Software to build website for small business

londonman81

I used to google for things like this but I am finding that search engine increasingly useless....

I am about to build a website for a new internet business, but am rather new to all this. I am reasonably competent at computer programs but am not sure which software is best to do the following:

1. Transactions will be made on the site so it must be secure (padlock sign)

2. It needs to be integrated with an internet merchant account system which will be hosted by an external party (nochex, etc)

3. I don't know whether or not the payment system will also send me an alert each time an order is made - if it doesn't then I need to be able to do this.

4. I am assuming the 'shopping cart' will be part of the online payment system? if not, i need to be able to add this in.

5. The design and content is fairly basic but it must have a well-polished and glossy appearance.

6. Ideally the photo gallery of products will allow user to click on a thumbnail, enlarge and maybe twist/turn the product around to view it from various angles.

7. Ideally a WYSIWYG-type program which requires minimal coding.

I don't know which software is best for this, and also I don't want to spend too much money on this.

Suggestions welcome!
Thanks

sunshine54

i would say Oscommerce ticks most boxes and is free

DVardysShadow

I have no experience of software packages for this, just one go at making a website which interacts with a database. I see that you want WYSIWYG and when you say you are good with computer programs, I take it to mean that you don't actually have much experience of programming. So you actually need to break this down into chunks where you are not chasing too many problems at once.

I can see your project breaks down into 2 sub projects and I think you would do well to try and build and test the 2 parts separately. As a beginner you will probably be tempted to start off with the 'customer experience'. Don't be tempted - do it in the order I suggest to build from the base up and to minimise the difficulties which you will be facing at any one time.

The first part is the ecommerce 'engine', which handles the purchasing process. I would design this and test it out with the most basic text web pages imagineable. This bit is perhaps the more dull and difficult part of the project, but it is the one you most need to get right. If the customers are impressed by the presentation of the product, they will quickly lose confidence if the ecommerce is the least bit awkward. But if you get it right, you will be able to add products to your site very easily and also change the look of the site very easily, while still being confident that the ecommerce will work

The fun part of course is the presentation of the product. If the ecommerce is right, you should be able to design this relatively straightforwardly and enjoy the fun side of this part of the project without being bogged down in getting everything working all in one go.

Hope this helps.

ohyeahitssorcy

Which software = Dreamweaver or netobjects fusion

Ive built several websites including my own business website using netobjects fusion and i love it but fyi frontpage is useless and dreamweaver is pretty difficult to master.

As for building an ecommerce site i wish you the best of luck unless you are experienced at building complex websites you will struggle to put it mildly, your best bet is to buy a ready made ecommerce site and customise it yourself just my opinion of course and if you manage to build it yourself then all credit to you personaly i wouldnt even begin to attempt this its far too complex a task.