A local art business needed an e-commerce store ready for its Kansas State Fair launch. We built Prism Diamond Art’s online store with FluentCart and launched it in time for the fair, with the shop as the first thing visitors see and the broader site close behind it.
The project also gave us a chance to build a custom wish list with MananaWishCart for Fluent Cart after the original scope had been agreed. The finished site reflects Brandi’s requested design direction, and the MananaWishCart wish list was delivered before the fair.
Key Takeaways
- Prism Diamond Art launched a store-first WordPress website with FluentCart in time for the Kansas State Fair.
- The site uses the artwork itself to shape the visual direction while keeping artist information and supporting pages available in the background.
- MananaWishCart was developed as a custom, open source, self-hosted wishlist solution because FluentCart did not include native wishlist functionality for this project.
- The first MananaWishCart release supports saved products, guest and logged-in users, wishlist management, and connections to the existing product and cart flow.
- The project kept launch priorities focused, leaving features such as price-drop alerts, back-in-stock notifications, subscription management, FluentCRM follow-up, and eCommerce MCP integrations for future scope.
A Store-First Launch for the Kansas State Fair
Prism Diamond Art launched during Kansas State Fair week, where Brandi planned to sell the art kits featured in the online shop. We built the website around that deadline, using FluentCart for a working online storefront as the fair began.
The shop is the front door of the site. Visitors can view products immediately, while the menu leads to the site’s artist information, contact details, and GoWishCart wish list.
Artwork Sets the Visual Direction
One of the finished pieces appears framed on the website, while an enlarged version of the same artwork became the hero image. Brandi requested that visual treatment, so we used the art itself to establish the look of the homepage.
Her direction was clear: put the store in front and keep the rest of the website in the background. We adjusted the header, hero area, colors, logo treatment, and navigation around that priority. The custom GoWishCart feature remains available without distracting from the artwork or shop.
“A store in the front and a website in the back” became the organizing idea for the homepage.
Artist Pages Keep the Contributors Visible
The More menu includes an Artists page that lists contributors to the Prism Diamond Art project. Each artist can have an individual page with the biography they provided.
In many cases, those pages also link to the artist’s own website. That keeps the product shop central while giving visitors a way to understand the people behind the artwork.
Product Pages Support the Purchase Decision
Each FluentCart product page includes the price, shipping information, quantity controls, and purchase options. Shoppers can use Buy Now, add an item to their cart, or save it through GoWishCart for later. Available payment gateways can support the checkout choices configured for the store.
If a shopper saves a product in GoWishCart, they can return to it before completing the purchase. Product variations can also be considered when organizing different kit options in the catalog.
The page shown for the 250 Year Celebration Painting included the release date, tied to the beginning of the fair, and information about what comes with each kit.
Details Shown on the Featured Kit
The product information shown in the FluentCart launch site included:
- A finished size of 70 cm by 88 cm.
- A total of 52 colors.
- Shipping details, price, and quantity selection.
- An explanation of the products included with the kit.
If product variations are added later, each option should display its details consistently. Brandi also planned to add more images showing what finished pieces could look like in a living room or another home setting.
A Custom Fluent Cart Wish List
The wish list became the project’s major custom request. It came after the original scope was in place, when Brandi asked for customers to save products they might purchase later.
FluentCart didn’t include native wishlist functionality for this project. We also reviewed WooCommerce and SureCart, but they remained a comparison points, not the platform used here.
Rather than depend on an option with uncertain support, functionality, or payment readiness, we built MananaWishCart. This open source, self-hosted solution became a custom WordPress plugin for the project.
For more context on why we chose this commerce tool for our own site rebuild, see our Fluent Cart implementation insights.
How MananaWishCart Works
On the shop page, customers can select the heart-shaped Add to wish list control. MananaWishCart then changes the button to Added to wish list.
The Wish List page updates dynamically as products are saved or removed. In the demonstration, MananaWishCart handled items such as Cosmic Ceiling, 250 Year Celebration Painting, and Hair and the Moon. Selecting a saved item returns the shopper to its product page, where they can remove it, choose Buy Now, or add it to their cart.
With FluentCart and MananaWishCart, the first release supports several account states:
- Logged-in users can use MananaWishCart to save products to their own wish lists.
- MananaWishCart provides guest support when visitors enter an email address, creating an account and guest wishlist.
- Customers can use MananaWishCart to remove saved items or move them toward the cart.
The Fluent Cart wish list needed rules for account ownership, guest support, guest wishlist conversion, product variations, inventory changes, and duplicate saves. MananaWishCart also required clear data ownership across database tables, payment gateways, shipping zones, the customer dashboard, and order management.
The first release of MananaWishCart supplied the core wishlist functionality. Email notifications, price drop alerts, back-in-stock notifications, subscription management, FluentCRM follow-up, and automation triggers were outside the initial scope. MananaWishCart does not currently provide price drop alerts, back-in-stock notifications, or subscription management.
AI Assisted the First Release, Not the Final Judgment
We used AI-assisted development to help create the first version of MananaWishCart. FluentCart provided the commerce context, while a future eCommerce MCP connection could expose catalog information through the Model Context Protocol. That eCommerce MCP possibility wasn’t an implemented feature in this release.
The work began as a WordPress code snippet and developed into MananaWishCart, with product buttons, a wish list page, and plugin settings. We reviewed those plugin settings during testing, rather than treating eCommerce MCP as part of the delivered implementation.
However, AI didn’t replace professional review. We still spent time on CSS, product behavior, account flows, product variations, inventory edge cases, and testing. FluentCart behavior, database tables, and future automation triggers all needed human review.
The first MananaWishCart release took about three hours to build, style, test, and adjust. We tested MananaWishCart across account states, saved products, and product variations. That MananaWishCart review helped confirm the release boundaries, including the decision to defer FluentCRM connections, price drop alerts, back-in-stock notifications, and any future eCommerce MCP integration.
Why Fluent Cart Fit This Project
WooCommerce is familiar to many WordPress users, and we don’t consider it a bad tool. However, WooCommerce can be resource-heavy and carries a large amount of legacy functionality. That resource usage mattered for this launch. We didn’t select WooCommerce because a more focused storefront better matched the project’s scope.
For Prism Diamond Art, we selected Fluent Cart for a lighter, more modern shopping experience. FluentCart supported the shop, product pages, shipping details, quantity controls, and purchase path. We added the custom MananaWishCart plugin for the missing wish-list capability. MananaWishCart connected saved items to the product flow, while its lightweight MananaWishCart implementation kept the storefront focused. In this setup, MananaWishCart handled the wish-list experience, and MananaWishCart remained separate from checkout.
For comparison, the main platform tradeoffs were:
- Platform model: SureCart is a hosted commerce platform, while SureCart keeps core infrastructure outside the WordPress installation.
- Commerce features: SureCart provides products, checkout, payments, and related commerce tools through its service.
- Extensibility: SureCart supports integrations, while SureCart’s extension model differs from adding custom WordPress code.
- Deployment: SureCart can reduce server maintenance, but SureCart offers less direct control than a self-hosted solution.
- Project fit: The choice between SureCart and a WordPress-based cart depends on scope, integrations, ownership, and future requirements.
FluentCart fit the site’s WordPress architecture and kept the deployment as an open source, self-hosted solution. The wider plan also considered FluentCRM for customer management and follow-up. FluentCart left room for future extensions without requiring every planned feature at launch.
Future connected workflows could link FluentCRM with forms, customer accounts, and automation triggers. The architecture also considered eCommerce MCP, meaning integrations based on the Model Context Protocol. eCommerce MCP could eventually connect product data, customer context, and business systems. It might also support eCommerce MCP workflows for reporting and eCommerce MCP-driven automation. Over time, eCommerce MCP could help organize eCommerce MCP data for AI-assisted operations and more useful sales reports. Those ideas remain future considerations, not delivered launch features.
Our work often combines WordPress, e-commerce, eLearning, and Digital Marketing needs. A related WordPress LMS and e-commerce project shows how course access, memberships, retail products, and payment systems can come together in a different client build. Future planning could also include richer sales reports as the business grows.
Community Connections Led to the Referral
Brandi first contacted another local agency about building her e-commerce website. That agency decided the project was more complicated than the work it wanted to take on, so it referred her to Kurt von Ahnen.
The referred project became a FluentCart e-commerce store, built around the original launch scope.
We got to know people in the local business community through Startup Hutch events, Chamber events, and Hutch Connect. Those relationships made the referral possible.
A nearby agency can receive a project that sits outside its preferred scope, then send it to someone it trusts. That kind of community connection has been an important part of how we meet local business owners and take on projects that fit our work.
The original project scope became a launch-ready store in about two months. The later wish-list request led to custom development with GoWishCart.
Near the deadline, we chose a focused GoWishCart scope rather than expand the launch beyond the client’s priorities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was FluentCart selected for the Prism Diamond Art store?
FluentCart fit the site’s WordPress architecture and supported the focused storefront, product pages, shipping details, quantity controls, and purchase path. Its lighter approach matched the project’s launch scope without requiring the broader legacy functionality associated with WooCommerce.
Does FluentCart include a native wishlist feature?
Native wishlist functionality was not included for this project. GoWishCart was developed as a custom WordPress plugin so customers could save products and return to them later.
How does MananaWishCart work for logged-in and guest shoppers?
Logged-in customers can save products to their own wish lists, while guests can enter an email address to create an account and guest wishlist. Customers can remove saved items, revisit product pages, use Buy Now, or add products to their cart.
What features were included in the first MananaWishCart release?
The first release included wishlist buttons, a dynamic Wish List page, saved-product management, account-state handling, and support for the product flow. Price-drop alerts, back-in-stock notifications, subscription management, FluentCRM follow-up, and eCommerce MCP integration were outside the initial scope.
Was the Prism Diamond Art store ready for the Kansas State Fair?
Yes. The store launched during Kansas State Fair week, with the online shop placed at the front of the site so visitors could browse the featured art kits immediately.
The Launch Balanced Scope, Timing, and Client Priorities
A feature request is not automatically a complete specification. A client may see a wish list on a larger store and expect it in a fixed-price build, yet the feature can affect account creation, saved-item ownership, inventory behavior, product variations, maintenance, and the launch schedule.
For this local project, we chose MananaWishCart, rather than WooCommerce or SureCart, for a custom first release on the launch-ready FluentCart store. GoWishCart supports saved products for the fair launch, while future MananaWishCart work requires its own scope, testing, and maintenance.
Prism Diamond Art now has the store-first experience Brandi requested, with artist information and a MananaWishCart custom wish list. Visitors at the Kansas State Fair can find Brandi at the Prism Diamond Art table, while online shoppers can browse the e-commerce store through FluentCart; future MananaWishCart enhancements remain separate scope items.