Not sure where to start? Car sales website

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1

Hi,

I am starting a website and I’m not sure where to start or which CMS/ecommerce to use. I will just call it a car search site to keep it simple.

Basically I need users to be able to register. They would then be able to login and choose certain vehicle criteria (make, model, mileage etc.) which would filter the results.

The would then be able to order their desired vehicle and follow the progress on a tracking system. I would also like to be able to check stock of my vehicles. There will be no payment throughout the process, just ordering.

I was thinking of maybe using Magento or Wordpress with a ecommerce plugin but I am open to all suggestions.

Thanks in advance for all feedback. :eye:

2

Welcome to SP, Sejadu. :slight_smile:

How much do you know about HTML, CSS, JS, CMSes, maybe PHP, Ajax, or Ruby…?

What you’ve given us so far is doable by almost any decent CMS out there.

3

Hi

Word press

Advantages include no ongoing cost and you can easily integrate a blog so that you can load your site with content.

Disadvantages include having to integrate shopping cart functionality and you may need to upgrade your hosting to an SSL level.

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4

Thanks for the feedback guys. Unfortunately I am just a designer so only have a basic knowledge of HTML & CSS.

I have done a lot of work in Joomla and wordpress that why I was asking if I could just use one of those. I have been hearing good things about magento so I think I might go with that. Do you think it would be possible to do it in Magento with no coding? are there plugins or default options where I can filter products, keep track of stock etc.

My main reason for asking this is that I don’t want to learn Magento only to realise that it would have been easier in another CMS. I want to get as much input as I so I start in the right direction.

5

If you already know WP and Joomla, you should consider sticking to those. Both CMSes will do everything you’ve cited with little difficulty. I’m not anything close to a Magento expert, but I see no reason to learn an entirely new platform when you already know two that will serve the purpose. I doubt Magento will bring that much more to the table than Joomla or WP.

Magento experts, feel free to disagree. :slight_smile:

6

A piece of advice for you is to not use Magento for this since in my opinion it’s a bit too large and heavy for the job unless you’re planning to extend the site later on. You can do it but there are better choices. If we’re talking PHP, I’d use Drupal (has ecommerce modules but I probably wouldn’t use one unless there’s payment processing). Of course, if you know WordPress well and believe it will do a great job at this, it’s an option as well.