🍷 Renegade Urban Winery – Event Ticketing System

📑 Table of Contents

• Overview
• Problem
• Solution
• Architecture
• Tech Stack
• Key Features
• Data Model
• System Flow
• Core Concepts
• API Endpoints
• Admin Panel
• Real-Time Event Stats
• Project Structure
• Setup Guide
• System Preview
• Demo
• What This Project Demonstrates

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📌 Overview

Renegade Urban Winery is a production-ready event ticketing system built by extending WooCommerce into a fully functional event management platform.

Instead of building infrastructure from scratch, the system leverages WordPress for content and WooCommerce for payments, while introducing a custom backend layer for ticket generation, validation, and real-time event tracking.

The result is a system capable of handling real-world event logistics including secure ticket distribution, fraud prevention, and check-in management.

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🎯 Problem

Traditional WooCommerce setups are not designed for:

• Event-based seat allocation
• Secure ticket validation
• Preventing duplicate ticket usage
• Real-time check-in tracking

This project solves those limitations by introducing a custom ticketing engine on top of WooCommerce.

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💡 Solution

A custom backend layer was introduced that handles:

• Ticket generation
• Seat allocation
• QR validation
• Check-in tracking

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🧠 Architecture

The system is divided into 3 layers:

1. WordPress (Base Layer)

• Content management (events)
• Admin interface

2. WooCommerce (E-commerce Layer)

• Payments via Stripe
• Order lifecycle
• Emails

3. Custom Backend (Core Logic)

• Ticket generation
• Seat allocation (transactions)
• QR validation
• REST API

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🛠 Tech Stack

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🚀 Key Features

🎟 Automated Ticket Generation

• Unique ticket ID generation (RW-XXXXXXX)
• Automatic seat assignment per event
• Ticket creation triggered on WooCommerce order completion
• Multiple tickets per order supported

📄 PDF Ticket System

• Dynamic PDF generation using Dompdf
• Each ticket includes event details, seat number, and a unique QR code
• Automatically attached to the confirmation email

📱 QR Code Validation System

Each ticket contains a secure QR code encoding the ticket_id and a cryptographic HMAC hash.

Validation flow:

1. Scan QR code
2. Call REST API endpoint
3. Verify hash integrity
4. Check ticket status
5. Mark ticket as used

Prevents duplicate entry and forged tickets.

🔐 Secure Ticket Verification

• Hash-based validation using hash_hmac
• Prevents manual ticket ID manipulation
• Stateless verification via REST API

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🗂 Data Model

Custom database tables:

Table	Purpose
event_tickets	Stores all generated tickets and their status
event_checkins	Records each check-in event
event_seat_counter	Tracks seat allocation per event

Custom tables were chosen for better performance, transaction support, and relational structure.

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⚙️ System Flow

1. User purchases ticket via WooCommerce
2. Order is completed
3. System generates:
   ├── Unique ticket ID  (RW-XXXXXXXX)
   ├── Seat number       (atomic allocation)
   ├── HMAC hash         (security layer)
   └── PDF Ticket
4. PDF ticket is emailed to the user
5. At the event:
   ├── QR code is scanned
   ├── REST API validates ticket + hash
   ├── Ticket is marked as used
   └── Check-in is recorded

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🧩 Core Concepts

Ticket ID

Format:    RW-XXXXXXXX
Non-sequential, generated via wp_generate_password

Seat Allocation

Race conditions are prevented using database transactions with row locking:

SELECT ... FOR UPDATE

QR Security

Each QR code encodes:

ticket_id + HMAC hash
hash_hmac('sha256', ticket_id, secret)

Atomic Validation

Ticket consumption is a single atomic operation:

UPDATE tickets
SET status = 'used'
WHERE ticket_id = ? AND status = 'valid'

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🔌 API Endpoints

Verify Ticket

GET /wp-json/rw-tickets/v1/verify

Param	Type	Description
ticket	string	The ticket ID
hash	string	HMAC hash from QR code

Response: valid / used / invalid

Event Stats

GET /wp-json/rw-tickets/v1/stats

Returns tickets sold, check-ins, and remaining capacity.

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📊 Admin Panel

Custom admin panel for managing events and tickets:

• Event overview with live statistics
• Tracking: tickets sold, check-ins, remaining capacity
• Manual ticket controls: cancel / reset / delete a ticket
• QR Scanner built with html5-qrcode — works directly in browser, no external device required

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🔄 Real-Time Event Stats

• Live ticket statistics via REST API
• Auto-refresh every 3 seconds
• Displays: total sold, checked-in users, remaining tickets

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📁 Project Structure

```text
wp-content/
│
├── plugins/
│   ├── rw-tickets/                  # CORE SYSTEM (ticket generation, validation, seat allocation, REST API)
│   │   └── tickets.php
│   │
│   ├── my-events-plugin/            # AJAX filtering logic for events (category, status, pagination)
│   │   └── my-events-plugin.php
│   │   └── event-filter.js
│   │
│   ├── advanced-custom-fields/      # Event metadata (date, location, product mapping)
│   ├── woocommerce/                 # E-commerce engine (orders, checkout, cart)
│   ├── woocommerce-gateway-stripe/  # Stripe payment integration
│   ├── custom-post-type-ui/         # UI for registering Event CPT and taxonomies
│   ├── updraftplus/                 # Backup and restore system for WordPress
│   ├── wp-mail-smtp/                # SMTP email configuration (ensures ticket email delivery)
│   ├── elementor/                   # Page builder used for layout and UI composition
│
└── themes/
    └── blocksy-child/
        ├── functions.php            # Theme hooks, WooCommerce overrides, ticket system integration
        ├── archive-event.php        # Event listing page (uses filtering, pagination, event cards)
        ├── single-event.php         # Single event page (details, gallery, purchase entry point)
        ├── scanner.js               # QR scanner frontend logic (admin ticket validation)
        ├── event-gallery.js         # Gallery interactions (lightbox, navigation, animations)
        ├── css/
           ├── events/               # Event pages styling (cards, layout, filters)
           ├── woocommerce/          # Custom WooCommerce styling (checkout, cart, UI tweaks)
           ├── style.css             # Global theme styles
           └── tickets.css           # Ticket-related UI (scanner, validation states)
        ├── template-parts/
           ├── event-card.php        # Reusable event card component (used in listings) 
           └── event-gallery.php     # Dynamic gallery rendering + lightbox system 

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⚙️ Setup Guide

Requirements

• PHP 8+
• MySQL
• WordPress (local or server)
• Composer (optional)

1. Install WordPress

Download WordPress and place the project inside wp-content/.

2. Activate Plugins

• WooCommerce
• Advanced Custom Fields
• Custom Post Type UI (if used)
• rw-tickets (custom)
• my-events-plugin (custom)

3. Configure WooCommerce

Set up Stripe payments, create a ticket product, and enable stock management.

4. Create an Event (CPT)

Using ACF, fill in:

• event_date
• location
• woo_product (links product → event)

5. Enable Pretty Permalinks

Go to WordPress Settings → Permalinks and set to /post-name/.

Required for the /verify-ticket/ route to work.

6. Run Database Setup

Tables are auto-created via register_activation_hook() on plugin activation:

• event_tickets
• event_checkins
• event_seat_counter

---

📸 System Preview

QR Validation

Valid ticket – marked and consumed:

Used ticket – rejected:

Admin Dashboard

Event overview and ticket statistics:

Manual ticket controls:

Email System

Automatic ticket delivery with PDF attachment:

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🎥 Demo

🎬 Full System Overview	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSsF2rVEQ9k
🛒 Ticket Purchase Flow	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJwqHD2TgBI
🌐 Live Demo	https://renegade-winary.infinityfreeapp.com/
📄 PDF Documentation	https://renegade-winary.infinityfreeapp.com/Dokumentacija.pdf

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🧠 What This Project Demonstrates

• Extending WordPress beyond a CMS into a custom application platform
• Designing custom data models with transaction support
• Building REST APIs inside WordPress
• Handling real-world backend logic: tickets, validation, concurrency
• Integrating multiple systems: payments, email, QR scanning, admin tools