How hard can it be to get a website made

carrot-cake_2

Also the problem I have designing my own website is that with webeden its fine I can design it easily because I can drag and drop stuff, copy and paste etc whereas with every other web builder I have tried its all done through a text box full of code that I just dont understand

Its really beginning to frustrate the hell out of me because I have money waiting, all I want is an ecommerce website, pretty basic one too nothing too fancy I never realised it would be so difficult and scary. I'm scared to hand any money over because all web builders that you design yourself seem to be rubbish and all website designers seem untrustworthy theres just no proof that you can trust them at all!

PartyPopper_2

Stick with a basic hosted site to begin with. EKM are okay for newbies especially. Once you have got some sales and more experience of the ecommerce world, then you can look about. Hosted sites come with varying degrees of simplicity so you can choose what best suits you. Why spend thousands on a bespoke site when you haven't got any ranking behind you.

terra_ferma

carrot-cake wrote: »

EKMPowershop seems to have bad reviews and star rating of 3 out of 5. This is what worries me about giving money to 'free' build your own web page builders because although they are quite good in that you can create a nice website I'm worried that once you start paying for extra bits and bobs and more functionality you would have been aswell paying a proper web designer.

Carrot, there is no way round it, you can read reviews till you are sick of it, but you need to pick a few shopping carts to try out yourself and see what extra functionalities you need.
I don't know what you expect from this forum, we have all given you tips and links, you got a lot of advice, but you now have to do your own research to find what works for you, we can't tell you which one is the perfect shopping cart for you.
Even if you used a web designer you would need to know what your requirements, their job is to advise and do the work, not to decide what would work best for you.

I'm saying this with the best of intentions, but if you are stuck at this early stage, for no good reason, how are you going to be a successful entrepreneur?
The only website that you are 100% certain is not making any money, is the one you have not built yet.

terra_ferma

carrot-cake wrote: »

I'm scared to hand any money over because all web builders that you design yourself seem to be rubbish and all website designers seem untrustworthy theres just no proof that you can trust them at all!

I think you should seriously reconsider your decision about setting up a website, because these problems are nothing compared to what it's like to run your own business.... If you are to undecided to do anything, to take any risks, you won't get far.

im-lost

Open cart. /end thread

It's an excellent, but free shopping cart.

Get a domain for £6 and some hosting for a few quid a year and you're set

There's plenty of free skins for it, that look professional, bung a logo on it and it's pretty much done, it's recently added eBay / amazon / play . com integration.

Unless you need something extremely specific, I'd always recommend opencart and the like, you can then pay someone to populate it, skin it, add mods etc etc for a fraction of the cost of getting one built from scratch.

For a paid for cart, I'd recommend cs-cart it's excellent just out of the box so to speak, has some great features and is easy to change the design of it to your liking with the built in theme engine.

mojod

terra_ferma wrote: »

Even if you used a web designer you would need to know what your requirements, their job is to advise and do the work, not to decide what would work best for you

I agree with all of what you've said apart from this bit. I'd say that it IS the job of a designer to listen to vague requirements, ask questions when needed, gain a full understanding of what's needed and give advice/suggestions based on that info, and refine/condense it all into a mutually agreed plan of action before either side agrees to even start working together.

Davef_2

carrot-cake wrote: »

EKMPowershop seems to have bad reviews and star rating of 3 out of 5. This is what worries me about giving money to 'free' build your own web page builders because although they are quite good in that you can create a nice website I'm worried that once you start paying for extra bits and bobs and more functionality you would have been aswell paying a proper web designer.

I would recommend you look at Bluepark. IMHO much better than EKM with great features and fantastic support.

terra_ferma

mojod wrote: »

I agree with all of what you've said apart from this bit. I'd say that it IS the job of a designer to listen to vague requirements, ask questions when needed, gain a full understanding of what's needed and give advice/suggestions based on that info, and refine/condense it all into a mutually agreed plan of action before either side agrees to even start working together.

It looks like maybe you don't disagree as much as you think, you give advice and suggestions about the options available, but it's the client who has to make the final decision, because the client is the only one who can decide who would work best for them.

lesleydn

I have the same problem. I want to develop a basic website to establish an on-line presence and finding it tough. Methinks those of you are web-savvy do not realise how difficult it is when starting from a zero knowledge base. I cannot understand why some Members post unhelpful or negative comments to well-intentioned, albeit possibly naive questions - why not just ignore, rather than telling us what 'numptys' we are?

I have had various quotes from ridiculously low to high, but the use of jargon etc makes it so hard to compare and understand what you are actually going to get for your money. I want to improve my knowledge so I can understand the key issues and came to the MSE forum as a potential source of research - can any Member recommend an independent source of information on website development for beginners?

mojod

lesleydn wrote: »

can any Member recommend an independent source of information on website development for beginners?

As with most things, it's pretty hard to find a truly independent source. Lots of people speak about their own experiences, lots of people are influenced by money they get as a result of recommending somewhere

All you can really do is read lots and ask even more. No design company should be using silly jargon when they know that the person they are talking to has better things to do that become a computer geek! If you don't understand what they are saying, then tell them so. if they don't respond in a more understandable way, then they are probably not the people for you.

The subject I've always found clients tend to be confused about is "what actually is hosting?" - a meaningless word in "normal" life. Sounds scary, but really, it's just the place on the internet that your website will "live". Normally in a big building full of computers that are monitored, looked after etc 24/7 to make sure that your site is available from anywhere in the world for all to see. "Hosting fees" are just a monthly or annual (or sometimes included) fee that are simply the same as paying rent as you would for a flat or house - only in this case you are paying for the space and maintenance that your site is using on their computers ....