From Classroom to Online: When an E-Commerce Business Is Born at School

That’s exactly what happened with ECORIVIVE, a school project that turned a class into a business team and an idea into a fully functioning e-commerce.

We’re in Vasto (Italy) at the CNOS-FAP Association – Abruzzo Region branch, where students attend a three-year Vocational Education and Training course to become Logistics Systems and Services Operators in a dual-learning format. In other words: theory and practice go hand in hand from day one. But this time, they raised the bar — the students didn’t just simulate running a business. They actually made it happen. Online. Functional. And with a clear mission: to talk about circular economy and sustainability — for real.

The digital core of the project? An online shop built by the students themselves, using WebSite X5 — a tool that made something seemingly impossible a reality: creating a professional website without writing a single line of code.

“At first, we were worried. We thought building a website from scratch would be too hard,” the students said. “But with WebSite X5, it turned out to be intuitive — even fun!”

What makes ECORIVIVE so interesting is that it doesn't stem from a classroom assignment, but from a real need. The students and teachers, led by Professor Fabio Di Nicolantonio, looked around and thought: what can we do that is useful, meaningful for our community, and for the future?

The answer came powerfully: to talk about sustainability, reuse, and ecology. But not just in words. The goal was to create a project that combined social value with operational practicality — something that could also exist outside the classroom.

And so, the idea of a simulated training company was born, structured just like a small business, with real roles, functions, and objectives. The products? Naturally sustainable. The sales channel? Online, of course.

Once the project idea was decided, the next step was figuring out how to make it happen. And here's where the beauty of the project lies: each student chose or was assigned a role, just like in a real company. There was the logistics team, the marketing team, the communications group, and – of course – the team responsible for creating the online shop.

At that point, the challenge was clear: to create a functional, visually appealing, easy-to-navigate website suitable for online sales. With one key condition: none of the students were programmers.

This is where WebSite X5 comes into play. The teachers were looking for a solution that was:

WebSite X5 checked all the boxes.

“We discovered that with a block-based, drag & drop system, we could build entire pages in just a few clicks,” the students said. “The most fun part was seeing a live preview of what we were creating right away.”

The ECORIVIVE website took shape step by step, with images, texts, product pages, and sections dedicated to the project’s mission and identity. Everything was designed and created by the students.

At the end of the journey, the result was a complete and fully functional e-commerce website:

But the real success is not just "technical."

The website became a showcase of acquired skills, shared creativity, and, most importantly, awareness.

Awareness that digital is not just a tool, but a way to communicate ideas, values, and goals.

"Now we know how a website works, how to set up an e-commerce site, and how to work in a team. We feel more prepared for the future," the students proudly say.

ECORIVIVE isn’t just a classroom exercise. It became a real showcase, visible to everyone, and it made an impact. Colleagues, companies, and even other schools have shown interest in the project. Some have asked for information, while others are considering replicating it at their own institutions.

A milestone? The presentation of the project at Didacta, one of the most important events dedicated to innovation in education, held in Florence in March. An experience that gave the students even more visibility and confirmed that they were doing something truly meaningful.

“We’re thinking about how to evolve the project. We’d love to involve other institutions, create new collaborations, and make ECORIVIVE an even broader experience,” says Professor Di Nicolantonio.

For the students, this means continuing to learn on the field, but also leaving something tangible for future classes. A digital, sustainable legacy that’s constantly evolving.

In a world where there’s so much talk about the “school of the future,” ECORIVIVE has managed to bring it into the present.

The students didn’t just learn how to manage a complex project, but they gained skills that are highly relevant in the workforce: e-commerce, digital communication, teamwork, and web tool management.

Most importantly, they understood one fundamental thing: even from the classroom, you can start a business, with creativity, critical thinking, and a desire to get involved.

“The best part? Seeing that our work is online, it’s real. And knowing that we’ve learned something that will actually be useful to us.”

The role of WebSite X5 was central. Without a simple yet powerful tool, the idea would likely have remained just a nice project on paper.

Thanks to a platform designed even for beginners, the technical barrier disappeared, and in its place, the desire to create emerged.

A perfect example of how technology, when accessible, becomes a tool for inclusion and growth.

ECORIVIVE is not just a website. It’s proof that with a good idea, passionate guidance, and the right tools, even a school project can have a concrete and lasting impact.

It’s a story about sustainability, digital skills, and most importantly, students who took on the challenge — and came out stronger, more aware, and with a real project to share.