Want online shop, where do I start????

lovebargains

Hi Guys, I make jewellery, and sell it on Ebay, but the fees are getting ridiculous, so now want to have my own online store, but where do I start??? Was going to set it all up and design it myself, but I simply dont have the time. There are countless adverts online for buying a web site, but never doing this before, the names mean nothing. Can anyone recommend a quick easy and cheap way of getting an online shop up and running?

tigermatt

Consider using a web host which gives you a free installation of osCommerce. osCommerce is a great piece of software which is free, (runs on PHP and MySQL) and it is basically a package where you take it out of the box and install it.

You could either get a web host that gives you PHP support and a MySQL database, then install osCommerce and configure it yourself. Your other option would be to look for a web host that install it for you, saving you the hassle. You then have to configure it and enter your product details, prices etc.

Try this search on Google for osCommerce hosting: http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=oscommerce+hosting&btnG=Search&meta=cr%3DcountryUK%7CcountryGB

osCommerce official site: http://www.oscommerce.com/ - I recommend you familiarise yourself with osCommerce (if that's the route you take) by reading the documentation on how it works etc. It comes with the download in PDF format I think.

gldkg

Try this:

osCommerce is a complete online store solution that contains both a catalog frontend and an administration tool backend, which can be easily installed and configured over a web-based installation procedure.

Its (relatively) easy to setup, looks really professional, is very user friendly, and best of all - its free!

http://www.oscommerce.com/solutions/oscommerce

EDIT: Beaten to it, sorry!

lovebargains

Thanks guys will study these sites and let you know how I get on. I love this site, I can get help on anything!!! Well apart from this weeks winning lottery numbers!:j

mike_paterson

I thoroughly recommend OS Commerce.
I can also recommend cheap(ish) web developers or could even do it myself !
No matter what you do, you need to know exactly what you want - look and feel, corporate identity, pictures, colours, content etc.

Why not mock it up in powerpoint or similar program ?

Rgds
Mike

lovebargains

Thanks guys. Have looked at the oscommerce site, and it seems pretty easy to set up. Just one thing puzzles me, can customers only get to my ( to be set up) web site through oscommerce, as in going to oscommerce site, and then searching for jewellery and then finding me?

mike_paterson

No - you can set up a site on any domain name and publicise it directly!

lovebargains

Aha! Cheers Mike.

mike_paterson

As an example - take a look at my friend's website http://www.crouchingtiger.co.uk/

Cheers
Mike