Developing a TOP QUALITY eCommerce site.

Fukuyama

Hi guys,

Bit of a noob here as concerns tough web development. My knowledge extends as far as a bit of Wordpress design and bacic HTML ...

Anyway, I'll soon be setting up an eCommerce store with initial traffic being gained by heavy online and offline marketing. But I want the site to look great.

One thing I always notice about new (particularly Irish) eCommerce sites is that they look like ghost towns. Very plain and it makes the customer wary.

My vision for my website is like Play.com (only smaller). Very good graphics. Updated regularly and it looks busy, populated and trustworthy while still being easy on the eye.

My question is, how much would it cost to have a smaller version of that developed? Wherebye I could add new products myself and update it etc... with new graphics, ads etc...

Any ideas?

Or is there software which allows you to create sites beyond your basic eComerce sites?

Thanks,
Dean.

EIREHotspur

If you go to a Pro....anything from 1-2k to think up a number.

It depends if you just want to integrate paypal or take orders over the phone etc.

p

The reason that most sites look like that is that often, they take a standard template from their ecommerce software and just throw a logo at the top. There's no real money or work putting into making it work well.

If you really want a top quality site, then you need to hire a good designer(and possibly developer too) to work on the site. They can still work with existing ecommerce software like Magento and FoxyCart, but they'll customise it to your needs. After that, maintaining the site, keeping it updated, and actually having a marketing plan are all key features aswell.

nellyshark

And just to respond to your thread:

Or is there software which allows you to create sites beyond your basic eComerce sites?

There is no standard eCommerce package. There are ones which share the same features yes but you will have to choose a package that suits your individual needs.

Wherebye I could add new products myself and update it etc... with new graphics, ads etc...

You will have to manage any eCommerce package that you choose tbh

Scotty #

http://www.free-carts.com/

Magento is the hottest around at the moment but it's quiet advanced. Zen is good for entry no mid level. I usually work with virtuemart (because it's what I know). Each are capable of a site like play.com but all will involve a lot of work.

croo

IMO most ecommerce apps you see are concerned with purely the ecommerce side.... but if you do have massive qty of sales you will soon realise that behind the scenes the picking /packing/shipping and general stock management will be vital to success. The only (open source) project I know that can really offer a complete world class solution in both front of house & back office is Apache's Open for Business (OfBiz). I can say the technical solution is very impressive and the list of confirmed implementations (often an issue with open source) includes some very big names.

IMO this is a world class solution and the Apache name backing it is second to none. The "out of the box" version might look very basic but it has just about everything needed to offer a very reach customer experience and a the power ... But expect to spend a time & money branding.

If you need to know more let me know.

correction: I just noticed... you want it to be like play.com com in look but a smaller version in which case I would NOT recommend OfBiz!! Better go with some of the simpler sites people mention like Magento or even a CMS like Joomla and add a shopping plugin. Then get some nice templates.
Last night I had understood "like play.com" in terms of volume.
sorry for the confusion