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  1. #1

    Unhappy You tell me what I need?

    I'm not totaly ignorant, just mostly.
    I'm starting my own buisness making and selling Radio/Controlled 'Scale' cockpit parts made from cast resin. These aircraft have wingspans from 80" to 100"+. I would like to have a website that real, and potential customers can visit to see what I have to offer. The home page will have a list of buttons, each naming a particular aircraft. That button will lead to a page containing photos(6-10) and a list of that aircraft's parts I have to offer. One button will lead to a page with the list of parts and prices (individual and complete kits). This page could also be used as a printable order form with markers to indicate what they wish to purchase.
    I would also like to have a 'Suggestions' box or 'Items you'd like to see', so the customers could request special items, or things they would like me to make in the future.
    I don't want to involve PayPal or visa/MC. I only want to accept money orders or Personal checks. The customers will be willing to wait a couple of weeks for clearance.
    If my customers are like me, they will cruise my website often to see what I've got comming, or what's new(could be another page).
    e-mail should be in there too...Do I need more than one account?
    From what I've been reading, surfing can be space consuming for the (transfer) website. So I'm guessing I'll need a fair amount of transfer space.
    Now, I don't know didly about what I need, so I would appreciate all the help I can get.
    I know about the domain name...The one I want to use is available from godaddy.
    Please give me some host names(reputable), types, and sizes I should consider using (around $15/mo???)
    Or, tell me how to do, what I need to do, to get this thing going.
    Thanks in advance,
    rpike.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    NSW, Australia
    Posts
    136
    It would be easiest if you use a pre-existing shopping cart script, such as CubeCart which is highly customisable, and everything you've mentioned is easily accomplished.

    As for hosting, it totally depends on how many visitors you expect to visit your site... you shouldnt need much to begin with (10GB bandwidth should do perfectly fine), and space shouldnt be a problem. There are many reputable hosts out there, just be sure to contact their sales departments just to check out response times (to get a general idea on their level of support). And just remember, you get what you pay for
    Rob G.
    ShopManager - Sales & Repair Business Management Software

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Behind a linux box
    Posts
    687
    for your requirements ...it's not quite a big deal ... you can try micfo, lunarpages, hostgator, neoservers, BGFweb
    Last edited by Siropel; 05-19-2005 at 01:31 AM.
    Got Fused?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Posts
    9,264
    rpike,

    My recommendations on software to use when you do finally find a host:

    oscommerce - Later on when you do plan on accepting paypal/visa/mc (if you grow - always leave room for growth!) with osCommerce it is insanely simple to add.

    That said get a host with a decent amount of bandwidth/space - have your site ready to go or at least 'getting there' before you get the hosting space though that way you can fully utilize it.

    As you're a 1man business - a catch-all e-mail address will be fine that way anything sent to yourdomain.com will go to your e-mail box, most hosts offer this.

    Not too many requirements - and as previously mentioned *research* the host a lot prior to sending anyone your money, test their support as well. Make sure they meet your needs.

  5. #5
    Hi!

    To host a website, you need a domain name and web hosting.

    Domain Name as you know is the name of your website and it is often recommended that you do not register your name with your hosting company so that you are in total control in case there is some problem with the host. Register your site's name with some reputated domain registrar like directi.com /godaddy.com etc

    For web hosting two basic things to consider are web space (or Hosting space or Disk space) and data transfer (or bandwidth).

    Web space is the total space you can use to host your web pages, keep your emails, databases etc. And data transfer or bandwidth is the amount data (geneally in GBs) you are allowed to transfer per month (both upload and download)

    But these are not the only things to consider. You also need to understand the importance of support and reliability. Your site down for few hours can mean loss of hard cash.

    So what you need to do is search and research. Go through WHT, Google etc for some time and pick the best host. There are several other things you need to know before you pick a host, reading here will help...
    Wholesale Domain Prices for Retail Customers - Rushtoweb.com

  6. #6
    Hello Rpike,

    Honesty almost any host with fantastico would be good for you. Do not pay a fortune because your requierements are basic. Fantastico allows you to instantly and automatically install many PHP scripts with just a few the clicks of your mouse! You will be able to install ecommerce, discussion boards and customer service script.

    Good luck!

  7. #7
    Thanks for the replies,
    I know I'll have to do some reasearch on these things. I sure hope this goes ok. there are so many things I don't know about, and I don't want to fall into the pits.
    I thought if I had ecommerce, I'd have to do pay over the internet stuff(PayPal or visa). If I can set it up without this...then if all goes well, I could use it( if I was making tons of money...ha ha ha) I would.
    As I have more questions, I'll ask more.
    thanks again,
    rpike

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Posts
    9,264
    rpike,

    Paypal is pay-per-transaction so you would only be paying when you make money - the same applies to a few other merchants.

    so rather than paying a monthly fee - you would be only paying when you get orders! flawless.

  9. #9
    David,
    How much do they charge per transaction? % or flat fee. I have been getting some spoof e-mails about my account, and don't trust very many things lately. I've turned them in to PayPal and I've yet to see anything but thanks for turning it in. One reason I know they are spoofs is, Pay pal does'nt know my new e-mail addess...funny?
    Anyway, my profit margin is not that great, so I have to be prudent in my expenditures. I'd sure hate to have my bank account emptied by some 14 yr old hacker.
    I just wish I knew more about what I was doing. Guess I'll learn as I go.
    Thanks,
    rpike

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Cedar Park, TX
    Posts
    15
    Hi RPike,

    You can purchase a web hosting plan that includes a FREE E-Commerce Shopping cart software (ex. OSCommerce, ZenCart, Cubecart, etc.) that does not have to only accept cc or paypal payments. Instead it allows your users to choose the items they are interested and submit the order to you via email or process by check payment.

    You can find good quality web hosting providers with fair amount of disk space and bandwidth between $7 to $11 per month. I recommend starting there since you can always upgrade if needed.
    TierHost
    Professional Web Hosting Services
    www.tierhost.com

  11. #11
    thanks,
    Question, I was just about to register my domain name. Would it be good to register the name in all three(ie .com, .net. .org)???
    It might look like others have done just so to avoid customers being shuttled to another site.
    thanks
    rpike

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Posts
    9,264
    rpike,

    I would recommend at least grabbing the .net and .com - I personally always grab everything but it's a waste to some degree.

    And concerning the % - its normally really low like 2%.

  13. #13
    Another question.
    Do these softwares like oscommerce etc. cost? Do you have to buy them like windows or any other program? a friend gave me a cd with 'web snake, ulead gif animator,ulead smart saver, xoom website starter kit'. Are these good tools to design your web pages? or should I look for or use something else?
    thanks,
    rpike

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Earth
    Posts
    8,154
    Originally posted by rpike
    Another question.
    Do these softwares like oscommerce etc. cost? Do you have to buy them like windows or any other program? a friend gave me a cd with 'web snake, ulead gif animator,ulead smart saver, xoom website starter kit'. Are these good tools to design your web pages? or should I look for or use something else?
    thanks,
    rpike
    Most hosting companies offer shopping carts such as osCommerce FREE with their hosting plans, so I doubt you would have to worry about that if you choose the right host with E-Commerce features enabled.

    If you have never designed a website before, it would be best to either hire a professional designer. If you would like to save money, you can learn the basics from tutorials (search on google).

    I hope that helps

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