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Quickstart: Webround Commerce

After creating your Draft, the next logical step for many projects is activating sales capabilities. This is handled by Webround Commerce, the infrastructure specifically designed to power online stores.

The Connection Between Draft and Store​

It is vital to understand the technical distinction between these two components:

  • The Draft: This is your design layer. It contains static assets, styles, layouts, and translations. It dictates how your shop looks.
  • The Store (Webround Commerce): This is the "brain" of the operation. It handles computation, the database, search indexing, checkout microservices, and Stripe integration.

While they are linked for design purposes, they are completely separate from an architectural standpoint. The Draft handles the "where," and Commerce handles the "how."

Licensing and Free Access​

Creating a Webround Commerce store is free. We want you to be able to access the management dashboard and explore all its features without an immediate commitment. However, there are critical limitations to be aware of if you don't have a valid subscription:

  • API Communication: Without a subscription linked to your Draft, the public APIs will not transmit data. This means your actual site (or draft preview) won't be able to pull in products or categories.
  • Locked Features: Customer authentication, cart functionality, checkout processes, and product reviews will be disabled.
  • Data Limits: You will have a very limited amount of data (products/assets) that you can create in the free tier.

The free access is primarily intended for setup, testing the management interface, and preparing your catalog before going live.

Practical Guide: Activating Your Shop​

If you have already followed the Quickstart: Draft guide, activating your store takes just one click:

  1. Go to your Dashboard and open the Drafts tab.
  2. Locate the draft you want to use for your shop.
  3. Click the button labeled "Create your Shop".

What's happening? Webround is currently spinning up a dedicated Commerce instance for you. Once finished, that same button will transform into "Manage your Shop", which will take you directly into the WR Commerce management experience.

You are now ready to start managing your catalog and configuring your business logic.

Next Steps: