Getting a site built from scratch for E-commerce

[Fenland]

As a bolt-on to our existing business we are seriously looking at adding an e-commerce site selling direct to consumers.

This would be a new site, new domain, from scratch etc.

So, be gentle, what sort of ballpark figure we will be talking about...... (I know its as long as a piece of string, but say decent layout/menus, integration of cart/basket and a few pages- see below)...

If the CMS is decent then I would be more than happy to add pages, product descriptions, product photos etc etc.

And for a relatively small e-commerce site could anyone recommend any shopping basket/cart system (or will this depend on the designers preferences !!)).

Cheers,

PS Mods If this should be in Tenders then please move accordingly

[bluecm]

If you want a small simple site I might suggest looking at something like Shopify - http://www.shopify.com/.

If your having a site built yourself I'd say you need a budget of around £4500 upwards to get a decent job done. We wouldn't touch an ecommerce for less.

[Fenland]

If you want a small simple site I might suggest looking at something like Shopify - http://www.shopify.com/.

If your having a site built yourself I'd say you need a budget of around £4500 upwards to get a decent job done. We wouldn't touch an ecommerce for less.

Thanks for that.

£4500, wow hadnt budgeted that for essentially a small website with about 50 products. But I hear what you are saying.

I suspect, on that basis, we might have to look at packages/templates/off the shelf solutions etc.

Thanks again

[bluecm]

I'm not saying that there aren't companies out there who wont do a good job for less. I'ts just if a job is worth doing its worth doing properly and a proper budget gives the developer enough time to finish the job not give you a site thats 90% complete. It's all about the finer details crossing the t's and dotting the i's as it were.

For just 50 products I'd advise starting with something like shopify or big cartel - http://bigcartel.com/ you can always upscale from there

[Fenland]

I'm not saying that there aren't companies out there who wont do a good job for less. I'ts just if a job is worth doing its worth doing properly and a proper budget gives the developer enough time to finish the job not give you a site thats 90% complete. It's all about the finer details crossing the t's and dotting the i's as it were.

For just 50 products I'd advise starting with something like shopify or big cartel - http://bigcartel.com/ you can always upscale from there

I agree, trust me I wasnt knocking the figures you quoted. It was probably more my naiveity in this field that caused the shock.....

And like you say, if you want someone to buy from you the site must meet all their expectations- a poorly designed/completed/implemented one will not do that.

[matt.chatterley]

As I'm sure you're quickly becoming aware, there are loads of options - in loads of price ranges!

Our own offering is currently undergoing some heavy revisions, but is essentially a flexible framework which can fit into either a template-based or custom designed website.

As to "cost" - thats a bit of a "piece of string" question, but the various combinations we offer scale from "pretty darned cheap" upto "pretty darned expensive" - all depending on what you're after both functionally and graphically.

I would point you to our website, but it's currently being updated with respect to new pricing - so I'll drop you a PM instead!

[Snowrider]

Nathan is right, a good job is only worth doing if it is good. You may wish to look at different options before going for the big jump. I would add just something important, it's not only the design, cart etc you have to look at.

Don't forget to include your SEO from the start. I am working on a lot of web sites where the customer is asking why they are not on the first page?
If you are starting from scratch, just look at the complete offering - even if you go for template based - don't forget that a lot of your time will be by implementing SEO. So it's not only the design ... no need to have the most beautiful site if nobody finds you!

[Davef]

If you are looking for a hosted solution where the basic package is automatically installed for you and all you need to do is tweak the templates and add your products I would recommend Bluepark.

There is 3 levels available and the software is virtually bug free with excellent uk support and a good friendly forum if you need help. It might not be as busy as other forums but that's because the software works!

If you are looking for something you have total control over I would suggest something like Interspire

[Fenland]

Hmmmm,

Thanks all- some good food for thought.

Looks like I know what I'll be doing this sunday evening :eek:.......research, research, research

[Faevilangel]

No one has mentioned an open source cart system.

You can choose a system that does what you need, and have a design integrated into it.

You would be looking at £500-£1000 depending on the cart and any ammendments you want made. That price range should include a custom design.

[TotalWebSolutions]

Hi Fenland,

I have sent you a private message regarding this.

Kind regards

Simon Lowe

[SFD]

Fenland,

I have an osCommerce setup which I have been using for the last 18months.

It was a custom design along with a couple of extras
- options show images instead of dropdowns
- shipping costs based on postcode module
- purchase without account module - no need to sign up

This cost me £1250+vat.

I thought this was great price and I was very impressed with the website. Over the last 12 months or so I have made a few further coding alterations to the site which have probably cost around another £800.

One of the great things about oscommerce is lots of people know how to code it and you can develop it as you go along.

I was initially looking at a hosted solution (pay a set fee per month) but was put off as the ones I looked at didn't allow you to edit the code or expand.

A lot of people say £000's for a website and I agree that if I spent £5000 instead of £2000 my website would be better. However, I didn't want to spend that kind of money initially.

Paying a relatively small amount then adding bits as things improve has worked very well for me and I would recommend it if you are on a tight budget.

If you want to have a look at my website or have a look at who built it for me just fire me over a PM.

[Snowrider]

You can also use WordPress, check what we did with it... I don't say it's the best answer but we wanted to showcase some possibilities around development for non-developers.
I think it does open some avenues especially for people who don't want to work with template based products like myspace - I know it's not the same - just wanted to make a point that some template based are really good.

And if you look at the options, it is not bad at all. Ok we haven't tried it with a large products database, so I can't make a comment on that. But if somebody did, it I would like to know what is the outcome. On single products it works well.

[Fenland]

Just to say thanks to all who have posted, and to those who have PM'd me direct.

Lots of useful info etc has been supplied :)

[WhiskyFive]

I'd second Shopify....and that way the main investment is in the look and feel - getting a custom template made and installed.

I'd say the budget for everything excluding your product photos should be around £2K.

I know a really good company that specialises in Shopify templates - feel free to drop me a PM if interested.