Going2Adopt Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Hello All,Well after several years of selling our candles at shows my sister and I have decided to open a website. It seemed like at all our shows we would always hear the question "Do you have a website?" so it's time to bite the bullet and get one started. I've searched on the board and read everything I could. Also I've gone to several e-commerce sites that are geared towards wahm and/or hand crafted items to research what they each offer. The one I wanted to join is not taking new clients at this time. (Hope your treatments go well PA). This means I'm still flipping back and forth between all the other choices. Frankly it's given me a headache. :lipsrsealSo with that said what I would like to ask is what shopping cart/e-commerce site do you use/recommend? Thank you in advance for your suggestions/comments/warnings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southern.scents Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Try Handcraft Market. One of the members of this board owns it and they are wonderful to work with. It is easy to set up and even easier to use.handcraftmarket.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adillenal Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 I hear the same thing. Do you have a website? And I do but rarely ever get any traffic from my craft show folks. Maybe the shipping scares them off. BUT I also have a store on etsy.com which gets way more sales than my website and I haven't pushed it at all. I like etsy since it is all set up with a cart and I don't have to worry about that end. My actual website is more of a catalog now but maybe in the future I will expand it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmoopie Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 I actually use the bank our business in run through as our e-commerce account. Then our web designer integrates it into our system. Just makes the whole banking/accounting thing easier for us. But you do have to do the whole credit check/approval thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adillenal Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Try Handcraft Market. One of the members of this board owns it and they are wonderful to work with. It is easy to set up and even easier to use.handcraftmarket.comI had never seen this site before. Thanks for the info. The only thing - it says they are not accepting new clients at this time. Nice site though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtohaley2004 Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 I use Designer 218 as my web host and Mals Ecommerce for the shopping cart aspect of it. Fairly simple and easy to set up. mandi helped me a lot during set up and still offers help anytime I need assistance. She's even responded back to me on a weekend. I've also heard good things about DIYestore too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgirl Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Heres another one for you to look at:http://www.ewisoft.com They let you download the templates to play around with them and see if you like it.. Then you can buy it and upload.. Very easy IMO.Great Customer Service... Many options to choose from.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaylors Kreations Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 I love love love osCommerce, its a strong utility... its open source and the community is great for helping you tweak your site. I've tried other site/cart combos but they've all killed me. I personally like the look of the basic store layout it gives and is paypal and just about any other payment gateway friendly. If you have cPanel access through your hosting company, you more than likely have access to osCommerce, and its easy to install through there. More shops than you might think run on it with anything from just a css sheet tweek to major major code changes. Sorry went on a rant there, but after many failures when I come across something that is extremely successful for me I just have to should it out!!---- Libby Kaylor's Kreations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going2Adopt Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 Try Handcraft Market. One of the members of this board owns it and they are wonderful to work with. It is easy to set up and even easier to use.handcraftmarket.comYes that is the one I originally choose. However at this time they are not accepting new clients. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
number2of7 Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 I have to second the suggestion of Designer218! Mandi rocks!! We just signed up with her about a month ago, and let me tell you, I can't imagine ever getting better customer service than with her. She helps you every step of the way! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!Check her out at www.designer218.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asheebeans Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 I'm really shocked noone has mentioned wahmshoppes! $7 a month and that includes a shopping cart with shipping calculator! You can't beat the price. There are a few members here that use wahmshoppes and are completely satisfied. Here is the link. http://wahmshoppes.com/ There is also another place called EZshoppes that is good if you want more of an online catalog type store. The customers can email their orders to you. This one is only around $40 a YEAR!! http://www.ezshoppes.com/Both of these look like very good ways to start out. Good luck to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crafty1 Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 i use handcraftmarket and am very please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinetreecandles Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 If you know nothing about HTML, PHP, or Mysql, then stay away from oSCommerce and Zen Cart. Both are excellent carts and are free. They are easy to setup if your hosting company has Cpanel, (Most do). If you want to customize it or add more functionality then you will need to know some basics of HTML. PHP, and Mysql.I have just switched from osCommerce to Zen Cart. I don't know much about programming, but I have learned enough to get by. It's free too. Only need to pay for the web hosting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going2Adopt Posted March 6, 2008 Author Share Posted March 6, 2008 Thank you for all the suggestions. While I can do some basic HTML coding I know nothing about php and mysql. I'm still looking into the different companies and I may email HCM to see if they have a time frame for when they may be taking new clients. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KommonScents Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 I have used Network Solutions, and being totally website illiterate, it hasn't been very hard. I have had the site about 6 weeks, and the traffic has just started to pick up. I like the user friendly help guide, and templates - ALOT of point and click, add your text type of pages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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