved in the Zen Cart project.  You can see on Github that I am the number two contributor to the current Zen Cart development stream. The only person ahead of me is the project founder.
  • I am a moderator of the Zen Cart forum and the curator of the Plugins section.  I am the number one contributor of plugins for Zen Cart.  You can see my name on the top contributors list on the right hand side of the plugins page.
  • I have a ton of testimonials - written and video.  You can see reviews of my work as a Zen Cart contractor.
  • I am a member of Mensa.


Services

That Software Guy, Inc. is a microconsultancy. The scope of services I offer is narrow in focus. It is not a vertically integrated business - I don't do hosting, for example, or template design. For the most part, what I do is custom software development using Zen Cart - based on your business requirements, tailored to your personal specifications.

At any given time, I may be delivering the next week, or I may be delivering several weeks out. The latter means I have a backlog of client requests. Rest assured that when your turn comes, I'll give your project the same attention and care I'm giving to someone else's project right now.

If am unable to take on your job at this time, I may forward it to someone else who is capable of handling the work. If you would prefer that I not forward your current proposal, please include that preference in your request.

My Work Process

Some developers just drop untested changes on your live site and walk away. Not me.

When you go on support or request an upgrade, the first thing I do is download your site and database, and set it up in my local test environment. That way I can test any change I am making to your site prior to delivery, and be confident that it's going to work as expected. But it doesn't stop there. I do post deployment testing on your site to be sure there are no surprises. If you wish, you can be involved in this activity with me on the phone. Then, I check back on your site in the days following deployment to be sure there are no error logs or other issues.

I maintain a local Github repository of your website files so that in case you want something reverted or have a problem, I can easily see the change history of each file. Does your developer do this?

In terms of communication, here are the practices I use for clients on support:
  • Emergency communication received during 06:00 AM and 21:00 PM Eastern time Monday - Friday will get a response within 90 minutes.
  • Non-emergency communication will get a response within 24 hours.
  • I will check on your site at least once a month.

Is your developer this responsive?

You can see what my past clients say about my Zen Cart work - be sure to watch the video testimonials!

Check Out My Work!

Many of my mods are installed on the demo sites I maintain. Take a look at Demo Shop 1, Demo Shop 2, Demo Shop 3, Demo Shop 5.

You can see all my demo sites on one page on That Software Guy's demo site.

Delivery

When I give you a delivery date for a change, this reflects my worst-case estimate of how long it will take. I generally promise next-week delivery, unless I'm really backlogged. I may wind up delivering sooner, perhaps much sooner, but in no event (the good Lord willing and the creek don't rise) will it be any later. I would much prefer to deliver early and be a hero than deliver late and be a goat.

For a long time (2006-2013), I delivered software by email, but in April 2014, I decided that I really ought to eat my own dogfood, so I switched over to use a a Zen Cart-based shopping cart. Buyers of my modules now receive immediate access to downloads containing code and installation instructions. If you require installation assistance, I am happy to provide it for an additional charge. If you have questions, please ask them prior to purchase.

Reviews

You can see some testimonials and reviews about my Zen Cart work, which are hosted on ShopperApproved. You can view these hundreds of reviews or just get a taste.

If you have a LinkedIn account, you can look at That Software Guy's LinkedIn page to see more testimonials.

ShopperApproved also syndicates their content out to SiteJabber, so you'll see That Software Guy Reviews on SiteJabber as well.

Reviews of That Software Guy's Zen Cart work

me!

Contributions to the Zen Cart Project

Does it make sense to hire a Zen Cart developer who has never produced a significant contribution to the project? My Quantity Discounts and Better Together modules are my own original works that each have over 25,000 downloads. You can see the stats on all my mods to see how popular my work is; my contributions have been downloaded over 168,000 times as of September, 2022. I am the number one contributor of Zen Cart modifications.


Zen Cart Plugins

In addition, I am one of the top contributors to the Zen Cart core. Here's the contributor graph from Github for the current Zen Cart branch:
Github Contributions to Zen Cart

Oh, and did I also mention that I'm also the curator of the documentation for Zen Cart? Github Contributions to Zen Cart Documentation


I post on the Zen Cart support forum under the userid "swguy." Here are my Zen Cart Support Forum posts. Is your developer this actively engaged with Zen Cart?

Pricing

Extensions are priced as indicated on the help page for the extension. Custom programming services available at $100 per hour for jobs requiring more than 10 hours; jobs requiring less than that have flat per-job pricing or are billed at a slightly higher hourly rate. Payment is required in advance. Typically I can provide a fixed price bid for projects which are well defined and require ten hours of work or less. Larger projects, projects with significant unknowns and exploratory projects will be billed on an hourly basis with a ten hour deposit.

Installation is available for most of my Zen Cart modules for $60. I generally don't install code written by other people unless you are on support.

Telephone consultations are $100 for up to 40 minutes, payable in advance. You must have a current, working cart installed on the public Internet that both of us can access.

I'm always happy to look at RFPs and RFQs by email. Click my contact page for information on what I need to get started.

I might not be a good fit if you don’t have a budget, or if you have more junior development needs. I only focus on clients who need advanced skills and experience from a dependable long-term partner.

Finally, if you'd like to make a donation to show your appreciation for my contributions to Zen Cart, osCommerce, or OpenCart, that would be great! Thank you!

Payment

I require payment in full prior to commencement of work. You can buy any amount of time needed from my store.

If you don't like PayPal, I can configure your account in my store to allow you to pay using a credit card via another payment gateway. I also have clients who pay me via Zelle. If you wish to use one of these options, create an account and request it, and I'll set you up.

Resume

I maintain two online resumes; you may view That Software Guy's Resume on Stack Overflow Careers, or That Software Guy's Profile on LinkedIn. You may also read my origin story if that is of interest.

Contact Information

I'm always happy to hear from site owners who'd like to hire me.

Contact by email preferred. Just use my contact form.
  • Cart type (Zen Cart, osCommerce, etc.)
  • Cart version
  • Mods installed
  • URL to your store
  • Your specific requirements
  • Budget
  • Schedule





Location

I work out of my home office, which is on the West Coast of Florida in the Tampa Bay area. This is where the magic happens!
That Software Guy's Home Office



Social Networking

If you use and enjoy the work I've done, connect with me!

   Follow That Software Guy on Twitter

   View my Profile on LinkedIn. Please introduce yourself to connect!

   I also enjoy answering questions on the Stack Exchange network, on StackOverflow, Programmers, and SuperUser.



That's me!

Here's my network flair:

profile for Scott on Stack Exchange, a network of free, community-driven Q&A sites