Module 02: Inventory Operating System

Anchor outcome Inventory update workflow: 4 hours → 4 minutes. 60× speedup from a Google Sheets workbook that the staff already used, syncing automatically to WordPress via bound Apps Script.

Era 1 built the CPT schema, the Sheets sync pipeline, the image workflow, and the sort logic. After this era, inventory updates required no WordPress admin access. Photos watermarked and CDN-cached automatically. The 745-second listing load came down to under 400ms from the query pattern fix alone.

The 4 lessons

Lesson 2.1

Designing a Custom Post Type That Won't Haunt You in 18 Months

CPT registration in the plugin (not functions.php), the rewrite slug decision, field schema with client-prefixed meta keys, and why native register_post_meta() beats ACF as the schema dependency.

Lesson 2.2

Bound Google Apps Script: The Cheat Code Most WP Shops Don't Use

What "bound" means vs standalone, the Sheets → WP sync architecture, WordPress Application Passwords for auth, and version control with clasp. Staff keep using Sheets; WordPress stays current automatically.

Lesson 2.3

Image Pipelines: Bulk Upload, Watermarks, Multi-Resolution, CDN

Stock-number-organized Google Drive folders, REST API bulk attachment, on-serve watermarking with GD (not on-upload), registered image sizes with hard crop, and Cloudflare Polish handling WebP conversion for free.

Lesson 2.4

Sort Priority Logic Without Breaking Pagination

The N+1 query pattern that caused 745-second loads, named meta_query clauses for MySQL-level sorting, the wp_postmeta index check, pagination with paged, and filter/sort parameter passthrough.