Rookie question

Rosaria · 06-10-2006, 08:50 AM

Hi I"m back for more here,,,
this may seem like a way beginner question for you guys on this forum, but didn't know where to ask.

I know very little about computers, but I"m trying to start my online store on a budget. I spoke with lunarpages and they can set up my website for me and upload up to 40 products,,, initial cost of $1000 and then about $30 month.

The other option was volusion and instantestore that I checked out. Both seem to be okay for a beginner like me and initial cost is a lot less, but monthly cost is higher. I could not find a whole lot of reviews on volusion and instantestore, so I don''t know how they are. I found mixed reviews about lunarpages... these are my three choices, can anyone help me?

Thank you.

John Scott · 06-10-2006, 04:30 PM

Hire a webmaster. It doesn't matter where it's hosted.

Rosaria · 06-10-2006, 07:41 PM

What exactly is a "webmaster"? I know you're probably laughing at me but I'm new to all this!

John Scott · 06-10-2006, 07:49 PM

Somebody who will maintain your web site on a daily or weekly or monthly basis.

theChronic · 06-10-2006, 08:26 PM

Make sure to double check with other sources, like explain to us who you end up choosing for what project and how much because I have seen a lot of companies trying to rip off unknowing buyers.

If you just want a webstore, yahoo stores are top of the line in my opinion, are a little pricy to set up sometimes but yahoo also will recommend you to some designers and webmasters which can be trusted.

Hope this helps
John

pcgeek · 06-12-2006, 01:53 AM

Hi Rosaria, I was like you too at 1st, with little knowledge about computers, but gradually, I started searching a lot on it, and there is one site which will help you, it's on BEGINNERS actually, so you kinda fit in the category:

<Spam removed>

Jamie Lister · 06-12-2006, 04:36 PM

I just wanted to add my bit here. We all started somewhere. Being a beginner is no sin. babe..
I was there about 3 years ago. I still dont understand a lot of the lingo and need a lot more time to learn.
You're in the right place to learn. Just read thru the threads here and you'll find tons of info. And if you dont know, somebody will help. i can say this from experience.

Good luck with your venture.

Julie · 06-12-2006, 06:22 PM

Put up a thing here, someone might be able to do it for ya.

cimmeron · 06-12-2006, 09:29 PM

you might be better off hiring someone to get you started and showing you how to maintain it, then going from there. it will probably save you a lot of frustration. I'd go with the Yahoo Store or the MSN storefront; they are both very good and I think they're both around 30-40/month...someone correct me if I'm wrong on the price....

Rosaria · 06-13-2006, 10:36 AM

I was thinking of checking out yahoo just because I've had a lot of people mention it. The only thing I'm wondering when my customers type in my domain name, will it change to yahoo.store or somethign once they go to my site or will my domain name stay up top?

Lanetzliving · 06-13-2006, 11:04 AM

I too am a novice beginner with websites but had a very successful ebay store, My son was livid when he found out the the huge fees I was paying each month.
My concern was I knew very little about builidng a website but had a huge amount of inventory to sell.
He got me started with netidnow (not sure if I can post the link, you can find it on my website at the bottom) It was so very easy, 1st month is free and then cost is according to inventory, I have about 5000 items there now and it runs me about $100 a month. I think you can start a store for around $40 per month. They have an integrated shopping cart, host and upload your pics, track inventory and an awesome customer service.
It is a god send for those of us who are "web challenged"

Good luck!!

cimmeron · 06-13-2006, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rosaria

I was thinking of checking out yahoo just because I've had a lot of people mention it. The only thing I'm wondering when my customers type in my domain name, will it change to yahoo.store or somethign once they go to my site or will my domain name stay up top?

pretty sure you get the full package with hosting, so the domain stays the same (does not redirect to yahooooooo!)

Rosaria · 06-21-2006, 08:05 PM

UPDATE:
Well, I checked out Yahoo, Monster Commerce, Volusion, InstanteStore, Godaddy (which I used to have, but shopping cart is just too darn ugly) and homestead (all sorts of problems with them). Believe it or not yahoo and monster commerce were to complex (yes, I said I was a BEGINNER, I was telling the truth

Volusion is great, it seems very customizable, if I only had more time to mess with it. Their customer support is great, you can email them, call them or even IM them! And they even called me to check on me. It also has an HTML editor.

Then I also signed up for free trial with InstanteStore and that seems to be the best one for me. It is very simple to use. The only downside is that their only tech support is through email. But so far it was so easy to try that I only needed it for one question and the email answered my question exactly (as opposed to those pre-written emails). They are running a special they will design a logo for my site for free. Their templates are so pretty and when I'm done I will give you guys the link and check it out. Need another couple of weeks. The trial is for 30 days, so that is ample of time to build the site and see if I'm comfortable with them. Thank you all for your posts, each one of you helped a little.

Thank you all for your help