Design a database schema for an online merch store

Designing a database schema for an online merchandise store involves defining the structure of the database to manage products, customers, orders, and other relevant information. Below is a simplified example of a database schema for an online merch store. Please note that this is a basic representation, and in a real-world scenario, you may need to expand and optimize the schema based on your specific requirements.

Entities:

1. Products

   • ProductID (Primary Key)
   • Name
   • Description
   • Price
   • StockQuantity
   • CategoryID (Foreign Key)
   • ImageURL (URL to product image)
   • CreatedAt
   • UpdatedAt

2. Categories

   • CategoryID (Primary Key)
   • Name

3. Customers

   • CustomerID (Primary Key)
   • FirstName
   • LastName
   • Email
   • Password (hashed and salted)
   • Address
   • Phone
   • CreatedAt
   • UpdatedAt

4. Orders

   • OrderID (Primary Key)
   • CustomerID (Foreign Key)
   • OrderDate
   • Status (e.g., pending, shipped, delivered)
   • TotalAmount

5. OrderItems (To represent products within an order)

   • OrderItemID (Primary Key)
   • OrderID (Foreign Key)
   • ProductID (Foreign Key)
   • Quantity
   • Subtotal

6. Reviews (Optional, for customer product reviews)

   • ReviewID (Primary Key)
   • ProductID (Foreign Key)
   • CustomerID (Foreign Key)
   • Rating
   • Comment
   • CreatedAt

7. CartItems (To store items in a customer's shopping cart)

   • CartItemID (Primary Key)
   • CustomerID (Foreign Key)
   • ProductID (Foreign Key)
   • Quantity

8. ShippingAddresses (If customers can have multiple shipping addresses)

   • AddressID (Primary Key)
   • CustomerID (Foreign Key)
   • Address
   • City
   • State
   • PostalCode
   • Country

This schema provides a foundation for an online merch store. You can expand and customize it according to your specific needs. It's essential to create appropriate indexes and establish relationships between tables (as indicated by the Foreign Key references) to ensure data integrity and improve query performance.

Additionally, consider implementing security measures to protect sensitive customer information and use appropriate technologies and frameworks for building the online store's application layer.