help please on web site bulding

Lil306

Syman wrote: »

has anyone actually answered the OP's questions yet? (keeps head down under the mudslinging)

Some of the posts have been answered, albeit in a mixture of replies...

jamesb1239 wrote: »

.co.uk domain - £2.99 per year (usually bought in 2 year increments)
hosting (the place to put your website on the internet) - max £20 per year for your requirements
and for the shopping cart a product like OS Commerce or CubeCart would be perfect - £0

Free hosting itself is ALMOST impossible to find, however depending on the size of the site some people may be willing to do it for free, or a small nominal fee. The poster can make a request on Webhostingtalk.com, webhostchat.co.uk requesting this with their requirements and some kind soul might take them up. Buying your own domain is easy (I'm registered as my domain owner) so I have full control of the A records and can redirect my host instantly. Most free packages are ad based but as james says it's entirely possible to get a website for £15 per year....

cit_k wrote: »

I would love to live near a reasonably priced data centre....
Would co-locate my own servers.

I know, one of the advantages in the NE not much competition like London, disadvantage is that it's not as developed up here, but it's ongoing

PCease wrote: »

One thing you're forgetting is if you are hosting an e-commerce shop and accepting credit cards you need a secure server and SSL certificate, which means you need a static IP address and normally a dedicated server (in most cases).

Alternatively, you could use a service like paypal / google checkout / world pay etc and this re-directs to their respective website for payment (which does put people off but ok for starting off).

I've used most shopping carts (osCommerce, CubeCart free etc) but the best one I have found is Xcart. Looks professional and easy to use plus it doesn't look like all the other free OScommerce based websites out there as you can see these from a mile off!

PCease is correct, if your hosting eCommerce you MUST use SSL for any kind of secure transactions (i.e cards), you CAN get away with only accepting paypal etc but as stated it will drive your customers away

I'll look into that shopping card, haven't checked it out myself yet

jollyhosting wrote: »

Check out prestashop, its a free, easy to use and professional e-commerce package.

You should be looking for a host that will offer you a dedicated ip to run ssl certificates for taking credit card payments, which will normally cost you around £2.00 per month on top of a hosting package (around 4-5 pm) for a decent host. PM for a suggestion for a good one!

Recommendations are always good providing your not blatantly plugging for business

smk77 wrote: »

Was £80 a month not an obvious typo given that I was responding to a post that said £80 a year was expensive?
£80 annually.

Hell yeah, £80 a month I'd expect a bloody good dedicated server for that price