Hi all,

I hope I have posted this in the correct section, (if not please move mods).

I was wondering, can anyone recommend any books on how to build/maintain an e-shop/e-commerce website?

I have had a look on amazon but many are not customer reviewed and do not have the 'search inside' facility. Those that do such as 'starting an online buisness for dummies' are more relevant to the US market as opposed to the UK.

I know I can get someone to build my website for me but I prefer to be hands on, and think it is important to at least know and understand the basics as I would like to update the site myself etc.

I built a website 5 years ago as part of my degree so I have experience of building a website but not an e-commerce site.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :niceone:

I would suggest to avoid the buying of any books and learn by doing, most carts have support forums and most mods have instructions to follow that will walk you through it..

Set up a test cart on a sub domain or a domain you do not use and PLAY, this way you will get teh hands on experience that you are looking for. This may not be ideal for everyone but is the premise I work to, although I have hung my forum at the mo so maybe listening to me isn't the right thing to do...

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so maybe listening to me isn't the right thing to do...

It is! It is! That's excellent advice.

I'd venture to suggest a bit more - Open Source. Two good, free, OS carts I know about are OSCommerce (I think Mike's mentioned that one somewhere before) and Zen Cart. They have substantial wiki entries, forums and tons of advice and help available on the web. You can find more free e-commerce software at hotscripts.com and similar sites, but those two I've mentioned are well established and widely trusted.

Because they're free, you can afford to play. I always suggest making a donation to the development team once you're into good profits with your site. But that's just my suggestion and not mandatory.

Good luck with the venture,

Mike (another one - seems there are a few of us here )

The best advice I can give is just go for it. There are no short cuts and it's best to learn from your mistakes.

Ecommerce is a relatively simple concept. Buy stock and then sell it, electronically. Obviously there is a few bits more such as advertising and marketing but essentially it really is that simple. Your success is is down to your business skills (or your delegation) and very importantly recognising opportunities (based on my humble experience).

I hope this helps.

Regards

Mike






(I am not a Mike really)

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Originally Posted by anotheruser

Mike (another one - seems there are a few of us here )

OT but hey

Mike= From the Hebrew name מִיכָאֵל (Mikha'el) which meant "who is like God?"...point Proven!!

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Products to Sell on Ebay : Ebay Traffic Routines : FREE Start Up Capital : Dropshippers : FREE Ebay Templates

Thanks Guy's,

I'll give it a shot and let you all know how I get on at some point in the near future. (Thank God I found this forum!)


PS: Do I have to register my domain names with nominet after I have brought them or is this optional as they have sent me an email.

Nominet will send you a letter with confirmation codes on to register the site, via snail mail not email..

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Products to Sell on Ebay : Ebay Traffic Routines : FREE Start Up Capital : Dropshippers : FREE Ebay Templates