Layman needs help with choosing host/cart/solution/gateway/etc. :)

Business
1

Hello,

I am in the process of redeveloping my site - basically starting from scratch.

I will probalby only have about 100 products or less at a time, and want my site to be very user-friendly and clean looking.
It is a fashion jewelry site, so it needs to be modern, pretty, and high-end - not too flashy - very minimal.

I have been reading article after article after article on different ecommerce solutions, hosts, gateways, etc… and to be honest, I am completely overwhelmed!

I have a very small budget to do the development, and I clearly want to choose the best solution to save me money in the long-term while still having strong functionality.

I was originally planning on using Magento, but have read too many bad reviews on it, and it sounds too complicated for my needs.

I then read that a hosted solution would be the best option b/c you don’t have to have three different sources for your solution, hosting, and gateway.
This sounds ideal to me, but the only one i see like this, other than MagentoGo, is Shopify, which is cute and seems to have great templates, but I don’t want to give them commission when I’m already paying them a monthly fee.

Lemonstand has amazing reviews, and I am very interested in this, but I am confused with all the “module” and “plug-in” talk - this is a totally
new language for me, and I just don’t know what it all means and what it will entail in the long-run. It sounds like I will have to keep buying things to upgrade it? And it doesn’t yet have gift certificate options which are very important to me (at least voucher codes) Is this something a developer can create on the platform for me until it exists out of the box? The License fee is $300 - why would it be better for me to buy this one than use a free one like cs-cart?

Can someone more educated on the subject than myself PLEASE help me choose which solution/host/etc… i should use and why? And in layman’s terms?? :slight_smile:

I will not be developing this myself as I am only slightly tech savvy, but I will be doing the future updates - adding new product and categories, etc…

Here are the things that are most important for me and my site:

  • Easy to update myself
  • Facebook sales capability
  • gift certificate options
  • Low-cost when combining hosting, cart, gateway, whatever else i need…
  • good customer service
  • ability to either edit designs of templates or create own
  • mobile sales ability
  • easy to incorporate with a mail capture program
  • quickbooks integration.

solutions/hosts I am curious about:

  • Wordpress
  • Bigcommerce
  • Shopify
  • Lemonstand
  • CS Cart
  • Opencart
  • Prestashop
  • any others you reccomend

Thank you so much for any advice you can offer!
Would love to be put out of my agony and have a decision made already! :slight_smile:

2

Magento is hands down the best ecom solution out there and as long as it’s optimized you can host it on any shared host.

Or you could look into creating a simple wordpress site with paypal order links…

I wouldn’t host it with a hosted solution because their monthly fees are usually much larger than hosting it yourself.

3

Hi shbrook, Wordpress, Bigcommerce, Shopify, Lemonstand, etc are the Content Management System (CMS) that allow you to build an e-commerce site without coding knowledge. If you know coding, that will help your site look more unique as you can alter it.

All these systems are very user-friendly for the owner to upload the products and description, need not worry about it :slight_smile: Different CMS you will have different layout, system and report but it is not a big deal :slight_smile:

When you are using any of these CMS, you will be only liaise with your web developer only. So, the important thing, find a reliable web developer to help you develop your e-commerce site.

4

We recenly moved to Magento after using CubeCart for a few years. I have to say Magento is quite complex in comparison and the learning curve is quite a lot steeper. Furthermore Magento is free, so you get NO support, and the Magento forums are quite poor to be honest. Don’t get me wrong, I love Magento and it’s perfect for us right now but we’re not a startup company and our e-commerce requirements are/were a mile long. I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re just starting out.

CubeCart is very inexpensive (one-off lifetime license fee) and includes initial support which is quite good. It’s extremely intuitive to work with so it’s perfect if you’re just starting out. It has many features and payment solutions ready to use - just sign up for PayPal, Moneybookers and/or Google Checkout and away you go. The templates are quite cheap and very easy to tweak if necessary. Installation is easy and you only need a small hosting account - I think CubeCart even offer a cheap installation service. If you’re after a custom design and/or services I can’t recommend this company highly enough and they’re very cheap: www.projeto.co.uk

Quickbooks integration I’m not sure about but extra expenses like this should really only be considered when they’re a necessity, i.e. when you have many orders per day and it’s taking you ages to manually add your sales orders to your accounting system. It’s a total waste of time/money to set this up from the outset.

5

Let’s analyze this by criteria (since no solution can be “best” for every situation).

  1. Security.
    I have read that WordPress, and therefore any WordPress shopping cart, is insecure. Any truth to that? For an ecommerce site, security should be the highest priority.

  2. Speed.
    I have never been impressed with Ubercart’s speed. But then, I have not used Ubercart in about two years. I have also heard bad things about Magento’s speed.

  3. Ease to learn, setup, and manage.
    Usually, the more powerful solutions, are also the resource intensive, and the most difficult to manage.

  4. Advanced features.
    Such as integration with Quickbooks, or special inventory features.

  5. Stability and reliability.

  6. Ease of customizing.
    I have read that OS-Commerce is a pain.

  7. Popularity.
    It matters. If you want to hire somebody to work on your site, it would be a lot easier to find a WordPress developer, than a developer for many other solutions.

  8. Annoyances.
    When Drupal comes out with a new version, they typically offer limited backwards compatibility. This can be a serious PITA for people who have put a lot into their sites.

So what I have I missed?