new ecommerce website help

[mm4143]

I am thinking of setting up an ecommerce website, can anyone tell me who they use and what price they are. Someone recommended EKM but I think they are a bit restrictive. I would be grateful for any help, its s confuding its driving me mad
michelle:)

[bmedia]

What sort of products are you going to be selling?

[Hedgehog Toys]

Hi,

I have been down this road a million times ... :-)
There are a lot of factors to take into account with template based sites.
1) Which payment checkout system are you using. Some of the systems will only use Paypal or WorldPay.
2) How do you intend to pay for the site. Some charge a monthly fee, some charge for setting the account up .
3) How many products do you intend to sell. Some systems charge more if you are selling alot of products.

Personally, I would say EKMPowershop, doyourownsite & Clicknbuild are the better end of the market.

If you need any more specific info then PM me.

Chris

[mm4143]

i will be selling gifts and jewellery but more for the healing end magnetic jewelley and crystals etc

[Yorganic]

Two key questions to ask:

1. do you have a budget? ECommerce can be done on the cheap but paying more will make your life easier down the road.
2. Where are you gonna get your traffic from? We get so many calls from people who have just switched on a site only to find they have no orders after a week and then to be told the cost of optimising the site is greater than the build of the site in the first place.

Ecommerce dosen't need to stressful if you think about what you really want out your site in advance.

Carl

[mm4143]

My budget is about £300.00 a year really until I find my feet. Marketing is not a problem. I am a part time marketing manager. I know it can take 6 months to build up business I know a lot of people don't realise that. But I just keep putting it off, I think I am just frightened of making that step.:|

[UniTechnology]

Have a look at www .unitechnology .co .uk - you may find exactly what you are looking for. We have a range of flexible e-commece software packages which will give you full control over your e-commerce website. We also have free trials.

[KPautomotive]

I use VSTORE.ca (http://www.vstore.ca/) - they have a completly free online storefront that is so easy to use.

Or you can sign up to a premium account for around £25 per month!

I really really recommend them!

[nsdesign]

i will be selling gifts and jewellery but more for the healing end magnetic jewelley and crystals etc

Ahhh... the memories... We did a site for the UK division of Homedics when they first started selling all the Magnetic therapy stuff in the UK back in 1999 I think... and then did a re-design on it in 2003 before they packed up and went back to the USA! Don't think the UK market was the best for them (nothing to do with the website I might add ;)), however good luck with your business all the same....

Have a browse around for e-commerce systems, some are better than others, and depending on how "customised" you want your site to look, you may want to avoid some of the more obvious "template" systems.

regarding prices... theoretically you could "do it yourself" for almost no upfront costs, but if you're looking for help and going to commission a professional company to assist, then you'll be looking at approx £500 - £5K - it really depends on what you're looking for.

Cheers
Gary

[arcon5]

How much experience do you have on the internet?
How much experience in the market you are heading in?

[mm4143]

i have a lot of experience on the internet and marketing but not ecommerce set up. The product I have also have experience in as well. I have researched the product and starting selling a little on ebay to test the market.
regards
michelle

[arcon5]

Ok!
It would probably easiest if you bought one pre-made and installed on your behalf (digitalracks. com /company/content/websites/Viewsite.aspx?name=advstore).

eBay is a good method to attract customers and visitors.
Ensure your auction templates are well designed, and informormative and descriptive - including links to your website to draw traffic.

Also, you should be aware of SEO techniques, and promotion techniques (articles may help: arcon5. com /gt/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=5&id=21&Itemid=36).

Remember, there are 2 fundamental factors of being successful - time and effort.

You need clear objectives, aims, and goals!

[UIAUK]

I use VSTORE.ca - they have a completly free online storefront that is so easy to use.

Or you can sign up to a premium account for around £25 per month!

I really really recommend them!

This looks very interesting...

So how do they make their money?

And can you use your own domain or does it have to be yourstore.VSTORE.CA ?

Thanks