Thinking of E-Commerce?

[ttmw]

I already have a website that is rather successful and want to expand and start selling products, the problem i have is that i haven't a clue where to start.

could someone please tell me of any legal requirements i would have to have on my site.

Do i just need to get shopping cart software like zen-cart and install it on the server and I'll be ready to go, and if not what else do i need?

And lastly would i need a whole new domain and site for the e-commerce side of things or could i just put it as part of my existing site?

Thanks for any replies or links to other sources of info.

[bluecm]

Hi TTMW,

Glad to know I'm not the only one thinking about work at this ungodly hour.

Heres a good resource for you over at the business link website - http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1073792574

With regards to setting up your shop you can just get a solution like zen-cart, os-commerce of virtuemart install and go and you can install these so a sub directory or sub domain on your site.

Hope this helps

Nathan

[Chrisg75]

There are a number of options available depending on how seriously you want to take it.

We've found OS Commerce a little bit inflexible in terms of design and have designed our own ecommerce solution. But if you're just starting out then one of those solutions is probably fine.

In terms of legality, there's nothing too difficult there. Most online payment providers will insist you have the correct legal things in place. We've used worldpay before.

The solutions really depend on how much you want to spend.

Good luck.

[Bob77]

I was going to setup a zen cart site myself but did not know where a to start ,also you need a hosting that is compatible with zen cart, it was quicker and easier for me to use a company to set the zen cart site up & they added me lots of extra selling features that was roundcart

[mke]

For Zen Cart you need PHP and MySQL enabled. It is reasonably straightforward to install and there is an administrator back end for managing it and populating it with goods. A little practice and it becomes very easy. A lot of people have problems understanding the templating system when they want to change the look and feel but again, a little practice and it is very straightforward.

You need to decide how you are to accept payments. A Paypal module is built in and there are several other payment modules you can add including Google Checkout, ProtX and others. To an extent at least, your choice may well be governed by the products you sell and your target markets for those products.

As you already have a successful site, I'd be tempted to add the cart as an extra to the existing site rather then starting afresh and trying to incorporate the existing site.

Legally, if it is your living you should register with HMRE, either as self employed or start a limited company. A company is a bit more involved, but not massively so. Is VAT an issue? That's about it, I think. Oh, yes, business bank account and make sure you keep records of income and expenditure. You'll need them later when it comes time to appoint an accountant.

[moondust]

I was going to setup a zen cart site myself but did not know where a to start ,also you need a hosting that is compatible with zen cart, it was quicker and easier for me to use a company to set the zen cart site up & they added me lots of extra selling features that was roundcart
Can I ask how you have found roundcart - I am considering moving to them but am reluctant and need someone trusted -do you find it easy to customise etc I have spoken to someine and they seem very good customer services

[Bob77]

Can I ask how you have found roundcart - I am considering moving to them but am reluctant and need someone trusted -do you find it easy to customise etc I have spoken to someine and they seem very good customer services

Hi Moondust

I have used quite a few companies for shopping cart sites some that were very expensive not very good , I was a little concerned when deciding to sign up with roundcart, but just their customer service alone has been worth it.As for customising the site when you get use to the site its a breeze.Also you can get hold of them very easy and they are always a great help.Some of the features I like are the cross sell products one, ease of change templates over(even I can do this) & the auto Google products feeder which is good for sales they setup for me.
Hope this Helps Bob

[ttmw]

Legally, if it is your living you should register with HMRE, either as self employed or start a limited company. A company is a bit more involved, but not massively so. Is VAT an issue? That's about it, I think. Oh, yes, business bank account and make sure you keep records of income and expenditure. You'll need them later when it comes time to appoint an accountant.

I'm already self employed as a sole trader but i haven't got a business account, do i need one legally if i start selling or not? and thanks for all the info so far everyone!

[brownie]

Can I ask how you have found roundcart - I am considering moving to them but am reluctant and need someone trusted -do you find it easy to customise etc I have spoken to someine and they seem very good customer services

Roundcart, Mals e-commerce, etc. the main issue I can see with these hosted carts is not being able to fully integrate them into your website hence the URL changing at checkout which doesn't look professional IMO.

I prefer a local SSL certificate and API linked to a payment provider making the ckeckout seamless on your website.

[ttmw]

So if i set up zen cart will i be able to take credit card payments, and if not what would i need to do to allow this?

[weejimmy]

I already have a website that is rather successful and want to expand and start selling products, the problem i have is that i haven't a clue where to start.

could someone please tell me of any legal requirements i would have to have on my site.

Do i just need to get shopping cart software like zen-cart and install it on the server and I'll be ready to go, and if not what else do i need?

And lastly would i need a whole new domain and site for the e-commerce side of things or could i just put it as part of my existing site?

Thanks for any replies or links to other sources of info.

I'm busy launching my web site at present i went for pr-built cart site from


you should pick up a good hosting package for around £50 a year

eccomercetemplates offer a good package range at around £97 and covers most payment providers IE worldpay google checkout paypal ect
with easey to use control pannel (try the demo )

you can design your own logos ect using dreamweaver or frontpage

have a look at mine you will see what can be achived for very little cost bar time thecomputeremporium

sorry cant post URLS just now but if need any help just drop me a mail