How to go about getting a website built & costs?

[Tombo46]

Ello everyone. After a recent thread in the retail section I have decided to venture into online sales for my GreenGrocers. I have a lot of customers who shop with me infrequently but do spend a lot. I may only see them every couple of months and usually the tell me they wish they had more chance to shop with us. After a while I started to realise that people want to shop locally but don't always find it convenient enough. The only way I can think to change that is to focus on the delivery side of things.

The aim is to provide my customers with a simple website in which they can fill an order form out, much like a shopping basket but pay for it on delivery either by cash or with a mobile card terminal carried by the driver.

Most of the customers who can't get to us work 9 - 5 jobs so the idea would be that if customers order their produce before 2pm they will have the order delivered in the evening when they are in.

Because of how we sell produce it isn't very practical to give people an exact figure due to fluctuations in weight etc. A piece of broccoli could weigh anything from 6oz to 2lb and so would be sold by approximate weight. I'd like the total of the shopping basket to be more of a guide but take payment at the door. This way it also allows the driver to make any adjustments in case they want to change something.

At present I don't use an EPOS system but I am looking at a set of tills for this. Is it possible to link a website to my tills so when I change the prices they automatically update the website?

Also something I was wondering is when customers register, would it be possible to have a drop down menu for the first part of their post code as a way of stopping people outside our delivery zone from registering? Or would it simpler to just make it clear we only deliver to certain areas and refuse orders placed outside the zones?

Does anyone know/reccomend who could build such a website and how much would it cost? (as a guesstimate). I have looked at shopify but I think it will probably cost me a lot of my time as I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist haha. I wouldn't mind putting all the product info/pictures in myself as long as the groundwork and design was done for me.

Apologies for all the questions. This is all very new to me as with most greengrocers we tend to be stuck firmly in the past!

Thanks in advance.

Tom

 

[amac]

Ello everyone. After a recent thread in the retail section I have decided to venture into online sales for my GreenGrocers. I have a lot of customers who shop with me infrequently but do spend a lot. I may only see them every couple of months and usually the tell me they wish they had more chance to shop with us. After a while I started to realise that people want to shop locally but don't always find it convenient enough. The only way I can think to change that is to focus on the delivery side of things.

The aim is to provide my customers with a simple website in which they can fill an order form out, much like a shopping basket but pay for it on delivery either by cash or with a mobile card terminal carried by the driver.

Most of the customers who can't get to us work 9 - 5 jobs so the idea would be that if customers order their produce before 2pm they will have the order delivered in the evening when they are in.

Because of how we sell produce it isn't very practical to give people an exact figure due to fluctuations in weight etc. A piece of broccoli could weigh anything from 6oz to 2lb and so would be sold by approximate weight. I'd like the total of the shopping basket to be more of a guide but take payment at the door. This way it also allows the driver to make any adjustments in case they want to change something.

At present I don't use an EPOS system but I am looking at a set of tills for this. Is it possible to link a website to my tills so when I change the prices they automatically update the website?

Also something I was wondering is when customers register, would it be possible to have a drop down menu for the first part of their post code as a way of stopping people outside our delivery zone from registering? Or would it simpler to just make it clear we only deliver to certain areas and refuse orders placed outside the zones?

Does anyone know/reccomend who could build such a website and how much would it cost? (as a guesstimate). I have looked at shopify but I think it will probably cost me a lot of my time as I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist haha. I wouldn't mind putting all the product info/pictures in myself as long as the groundwork and design was done for me.

Apologies for all the questions. This is all very new to me as with most greengrocers we tend to be stuck firmly in the past!

Thanks in advance.

Tom

Your project sounds quite specific - there's plenty of IT companies - consultancies and freelancers - who could help you.

Search this forum or Google ecommerce software - there will be many offering installs of open source software like Magento or proprietary systems. Do your homework and you should be ok.

 

[JonathanSEO]

Ello everyone. After a recent thread in the retail section I have decided to venture into online sales for my GreenGrocers. I have a lot of customers who shop with me infrequently but do spend a lot. I may only see them every couple of months and usually the tell me they wish they had more chance to shop with us. After a while I started to realise that people want to shop locally but don't always find it convenient enough. The only way I can think to change that is to focus on the delivery side of things.

The aim is to provide my customers with a simple website in which they can fill an order form out, much like a shopping basket but pay for it on delivery either by cash or with a mobile card terminal carried by the driver.

Most of the customers who can't get to us work 9 - 5 jobs so the idea would be that if customers order their produce before 2pm they will have the order delivered in the evening when they are in.

Because of how we sell produce it isn't very practical to give people an exact figure due to fluctuations in weight etc. A piece of broccoli could weigh anything from 6oz to 2lb and so would be sold by approximate weight. I'd like the total of the shopping basket to be more of a guide but take payment at the door. This way it also allows the driver to make any adjustments in case they want to change something.

At present I don't use an EPOS system but I am looking at a set of tills for this. Is it possible to link a website to my tills so when I change the prices they automatically update the website?

Also something I was wondering is when customers register, would it be possible to have a drop down menu for the first part of their post code as a way of stopping people outside our delivery zone from registering? Or would it simpler to just make it clear we only deliver to certain areas and refuse orders placed outside the zones?

Does anyone know/reccomend who could build such a website and how much would it cost? (as a guesstimate). I have looked at shopify but I think it will probably cost me a lot of my time as I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist haha. I wouldn't mind putting all the product info/pictures in myself as long as the groundwork and design was done for me.

Apologies for all the questions. This is all very new to me as with most greengrocers we tend to be stuck firmly in the past!

Thanks in advance.

Tom

I would recommend before splashing out on a website - try and get some customers to trial your delivery service.

Package up some boxes - seasonal special, Mackinsons Spring Veg Box etc etc and offer it to these customers that can't visit as often as they'd like. That way you will know if it works.

At the minute you could pump a lot of money into a website (that by the sounds of it is going to have hundreds of products so will be difficult to manage), get little uptake and have no chance of ever making a profit on it.

So trial it, if customers are true to what they say, they'll buy into it. And then you could invest in a website with the knowledge the model is proven.

 

[Faevilangel]

also work with a local co, so they can meet you in the shop and know how the processes run, I find a website is better once the owner has an input and the builder has spent some time in the business, to know what is needed.

This is extremely helpful in more complex sites like yours

 

[User_is_Online]

Try shopify, I am having a look at this to set up an online business as well. It seems to be good and easy to use from what I can see so far.

 

[wayzgoose]

My neighbour has just set up a website for much the same thing and it seems to be working well. They've used 1&1 Eshop. Simple but effective.

http://penfarmshop.com/

 

[WolfStores]

also work with a local co, so they can meet you in the shop and know how the processes run, I find a website is better once the owner has an input and the builder has spent some time in the business, to know what is needed.

This is extremely helpful in more complex sites like yours

Hi Tom,

I agree with Faevilangel that the process he suggests above will give you the best results. But this process will definitely cost you a lot of money, especially if the ecommerce website specialist that you will choose will have to arrange for face to face meetings and also spend time in your business. This would definitely run up a bill into the thousands.

An alternative would be to go for a much cheaper solution, such as Prestashop which is an open license, free to use and fully professional ecommerce solution. Ideally you should get paid online with order placement rather than work out the cost after you pick the order and get paid when you deliver.
As you are prepared to do a lot of the leg work of uploading the products your costs would be further reduced. With Prestashop it is quite easy to upload your products and no previous experience is necessary.
Regarding pricing, Prestashop accepts csv uploads, which means that you could prepare your price file on a daily basis and easily upload it to your online shop.
You can also specify the zones to which you can ship/supply your products.

Please feel free to PM me if you need more free advice on this

Best Regards,

Tim

 

[Comm100]

You can use shopify, Magento, etc. They are all very powerful.

 

[dcmalbans]

Hi wolf store is on to something there prestashop is a great solution,
But I can't stress enough right out every single thing that you expect from your store front end and backend. Preparation and planning is key as everyone has said then you will have a document you can work with to get you the right locution.

Good luck and pm me if you need a sounding board more than happy to give you free advise.

 

[Tech4Homes]

I'm in the process of moving to Opencart, sites are almost finished bar products and a few tweaks. One of the things I have in mind for the future, and why I'm so keen to move to an opensource solution, is something identical to what you are doing with delivery regions.

I want to offer certain products that can only be bought in X region's, all managed online.

Opencart does this with a relatively cheap third party order restrictions module whereby you can restrict certain products/categories to only allow shipping to X locations.

I think the problem you'll run into is the not taking payment online thing, you can of course have payment on delivery but how will your customers feel if they know the price is liable to change? Can you not update your prices as and when neccessary but base it all on weight so the price you buy online is the price you pay?

You can still accept payment on delivery, but what if someone changes their mind and you're on their doorstep with unpaid for goods?

Personally I think you should follow the Tesco/Asda/Sainsburys/Etc route.. buy online, have delivered, you can set your card processor to pre-auth so it doesn't take payment straight away then adjust the total to suit if anything does change?

 

[oldoakey]

I would not go down the specially built, cost a fortune route. There is a no need when you can go to Sites such as EKM Powershop.

This will do all you want and more for less than £100 to set up and get running.

 

[redspan]

The advice already given about finding a local designer is good advice. If you're going to go down that route then you need someone with whom you can discuss things face to face while you're next to the draft site on screen.

Adding ecommerce to an existing retail business is no small undertaking and costs can spiral if you're not careful.

I recommend you start with a simple brochure site with an enquiry form and an email subscription list. Then, ask your existing clients to subscribe. This alone will give you the ability to send out mailshots to customers when you have new produce in stock.

If your customers then show a positive interest in that idea then you could add the order form and connect the site to the EPOS system later.

I've helped a few solo workers and small local businesses set up their first websites. They do work but slow and steady approach will prevent overspending.

 

[WolfStores]

I recommend you start with a simple brochure site with an enquiry form and an email subscription list. Then, ask your existing clients to subscribe. This alone will give you the ability to send out mailshots to customers when you have new produce in stock.

If your customers then show a positive interest in that idea then you could add the order form and connect the site to the EPOS system later.

Sorry, but this is rubbish advice!

Ecommerce is so advanced nowadays that nobody builds 'simple brochure' sites any more, aiming to 'mailshot' those who subscribe. This is prehistoric

You need a fully professional, ecommerce site that enables you to automatically bill your customers and collect your money at the time of order.

 

[JonathanSEO]

Sorry, but this is rubbish advice!

Ecommerce is so advanced nowadays that nobody builds 'simple brochure' sites any more, aiming to 'mailshot' those who subscribe. This is prehistoric

You need a fully professional, ecommerce site that enables you to automatically bill your customers and collect your money at the time of order.

Unfortunately this is also terrible advice.

Most people in this thread, along with yourself are advocating shelling out cash on a fully fledged ecommerce website on a completely unproven business model that hasn't yet executed a sale without a website.

The original poster needs to test the viability of this without a website because it's not essential to see if it works.

If the original poster gets 10 customers who want a home delivery service paying for a weekly or fortnightly veg box then maybe he can think about a website.

 

[redspan]

Sorry, but this is rubbish advice!

Ecommerce is so advanced nowadays that nobody builds 'simple brochure' sites any more, aiming to 'mailshot' those who subscribe. This is prehistoric

You need a fully professional, ecommerce site that enables you to automatically bill your customers and collect your money at the time of order.

Given that your signature contains a link to a site that builds ecommerce stores it's not hard to see why you take that view.

However, I have personal experience of independent retailers with small shops who have thought about a website but don't have the time/staff to run a fully fledged ecommerce site. Nor do they have the budget, but they do know that some of their customers might be interested in something that keeps them informed.

You have to know the business before you build the site. It's all very well building an all singing and dancing site and sending the owner a big bill for it but if the business model isn't right for it then you've built a white elephant.

 

[WolfStores]

The OP explained very clearly what sort of website he needs and only the fact that he posted in the 'ecommerce' section of this forum makes everything even more clear.

One has to assume that the OP knows his business and his customers and what sort of service they want him to provide them with and from what he posted I cannot see where the 'brochure site' comes into play.

And as far as a 'big bill' is concerned I did explain that there are much cheaper ecommerce solutions available, that would not cost an arm and a leg, as compared to getting a specialist to arrange face to face meetings and spend time in his business as others suggested.

 

[transpacific]

You should be able to get a decent ecommerce site for $2500- $3000 with most of the e-commerce features
you may want to check out this article.
Google:
'A rough guide to establish on-line business for jewelry & gemstone companies"
It talks about jewelry Industry e-retailing but relevant to most of the industries

prashant
TransPacific Software

 

[Alan]

I have looked at shopify but I think it will probably cost me a lot of my time as I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist haha.

Ignore all the posts about EKM, Prestashop & OpenCart as you have already discounted the DIY approach.

If you are a bit of a perfectionist, and you don't want to spend teh next year building the site, you need to go down the 'pro' route. A 'pro' probably would choose the engine from Prestashop, OpenCart or Magento, based on an understanding of your requirements.

The first step is to list, in as much detail, and as well structured, as you can. And then use that as a tender document.

Whilst £1,500 might get you what you want, it might not. My gut feel is you should put a placeholder budget of £5k in your business plan for this excercise, of course you can revised this up or down as you firm up on requirements, look at the P&L of the plan and get estmates in.

If your business plan gives you and extra £500 / week in net profit = £26,000 net increase in profit, then spending £5k or even £10k to achieve this is OK in my book. However if it is £50/week = £2,600 p.a. then you will need to go down the 'budget' route.

 

[oldoakey]

I have had 2 brochure sites and for me they were a total waste of time and effort. That is a poor recommendation that will just set you back.

The choices are pay out £1,000s for a website that in the end may not do what you want it to or go down the Prestashop, EKM powershop or similar route. The massive advantage to this route is its cheap and easy to understand and there is help at the end of a phone call or a decent forum to ask others for help. I am with EKM and we have just had a free update for example to enable our website to be viewed on mobile phones.

This way you pay out a minimum to get an eCommerce site up and running with very small initial outlay. Either way your going to have to have some input of your time and as the model is not proven why spend a small fortune to test this theory.

 

[Tombo46]

Big thanks for the advice everyone. I'm going to take a look at everything and make a decision. A lot of you seem to echo that the pay on delivery side of things may not work. They problem with working like the big supermarkets is that we are a completely different animal. most of what they sell is packaged and a set price which makes things easier. Margins are becoming thinner and thinner as time goes on so making sure they customer is on the "right side" of the weight is going to become a little difficult. take Broccoli as an example. We have lost money on it for about 8 months straight now. so if someone orders 500g/1/2lb of broccoli and we only have a piece that weighs 700g we are going to be further losing out.

I will take a look at my pricing structure and see if anything can be simplified. I try and price products by weight to keep things fair as people feel diddled if they get a smaller cabbage that weighs less for the same price as someone who got there before them. Price by weight keeps things fair.

I think the paying by delivery thing will allow us to amend any problems that may arise before any payment is taken and hopefully simplify things.

We already deliver to a few people and they are very happy with the service. We rarely lose any customers through price or quality so I'm pretty confident we can pull in some trade through the website.

If I'm going to do it I don't want to do it by halves really. I'm prepared to chuck a few grand at it and if it works it works, if it doesn't then I can say I gave it my best shot. That way I won't be left wondering "what if". I have spoken with a lot of the infrequent customers about whether they would use the service and all of them seem very keen on the idea. We all know though that what customers say and what they do can be 2 different things. The only way to find out is by doing.

A couple of questions though...

If I wanted to simplify my prices for the sake of the website, is there any legal problem with me having different prices on my website than in my shop? I wouldn't be charging more but I'm sure there will be occasions where I forget to update a price etc.

Also. Staffing has to be considered. I'm planning on doing the deliveries myself during the "trial period" but would be employing a driver if it does take off. Now we all know drivers can doss about and drag the clock on a bit. What's the best way of tackling this? Is it possible to pay the driver per delivery or will this just end up reducing the service the customer gets if the driver appears to be in a rush? Can I stick a camera in the vehicle legally so I can see if he's just sat on his phone? I'm asking this because delivery drivers in the past have been a big let down!

I'm sure there's more questions but at the moment my head is spinning haha.

Thanks again to everyone for the advice so far though, much appreciated.