Create an eCommerce website with WordPress in under 5 minutes

[RBS]

http://wordpress.tv/2009/06/08/create-an-ecommerce-website-with-wordpress-in-under-5-minutes/

 

[Dawg]

Might be wrong as I didn't watch it but in my experience the 5 minute install of Wordpress is hype, unless you don't want a custom theme, or any of the better, (and bigger) plugins, like All in One SEO.
Further to that, unless you are totally able to breathe nothing but Wordpress geek air the e-commerce plugin will take a fair while to configure, and even then it's not that versatile or clever.
(And this from me, a Wordpress fanboy...)

 

[Spock]

Very impressive! With Fantastico it is very quick and easy to setup a WP blog (wish my hosting company had it!). He did it in 5 mins and although it was only using basic configuration, he showed that you can do it.

Obviously it may take another 5 mins to populate a whole site, brand, optimise and rank no. 1

 

[awebapart.com]

That's interesting, thanks.

I find it strange that in the demo, it was easier to install an ecommerce plugin (install direct from the Wordpress admin system, which performs the download itself), than it was to install a theme (download theme to PC, upload via FTP, then install from the Wordpress admin system).

But impressive nonetheless.

And the market would get even more interesting, if the hosted wordpress.com site added the ability to install a custom ecommerce plugin.

 

[Faevilangel]

That's interesting, thanks.

I find it strange that in the demo, it was easier to install an ecommerce plugin (install direct from the Wordpress admin system, which performs the download itself), than it was to install a theme (download theme to PC, upload via FTP, then install from the Wordpress admin system).

Go to apperance > add theme > then search for a theme, you can install pre-made ones that are on wordpress extend without downloading it Same with plugins as well

 

[awebapart.com]

Go to apperance > add theme > then search for a theme, you can install pre-made ones that are on wordpress extend without downloading it Same with plugins as well

That's what I find strange, doing it the hard way when there is an easier way.

The guy creating the demo installed wordpress into his web hosting area using Fantastico without ftping via PC.

He installed the ecommerce plugin using his installed Wordpress system without ftping via PC.

So why did he feel the need to install a theme by ftping via PC when he could have done this in an easier fashion without ftping.

It might have cut his time down to 4 minutes!

And it would then have demo'd the ease of setup in a better way, for novices (who don't know what ftp is, or who don't want to install any software on their PC).

The only reason I can think of why he did it this way, is because his default install might have prompted for ftp login information when he tried to install a theme 'the easy way', and that might have made the demo look more complicated.

 

[RBS]

I did install WP and this plugin yesterday, played around a bit. Its damn impressive, very easy and suitable for UK shopping. If you need basic shopping site, get this. Integrates with paypal/google checkout/credit card gateways with few clicks.

To install themes of plugins you dont need FTP. Just use WP admin panel.

Official plugins webpage:
http://www.instinct.co.nz/e-commerce
http://getshopped.org/

 

[RBS]

Might be wrong as I didn't watch it but in my experience the 5 minute install of Wordpress is hype, unless you don't want a custom theme, or any of the better, (and bigger) plugins, like All in One SEO.
Further to that, unless you are totally able to breathe nothing but Wordpress geek air the e-commerce plugin will take a fair while to configure, and even then it's not that versatile or clever.
(And this from me, a Wordpress fanboy...)

There are dozens of WP developers which will tweak your eCommerce pluing the way you want. As for themes. All in one Seo is separate plugin which can be installed also.

This eCommerce is JUST plugin for Wordpress

 

[shopintegrator]

I'll have to get a video added to our WordPress ecommerce plugin page as well so then it can be a race as to how quickly it can be done!

You can use the Shop Integrator WordPress ecommerce plugin to make it easy to insert your products and shopping basket/cart straight in to your WordPress website's posts and pages as well as dragging and dropping ecommerce store widgets in to you sidebar:

http://www.shopintegrator.com/cms/wordpress-ecommerce-store-plugin.html

 

[Dawg]

There are dozens of WP developers which will tweak your eCommerce pluing the way you want. As for themes. All in one Seo is separate plugin which can be installed also.

This eCommerce is JUST plugin for Wordpress

I know all that, but thanks. All I was saying is that it ain't a 5 minute process. And FTP'ing the AinOne SEO will take some minutes, so if all you are installing is e-commerce from Instinct and the default theme, you might just get it done in 5 mins, but the work does not end there, which is the hype message. 'Ohh WP up and running in 5 mins, how cooool is that'...

Still, I'm puzzled as to where I asked for a plugin to be tweaked...well asked on UKBF. I've talked to a couple of people elsewhere.

 

[Dawg]

Just to say I'm a clutz. I know you can get themes and plugins using the admin panel, but just out of habit, like a dinosaur, still use FTP.

Please ignore everything I ever say again.

 

[RBS]

Just to say I'm a clutz. I know you can get themes and plugins using the admin panel, but just out of habit, like a dinosaur, still use FTP.

Please ignore everything I ever say again.

Even you couldnt use WP admin panel and had to use FTP, cant complain - its all FREE and forever. It wont cost you a penny, just hosting. Perfect solution for small/start ups. I`ve been using this plugin myself for 2 years, but just for products catalog, not as shop.

 

[RBS]

Another under 5 minute free e-commerce solution:
http://www.ecwid.com/getting-started.html

Watch the 5 minute toure.

 

[Paul Norman]

Presumably, this is the end of web design companies everywhere? I did not test this, as I would certainly not be able to do it in 5 minutes and already have an ecommerce site, but if this is true, why would anyone ever pay to build a site?

 

[RBS]

Presumably, this is the end of web design companies everywhere? I did not test this, as I would certainly not be able to do it in 5 minutes and already have an ecommerce site, but if this is true, why would anyone ever pay to build a site?

Not really Paul, these solutions are perfect mostly for small-medium pretty basic e-commerce. Every shop keeper needs very specific features and functions. But I installed this one and testing it now - wooow This thing is amazing! Actually it can be installed and configured in 20 mins - I just did that. There are just lot of settings like - shipping, invoicing etc.
But definitely, e-commerce is changing.

Welcome to my new shop:
http://app.ecwid.com/jsp/111031/simple-store#ecwid:category=0&mode=category&offset=0&sort=normal

Use promotion code "percent" for 100$ off

 

[MASSEY]

Not really Paul, these solutions are perfect mostly for small-medium pretty basic e-commerce. Every shop keeper needs very specific features and functions. But I installed this one and testing it now - wooow This thing is amazing! Actually it can be installed and configured in 20 mins - I just did that. There are just lot of settings like - shipping, invoicing etc.
But definitely, e-commerce is changing.

Welcome to my new shop:
http://app.ecwid.com/jsp/111031/simple-store#ecwid:category=0&mode=category&offset=0&sort=normal

Use promotion code "percent" for 100$ off

Why have you priced in $ rather than £ are you in america rob?

 

[RBS]

Why have you priced in $ rather than £ are you in america rob?

I couldnt find damn GBP, blind Every single currency there, even some jungle ones.

 

[shopintegrator]

I would love to hear what SEO expert's opinions have to say about this solution?

To me it appears that an online shop built with this solution would have no visibility to any product content that the search engines would use to rank the site. This is because the whole online shop is dynamically delivered, so as far as the search engine will see it is just one script call in your page but no details of any of the products you sell, therefore zero SEO in relation to your products?

 

[RBS]

I would love to hear what SEO expert's opinions have to say about this solution?

To me it appears that an online shop built with this solution would have no visibility to any product content that the search engines would use to rank the site. This is because the whole online shop is dynamically delivered, so as far as the search engine will see it is just one script call in your page but no details of any of the products you sell, therefore zero SEO in relation to your products?

You are right, its AJAX. By default its no SEO visible, but if you google "Ajax and SEO" then many solutions come up. Also, they have HTML file which can be seen by google. They have forum where its all being discussed.

Also, developer has posted answer to this:
http://www.ecwid.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76#6

This is one of the best shops I have tried, honestly, its wooow.

 

[shopintegrator]

Also, they have HTML file which can be seen by google.

So the search engine indexable HTML page about your product is hosted on the ECWID web host and not your web host?

Below is a quote from the post you linked in relation to it's SEO:

This solution can require extensive site maintenance if used extensively. In addition, it doesn't address SEO at the product page level. Of course the product code snippet can be used, but then maintenance gets even worse if used extensively.

 

[RBS]

So the search engine indexable HTML page about your product is hosted on the ECWID web host and not your web host?

Below is a quote from the post you linked in relation to it's SEO:

I cannot answer this questions as I have been playing around with it just for last few hours.

http://www.google.lv/#hl=lv&source=...=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=602ff496cacb0d29

Developer mentioned:
Ecwid has a cool feature called mobile catalog. It is a plain-HTML version of each Ecwid store with the automatic sitemap generation that can be accessible by search engines without issues. It means that all content you created in Ecwid is accessible by search engines and since it has only the necessary text, I'm sure that search engines will like it.

 

[shopintegrator]

Ecwid has a cool feature called mobile catalog. It is a plain-HTML version of each Ecwid store with the automatic sitemap generation that can be accessible by search engines without issues. It means that all content you created in Ecwid is accessible by search engines and since it has only the necessary text, I'm sure that search engines will like it.

Yes, which is why I said I would see that the search engine indexable HTML page about your product is hosted on the ECWID web site and not your web host. If you paste script in to your page, ECWID is not going to automatically be able to transfer an HTML page over to your web host so the search engine finds it as part of your domain name. This must mean that this indexable web page is hosted on their web host and therefore gives little SEO relating to your domain name, or you manually have to copy the generated HTML page over to your site for each product and every time it changes copy it over again.

 

[RBS]

"You're trying to apply the usual CMS or site rules and requirements to Ecwid that isn't a CMS or a stand-alone site. It is just different.

You're right in statement that a usual CMS needs to have the seo-friendly clean URLs, different titles and other SEO-related stuff.

But Ecwid is not a CMS.

Ecwid doesn't try to replace your existing site or to be a CMS. It is widget, so it is an addition to your site, a part of it, but not the site itself.
That's why Ecwid doesn't need to have the usual SEO attributes like e.g. meta tags or unique URLs of each page."

I copied their HTML code into my wordpress, works like charm. Have to do SEO on wordpress itself rather than shop then?

 

[shopintegrator]

Have to do SEO on wordpress itself rather than shop then?

Yes. As they deliver the whole shop, the SEO for each product is then disjointed from the WordPress content you write about the product for SEO purposes. You will therefore need to duplicate the content about the product in the shop with the content you have to write on your WordPress page for SEO purposes.

Our ecommerce plugins/widgets allow you to embed ecommerce shop plugins in to your page that are part of the overall web page but focus on giving the customer the ability to buy the product. The SEO aspects of the page relating to the product details and the page URL's are still left where they are best managed and indexed by search engines, as part of the CMS. Our WordPress ecommerce plugin widget is here: http://www.shopintegrator.com/cms/wordpress-ecommerce-store-plugin.html

 

[RBS]

I`m waiting for them to release that new version:
http://www.instinct.co.nz/blog/2010/04/wordpress-e-commerce-plugin-3-7-6-rc4-is-alive/

 

[RBS]

Hmm, check this:
http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&sour...=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=1a9a1bb564a875c1

URL is not SEO friendly, but its first link on google. So, it does work somehow.

 

[shopintegrator]

URL is not SEO friendly, but its first link on google. So, it does work somehow.

Because the google search term includes the word ECWID. Its kind of easy to rank number 1 when people google your specific business name. Customer's looking for a product tend not to do this, unless they already intend to buy it from you.

I`m waiting for them to release that new version:
http://www.instinct.co.nz/blog/2010/...-rc4-is-alive/

In this case you're WordPress site is already running an Instinct WordPress theme as it will only work with a Theme that is WP e-commerce enabled and not any WordPress theme?

 

[RBS]

In this case you're WordPress site is already running an Instinct WordPress theme as it will only work with a Theme that is WP e-commerce enabled and not any WordPress theme?

It works with WP default theme, dont need special one. But they do have some nice designs also.

 

[RBS]

Some top feedback from Joomla +Ecwid extensions users:
http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/e-commerce/shopping-cart/10720

I find Ecwid support superb, look at the forum, every request gets answered properly, quickly and they spent so much time helping people sort probs.

 

[shopintegrator]

Both your quotes:

I cannot answer this questions as I have been playing around with it just for last few hours.

I find Ecwid support superb,

So you've been using them for the last few hours and you've already had cause to use their support?

I`m waiting for them to release that new [WP e-commerce] version

And you are also using the WP e-commerce plugin on your WordPress site as well as ECWID?

 

[RBS]

Both your quotes:


So you've been using them for the last few hours and you've already had cause to use their support?


And you are also using the WP e-commerce plugin on your WordPress site as well as ECWID?

No, I visited support forum to see what kind of support you can expect.

No, I installed separate WP for testing purposes, currently testing Ecwid. E-commerce been installed on my official company webpage for last 1.5 years, I`m using it as catalog, not shop.

 

[shopintegrator]

Providing you've not built up a personal dislike of me because of our little discussion here , I would appreciate that if you are evaluating solutions for your existing WordPress site and are prepared to widen your scope ..... you'll also consider giving our ecommerce plugin solution a try as part of your evaluation?

Our ecommerce plugin solution has a WordPress ecommerce plugin connector which gives you the ability to add in store features in to your existing WordPress posts and pages. You use a button which our WordPress plugin addds to the WordPress Posts and Pages dashboard editor. Similar to ECWID, you add your products in to the Shop Integrator admin console, then use your Wordpress dashboard to place these ecommerce plugins in to your WordPress site, or to drag shop widgets in to your WordPress side bar.

 

[RBS]

Just installed, but I need client code? Give me some, dont want to register

 

[shopintegrator]

Just installed, but I need client code? Give me some, dont want to register

Fair enough. Use the client code: demo

The following products exist in this demo account:
DENONS81MP3IPODDOCK
This product has no product options assigned.

YAMAHACRXM170
This product has 1 list of product options assigned.

DEMO1
This product has 2 lists of product options assigned.


As for a list of products in a category, you can use the product category:
SALE


These demo account ecommerce plugins which will be inserted in to your WordPress test site are the same ecommerce plugins now being inserted into our plain HTML website demo page: http://hifistoredemo.shopintegrator.com/ so are now multi-site ecommerce plugins thanks to your test page
(excludes the DEMO1 product which doesn't make an appearance in this hifistore site demo, but does give you an example of 2 product option lists assigned to a product which is why I included it above)

As for the look of the ecommerce plugins and the basket in your site, you would be able to customise this to match your site better, changing colours, borders, button images, adding your logo/banner in the to checkout screens etc.

 

[RBS]

Do you have step by step manual? I`m too dumb for this, cant add product.

 

[shopintegrator]

Do you have step by step manual?

Yes, there is a step by step getting started guide and other user guides available in your Shop Integrator admin console. The Getting Started guide has a specific set of steps for plugging in ecommerce in to your WordPress website using the WordPress admin guide.

cant add product.

The demo client code I gave you was to quickly show you the ecommerce plugins in your WordPress site without the need for you to register or set up your own products by using the existing product stock codes:
DENONS81MP3IPODDOCK
YAMAHACRXM170
DEMO1

and the existing product category
SALE

For you to be able to add your own products you will need to quickly register for your own 30 day ecommerce plugin free trial (no obligation) Shop Integrator account, it takes only a few minutes to register here:

http://www.shopintegrator.com/freetrial/free-ecommerce-plugin-trial.html