eCommerce Websites
Where Do You Begin?
Ugh! We've been there. The process of selling online seems like a never-ending nightmare of false starts and stops. Should you sell on Amazon or Etsy? Should you create a Shopify store? Perhaps Wix or Squarespace? WordPress and WooCommerce? Pretty soon all of these questions start to outweigh the joy that made you want to open an online storefront in the first place!
Let Us Help You!
We've been doing this for what seems like forever. We've sold and helped sell everything from downloadable music and video to clothing, concert tickets and reservations. There are a lot of moving parts to selling anything online and going it alone can be a spider web of missteps, each one costing more than the next. This isn't our first Rodeo and we're here to help you through it.
What To Avoid
We've been called snobs in the past when it comes to our preferences in content management systems and we're proud of that distinction. The truth is, we've used them all and the winner by far on all fronts is usually WordPress. This list is by no means a slight to anyone already using any of these services or currently undertaking one of these activities. We've either been down these rabbit holes or know someone who has. All we have to say here is "buyer beware".
Shopify
Filled with hidden expenses, Shopify is a marketer's nightmare with poor SEO and Social Media capabilities. We think it should be called "Stopify".
Bad Photography
Just because your friend has a camera doesn't mean they are a professional product photographer. Either spend the money on an experienced photographer or spend the money on the camera and take some classes. We're not joking.
Leeches
If any company contacts you out of thin air claiming they can help you, chances are, they can't and they are going to rip you off. They'll sell you loans, SEO, leads... you name it. Start with and stick with someone you trust. We hope that's us!
Sears
If you've read the news lately, you don't need any explanation. But, if you need to know more than the fact that they are going out of business, let's just say that they require a prohibitive amount of liability insurance that will drain your budget before you sell your first product.
Wix
Also filled with hidden expenses, many of Wix's themes aren't mobile friendly and many still use "Flash", which hasn't been accepted by major browsers for years.
Squarespace
We've seen worse, but all-in-all you'll be left wanting for more when it's time to scale up to be more than an amateur website.
Our Favorite Platforms
Now that we've scared you with Reverend "Doom and Gloom's" list of warnings, we'd like to share with you some WONDERFUL ways to sell your products online. Just like anything in life worth doing, there is some real effort involved in these platforms, but if you do your homework and follow the multitude of free resources available, the results are worth it.
We know, if you own a brick and mortar store, Amazon probably seems like your worst enemy. But did you know that you can list items in your brick and mortar store on Amazon and sell direct to your customers? You'd be surprised at how well this can work for you. If you are a small enough seller, you won't even need to have barcodes and the fees to sell with Amazon are pretty reasonable. As an individual who only sells online, the ease of the system makes selling on Amazon a no-brainer.
If you or someone in your family hand-makes the items you are trying to sell, then Etsy is a perfect fit! You don't have to make the items from scratch either. If you purchase a product and modify it by hand then you qualify to sell on Etsy. The community here is great, the fees are nominal and the SEO capabilities are wonderful. We consider Etsy to be a great way to train yourself to be an SEO without even knowing it.
Our favorite of favorites is WooCommerce, the most popular eCommerce plugin for WordPress. It doesn't matter what you are trying to sell, this platform can handle it. It integrates with nearly every type of payment processor on the market and can even sync up with your Amazon, Etsy, or your current POS system! Why do we love WooCommerce? SEO, Social Media Marketing, full control, unlimited resources, and almost endless customization possibilities.
This Took About 30 Minutes.
Granted, we had all of the accounts already set up and the products ready to go, but the entire setup of WooCommerce and Printful integration was simple and easy. Go ahead, try the store! There are only four products here but the store is fully functional. You can even buy the stuff on the page if you want. These are real products!
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How To Get Started
As we've said before, this isn't our first rodeo. It took us a relatively short time to set this up because we had most of the content ready to go and our accounts were already created. Our store isn't the kind of store that everyone else would try to build either. These sites are highly customizeable and take time and knowledge to build from scratch. We just happen to be good at doing it because of years of experience. A great musician makes it look easy to perform. Likewise, this may seem easy... and it is once you've got the hang of it. We're here to help. The amount of money you will spend on our services is far less than the amount of time and energy you will spend learning how to do this without any help. Give us a shout. We don't bite.
Contact Us
We'd love to hear from you. Don't worry, we don't give away, sell, barter, or trade your information. We'll only use this information to contact you about your project(s). You'll only be contacted by us. Pinkie swear.