Comments on: Shopping carts pt.2

By: Lesya

Lesya — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:38:56 +0000

Zen cart has been on the market for a while. It’s pretty easy to use. If you want to try zen cart for your online business you can easily switch to Zen Cart with cart2cart web service. It automates data migration fm your shopping cart to Zen Cart. Check http://www.shopping-cart-migration.com for details.

By: Daniel Lee

Daniel Lee — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 21:57:38 +0000

But what I would like to see, honestly, is a graphically intense (meaning
lots of product photos) site with a directory of stores and corporate contacts.
I think it would be a tremendous boost to companies looking to get press and new
accounts, as media contacts often look for websites and potential retailers
often want to see.

This is out there. I don’t want to spam the board but yea, what you are looking for is already online.

So, I do understand that some companies have an understated (or poor) web presence intentionally.

Can you explain more about when you state state a company might intentionally want a poor web presence?

By: Esther

Esther — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 18:24:26 +0000

Google checkout is not available with Yahoo Merchant Services (as far as I know), although PayPal was just recently added. Zen-cart does not support Google checkout although there is a 3rd party payment module that can be added. The module has been buggy in the past.

By: Eddie

Eddie — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 23:41:51 +0000

i agree that paypal is bad news for payment processing. I recommend either a traditional merchant account or Google Checkout, which is offering 0% discount fees for the entire year of 2007. It takes literally 5 minutes to get setup:

http://checkout.google.com/sell?promo=sematter

the only caveat is that google checkout only processes payments for US billing addresses (this will change in the future)

also, one can’t emphasized enough what miracle just said: you will need an SEO specialist at design stage, not after you are up and running (yes they won’t listen)

By: Miracle

Miracle — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 21:53:31 +0000

I think that any SERIOUS company should really invest around 5k and get a decent ecommerce website. If you factor in your time and effort, 5k is really not much for a website.

I’m on the fence about this one. Normally, most people I come across I advise to get a cheap designer and do it as cheaply as possible. Why? Because most people want a copy of (insert big huge company name here) website, with all the bells and whistles, and are only looking at the appearance.

They drive designers crazy with pointless change after pointless change, they never listen to any advice on what is and isn’t search engine friendly, they want a site that impresses their friends and family.

So I usually say, do it cheap, then change it later, besides, since you NEVER listen, you won’t have any customers in the beginning anyway, no one will see it.

But, since they NEVER listen, they throw 5K down the drain, hiring a flashy designer to create a website that they can’t change (because some designers will often implement code that does not work with the software’s click and build system) and end up with a non-search engine friendly site (because they ignore the recommendations to get a SEO specialist involved at the DESIGN stage, not afterwards). They end up having to completely re do the thing anyway, money wasted.

By the time I started my real website, I had already had a few. Experimented, tried a ton of systems, yahoo store, os commerce included. Paid for a few different ASP services and knew what I could live without and what I absolutely needed.

For example– stock by attributes– deal breaker for me and requiring that feature CONSIDERABLY narrows your options (which makes it easier in both a good and a bad way). But you don’t know these things until you’re actually running a website using the software. Then you start to see what is missing and you realize that you don’t really know what you need until you actually need it.

I just find it weird when at a show like MAGIC companies are calling themselves established and then give me a link to their website that looks very sketchy at best. I also do not understand why any serious company will use PayPal for merchant services when their percentage is so high. But I will save that entry for a future blog.

I do agree with you on that one. It really sucks that people don’t take the web seriously enough to present an image that is in line with their company. But on the flipside, if they all did, then they all would probably be trying to compete online, which could hurt their distribution channels.

So, I do understand that some companies have an understated (or poor) web presence intentionally. But what I would like to see, honestly, is a graphically intense (meaning lots of product photos) site with a directory of stores and corporate contacts. I think it would be a tremendous boost to companies looking to get press and new accounts, as media contacts often look for websites and potential retailers often want to see “something”.

The PayPal thing is another thing and I’m with you on that. I’ve had that conversation too many times and well, I just say PayPal has a serious hustle.

By: Nanette

Nanette — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:43:47 +0000

I agree with Jessika in that it’s important to have control to make your own updates, and that’s something every one of us probably is going to have to deal with, as it would be expensive to have someone, either on staff or on an ongoing basis, to monitor all that for you. A couple of sources that really helped me in my research (before I approached the web design company) were two books, one called “Don’t Make Me Think” and another newer book (and pretty expensive, somewhere around $60) about Web Site Useability (don’t have it handy to get the exact title). That book ALONE was exceptional, because it’s the result of a lot of research into what real people think when they come to your site and how they operate. It’s important to remember what the user’s experience is or will be, since we are all focused on what we think they want, but only they know. One very key point is this: you’ve got about 30 seconds to hook them in — don’t waste it on Flash (often very annoying for someone short on time, especially if it’s not easy to see how to turn it off or bypass it) and other impressive looking features. Make it EASY (don’t make them think!) to find what they want. Sometimes that means giving up some of the cool or beautiful features you think you want, but remember, it’s sales you really want.

By: Daniel Lee

Daniel Lee — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:21:31 +0000

I agree it is often difficult for companies that are starting out to spend 5k or more on a website.

By: Jessika

Jessika — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:00:17 +0000

I think it’s important to know your limitations and hire out the things that you can’t do well yourself, but as an entrepreneur (especially when starting out) it helps to be able to do as much as possible yourself…and sometimes be a jack or jill of all trades. We saved a LOT by doing our own site using Zencart and I’m glad we did as it leaves more resources for production, etc. We also have complete control over it and can make any changes we need to whenever we need to. Don’t necessarily assume you ought to do it all yourself -Daniel has some good points (especially if you are not computer savvy) and I’d love to be in a position where I could hand 5k over to someone to whip up a great site…but don’t assume that is the only way to get a good online store set up either. When we started working with Zencart, we didn’t know anything about os commerce and whether our site is professional looking or not would be a matter of opinion. I like it and it’s doing it’s job well. I won’t lie…it took time to learn (mainly my husband’s time as he spent many evenings figuring it out) but we’re not bankrupt over it either.

By: Nanette

Nanette — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:31:54 +0000

In response to Daniel Lee, I would agree in that it makes sense to have a professionally designed — it does make a big difference in perception. Zencart alone does NOT make a beautiful professional looking site; you need someone who understands not only the power of it but how to make it beautiful, and that’s where your expert comes in. However, Daniel’s budget range would scare anyone away! We have accomplished an AMAZING redesign for FAR less money(FAR, FAR, LESS) than Daniel mentioned. I cannot recommend zencartconsulting.com enough and if you are curious at all about what it would cost, just contact them for a quote! Don’t let fearful assumptions get in your way of getting what you want and need.

By: Jim Miller

Jim Miller — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 17:46:29 +0000

As an FYI – our company produces a lot of commercial grade software modules for Zen Cart – and we do in fact have a ‘Stock Management by Attribute’ module available, as well as Gift Wrap, Multi Price, Image Rollovers and more.

We are also connected with one the world’s leading Zen Cart implementation teams and certainly one of the best and friendliest!