Setting up website
- Thread starter Lee&Kelly
- Start date
It really depends on what type of website you want.
If you just want it to promote the business (via flyers or other marketing) then one of the many site-builders websites will do.
If you want to sell things then you need an ecommerce site. Again there are lots to choose form.
If it's an entertainment or info site then a simple CMS like wordpress will do the job.
So to answer your question we need a bit more information.
But...
1. Buy the domain name.
2. Get some hosting.
3. Do lots and lots and lots of reading and research.
4. Build the website and upload to the hosting.
5. Test, test, and test some more.
6. Start marketing.
7. Be very patient - it could be a year or more before you see a return on your investment.
If you just want it to promote the business (via flyers or other marketing) then one of the many site-builders websites will do.
If you want to sell things then you need an ecommerce site. Again there are lots to choose form.
If it's an entertainment or info site then a simple CMS like wordpress will do the job.
So to answer your question we need a bit more information.
But...
1. Buy the domain name.
2. Get some hosting.
3. Do lots and lots and lots of reading and research.
4. Build the website and upload to the hosting.
5. Test, test, and test some more.
6. Start marketing.
7. Be very patient - it could be a year or more before you see a return on your investment.
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Hi
There are many free ways and many paid ways. All really depends on your budget, time and what your going to use the website for i.e; information, eCommerce etc... And the main thing of all getting results.
If you could let us know more information on what you intend to use the website for we could point you in the right direction.
There are many free ways and many paid ways. All really depends on your budget, time and what your going to use the website for i.e; information, eCommerce etc... And the main thing of all getting results.
If you could let us know more information on what you intend to use the website for we could point you in the right direction.
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Ok so there are many opensource free tools to setup an online shop. I personally would recommend opencart. But you will obviously need a domain and some sort of hosting that comes with a database.
opencart comes with a basic theme and layout to the site but there are plenty of place to get themes. One of the really cool things about opencart is the fact they make paypal integration really easy, so a plus for a start up company.
opencart comes with a basic theme and layout to the site but there are plenty of place to get themes. One of the really cool things about opencart is the fact they make paypal integration really easy, so a plus for a start up company.
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OK.
You still need a domain name and hosting.
You will need to research the many ecommerce options - there are so many that it would tkae forever to list them all here.
You will need to get your own images and descriptions of the products.
You need to consider how you are going to market the site (advertinsing for example). Make sure you have a realistic budget for this. Your competitors many be spending thousands every month.
Consider as well the payment options you want. Paypal is OK but as the price goes up you may need a credit card payment portal.
Be aware that this is could take months to set up and twice as long to generate any money. Many online stores can take years to be profitable.
What items do you want to sell?
You still need a domain name and hosting.
You will need to research the many ecommerce options - there are so many that it would tkae forever to list them all here.
You will need to get your own images and descriptions of the products.
You need to consider how you are going to market the site (advertinsing for example). Make sure you have a realistic budget for this. Your competitors many be spending thousands every month.
Consider as well the payment options you want. Paypal is OK but as the price goes up you may need a credit card payment portal.
Be aware that this is could take months to set up and twice as long to generate any money. Many online stores can take years to be profitable.
What items do you want to sell?
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Re e-commerce websites.
As fisicx has eluded to, You need to buy the domain name itself ( Maybe try 123reg, or alike ) for that.
As for "selling" items, I found a nice little company that works well and has lots of templates and stock management called big cartel ( http://bigcartel.com/ )
It links into your paypal account and you simply fill their system with your stock and it manages itself.
Nice and cheap way to start and once you make money, you can move to something else afterwards.
Couple of mates use that site and havent really had anything bad to say about them.
As fisicx has eluded to, You need to buy the domain name itself ( Maybe try 123reg, or alike ) for that.
As for "selling" items, I found a nice little company that works well and has lots of templates and stock management called big cartel ( http://bigcartel.com/ )
It links into your paypal account and you simply fill their system with your stock and it manages itself.
Nice and cheap way to start and once you make money, you can move to something else afterwards.
Couple of mates use that site and havent really had anything bad to say about them.
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What sort of products are you planning to sell? i.e. is there a large range of items, or just 1 or 2?
Have you researched your potential competitors and seen what they are doing, and using?
Have you started to write an outline business plan? As getting a website does not in itself create a business.
Have you researched your potential competitors and seen what they are doing, and using?
Have you started to write an outline business plan? As getting a website does not in itself create a business.
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W
WolfStores
Hi There,
As nobody else has suggested this yet I would advise you to look into Prestashop which is an open source - free to use professional, ecommerce platform. You will still need a domain name and hosting, as others have already explained, but with Prestashop you can keep your costs down.
Hope this helps
Please feel free to PM me if you need any more help or free advice with this.
Cheers
Tim
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No offence to previous posters but I hate it when they recommend packages to other people, how many products have you tried to compare it? How much expertise will the end user have? How many products would be listed? Will the layout (skin) be adapted to match the users business colours etc?
Lee&Kelly, my advice is for you to setup home server software on your pc at home first (it's easier then it sounds), you have no initial outlay and can download and install the various shopping carts to test them for compatibility to your needs.
Then when you find the right fit, register a domain with a domain registrar and find a good host (a host is like an online computer hard drive that stores all your documents, webpages and photos)
The website takes seconds to upload but will then take up to 48 hours to propagate around the internet. What that means is when the domain is registered and linked to the host, servers around the world need to be updated to point the website name to the website address.
Once its live, sell your products and make millions. It is a quite easy process once you figure it out (not the making millions part lol), or you could hire someone to do it for you.
For your information (and I'm not selling lol) if I was your chosen agent, I would find the right shop for you, register the domain and host for you and upload it for you, then all you would need to do is add your products and photos to the shop. You would also need to design a skin, I could also do that for you, but unfortunately, thats when the prices start to skyrocket as its quite a time consuming process.
If you do have any further questions, I am quite happy for you to PM me.
Lee&Kelly, my advice is for you to setup home server software on your pc at home first (it's easier then it sounds), you have no initial outlay and can download and install the various shopping carts to test them for compatibility to your needs.
Then when you find the right fit, register a domain with a domain registrar and find a good host (a host is like an online computer hard drive that stores all your documents, webpages and photos)
The website takes seconds to upload but will then take up to 48 hours to propagate around the internet. What that means is when the domain is registered and linked to the host, servers around the world need to be updated to point the website name to the website address.
Once its live, sell your products and make millions. It is a quite easy process once you figure it out (not the making millions part lol), or you could hire someone to do it for you.
For your information (and I'm not selling lol) if I was your chosen agent, I would find the right shop for you, register the domain and host for you and upload it for you, then all you would need to do is add your products and photos to the shop. You would also need to design a skin, I could also do that for you, but unfortunately, thats when the prices start to skyrocket as its quite a time consuming process.
If you do have any further questions, I am quite happy for you to PM me.
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I
ITsoldUK
1. Nice self promo but alas your advice is flawed and expose a lack of experience in this field.
2. Dead thread. The op is awol. So from here on in it will fill up with....self promoers
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1. Nice self promo but alas your advice is flawed and expose a lack of experience in this field.
2. Dead thread. The op is awol. So from here on in it will fill up with....self promoers
1: Please give an example of where my advice is flawed? I don't give specific advice other than to see what they need to do. Lack of experience? 15 years in the industry would argue against that
2: The OP last replied YESTERDAY so how is that AWOL? Maybe they don't work weekends? Self promoers(sic)? I already stated that I am not selling, too busy to take any more website work at the moment.
Try and be constructive with your comments rather then just trying to flame people who are giving up their valuable time to help others
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I
ITsoldUK
Behave. In what way was that a flame?
You are so right. You with all of 50 posts and me with a mere 1600...what would I know about helping others on this forum.
Your advice is flawed because you state...set up a home server.
Tosh and nonsense. Many if not all carts can be test driven direct via the supplier.
As for awol...my experience tells me no reply thus far means they wont be back on such a crucial q n a. Stick around as long as I have you may learn that you can smell a bot poster.
15 years experience and you state it takes seconds to upload a website but 48 hours to propagate???
Really...again flawed.
Toodle pip.
You are so right. You with all of 50 posts and me with a mere 1600...what would I know about helping others on this forum.
Your advice is flawed because you state...set up a home server.
Tosh and nonsense. Many if not all carts can be test driven direct via the supplier.
As for awol...my experience tells me no reply thus far means they wont be back on such a crucial q n a. Stick around as long as I have you may learn that you can smell a bot poster.
15 years experience and you state it takes seconds to upload a website but 48 hours to propagate???
Really...again flawed.
Toodle pip.
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Maybe I chose the wrong word, but you are inferring that I only posted in here to sell my wares.
And I only have 50 posts on here due to being too busy to spend much time on here, plus having a young family also takes its toll on my limited time.
It is true that they can be test driven, but my response was to see if the user had the abilities to change the design/layout that you cannot do online (most of the time)
And maybe thy won't come back, but my advice is still valid for anyone else to read and follow.
And I stated quite clearly that it takes up to 48 hours to spread around:
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
so what is your point?
Anyway, I'm done now, the OP (or anyone else) can take my advice, leave my advice, or even ask me for help.
And I only have 50 posts on here due to being too busy to spend much time on here, plus having a young family also takes its toll on my limited time.
It is true that they can be test driven, but my response was to see if the user had the abilities to change the design/layout that you cannot do online (most of the time)
And maybe thy won't come back, but my advice is still valid for anyone else to read and follow.
And I stated quite clearly that it takes up to 48 hours to spread around:
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
so what is your point?
Anyway, I'm done now, the OP (or anyone else) can take my advice, leave my advice, or even ask me for help.
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D
DaveBlack
Yeap- I agree with most people... Get the DOMAIN and then STOP and do some serious research regarding the kind of website you intend to setup- and the best platform to run it on!
The reason I object to taking out a web hosting package as step number two is that it is impossible to determine the hosting you require before you have chosen a platform! Also, if you decide to go down the line of having a professional do the work for you, you might find yourself paying for two separate bits of hosting!
The reason I object to taking out a web hosting package as step number two is that it is impossible to determine the hosting you require before you have chosen a platform! Also, if you decide to go down the line of having a professional do the work for you, you might find yourself paying for two separate bits of hosting!
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