What eCommerce solution would you use for a one product website?
We are planning a product that a homeowner would use to coat their doors to protect them from UV and weathering. It will sell online. The story of the coating and it's value will be told on the initial landing page with branches to show videos of "how to apply" and the effects of untreated exposure.
We like to have a cart or store that allows the buyer to select quantity and provide payment info. The cart/store needs to handle credit card, Paypal, calculate UPS shipping and export to QuickBooks. We prefer a monthly service with no to minimal code development. Something we can adjust ourselves if we add a few more products.
When it came to creating an online store, I opted for Wix as an eCommerce platform for my website. It is a drag-and-drop site builder, so it’s easy to use and customize. Though you have to learn this question thoroughly prior to make any decisions. Here is the article on the pros and cons of 18 different platforms: http://ecommercebuilders.blogspot.com/ .
There are many solutions if you want to a readymade solution then choose YoKart. It is best for you, you don't need to find the designer & developers. So it saves both time & money. It's a multivendor script so in future if you want to upgrade your business then it's also helpful for you.
Right now YoKart held a rare event #YoKart100startups. YoKart offering 100 free (actually worth price is $999) licenses copies to 100 promising winners. Aspiring entrepreneurs get a chance to win a ready-to-install copy of the award winning eCommerce platform YoKart.
For participating in this event you need a domain name and a good business idea. Just signup here: http://bit.ly/1S0wUcf
Hi,there. I designed a WooCommerce theme for single product eCommerce website, check it out http://focuxtheme.com
There are many free open source eCommerce platforms available in the market, some of them are:
1. Magento
2. Drupal
3. Joomla
4. osCommerce
5. OpenCart
6. PrestaShop
7. VirtueMart
8. Ubercart
9. Zen Cart
10. X-Cart
It seems you're off to a good start Jack. You've identified some items to integrate into your system. Most shopping carts will handle all of your needs right down to the export to quickbooks.
My only additional questions is would you want email addresses, do you have a domain name?
Do you have materials discussing the story of the coating. If you don't plan on doing it yourself (internally) these are areas and expenses you may have to pay for. Same with marketing. Now a days marketing materials and search engine optimization are the biggest expense. It's no longer the design or implementation of the website.
If you have a question you'd like some more advice on please let me know. Before I throw a product out there to recommend I'd need a little more information. If you want a cheat sheet to help gather potential needs I can send you one via linkedin. https://www.linkedin.com/in/raymondtstevens
Good luck with your project.
Ray
I am about to do exactly this, Ive summised that Woo would be the best option linked with PayPal as any user does not need a PP account to pay. Also this is kind of a virtual product which could have very similar (I am trying to think forward on this one). WC would handle this nicely with simple product variations, and I like the clean cut designs..
I agree with Rohit Gupta!
How much volume would be going through the site? If the dollar amount makes sense to pay the hosting fees of hosting an e-commerce site, then a company like shopify or if you are faith-based I can help you.
If you are not sure about the sales in the beginning, you can start with Paypal. You would set up a paypal account and then the link would be embedded on the page on your website.
I would recommend Drupal CMS with the Commerce bolt on. The site would look amazing, sell the product and offer a decent user journey. Let me know if you need help
Jack .. for single product you don't require to implement any full grown e-Commerce solution.
You can ask your developer to link payment directly with the product. Incase even if you plan to add few more products it can be done easily by some developer.
You could use bigcommerce - good starting point and adding additional products also would be quite easy.
There are a number of ecommerce solutions out there. Shopify (as mentioned by others here), Volusion (I have a client that is very happy with them), osCommerce, and Miva Merchant.
Hi Jack,
I can help you with building this website. We do offer monthly service too.
I recommend Fast Track’s Power Site as the solution for your website.
I know you probably don't want to spend a lot on a new website. I've got great news! Starting at $999, we can offer a new, custom site that leverages current best practices in site development. This site would include a content management system, social media integration, eCommerce store, blog, newsletter, Google Analytics, SEO tuning, Google Maps, calendar, polls, and much more.Some examples of our previous work include:
http://jeffreyjamesorganics.com/
https://elsiegreen.com/
As one of the Northwest's leading website developers, we'd be very happy to help you do this. For more information, or to order a site, visit http://powersitestore.com. Use Coupon Code POWER14903431 for $500 off! Good through March 31, 2014.
Choosing an eCommerce platform should be a secondary consideration to a decision on how to drive traffic to your website. The choices for eCommerce are many but most severely limit your traffic options to those you generate yourself. You need a marketing as well as eCommerce solution. Choose your marketing strategy first: SEO, affiliate program(s), etc.. - The Pragmatic Web Designer
hi Jack.
i see 3 options:
1. you can hire freelances to design your website according to your specific needs and a developer to build the website, connect to paypal, or any other payment method.
- this option will give you exactly what you are looking for, but will cost you the most of the three options.
2. using WordPress you can setup the website yourself. you will need to find a template suitable to your needs and install it to the site. you can then install a PayPal plugin to enable purchasing on the site, connecting to your paypal account.
- this option is the cheapest for you, but requires you to do most of the work.
3. search for services that give you a ready/template site, were you can play a bit with the design, change the texts and graphics and hoot to your paypal account.
take a look at some results here: https://www.google.com/search?q=single+product+website
- this option will give you what you are looking to some degree.
you can get some inspiration here: http://onepagelove.com/gallery/product
good luck with the project
;-)
Sounds like a great product. The comments here are great and as you can see there are several options. Does the product already have the exposure you need to reach your Target Market?
That's something you should take into consideration when going with a website host. You have to make sure the site has widgets in place that will allow you to connect to other platforms for exposure and SEO (search engine optimization). Most website hosts today let you do eCommerce, but that's all they give you. It's up to you to know the tools you need to achieve your goal. You choose the website host based on that so you are not wasting your time.
That's what I do if your interested.
Hi Jack,
If you're looking for a monthly service that will allow for credit card, PayPal, and exporting to QuickBooks, depending on how much you want to spend, something like Zencart or Agora Shopping Cart might do the trick. You'll also need to look at a credit card processor, no matter which system you use, and that will add to your costs. Zencart is free, and so if you go that route you'll only need to pay for credit card processing and of course you'll want to go with something that handles your PCI compliance. Stripe is good for that and it's also versatile if you find that in future you need to do some coding or hire someone to do some coding to add more functionality. If you're using wordPress, WooCommerce would also work, and I think they have an addon for exporting to QuickBooks, but this would be plus the credit card processing.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
From what you have said here, I would build you a WordPress Site using Woo Commerce for the shopping cart. Once everything is set up it will be very easy for you to maintain. Adding products and updating existing products will be quick and painless.
Our favorite is Shopify! http://www.shopify.com/
We currently have two clients that use it and the feedback has been consistent. It is easy to use and the data it reports on a daily basis allows for really building a brand. We have had great luck on customization for design and the few times we have needed to use Shopify's customer support, they have been great.
I love Shopify, they are a simple one-stop solution for all your needs. Their designs are clean and professional and there's a strong community there. http://www.shopify.com/
It's true. At this point you can't even tell what the best possible solution is. More details are needed. We still don't know if it is B2B or what type of marketing plan they have.