How To Start With An E-commerce Site?

[JamieBaker200]

E-commerce sites give ease to people who want easy buying from their home. There are websites I know such as Ebay and Amazon that has different products to offer. However, I am wondering how to make a good one. Are there any tips from experts out there?

I would be an incredible talk for this topic since E-commerce is fast growing these days.

 

[WolfStores]

Hi Jamie,

As a first read to get you started I would point you to 2 great ecommerce platforms:

Prestashop and CubeCart

Have a look at their websites and forums. This will help you to get a basic understanding of ecommerce plus you will be able to see several 'live' online store examples.

Hope to have been of help

Cheers

Tim

 

[JamieBaker200]

Thank you for this reply my friend. I was just wondering how they compile products into one section to another plus the customization website, I see, is very difficult. I would surely visit the websites you have stated and see to it that I can gain something about it. Thanks!

 

[antropy]

Hi Jamie, are you thinking of setting up an ecommerce site yourself then?

 

[JamieBaker200]

Hello Paul,

I just want information about it first so that I may have knowledge in the future especially how to set-up and plan for it. I remembered one of my friends asked how sites like Ebay and Amazon launched their websites which are internationally known.

 

[antropy]

Ah yes I see, well in addition to the ones above, have a look at www.OpenCart.com

 

[Jordan.Boon]

There is also auction plugins for the standard CMS such as joomla and wordpress however i would not even think about trying to battle with ebay, if you have a niche product then it should not be a problem. If you would like help and more discussion with this PM me and we can chat over skype. I have a long knoledge of the Ebay and Ecommerce CMS platforms. As well as getting your product to market.

 

[JamieBaker200]

Thank you paul for the website you have shared. I am looking forward that I may gain the best knowledge about e-commerce website creation.

 

[JamieBaker200]

Thank you Jordan. I have tried wordpress and it is really good but you cannot choose the best themes for it if you are not going to subscribe for web hosting. It is the way so that you can further customize a website but e-commerce is totally different.

 

[monica123]

I think, you need a Business Plan and a Marketing Plan. Just because it is an online store, it does not mean you can bypass the thought processes that occur naturally. You have to think about these:
1. The idea dose not have to be new but you must ask yourself why are people going to prefer to buy from my store vs others.
2. Who is your competition and how will you compete?
3. What are you costs in doing business?
4. What shipping services are you going to use or are you going to have local pick up?
5. With millions of websites and only 10 on the first page of a Google search, how are you going to get on that first page.
6. There are many to choose from and they vary from a simple PayPal button to more complex retailing systems.
7. To improve anything you must measure what you are doing now so you have a history of data.

 

[Danny @ Source Servers Ltd]

Agreed, OpenCart is a goody... and the only one I would add if you get more adventurous or need a bigger catalogue of products with more flexibility... would be Magento....again the choice really depends on your needs, but actually sometimes your skillset... Magento in the wrong hands is a terrible mess performance wise.

 

[JamieBaker200]

Thank you for sharing your ideas "monica123". I guess you are pointing at the traditional procedures when it comes to making a business. Yes, though it is an online store, I still need to do paperwork such as the Business Plan.

Considering the 7 ideas you have written, I think it is already part of the business plan. In a business plan, all possibilities are considered that's why you don't have to worry about the further details especially about your competitors. Anyways, you have a good point there and I appreciate it.

 

[Nichesuite]

build your own ecommerce using Nichesuite. building your own ecommerce will help you in making customization as per your requirement. you can add features timely as market requires.

 

[JamieBaker200]

Thank you! I will research about nichesuite since I am not that familiar. But what you think about web hosting for ecommerce website? Is it effective?

 

[SpeedaEcommerce]

The best way to get started is using hosted software because you can start building your shop immediately.

 

[JamieBaker200]

Yes, software is very helpful especially if it has features that you need. However, for those thousands of software, what is the best to use? What are its features that can be integrated with the creation of e-commerce website?

 

[SpeedaEcommerce]

Yes, software is very helpful especially if it has features that you need. However, for those thousands of software, what is the best to use? What are its features that can be integrated with the creation of e-commerce website?

The majority of ecommerce systems won't produce a quality high end website. What you really need is a system that contains the latest features (such as product filtering without page reload) and the ability to design at your specification.

Take a free trial of the Speeda software and find out if this system suits your requirements.

 

[JamieBaker200]

The majority of ecommerce systems won't produce a quality high end website. What you really need is a system that contains the latest features (such as product filtering without page reload) and the ability to design at your specification.

Take a free trial of the Speeda software and find out if this system suits your requirements.

Thank You for this useful post. I am looking forward that I may use the information. I will try how it affects the whole run of the website.

 

[Cart2Cart]

First of all, you should decide on the shopping cart type: open source ( OpenCart, PrestaShop) or hosted solution ( BigCommerce, Shopify, Volusion) It is recommended to chose hosted platforms for beginners, nevertheless they are payment. But you will get reliable servers, simple admin panel, and ready to use template system..
There a number of tutorials, articles and reviews so it will be easy to get all necessary information for you. While choosing, pay special attention on: administration, design, product and order management, security and support. .

 

[jessey]

Hi,

I highly suggest Agriy's private shop for your E-commerce platform, it has got many features included and good admin interface as well to manage the site easily