New business website/e-commerce recommendations?

secretservice

They costs seem excessive although you only get what you pay for when it comes to websites. When i started up my business i like wonka used a local designer (http://www.24hourpixels.co.uk/). I started off with a 3 page site and developed it from there, with free hosting.

Good luck

ainternational

Thanks for all the replies: some food for thought there.

I'm impressed by some of the Wordpress sites: they have a slick design and feel that's a world away from the clunky and ugly zencart.
I'll look into how difficult it is to do myself - can webdesigners work within Wordpress or do they prefer other methods?

In a nutshell, it would appear that the quote I've had isn't too extortionate, though I could possibly save on hosting - the service offered to me does include email support, which may be important if things go wrong... I'd like to do something cheaper on the construction side, if that's possible without compromising functionality and efficiency, but I'm keen to use the designer for the overall look as I really like what he does.

debbie42

ainternational wrote: »

I'll look into how difficult it is to do myself - can webdesigners work within Wordpress or do they prefer other methods?

It's not an either/or scenario: you can use wordpress within sites, and/or you can build websites within wordpress. It's easy to extend, too. Web designers will use a variety of tools and techniques according to experience and requirements.

If you want to get a feel for Wordpress, it's very easy as a start to set up a wordpress.com account, and site, within their system. It's more restricted than an own install, but is a great way to investigate the capabiliities without needing to worry about hosting + installation.