Small Business Question: Starting E-Commerce on Website (sales, agent, non-profit)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have taken on the responsibility of helping to develop a small family run business to get it up to speed with current day technologies. The business is a local favorite with many repeat customers and most of the business comes from word of mouth. However, it's operating in an old school fashion, which is working out okay but is not driving a lot of growth or keeping the business competitive. Should mention that this is a Garden Center/Landscaping Business, with a lot of characteristics that make it unique which not enough people know about. For instance, all of the plants being sold are grown in house.
I know there are major competitors out there but I do believe that people still like the experience of shopping local if they are aware of what is being offered. I have the social media aspect of it covered; however, I am looking for some advice as to how I can add E-Commerce to the already existing website. Although the goal would be to get people out into the shop and get the full experience, I know that people also like convenience.
The website probably does need to be revamped, or just re-done from scratch. I am trying to decide if I should start from scratch and use one of those website developer tools, or hire a professional who can also add in the online ordering. I wouldn't know where to start with that.
Are there any small business owners out there who can recommend services for website design, or know of a website design tool that would allow me to do everything that I need to do? I do not know how to code or anything like that, but can follow instructions! Not looking to spend a fortune on this but willing to pay a fair price to get the website up and running in time for Spring- prime garden season.
Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce. All three will work well for what you are looking to do. All three have pros and cons to using them. My personal favorite is WooCommerce, but I've used Shopify and have nothing truly against it (I've just spent more time with the backend of WooCommerce and know it better).
I'm both a small business owner and a website designer/content creator. If you need a hand or some advice, feel free to shoot me a message and I'll see what I can do to help out. As the old saying goes, the advice is free. I like seeing local businesses get into the online world, so I have no problem with helping someone get started.
If you'd like, send me a link to the current website and I'll take a look and make some recommendations. It may be possible to work one of the ecommerce solutions into the current design without springing for a total revamp, as long as the website itself isn't too outdated and has a compatible platform.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
