What's the simplest way to setup a business type web-site to sell merchandise?

I sell on eBay, and I'm thinking of building my own web-site, but I need some advice. Mainly, what tools, programs, etc, will I need? Who does the hosting, what do I need to know?

I'm not sure where to begin. Any advice would be appreciated. Asked by bchugh 47 months ago Similar questions: simplest setup business type web site sell merchandise Business > Small Business.

Similar questions: simplest setup business type web site sell merchandise.

Oh so much ... or so easy. First of all, here’s an article on people defecting from ebay. It has a lot of good options if you wanted to go a similar route as ebay, without the headaches:money.cnn.com/2008/02/06/smbusiness/ebay..., myself, am a web designer, put together my site with a shopping cart, (you can see it here: spiritcaat.com/new-age-gifts.php ) but when I read that article, I also opened an online shop at one of the places they suggested because of the ease and the built-in traffic.

I chose this site because it’s not an auction site, which I’m not really interested in, (you can sell used items, however) but more than that, because it was free (they make their income elsewhere, not on the backs of their sellers, like ebay) because it was *so* easy to set up, and because they give the option of using Google Checkout instead of PayPal. (Paypal hater here. ) I’m not completely done with it yet, because I’m just getting started and waiting for stock, but I set this much up in just a couple of days: spiritcaat.ecrater.com As you can see, it also puts the name of your business in the domain.So even though I have a shopping cart on the site I built, I will also send people to my site on ecrater.

They seem to get some traffic, and it seems like a growing site. Too easy. Now, if you still want to build your own site instead, here are some suggestions and things to think about: -- You will not want to do your own site unless you are sure you can do a professional job.

There is a lot to website design beyond opening up a program and dropping things in. That said, there are several ways to approach it. Option A.

Take classes. Not only to learn web design and html basics, but to fully understand how hosting and domains work.In a nutshell, I would NOT pay a company that gives you some sort of "design your site online" access and then hosts it for you. The pages look cheezy and unprofessional.

Aside from that, my cousin just called me over the weekend and was having problems with this type of place. She knows so little, she wouldn’t know what to ask tech support even if she could *call* them, which she can’t. So stay away from those.

If you choose to take classes, then you will want to get a program called "Dreamweaver." I say "you will want to get" because I don’t believe there’s a better professional program out there. In taking a class, if you take an on-site class, you will most-likely learn about it’s existence and probably use it in the development of your site.

OPTION B: Get a program like iWeb. http://www.apple.com/ilife/iweb/I’ve never used it, but I hear it’s pretty user-friendly, and I think it has templates and such. I don’t think they are as cheezy as the hosted ones I’ve warned you about, and I’ve actually seen some iWeb pages and they aren’t bad.

A little rudimentary, but if you are just looking for a simple page, it might work. HOWEVER, setting up a shopping cart is a whole ’nother ball of wax. I’ve been doing web pages for some time now, not professionally, but have built a few, and this was my first foray into ’shopping card land.

’ It wasn’t pretty.It got done but it was an agonizingly long process, a high learning curve and it wasn’t pretty. DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT USE FRONTPAGE! Those pages are tacky, you can smell them a mile away, the minute people see them, they know they are templates (not a good thing) and Microsoft inserts all sorts of crap in your code which screws things up on every other browser but Internet Explorer.

Why marginalize people? RUN AWAY AND STAY AWAY. Then you will have to register a domain (I use www.mydomain.com because it’s relatively inexpensive, for a few dollars more per year I used to love www.directnic.com .

It was a much nicer and easier interface, but more expensive) and, like you say, you will need to host it. You can get domain names for very little now, I pay $8.50/year, which is pretty cheap, but I know there are some out there for $6.99. However, cost is not your only consideration.

You will have to do a lot of research to make sure you have complete control of your domain, and that you are not getting ripped off. DO NOT buy your domain and host your domain in the same place. It’s risky for reasons to extensive to go into here.

I host my site at money.cnn.com/2008/02/06/smbusiness/ebay...0 . I like them. They are inexpensive and they have a help forum and good tech support.

I am on a shared server. That’s why it’s inexpensive. Again, choosing a host takes an enormous amount of research.

OPTION C: Again, like iWeb, if you’re not on a Mac, this may not work for you, but you could look into a . Mac account. I know they have some pretty nice templates, are pretty easy to use and will host your site.(This is unlike service that I first described, the hosting is not .

Mac’s primary function, it’s just a feature. ) I don’t have this, but I know other people like it. Here’s an example of a blog hosted on a .

Mac account:money.cnn.com/2008/02/06/smbusiness/ebay...1 D: All that said, I come around back to the beginning. If it were me, and I didn’t know all that much about web design, I would set up a shop on http://www.ecrater.com -- HEY WAIT! I DO know something about web design and I set up a shop on ecrater *anyway.

* ;-)Good Luck. Caat Sources: spiritcaat.ecrater.com || money.cnn.com/2008/02/06/smbusiness/ebay...1 || money.cnn.com/2008/02/06/smbusiness/ebay...1/spiritcaatblog || money.cnn.com/2008/02/06/smbusiness/ebay...1/spiritcaatforum bigcaat's Recommendations Apple iLife '08 Used from: $58.99 Average Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (based on 72 reviews) . Mac with iWeb, Second Edition (Visual QuickStart Guide) Amazon List Price: $26.99 Used from: $12.89 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 1 reviews) iWeb '08 Essential Training Amazon List Price: $49.95 .

A Beginner's Guide to Setting up a Successful Online Store (see below) A Beginner's Guide to Setting up a Successful Online StoreOnline selling is by no means a simple task. To sell products online not only requires making use of high end marketing strategies but also involves lots of planning. This article is meant for those of you who intent to start an online store.It is intended to give you a fair idea of what you would need to do and what you need to avoid while planning an online selling business.

The following are the various steps that you would need to take in order to open a successful online store1. ) Designing a website that sellsThe first most important aspect of online selling is to have a professional looking website that is designed to sell. You can go about creating the website from code up using web designers or simply go for readymade website templates.

If you are purchasing website templates, be sure to go for templates that are professionally designed and have the option of shopping carts. Buying templates from providers who offer allied services like template customization, web hosting; SEO etc would be even better. Some template providers like `buytemplates.net' offer allied services irrespective of where you actually purchased the template from.

To get a rough idea of how your site should be designed you can take hints from successful online stores like http://www.ishopage.com , `gap.com' and `bestbuy.com'.2. ) Hosting your store onlineThere are many factors that you need to take into consideration before selecting your web host when it comes to online selling. Some of the major factors are discussed as follows.a.

) Secure serversFirstly you got to make sure if your web host offers you with SSL encryption which is very important for secure money transactions online. Most web hosting companies would offer you with SSL secure server facilities along with a regular package whereas a few would charge you an extra amount for the service.b.) Up time guaranteesYour business is only as good as it remains online. Make sure to go for web hosting service providers who promise you an uptime guarantee of 99 %.

Also check to see as to how they back up their data and what kind of back up systems they have in place in case of emergencies.c.) Private CGI-BINA CGI-BIN directory is a location on your web server where you can upload your binary scripts or interactive programs. This is very important for payment processing and shopping cart management. So be sure that the hosing company gives you a private CGI BIN directory.d.) Web logs and web statisticsWeb logs and statistics are vital for your online business.

Studying the web logs can give you much needed information about your customers and your sales records. Understanding your customer behavior can help you retain customers and attract new customers.e.) Customer supportGet as much information about the hosting company's support policies and the type of support they offer. Go for web hosting companies that offer 24/7 customer support.f.

) ReferencesMost web hosts promise you lots of goodies but may not live up to it. Make sure to test the web host's credibility by asking them for references. The existing customers of the hosting company can give your first hand information on the service that you can expect to get.

In addition to this you should also look for services that offer you Mysql database and PHP scripting, unlimited emails and a minimum space of 10GB.3.) Deciding on shopping cartsIf you are selling more than a handful of products then having a shopping cart on your site is a good idea. You have three major options of getting yourself an online shopping cart. First one is buying a shopping cart software program, the second is using services of an ASP and the third is programming it yourself.

Your best option as a beginner would be to go for ASP services. These services are cheap and come with flexible options. As time passes and you online business develops, you can hire programmers to design yourself a customized shopping cart or buy shopping cart software programs that can be set up in your server.

Some good ASP's that offer shopping cart services are `SecureNetShop' (SecureNetShop.com) and `GoEmerchant' (GoEmerchant.com). Shopping cart software programs are a costly option for beginners and can cost you anything between $ 150 - $ 800. Some good shopping cart software programs are `shopfactory 6' (shopfactory.com) and `storefront' (strorefront.net) One more option as already discussed above is making use of ecommerce website templates.

These ecommerce templates have pre installed shopping cart systems and can help you set up a store in minutes. Some of these template providers also offer template customization services that would allow you to get your ordinary templates in selling modules.4. ) Deciding on how to accept paymentsNo matter what the speculation, credit cards are still the best way to accept URL10 make sure that your online business has facilities to accept credit cards.

There was a time when you had to have a merchant account from a bank or financial institution to process credit card payments. But today there are enough options available that allow you to accept credit card payments even without a merchant account. Paypal (store.

It1) is perhaps the best payment gateway and has no initial joining fees. Their service fees, per-transaction is very low and they allow you to accept payments from all over the world. In addition to Paypal some other good payment gateways are `2checkout' (buytemplates.

Net0), `clickbank' (buytemplates. Net1) and `paysystems' (store. It0).

Payment options other than credit cardsIt is by no means necessary that all your customers will have credit cards. As a matter of fact many of your customers don't have credit cards, many don't like to use credit cards, many have credit card phobias and the remaining may not wish to share their credit card information online. Under such a situation it would be best for you to provide alternate payment options.

Internet checksInternet checks are as popular as credit cards when it comes to paying online. Internet checks are comparatively safer and are best if your customers are from international destinations. This technique would involve your customer's to make payments by an online blank check provided by an internet check service provider.

This information is sent to the service provider for authorization. The merchant can also print the check on his printer immediately afterwards. Some good service providers who can offer you internet check services are paybycheck (store.

It1) and cross-check (store. It0). In addition to internet checks there are some other options of accepting online payments like money orders and electronic checks.

But these methods are suitable only if your customers are from nearby locations. The best way to decide your payment options is analyzing your customer behaviors. You can also have online check boxes or feedback forms on your website to collect information about your customer's payment preferences and act accordingly.5.

) Promoting your online storeNo promotion equals to no sales. You can promote your store using online marketing strategies like search engine optimization, email marketing, banner advertisements and affiliate marketing among others. While promoting your business you got to make sure to stay clear of any kind of illegal methods like spamming, cloaking etc. Your promotion activities should create a positive awareness about your online store that leads to trust building.6.

) Assuring your CustomersThe customer is the king and just as in any other type of business here again you need to give your customer what he store. It1 do this you got to be sure of your customer's preferences. Basically you need to address the following doubts that your customers are likely to have in their mind while buying onlinea.

) Is my credit information safe?b.) How will the products be delivered to me and how long will it take?c. ) Are their any additional costs associated with the item?d. ) What kind of guarantees come with the product?e.) Are there any discounts if I purchase multiple goods?f.

) What kind of customer service does the online shop have?g. ) What happens in case the goods are damaged or of low quality? These questions in particular and many more questions in general can arise in the minds of your customers depending on the type of your products and your online store reputation.

You can address these issues by providing valuable information in your FAQ section. Providing an online live chat on your website would be a great way to deal with your customer queries. There are many services that offer free online chat software programs; for instance `boldchat' (store.

It0). Even after all this is over there is no word like `remaining stagnant' in online marketing. You got to keep on moving and adapting yourself to newer technologies and better marketing techniques to stay ahead and abreast of all those pesky competitors.

Sources: store. It1 .

Good on ya Creating a website for your business is such a fun process. Yet as you know if you do not have everything in place it can be very frustrating. You can start at first buying your domain name (yours.com) I went through godaddy.

THen you can also usually free, receive a hosting account where you will upload your site to. Programs needed. Dreamweaver or GolivePhotoshopIllustratorFTP Program Paypal account to sellGood luck .

" "Need to apply to a government grant for small business (no money). Is there a legitimate site that I could do this on?" "if I have a web site to sell fruit baskets do I need to get a tax id # and than what type.

Need to apply to a government grant for small business (no money). Is there a legitimate site that I could do this on?

If I have a web site to sell fruit baskets do I need to get a tax id # and than what type.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.