I'm a bit biased (I absolutely love WordPress) but I would recommend WordPress for the following reasons:

1. With Wordpress there is way more documentation and support than your typical PHP script would have.
2. There are tons of plugins that will allow you to add extra functionality if needed. With your php script you'd probably need to just write that yourself.
3. WordPress includes a full content management system and learning that system will be a useful, long-term skill. Learning to code would also be useful, but if you have no idea where you're starting, getting to the finish line will be a daunting task.

If it were me, I'd go the WordPress route, but as this is an MVP, either would probably work. Hopefully this is helpful. :)

I've launched a few businesses and projects and worked in startups for years so hopefully my insight is somewhat valuable. :)

This sounds like a good idea, but I think there are two questions you need to answer:

1. Is there any competition?
2. If not, why is no-one else doing this already?

If this isn't being done already it's probably because it's very difficult as this definitely seems like a good idea. If I understand correctly you're attempting to build a marketplace. I'm in the process of building a marketplace and have worked in a marketplace startup in the past. I can tell you it's extremely difficult because you have to market to both the supply side (advertisers) and the demand side (app developers).

Targeted Ads: if you're going to be bringing in advertisers to show their ads in mobile apps you're going to have to take into consideration the fact that each app may have a very different audience. That means you will need to customize which ads are displayed in which apps, which introduces a whole extra layer of complexity to your system.

Ease of Use: This needs to be extremely easy for the advertiser, customer and developer. If it's not easy for any one of the three groups it will not work.

Proof of effectiveness: Both the advertiser and the developer need to know that your system works. That means building in reporting, and probably tracking conversions for both the advertiser and the developer. Not an easy task by any means...

Pricing: This is extremely important. How do you make money? Make sure your incentives align with both sides of the marketplace. The developer wants to maximize payment they receive for displaying advertisements and the advertiser wants to minimize their cost to acquire a customer. You need to make sure that the better you do at meeting their incentives the more money you make. It will encourage you to build a better system and reward you for giving your customers what they need.

Last, but certainly not least, evaluate and see if there is reasonable way you can do this leaning on existing advertising networks. If you can minimize the work on the supply side (getting advertisers) it will greatly increase your chance of succeeding. Once you have a strong network of developers you can always go out and recruit your own advertisers.

If you want to chat more let me know and we can schedule a call. :)

It looks like you can do this with Cloudflare so if I were you I would email them to ask. See this article here: https://www.cloudflare.com/ssl

If that doesn't work I would contact your web host. Your web host will be able to provide a solution for you that will be simple and easy.

I have no experience in this other than the fact that I have done some research regarding the launch of a iPhone app for a previous employer. But seeing as no-one has answered yet I thought I'd point you to this: http://advertising.apple.com/promote/

I know nothing about the effectiveness of this platform, but from what I understand Apple will advertise your app to users of other apps. Hopefully that's at least somewhat helpful. :)

Yeah, this is hard but so, so important!

There are three key items I would focus on:

1. Protection from loss of 'conversions'
2. Protection of reputation
3. Piece of mind

Assuming your service does indeed keep a client's site running as needed (and you really need to make sure you can actually deliver on this) you will be protecting the client in the 3 ways listed above.

Protection from loss of conversions: if their site breaks (or is hacked) and they're selling products that's a big problem. Even if they just want customers to be able to contact them that's a big problem. Keeping everything working is extremely valuable and WordPress really does need someone actively involved in this process.

Protection of reputation: Make sure they understand that if they are hacked it will damage their reputation. If customers cannot contact them or purchase it damages your reputation. If this bad experience is the customer's first experience with you they may never come back.

Piece of mind: This may sound un-important, but it's not. Knowing that someone (or some service) is always keeping your site up and running is huge. It's easier to sleep well at night when you know your core business functions are working.

It sounds like your service may go beyond clients for whom you have built a website. If this is the case there are going to be some extra difficulties in selling your services. I would probably need to know more to give you specific advice, but feel free to schedule a call with me if you want to discuss further. :)

I have been selling WordPress plugins for 3 years and currently own and operate a small WordPress plugin marketplace.

Hands down the best way to reach new customers is via a free version of WordPress.org. That said you do need to be careful not to give too much away for free. If you need some specific advice on that let me know.

Also it is definitely useful to be a part of a marketplace. Choose wisely! If you need some advice about that let me know as well. :) Setting everything up correctly is essential in maximizing your sales.

Happy selling!

I definitely recommend trying something like BuiltWith. It's going to cost you a bit of money, but you can get a nice list of domains and then start reaching out to those people: http://trends.builtwith.com/websitelist/WooCommerce

Also consider partnering with other sellers of WooCommerce items. I own a site called https://wpovernight.com/ and our plugins are running on well over 50,000 WooCommerce stores.

Finally, consider releasing a free version of your software as a plugin on WordPress.org. It's a huge (and free) marketing channel. Feel free to schedule a call with me and I can give you a bit more advice about ways you can reach a WooCommerce audience. :)