The Wholesale Forums

[shopfrontuk]

Hi All,

Just looking for some feedback.

I am setting up a business offering low cost Ecomerce websites for rent.

I was thinking that the website need to be simple so that they can be used for all products rather than overcomplicating things.

This is where I am at with the design at the moment - watcha think?



AVAILABLE IN DIFFERENT COLOURS - Red, Blue and Green


The Websites are based on OScommerce are you will can see but I am adding in features to make them more usable etc.

I would like to know 2 things:-

1. Is this template ok, or should I redesign.
2. What features do you think should be added into it as standard.

Thanks in Advance.

[MustHaveMobiles]

The template is to generic for me, pretty much a standard install. Would suggest changing to market the feature of a stand out template/shop front.

Why not get together some of the more popular contributions and comile them as add ons (for a small fee depending on install complexity) thus allowing the buyer to get a cutomised site - again a good marketable aspect for your sales pages.

[shopfrontuk]

Hi,

I wasnt to sure about the template myself, I was just thinking its better to have a simple one than overcomplicating things, if they want a customised one it would be a chargable extra.

I am working my way through conrtibs at the moment and am looking to add about 30 or so into the standard website.

Also little things like the box titles etc will be changed, and moved around etc

[Website Studio]

I think that your initial concept of being able to offer an online cart with a quick and simple turnaround is a great selling point. The following is purely my own opinions based on my dealings in the past.

Clients are looking for a more unique look to their sites, in an attempt to make it stand out from the crowd. Simply having 3 colour schemes, in my opinion is not enough and does'nt move far enough away from a standard oscommerce install.

I agree that it is nice to include some of the more popular contributions as standard, however once again these may not always be applicable or needed by the client that you are working for.

Each and every client should be made to feel special and individual. This can be done by offering either your standard install using template A, B or C or a complete bespoke design started from scratch. Obviously the standard install will be the cheaper option, but not always the best for your clients.

I hope that this helps and wish you every success with your siet and its plans.

[shopfrontuk]

Ok, Understood,

I will design a few more templates to increase the standard install options. You got it in one what I was aiming for is fast turnaround installs that also have cheap rental charge (eg £7-10pm)

Also maybe design a demo bespoke website to showcase what can be done if clients want something extra.

Thanks

[Titchimp]

im not a huge fan of generic templates for a shop, im a fan of oscommerce but more ones which are a bit more unique. A few to look at..

http://www.followfunction.com/ - im a big fan of this one
http://www.theguitarworld.com/
http://www.drako.it/drako_catalog/
http://www.complete-computer-care.co.uk/
http://www.ipodxtras.com/

all built with osCommerce.

[shopfrontuk]

Designing a unique website is fine, but because I will be offering the websites to lots if different industries I dont see how I can make a standard layout (that looks amazing) that would suit them all.

I had a look around the web at some of the large retailers and all of them keep simple websites, with simple layouts - so I decided to do the same.


Obviosly the header would be changed to suit the customers business etc - the idea is to offer low rental cost sites without setup charge which really stops me doing them all bespoke - if they want bespoke then it would be charged at an additional cost.


Im hoping that businesses just starting out might take the websites to start with to allow then to get online and then upgrade them in the future as their business grows.

or thats the idea anyway - maybe a rethink is in order

[MustHaveMobiles]

The thought process behind my comments is that it needs to look different from the standard 'out the box' look, I'm not saying over complicated templates are required just to take it that one step away from standard installation.

Most people looking to buy/rent an ecommerce site have done a little research and will have found out that to have a standard osc installation all it takes is a hosting account with fantastico support and they can have one in 4 clicks..

Keep your business idea as is but look to how you can make it unique, a unique selling point will be enough to push the potential customer to buy from you..

[shopfrontuk]

No Worries.

back to the drawing board on the design side of things.

thanks all

[elludovico]

Let us know when you'll have some new designs!!