WAHM Forums

I am brand new to the world of web design, but not new to computers or databases. I am trying to create a web store with a large quantity of items and multiple categories.

Here is what I have done so far:

Obtained domain name
Using BlueHost for hosting
Setup e-mail accounts
Started page design in Microsoft Publisher
I don't have to use Publisher, but I already own it.........
Setup paypal business account to accept payments

What I am having trouble understanding is:
Where do I create my catalog? Is this done in Publisher? or is it better to link to another storefront?

If linking to another storefront (i.e. etsy, amazon, yahoo) What are the pros/cons of each?

I anticipate selling downloadable items as well as goods for shipment.

Any help/general direction would be greatly appreciated.

BTW - my shop will be a quilt store with fabrics, patterns, notions - if that helps.

Thanks!
Michele

Hi Michele,

Congrats on your new site coming up and you've got alot ready to go.

Do you have an e-commerce platform? I'm guessing from the post that you do not have an e-commerce system set up for this site. That would be the easiest way to be able to add catagories, set up products, collect orders and be able to track orders. If you need advice on an e-commerce software PM or email me and I'd be happy to help.

You could also create a page for each category and then use paypal "Buy it now" buttons for each product. These can be created in your paypal account.

Good Luck!
Angela
Boutique Web Designs (http://www.boutiquewebdesigns.com)

A quick and easy way to set up a store is to do it through a site like yola.com. You can link your page to your domain and they have a shopping cart module you can use. It's how I made my 2 websites:

mariebellejewelry.com (http://mariebellejewelry.com)
Mountain Dog Gear (http://mountaindoggear.com)

You can also do a PayPal shopping cart just by creating your items and making buttons and putting them on your site.

The "real" way is to do a php shopping cart like oscommerce (free!) or monster commerce or zen cart, etc. You can usually set them up through your hosting company in your control panel when you log in.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the replies! I am testing out osCommerce now - it looks like it is just what I needed.

I've used OS Commerce before and it's a great system with heaps of documentation, however once I started to get into customizations and trying to make heavy modifications I hit many a brick wall.

I now use a Wordpress Plugin called WP-E-Commerce from Instinct, it costs about $15 but is well worth the investment for the ease of use and customization capabilities.

Having said that, if you're looking to link through to other products and won't actually be selling products on your website you should check out Wordpress plugins that allow you to turn the Wordpress website into a store-front for eBay, Amazon, ClickBank, Chitika Mini Malls, and more with your affiliate id embedded into the link for each product.

It's a very fast way to create an online store while you concentrate on the marketing side of the business.

Let us know how you get on, one thing I did find with OS Commerce is their support forums are really good!