Any advice on Website / E-shop packages??

[Sassy]

hi there folks

I've been doing masses of research into setting up my online shop, but as a complete dunce in the world of I.T, I'm struggling.

I've got a domain name, which was included within a hosting package/bundle from bluehost, but then found out that some features advertised such as SSL certificate, weren't actually included as originally stated, so I cancelled the package, but paid for the domain.

I'm seriously coming to the conclussion that building a website / shop isnt for an illiterate such as me, so may have to pay for an off the shelf package.

I've recently been looking at Mrsite.com's professional package 1and1's e-commerce package, along with Yola's silver package, but feel like I'm running blind with this one. So wondered if anyone had any comments on the use of these packages, or any other suggestions.

I'd love to pay to have a site built for me, but just can't afford that. I'm without any income due to a cocked up operation leaving me disabled, so am looking for a new way of generating an income with as little outlay as possible. So, I'm not being a tight sod, just skint with a very active mind and years of sales experience currently going to waste!

I know that these are not necessarily the way forward, but if I can get up and running, then maybe I can pay for someone who knows what they're doing to reinvent my site in the future.

If anyone can offer any advice or suggestions as to how to get my show on the road, or comments on the sites in a box mentioned, I'd be sincerely grateful.

Cheers guys

A very frazzled Annie X

[Baa]

My experince with Mr. Site is awful, in fact the only time I ever got an answer to a question was when I complained on another forum about them. Then they chose to patronise me, still didn't answer the question and wouldn't reply to any further attempts at contact.

Now this was a while ago so perhaps there has been an overhaul in their customer service, however the operation of the site is extraordinarily slow and tedious. The amount of times it ran slow or just wasn't up and running were laughable. The templates were pretty much all the same just different colours and trying to use the WYSIWYG editor was enough to make you go bald.

Overall Mr. Site is extremely limited, frustrating to use and doesn't even look that good when you get it going. If you want a site with a small number of pages, that isn't viewed very often and something you don't update very often, it might be worth a look but beyond that I really couldn't recommend it any less.

I couldn't get along with Prestashop but it is simpler in operation than some of the older shopping cart sites. You can find host companies who will upload a cart for you if you request. Try www.opensourcecms.com/ for demos of different carts it's a great way to find something you are comfortable with.

I would say though that if you don't feel up to running a cart, you could end up with problems down the line, I started out with a paid solution and that was a disaster.

I'd also say, if you are skint, it's not a good time to set up a business, you need cashflow and back up cash to operate smoothly or again you can end up with problems. You could build up some of this money by selling off some of your own gear, that will give you a taste of what to expect if and when you do start retailing.

[Grifter]

I will make you a site up for free. You'd need to give as much detail as possible via pm or on here if you like. Why is it free? Well I'll ask for you to sign up for hosting through an affiliate link.

So, for example, hostgator. Check out their monthly plans £6 hatchling up to £10 for multiple domain with dedicated IP and SSL. It's cheaper if you pay for more but it sounds like paying by month is what you want. Hostgator have got good feedback from what I've seen. They have some negatives too but seems to be less than others as a percentage of customers.

You don't pay any extra for signing up via an affiliate link either so it isn't costing you anything. I will get paid £70 by Hostgator in three months time if you're still with them and if not then I don't get paid. This will give you a start up site/shop. If you let me know what you want I'll make a demo up on one of my sites to see if you like the look and functionality of it. After that if you agree I'll create it for you on your domain and hosting. It's a cheap way to start up.

If you prefer a different host then I have an affiliate with most but have only used hostgator before.

[scotserve]

Thanks for the recommendation grifter 

Mr Site is a hosted application meaning you are totally stuck with their offerings and if you outgrow them or want to move you are back to square one as you cant move the shop with you.

We do e-commerce packages for a number of the posters on this board, have 16 years experience in the industry, your shop can be set up quickly and easily using zencart, magento, prestashop, etc all free packages, most have a range of templates that with minimal modification ( or not) can be made to suit your shop, you can then change as you grow your business. We are first and foremost a premium host with an interest in the dropshipping industry we will assist where possible but leave you to be able to do your own thing. How good are we? well i will challenge you to find one negative comment about us on the internet - tell me another host with 16 years experience that can say that.

SSL for most is not a required ( although preferable) option unless using the likes of google checkout as a payment processor, this is something that can easily be added on later if necessary.

Whatever try to avoid out of the box type stores IMO, by this I mean stocked ready to sell from shops, you need to bea little different from the masses to succeed and you cant achieve this from the one size fits all type providers

[Grifter]

Ooh hmm err lol. I use Scotserve myself for hosting and they are the best.

However, I was just trying to offer a cheap alternative way into owning their own site/s. Also, considering the financial details given I was waiting to hear what interests Sassy has and then propose an affiliate site based on that. No cashflow needed and a perfect way to start for a driven salesperson type. Whilst learning about ecommerce they can safely try and earn a few pennies. Also in a little subdomain, have a their own shop but suggest not to use it till viable.

[Rainee Bows]

(You mean grifter you arent a member of my affiliate scheme ?    )

Sassy : from experience a hosted solution whoever its with where you are signing up for a package of some description ?? read the small print is the best advice i can give you, I'm currently redesigning a site for a mr site customer and if their webmail server is anything to go by (its never bloody live and bounces mails all over the place) then running a site there must be a blummin nightmare but I have no personal experience with them as hosts , I can recommend scotserve tho as a host


Most hosts will load software for say zencart or presta for you for free if needs be or will talk you through how to do it, getting started is as simple as that and will cost you no more than the hosting charges .........

The software is free

there are people out there who will design the cart to your requirements, there are several such companies registered on this forum alone and a few that are planning to advertise here soon and I'm sure people will recommend when you want to undertake that part too

Personally i would go open source software on a reliable host then ask this lot here to help you set it up, they really are one of the most helpful bunches of people i have come across on a forum to be honest all experienced in different fields and most have their own carts running and can speak from experience

I hope this helps a little

Rain
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[Sassy]

Hi Guys

Blimey, poor Grifter is really getting it in the neck!!! Sorry about that love. 

but seriously, I really do thank you all for your advice. It puts your faith back in humanity that people will go out of their way to help others. 

Baa, thanks for replying, I do appreciate your concerns and I take your comments on board. I agree that no one should go into business without any dosh in the bank, but I have already been flogging all my belongings to get me to the point where I have a small amount to get me up and running, but only if I drop ship. I've had two successful businesses previously, but can't do my work due to my disability, so had to give them up, hence being in this position now and climbing the walls to get myself back in the game. I'm not one for a life of disability benefits, I'm too independant for that. I am up to running a busy operation, just lacking in knowledge of how to set the damn thing up! Cheers too for the advice re Mr Site though, very kind of you.

Same goes to everyone else too. I think the concensus is to avoid Mrsite like the plague. I just thought that they or Yola may be an easy and economical way to get off the ground, but I understand the reasons against them.

I note that everyone praises Scotserve's hosting prowess and I do hope that I can become a similar admiring customer in due course. You can then give grifter a pat on the back, rather than a slap on the wrist...... poor thing!

And Rain too, just to say thanks very much for the very valid and helpful advice and you're right, this is an amazingly helpful forum and it was thanks to your site that I found it. Cheers for that too. I found your site through 'don't talk about fight club', although I find this is a far easier going site with less restrictions. basically, You're all fab on here. X

Back to Grifter........ How can I refuse your offer Grifter...... You're too kind and I never expected anyone to offer to help me in this way. However, I'm not one to expect owt for nowt, so I will come to some arrangement with you that you get an affiliate payment  and I offer you something extra once I'm up and running...... how does that sound???

Once again guys, I'm overwhelmed by the support, help and advice offered to me by those with far more "in the know" than me!

Cheers everyone

A very humbled but grateful Annie X

[Baa]

It's good to know you've got some back up cash. 

[conran]

I think you've made the right decision to research this aspect and ask around. I went with an affordable suggestion for a complete package, and there was a lot that bit me in the arse when it was up and running.

If you do go for a complete eshop package from a provider, you'll want to make sure that they support the payment gateways you want to use (I think they all have paypal and google checkout integration, but most don't offer integration of mals, which is a great option to have)
You'll also want newsletter and email list management included, which most of them have anyway.
For better results in google, you'll need to log into google tools once you've set up your site and set your parameter handling to ignore those erroneous bits of text that appear in your address line. This is one failing of having a hosted eshop in this out-of-the-box way; all that garbled text makes it more difficult for google.
No one told me about this little trick for months (not even my hosting!) but when I did it I saw my google organic search results climbing the following day.

Basically, although the one-stop shops are alright for providing everything in one place (newsletters, promotion tools, user management), they are certainly not more convenient than creating your own using installed ecommerce software.
I have another couple of projects I'm working on now, and I am setting them up with just a basic hosting package and installed software.

[Shoppingcartdevelopers]

Hi

When you are on a tight budget or a quick solution, ebay is one of the easiest and best solutions... it is easy to setup and cost nothing if no products are online...and the payment process is taken care of without SSL, designs are ready....or not very expensive. It is expensive per product as cost are calculated on selling price, but the promotion and marketing is excellent so it does pay off in sales....

once you reach a sales of $1000-$15000 and above ...then you can think of an ecommerce site...  success does not come easily in an ecommerce site. there is the design, products, marketing, maintenance, customer support and SEO which are important, time consuming and costly. Initially u need to spend a lot on design and SEO...but once you do get the traffic, you can concentrate of sales and marketing....   

Open source solutions are available and cost a little to setup, but you will still need a professional to help you out...

Out of the box solutions look impressive and easy to setup but are cumbersome to use and highly unproductive in the long run
 

[Rainee Bows]

Hi

When you are on a tight budget or a quick solution, ebay is one of the easiest and best solutions... it is easy to setup and cost nothing if no products are online...and the payment process is taken care of without SSL, designs are ready....or not very expensive. It is expensive per product as cost are calculated on selling price, but the promotion and marketing is excellent so it does pay off in sales....

once you reach a sales of $1000-$15000 and above ...then you can think of an ecommerce site...  success does not come easily in an ecommerce site. there is the design, products, marketing, maintenance, customer support and SEO which are important, time consuming and costly. Initially u need to spend a lot on design and SEO...but once you do get the traffic, you can concentrate of sales and marketing....   

Open source solutions are available and cost a little to setup, but you will still need a professional to help you out...

Out of the box solutions look impressive and easy to setup but are cumbersome to use and highly unproductive in the long run
 

How can you use ebay as a shining example of an easy way to get a business online ? From experience it isnt as easy as you are making out and with the current rules make it almost impossible to actually make money as ebay focus on encouraging larger retailers holding vast amounts of stock, ebay these days is at best a marketing tool and a place to place your loss leaders to gain traffic to an e-commerce site, I would encourage people to use open source software as the help out there available to set it up isnt costly, in fact there are many members of this board that will help you set up for free by answering queries and questions and the forum support available from open source software specific forums is second to none.

I dont agree with waiting for your sales to reach a specific amount before embarking on a website, especially considering that domain age is a huge factor when it comes to SEO,  although i do suggest doing one hell of a lot of research before hand so as not to get caught out

Design, SEO and build does not need to be costly and SEO should form part of the design process, a decent business plan detailing target markets and break downs of key phrases and search terms is all you need to get started. Sales and marketing are all part of the whole picture and do not need to be left til you have the traffic, i find your post  a little misleading to be honest as what you are advising is not looking at the bigger picture and the changing marketplace, or taking into account the way people shop, this should all be part of a business plan and should be implemented as a whole package rather than in stages.

Alternatively you can sit waiting for things to sell on ebay ...............

and then be hugley disappointed that you will then have to start from scratch with a website, when in reality it is much better to use ebay as a tool to drive traffic and test markets at the same time as developing a retail site, rather than rely on it to make a living, im afraid the days of kickcing the arse out of ebay for sales is now past in my opinion, those of us selling on there 3/4 years ago had a captive market caught in a trend that wouldnt look anywhere else, those days are now over.

whichever solution you decide on one piece of advice again from experience is to make sure you have full access to databases and files as if you decide that the particular solution isnt for you you may find yourself having to rebuild again from scratch, at least if you have a databse it can be manipulated to fill another store somewhere else ;o)

Hope this helps

Rain
xxxx

[Andy c]

If I were you I would give it a go ...just look in the zencart section lol ...... I have never touched this sort of thing before but ...... with a lot of patience and help from here I am slowwwwwwwly getting the hang of it ...I think I have come close to causing an overdose of something cos of my stupidity sometimes but it is the only way to learn

[zack]

Have you checked outshopify.com or etsy.com? These are online complete solutions that do not need much IT knowledge to set up. In fact, its their aim to make it as easy as possible to start selling things online. Do check them out before you embark on your own custom solution which may or may not work out. I speak from my own experience as I recently had to help a merchant port over her custom website to shopify!