Web Design

[franey]

I need to build a website for auto parts but don't know where to start, anyone able to assist?
Needs to have integrated basket / checkout and numerous menu's for vehicle types etc.
thanks.

 

[Shude]

check out osCommerce, I installed that for a customer and did a little customising on the template to make it look like his existing website and literature etc, works very well. It's also free and has a decent open-source support network full of plug-ins and mods

 

[franey]

Thanks Shude.

I managed to get to the site and have a look, however that is about my limit!!
From where I am sat it all looks very technical and I really don't know where to start.

........there are some folk you just can't reach!!

 

[Baron_Samedi]

How much experience do you have?

 

[Shude]

I managed to get to the site and have a look, however that is about my limit!!
From where I am sat it all looks very technical and I really don't know where to start.

It's genuinely not that difficult but it will require you to have a hosting service that has mySQL and PHP capabilities.
The shop itself is very easy to maintain and there are some nice modules you can use for payment and shipping. Shop security is only an issue if you intend to warehouse CC details, my customer used paypal so we didn't bother with SSL etc.

 

[Spinal]

I've got a friend that just recently asked me to have a "fiddle" with her site... might throw this in somewhere as they make customised shirts!

M.

 

[Baron_Samedi]

Spinal, does it use oscommerce?

Shude, what solutions are available if you desire to accept credit card payments?

Ta

 

[franey]

How much experience do you have?

Very Low!!

 

[Baron_Samedi]

We are in the same lifeboat Franey!

But I am enthusiastic - not sure if that will help though

 

[Sp!ke]

You could do worse than having a word with my brother in law if you're not happy about doing this yourself.

He specialises in this sort of thing and since he's Eastern European based, the prices are very very reasonable indeed. Let me know if you want me to PM you his details.

What you need is for the shopfront to be created with a nice simple backend interface so you can do the product updates yourself nice and simply.

 

[Baron_Samedi]

How sympathetic would he be to repairing botched attempts?

Going to have a go myself, but.. knowing there is someone who can help is mighty reassuring!

 

[franey]

Yes it seems difficult to do without spending or paying thousands of pounds to have somebody do it for you. I sell most of my stuff via ebay at the moment but wanted to move away from that as some people think that the parts are cheap n nasty because they are on ebay which they are not.
Companies like mamsoft offer some solutions starting at 7k which I cannot justify at the moment.

 

[Baron_Samedi]

That's a shedload of profit to invest!

 

[Spinal]

Spinal, does it use oscommerce?

Ta

No - at the moment they have a very static page they made, with 3000x2000 pixel images (16MB) that are forced to fit using a size="16%" tag... hence the reason they asked me to fiddle

I've already redone all their images, and I think I might throw in osCommerce and see what happens... thanks Shude

 

[Baron_Samedi]

Yep, I can see why a little redefinition of the images and the site layout could be in order

 

[Shude]

Shude, what solutions are available if you desire to accept credit card payments?

I didn't attempt to use the CC payment modules but there are some that come with it and some plugins that people have written. Adding them is very easy you just download, save into the folder on the server and then in the Admin control panel you select the module, set any config options and you're done!

SSL will likely be required if you want people to have confidence in your shop and for this you will need to apply and pay a nominal fee for a certificate. Otherwise I think it's fairly simple.

Since setting up an osCommerce shop about 18 months ago I've noticed dozens of sites using it so it seems to be fairly popular.

 

[Baron_Samedi]

Clear and precise information, Shude!

Is SSL provided by the ISP, host etc., or is something embodied in the code of the website?

Thanks!

 

[markmifsud]

this is a free cart also

http://www.cubecart.com/

I have used both OSc and Cube. There are plenty of free skins also to assist you in getting the look and feel. As long as your using the likes of PayPal for cash processing its pretty easy, all pointy and click (mostly) and using PP isnt any more costly than trying to setup a clearing house for online CC transactions

 

[speedybiker]

check out osCommerce, I installed that for a customer and did a little customising on the template to make it look like his existing website and literature etc, works very well. It's also free and has a decent open-source support network full of plug-ins and mods

osCommerce is excellent and not really difficult to learn.
They have an excellent forum where you will get all the help you need.

And if you have a lot of products there is a facility called Easy Populate which lets you upload all your products and any changes using an Excell documnet.

"Easy Populate makes it simple to populate your OSC store with products without using the web interface at all.

Easy Populate lets you download all your products into a csv file, edit them in the spreadsheet of your choice, and the reupload them to update your products, changing prices, categories, quantities, etc.

If new manufacturers, categories, or subcategories are found in the data, they are created for you on the fly"

Alex.

 

[markmifsud]

Clear and precise information, Shude!

Is SSL provided by the ISP, host etc., or is something embodied in the code of the website?

Thanks!

SSL is a secure certificate that you have to install on the server, and configure apache to use the cert on port 443.

SSL isnt that difficult, but with the ease of integration from PayPal I wouldnt bother