web site design

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Custom carving
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web site design

Post by Custom carving »

I wanted to start a website to help me with my sign making and CNC business but I have no clue where to start without spending tons of money with a consultant. Any suggestions on how you built yours or????
do you charge a set up fee? I have had a lot of customers have me spend hours designing something for them just to have them not order what I just worked on (very frustrating)
I try to learn something every day

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martin54
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Re: web site design

Post by martin54 »

it really depends what you want a website to do, if your looking to sell online then you would need something like an e commerce site & probably the best way to go would be using something like shopify which seems to be the easiest way to do it without having something very costly custom coded.
If you are just looking for something that you can use as an online portfolio then you can get it done pretty cheaply.

When it comes to things like design work you need to charge for it, don't start work on anything without some kind of deposit :lol: :lol:

Just to add, I have set up a website using squarespace within the last month or so only to be told I would have been better going with shopify :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Leo
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Re: web site design

Post by Leo »

I also use Squarespace
Imagine the Possibilities of a Creative mind, combined with the functionality of CNC

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Adrian
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Re: web site design

Post by Adrian »

All depends on how many products and variations you have. Most of the shop systems that the free and low cost site providers use are fine product ranges under 100 with a few variations. Very little reason these days to go to a web site designer for a site unless you have very specific needs that can't be met with a standard template.

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martin54
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Re: web site design

Post by martin54 »

Leo wrote:
Sat Jun 12, 2021 6:08 pm
I also use Squarespace
How do you find it Leo? I am pretty new to it, haven't actually used the e commerce part yet as not set up any products for sale but have signed up for both paypal & stripe to allow me to take payments.
I was told a week or so ago that I would have been better going with shopify rather than squarespace but since I had already payed & signed up I will just see how things go for now :lol: :lol:

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Leo
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Re: web site design

Post by Leo »

Well I set it up basically. It's more of a place holder than actual commerce. I do have a couple of items up. It's not really high on my priority list, as I have been very busy in my shop and home. Once I get a couple of large home projects done I will spend more time with that sort of stuff.
Imagine the Possibilities of a Creative mind, combined with the functionality of CNC

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jfederer
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Re: web site design

Post by jfederer »

Shopify is the best choice for an all-inclusive package that's easy to set up. It's also easy to maintain, which is a more important factor than ease of setup. The major downside is the monthly charge.

My sites are mostly WordPress with a WooCommerce e-commerce plug-in. Since I already have a hosting package anyway, this is for me the most economical solution. Setup is about the same as Shopify, maintenance is comparable, but large inventories are easier to handle in Shopify. If you only have a couple dozen items or less, they're about the same.

I've heard good things about SquareSpace, but have no personal experience.

Pros and cons (in my opinion)

Shopify Pros: easy to set up, excellent support, all-inclusive (including payment options)
Shopify Cons: ongoing monthly charge

WordPress/WooCommerce Pros: you can host it on almost any hosting plan, or go directly with WordPress hosting, lots of community support, fairly easy set-up, easy maintenance
WordPress/WooCommerce Cons: need to set up payment tools such as PayPal, hosting with WordPress incurs a monthly fee

Overall, I would say that if the primary purpose of your site is e-commerce, go with Shopify or SquareSpace. If the primary purpose is informational with e-commerce secondary, go with WordPress and WooCommerce.

My woodworking and violins sites (URLs in my sig at the bottom) are WordPress/WooCommerce.

P.S. I set up 3 Shopify sites including www.valleyartisans.ca and 4 WordPress sites. Also, I was told that the choice between Shopify and SquareSpace depends on whether you have a physical store and you want to integrate the inventory with your online store. SquareSpace is more retail oriented, Shopify more online oriented. They both can do both.
Joe Federer

www.fabrikisto.com incl. Tailmaker software
www.federer.ca

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