The Wholesale Forums

[Pete]

What about actual sales? As has been shown often with political surveys, people say one thing and vote another.

I'd like to see someone with more knowledge than I have set up a deal where the same search will rotate between two indentical except for template websites. Same placement of tiems, same prices, images and descriptions, just a different wrapper aorund the site.

Then measure time on the site and purchase volumes between the two. Out of the box with minimal change vs a completely redesigned shop. Equal exposure, alternating as the search engin link is clicked. Might prove interesting.....

[coolstuff.com]

Originally Posted by JGClifton

Hello there,

I am a web designer as well as a host based in the UK. If you want hosting of a shoping cart it starts at just £1.50 per month.

I can also offer my design services to design a professional looking theme and implement it into a free shopping cart (oscommerce is my personal preference).

If you are interested then feel free to ask questions or PM me .

Hello there

Hi im intrested in an online shop to be designed for me, could you possibly get in touch so we can discuss this plan, what part of the uk are you from?

Kind Regards

Shaun

[JGClifton]

Hi Shaun,

I'm from Oxfordshire - to get in touch drop me a PM with your email address or MSN address .

Cheers,

Joe.

[missmushroom]

Originally Posted by shanz32

Does that mean you dont need to know how to use things like dreamweaver or cold fusion? Although i would prefer to build the site myself, but fixing the carts and view basket, and adding all that security certificates, i dont know how to add it to a site, but your saying shop script does it for you, it build it all for you?

Hey shanz, editing the template is optional and not really necessary. As long as the overall layout is good and navigation is not confusing there should not be any problem. I changed my template layout just so it looks unique . Some people focus on creating a nice looking site when they should be thinking about accessibility, credibility and usability. Another important thing is creating a site which is Search engine optimized (SEO). I have seen sites that use images to display important information which is not a good thing for search engines. You can find a lot of useful tips at the following site: http://www.webcredible.co.uk

The shopping cart and view basket is integrated into the website that uses a shopping cart system (like OS Commerce and shop-script) and you don't need dreamweaver for that. You only need a SSL Security certificate if you are accepting credit cards at your website. I use Paypal (which also accept credit cards) to accept payments so there is no need to buy a SSL security cert for my site. A good shopping cart system would require less technical knowledge as the backend has already been simplified.

[Pete]

An SSL certificate IS NOT needed for accepting credit cards through a normal merchant account. All transactions are done on the gateway server, not on the seller's server.

Only when collecting the data for hand entry at a later time - which is against card processor regulations - is an SSL certificzte and a secure server section required.

This is a totally mistaken "urban legend" or "old wfe's tale" on the Internet. All shopping carts pass on the total to a secure gateway or system such as 2 CheckOut, etc. where the cardholder information is gathered in a secure manner.

I am not saying that displaying a SSL certificate banner is not a good idea, but it is not required for actual cardholder safety, only as a customer confidence builder.
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[Nan]

I think its best to go with a yahoo store, because its got good name recondition and with a partner in yahoo its only gonna help

[Andy777]

There are a lot of free information/videos/proof
on The Internet about design/layout impact on sales.

For example, Stomper Net videos.

Famous Brad Fallon's wedding favors website. They have
tested dozens of design strategies, even placing a small
graphical elements in right places can increase sales.

[greedyboy]

It all depends what you are selling. I feel good design inspires confidence. But like pete says it really depends on the item.

For instance if I'm looking for a cheap toner cartridge I can't care less about the design, I just want a good price. If I am buying a 3 grand plasma tv, I wouldn't use a site that looked mickey mouse, unless it was a well known business.

Ultimately, everyone who is serious should have a well designed, easy to navigate and functional website. Having your own template/skin custom designed costs anything between £200 and £1000. It is money well spent.

[shanz32]

Thanks Missmushroom for the site, you answered all my questions as i was going to get a SSL certificate for no reason as i will only accept paypal, i was looking on www.123-reg.co.uk, a webhosting company they do e-commerce £8.99 a month, isnt that good for a small business?

[Pete]

Stay away from 123-reg. Nothing personal, and you could say I've got a conflicting interest, as I also sell hosting.

But the price is way high, for starters. That's not the main reason I say don't go there, however.

As a newbie, you will go there and buy your domain name through them and also your hosting and they could have you in a situation you may come to regret. Should you want to move your site, they can make it hard on you, since they also are the registrar for your domain name. I'm not saying they WILL, but they CAN. And there are many tales around the net of such things happening.

For you own benefit do this -

Buy your domain name on your own, in your own name. Don't accept a "free" domain name from a hosting provider or anyone else. Buy it yourself, in your name. Use 123-reg, godaddy, whoever. BUT don;t buy anything else from them, just the name.

Also, don't go to them and "try out" domain names to see which are available. You may find one you like, but if you do not buy it that instant when you come back, it will be gone. Then you'll find that someone snatched it out from under you but will be willing to let you have it back - for a price. So, go direct to whois and do your availability searching.

Then, why not support the folks here on the forum who are willing to help you. It's called reciprocity - you help me, I'll help you. There are a number of us here who offer hosting and also contribute regularly to threads such as this. If you are going to spend some money, why not with fellow forum members?

I'm not posting this as an ad. While I do have several dozen forum members hosting with me, I do not do design. I can install skins that you find elsewhere, or help you do it, but I am not a designer. My philosopy is to sort of hold the hands of new clients and get them started towards being totally independent on the net. Cost-wise you can have a cart with me, along with emails and such for as low as $ 4.49 per month.

There are others here, as well. Some others -

LewisSellers does design and hosting, and possibly more. Not as inexpensive as some, but well thought of and does good designs.

Consultant is also into this sort of thing. I have an idea it's a sideline, but always willing to chip in with advice.

JGClifton is fairly new and seems to be using price as a "foot in the door." I'm not familiar with his work.

There are also a few others, I'm sure. None that are really "in the business", but probably do a little sideline selling or maybe they're affiliates of a hosting company.

As far as design, one final thought. And I've been backed up on this a number of times in a number of threads - Get started on your shopping cart first. Get your payment arrangements staright, get your shipping set up and get your images and products inserted. Open for business, even. Then take some time and find a look that suits you. You can even have several.

At one time I had a cart which had over a dozen "looks". I had a Christmas theme, a Valentine's Day theme, a Mother's Day theme, a St. Paddy's theme, etc. I speack mainly of CubeCart, since it is the easiest to set up and I usually recommend it to newbies.

With CubeCart, changing a skin is about half a dozen clicks and you're done. Once it's uploaded to your server, you can choose and un-choose a skin with one click. Just not a big deal, So get your cart up first and then worry about the looks.

If you go back to the first page you can see where I have lined to a number of examples and the admin "work areas" of the three free carts. Check them out and get with one of us here on the forum, you'll get more help and advice than you ever will from 123 or any of the biggies.
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