eCommerce Websites

Hiya

I worked with magento for a while, it's open source and free.

It's prob the best out there, however it is very tech to program (the basic site has over 7000 files)

I was very time consuming therefore I now write my site with css and use paypal and google checkout


Paypal is very easy to integrate into a css site and most people like using it over the others. % is a little high at 3.5% though


In answer to your question, the templates offered by these companies are good, however unless your a coding wizard, your web site will have that generic feel to it (not always great when trying to establish your site)


How many products do you plan / or sell? if its under 100 lines then I would go for a complete fresh build site with css.. anything over that and your getting into content management systems which really require someone full time as it's very time consuming.


If you need any more advice on coding your own

Alex.mullholland@hotmail.co.uk

Hi,

Alex pretty much has it all covered above.

The pro and con of buying an off-the-shelf solution is that it is an off-the-shelf solution. Whilst it is already set up for you to start using, the problem is that sometimes users can feel that they've "seen it before". Also, depending on what you're going to be selling it can be difficult to fit it into something such as Magento. I have worked with an optician who moved his custom site over to Magento and he had no end of problems as he needed to take prescription details etc with his orders.

However, to finish on a positive note, if you're selling a fairly straightforward product and you want to get up and running quickly and simply then those products are great!

If you've got any more questions feel free to drop me a line on alun@deegconsultancy.co.uk

Good luck!
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Alun Davies
deeg Founder

www.deegconsultancy.co.uk - the web technology and social media consultancy

Follow us on Twitter: @deegconsultancy

I'd suggest osCommerce, the world No.1 open source online shop system, why you didn't mention this?

I'm providing eCommerce solutions based on osCommerce system, email me if you are interested in it.

I didn't mention it simply because I've never heard of it...! The nature of the post should have suggested I'm not an expert in the field which is why I'm asking for advice.

Thank you to Alex and Alun for your comments though, appreciated.

The problem and misconception with going open source and "free" is that while the software is free, it costs money to pay someone to host and modify it.

Have you considered using a service like Shop Maker. Fully hosted, installed and upgraded without the one off charges?

To see our demo, visit www.shopmaker.co.uk

If I can tell you anything else about it, please feel free to contact me
Richard Grove
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www.shopmaker.co.uk - e-commerce made easy

hey curley

something like shop maker would be a good base to start with however the costs will be much higher than if you were to host the site yourself. Your looking at £350 + per year with these packages and only about £30 a year if you host with yourself say 1and1.co.uk


paypal and google checkout are also completly free, you pay commision of between 2 and 3.5% on each sale amount.

I would use filezilla (also free) to upload your files to the host server


If you need anymore advice email me as I have built around 4 sites with paypal to date

alex.mullholland@hotmail.co.uk

Hey,

Depends on how technically minded you are. Some of these packages are really feature rich but for most people a bit over the top and make things more complicated than they need to be.

If your looking for a bottom up solution custom to your business and professional designed check out our packages.

We have a 15% off offer for Startups.co.uk visitors.

Check us out at the link below. All pricing is clear and concise so you can decide if our packages fit your needs and budgets.


Matt
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Matthew Adams
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The cheap and easy website package

http://www.easyeasywebsite.co.uk