How involved is taking a HTML site and adding CMS, social media, SEO, shopping cart for US and Intl sales?
ALSO being able to read site in different languages... is that software?
Expert Answers
Sort by Date
Sort by Votes
May 8, 2014
To take an existing site and migrate it on to CMS only may not be too challenging for a developer, especially if the HTML only site is complete. It requires taking the HTML files and converting them into a theme/template for the CMS so that the existing data is rendered by data from a database instead of from static files.
Once the theme is built and running on the CMS, depending on its flexibility, adding functionality for SEO and Shopping Cart can be a matter of just installing plugins and configuring them. However, in some cases, full web development needs to be done to integrate the shopping cart functionality, and integrate with a 3rd party service to handle the checkout process.
Total duration for this project may be about 2 - 3 months depending on the CMS, Developer and complexity of the existing site and the intended final product.
Else, simply build the site all over again from the ground up and outsource as suggested by others. All the best.
May 8, 2014
Hello Todd,
It completely depends on scope of your project and how much effort it will take to transform you HTML site.
If you are looking for brand new design then it will take 1-2 months and costs you around $5000 to $10000 depending on your requirement. If your current site is doing good with SEO and if you don't want to kill it and just need shopping cart features then you can add it.
And we are one of the development company based in India. Please PM me if you are looking for good website design.
Regards,
Praveen Reddy.
May 7, 2014
Depends on scope and any custom programming needed for desired interface components. We have worked on projects ranging from $500 - $900 to those costing over $5000 for similar needs.
Regarding translation you have two ways to go. Generic machine auto-translation or human translation. We are working with a resort client in Costa Rica that needs their site translated in the way Costa Ricans speak Spanish -- not the generic english to Spanish that Google translate and other services provide. This means someone must translate, then you must enter and format the translated content in the same way you did for the original content.
May 7, 2014
Hello Todd,
All of the above is true, but am I the only one asking what website you want to optimize? Send me the URL since it's always best to know the starting point of any Digital Strategy. Beyond that sky is the limit and time/money the incumbent.
May 7, 2014
O Boy so many different solutions, if you are not confused yet, let me put some sense to this. I will keep it short. If your website is not already too involved, the design can be transferred to any CMS system, and there are thousands of them.
if you have design files (PSD) we can re-use them.The content is easily transferred as well. Rest is just configuring your CMS .
Only reason you want to transfer is if you want to keep the same design. Otherwise starting from scratch will be so much easier and cheaper. Feel free to contact us and i will be happy to point you in the right direction.
also keep in mind what the goal of the website is? will it bring traffic etc...
May 7, 2014
Todd, I guess it is safe to say you are not a developer. If you wanted to do this yourself though, I would echo Elaine's statements. A standard "out-of-the-box" Wordpress installation with SEO and shopping cart plugins will do the trick, providing that you do not require any customization besides the theme (display).
On the other hand, should you, for example, want fine control over stock levels, product combinations, gift packs, taxonomies, various currencies, specials pricing, etc., it might be better to investigate specialist shopping cart software such as Prestashop or Magento. I am busy with a Prestashop project right now, and I must say, I have not found anything I wanted to do that Prestashop couldn't do yet. Prestashop also has multi-language, SEO plugins and the likes available. I can only assume that the same would be true for Magento and other leading eCommerce applications.
With that being said, many of the answers do not really answer your question: HOW INVOLVED is it. Well, I will attempt to.
If you are going the Wordpress route, the effort is far less, and it is far simpler, but in order to customize the site from the out of the box experience, you;d need the help of a developer. Using a specialist system is much more complex, especially if you want to manage products with fine-grained control. Not everyone need this level of complexity, hence, you need to evaluate what your needs are, and then make your decision accordingly.
To start off, I'd make the following decisions:
* What do I want to achieve?
* What is my timeline?
* What is my budget?
* What resources and expertise do I have available?
* What growth in my products/sales do I expect in the next 3-5 years? Volume wise? Range wise?
Answering these questions should assist you in making a choice of an out-of-the-box solution such as Wordpress, or a more specialist route.
As a web developer myself, the following difficulty scale is from my experience more or less correct, but that could vary from developer to developer or person to person - so see this as a guideline only. If you then choose a particular route, out of a scale of 10, with 1 being very easy, and 10 being very difficult, I'd have the following "INVOLVEMENT SCALE" for you:
2: Out-of-the-box Wordpress, with standard theme, and standard plugins.
4: Out-of-the-box Wordpress, with custom theme, and standard plugins.
7: Wordpress, with custom theme, and custom plugins.
9: Specialist software with custom "everything"
This should get you to a starting point to make your decision, hopefully.
Hope this helps!
May 7, 2014
It depends on if you want to do it yourself or have a third party assist. Then it comes down to a budget question.
May 7, 2014
You wouldn't try to salvage parts from a go-cart to make a race car; you'd start with a race car framework and build from there, right?
Pretty much, you're talking about a do-over, starting with a CMS framework on which you can hang all the other pieces you're looking for.
May 7, 2014
To do it cheap and nasty will take 48 hours, $500 and $10 / month.
To do it right will take 6-8 weeks, $30k and $1,500 / month.
The choice is yours! Call me if you want to do it right.