Starting online store, wordpress?

Ewaf · 20 Jun 2011 at 14:35

Hi Guys,

I am currently in the process of starting my own business. It's sales will predominantly be through an online website. Research has shown that it's possible to do it through wordpress, and having quite abit of experience blogging with wordpress seems like the perfect choice.

This one is the one that has appealed to me the most. Obviously I will completely change the logo, colour scheme, background image etc to suite my needs, but I wondered if anyone could provide some input on if this is the best platform to sell my product on? Are there any other ways to easily set up an attractive yet function online shop?

Thanks in advance guys

gord · 20 Jun 2011 at 15:26

I've not used Wordpress, but it sounds ok.

One of the first things I do when looking at ecommerce software is check the payment gateway options. So for that theme you've got PayPal, Authorize.net, Google Checkout, WorldPay, bank transfer and Cash on Delivery. Each will have their own details and rates for you to explore.

Other things you will want to check in association with that are secure connections and PCI DSS. You wont want to be hosting the transaction yourself to start with so most of the PCI will be covered but you will have to submit a questionnaire etc.

Ewaf · 20 Jun 2011 at 15:38

I assumed that all that the payment system and security sort of came with the theme? It says they help you set everything up etc, is this not the case?

And sorry, I've lost you, whats the purpose of the questionnaire?

Cheers.

P.S. anyone used prestashop?

denby · 20 Jun 2011 at 16:50

ive used cubecart

its easy to mod and you can get some really nice skins for it..its easy to swap the themes as well

gord · 20 Jun 2011 at 16:59

Ewaf said:
I assumed that all that the payment system and security sort of came with the theme? It says they help you set everything up etc, is this not the case?

And sorry, I've lost you, whats the purpose of the questionnaire?

Cheers.

P.S. anyone used prestashop?

They won't exactly. You still need to pick your own suppliers for payment processing/banking and if Wordpress will support it a SSL certificate provider.

The PCI DSS is a compliance specification. You'll find ecommerce apps now state they are PCI compliant, along with payment gateways like SagePay and hosting providers. It may sound scary to begin with but its fairly straight forward if you are using 3rd parties for your hosting/gateways/software etc. I think it is mandatory for everyone now, but there will be loads of small online businesses out there that don't comply..

Ewaf · 20 Jun 2011 at 17:00

Looks interesting, although very pricey considering I can essential set up a wordpress site for a lot less