Building a businesses first ecommerce website

wildest_jjk · 28 May 2013 at 07:34

Hey guys,

I need some advice on this please. To be honest I'm not really too sure where to start. I have made a couple of basic websites from scratch but never a professional one.

First of all should I custom build it or use something like Wordpress? Any other alternatives?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

RoyMi6 · 28 May 2013 at 09:08

If you've not done anything professional before I'd highly recommend starting with a good CMS (Wordpress, Joomla, Drupla)

Although Wordpress is highly recommended here (even by me) i've not found it the easiest to work with for creating ecommerce site. I'm not saying it can't be done - and in fact some shop plugins work great - but it's not as straightforward as the rest of it.

In all fairness this is probably just the nature of the beast though. Creating pages and posts isn't as easy to setup and follow as stock management and pricing tables etc.

Alternatively you might want to look at online shops that you can sign up to and sell your goods though.

The obvious one is eBay. Combined with a simple website this works great for your searchability, ease of setting up and fulfillment.

Other ones are places like Etsy or more specific places like Redbubble, which I used to setup my girlfriends shop.

annaharris · 28 May 2013 at 12:45

I suggest you to start with WordPress. It has many plugins, which help you to develop e-commerce website in less effort.

GravyMonster · 28 May 2013 at 12:49

Also make sure they are set up with an online merchant account, and familiarise yourself with the API of the provider before starting. That is a nightmare you don't want to be having days before go-live.

RoyMi6 · 28 May 2013 at 14:38

Spunkey said:
Also make sure they are set up with an online merchant account, and familiarise yourself with the API of the provider before starting. That is a nightmare you don't want to be having days before go-live.

Trudat!

Inferno99 · 28 May 2013 at 16:04

I recommend Magento, just finished a couple of websites with the platform. Well documented/supported and very easy to use. Then again the choice will obviously be influenced by the needs of your client. Google "magento vs wordpress" - several first page links highlight the feasibility of using each technology.

gord · 28 May 2013 at 16:17

I thought the general consensus of Magento was it is excellent in a supported enterprise context but convoluted and bloated for smaller applications?

Black Dynamite · 29 May 2013 at 09:30

I would use OpenCart, easy to install and setup. Then style to suit the business.

For simplicity you could setup PayPal to accept payments, just install the payment module and be on your way.

dancharlton9 · 29 May 2013 at 09:57

Prestashop is also a good option. The theme development takes a little bit of getting used to but the functionality is great 'out of the box'.

Tackle_Berry · 29 May 2013 at 12:11

Wordpess and Woocommerce works well.

zyfar · 29 May 2013 at 12:16

Can't believe nobody hasn't suggested Shopify for this guy - this would honestly be the easiest solution for you mate.

sachinbadiani · 7 Jun 2013 at 15:57

As zyfar said, shopify or shopwired.co.uk.

DJDaz · 7 Jun 2013 at 16:07

Another vote for Prestashop. Brilliant Ecommerce script.

aln · 7 Jun 2013 at 18:58

I'd use drupal + cart plugins. It's really bloody popular at the moment and will lead to you being able to get additional jobs in the future. If we aren't going to be use selfish reasons, it doesn't matter, as they'll all do the job, but as always, if you needed to ask, you're probably going to struggle.

Ewaf · 8 Jun 2013 at 18:52

Take a look at shopify