Fleury9816 Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 I am just getting familiar with the dreamweaver program and have been messing around with making a website with the things I pour like many of you have. What did most of you do to get your site up and going? Did you build the site yourself? Someone help you or hire someone to do it for you? What did you guys use for a shopping cart? Just the paypal one? I was just interested to see if everyone here selling their own lures also knows how to web design or if it's a skill in the minority Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delw Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 The easiest way and the best way is to run os commerce and use post nuke for a content page. os is a great free shopping cart, and you can use paypal post nuke or any other type of content management software from the front page and other pages will save you from recreating the wheel and allow you to just add simple code and text to keep your site updated. What ever you do DO NOT COMBINE THE 2 PROGRAMSthe hackers love it and will have access to your shopping cart through post nuke. with the above 2 programs you dont need any programming skills and a professional site can be set up in a hour or less. These are also free programs. if your going to take credit cards, you will need to get a https ( secured server) and ssl certifiation. ALSO DONT USE FREE PROGRAMS Use X-cart or something similar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dungeonhawk Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 i am a network admin, but by non means a web admin. i did my site by myself with dreamweaver. if you need any help let me know. if you think it sucks, tell me that too haha. http://www.mymomisbecky.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarakito Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 well ... use dreamweaver to set up the main site and run a shop system based upon oscommerce. setting up os-commerce with all the right buttons, css takes some time (especially if you`re new to all that stuff) but is definitively worthwhile. cheers, Ian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmik26 Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 I made our web site with dreamweaver and will be using paypal in the future. One thing to look into when designing your web site is templates. They have saved me alot of time! I have been curious about the OS commerce but never looked into it. I just like how paypal is set up and I don't have to deal with credit cards and account numbers, just shoot it straight over to paypal and let them worry about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dungeonhawk Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 i think templates are ok, in some situations, but generally, if you can avoid it, i prefer not to use them. start with a logo, and build your site from that. it just feels more personal to me. my site was built from the ground up, logo first. my ex girlfriend designed the logo. she did a great job, the rest is just based around that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampBaits Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 I used http://www.micheleswebdesign.com . For $30 I had my whole site setup and I only had to input my pictures and info. I've probably worked for less than 4 hours on my site. Check out her site if you don't have a good understanding of making webpages like me. Very easy and very helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleury9816 Posted February 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 What is the fee that you have to pay pal to use their cart like that. I assume there is a fee per purchase but is there a monthly fee for just having a paypal cart period? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampBaits Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 If you have a business paypal account according to their site it costs 1.9% to 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. So if you sold $50 worth of lures it would cost $1.75 (at 2.9% + $.30). There are no fees to use their cart. The fees are fairly small but you could probably find cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe S. Posted February 23, 2007 Report Share Posted February 23, 2007 Paypal is nice, does everything for you. Just go there when you get your email order notification, print out the packing slip, pack it and ship it:wink: It's Worth what they charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delw Posted February 25, 2007 Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 PAypal is nice, but make sure you get set up to take credit card orders. alot of people dont have paypal and wont use paypal. if you dont have cc then you loose out on about 65-75% of your business. Remember most people buying are impulse buyers meaning that they see it and they like it they buy it. if it takes to long to set up or they have to do passwords and stuff they will think about it and not buy it. I buy all the time on the net and there are lots of times where a site wont take a cc, so I dont buy. Delw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint308 Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Anyone know anything about this postnuke site Del was referring to? I went and looked at it on the web and was overwhelmed. How do you download the software? Is it really free? Can you make a functioning site with it? Who do you use for hosting and domain registration? How much should Iexpect to pay? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delw Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Just download os commerce from the os commerce sites its a free shopping cart. DOnt worry about post nuke as you really don't need it unless your going to have something other than a store. If you use credit cards make sure you get a secured cert and server otherwise don't waste your time with the credit cards. a secured cert runs about 100 bucks a year. for your website you want a shared server with mysql database's. get cpanel hosting free shopping carts are with php4 about 40$ per month however if you install your own you can go with a lesser amount. Remember in shopping carts you get what you pay for, while os is good it has its problems, DONT run the hacks for it and you will be just fine, Run it bone stock with only color and template changes. running hacks will get you nothing but problems with hackers. the best shopping cart is x-cart but its expensive I use alphaomegahosting.com for hosting In my opinion they are the best I have had them for 8 years now on 11 websites, we finally got our own dedicated server due to the amount of bandwidth all the websites use, you wont use a 100th of what I use so its no biggy. if I have a problem I jsut shoot them an email and its fixed or at least answered extreamly quick. again you get what you pay for in hosting, Alphaomega may seem a little higher but when I have a problem its fixed wether I caused it or someone else did. and over the 8 years I have managed to cause many problems. If you go with alpha omega they have preset shopping carts ( 1 or 3 different ones) were all you do is click install and its set up then you have to make any changes you need. if your over whelmed with postnuke, have someone else set it up for you. yes its free, yes you can make a functioning site with it but you still need a shopping cart. Post nuke was just a nice little toy to have as an addon. you don't need it. a shopping cart will also overwhelm you, if you don't know html and PHP code be prepared to learn quickly, if you are not able to then have someone do it for you cause you will pull your hair out, especially during upgrades. If you can follow directions easly you shouldnt have a problem. plus once they are set up they run fine anyhow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 I am courios about how to go about securing a name of a bait or company name so it can"t be copied, is that a trademark or what. Also does the process need a lawyer involved? sidewinder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint308 Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Thanks for the answer Del. I think I am going to have my brother handle this. Hell, I had to read your post twice. I cannot imagine what will end happening if I try to follow directions on the computer. I may end up having the FBI kicking my door down. Thanks again. Saint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmik26 Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Hell, I had to read your post twice. I cannot imagine what will end happening if I try to follow directions on the computer. I may end up having the FBI kicking my door down. Thanks again. Saint. Thats funny stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish devil Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 I do my own site with oscommerce and phpbb. Google and myself figured it all out. www.tournamentplasticbaits.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Sock Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 I agree paypal is so easy, just click and transfer your money or get a paypal credit card. many people use it. Very very easy worth every transaction penny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GB GONE Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 I do my site myself via MS Frontpage. Just keep your site simple, make good baits and you will be all set. Paypal is easy and affordable. If I have a customer not wanting to use paypal, they just do the good old fashion check and snail mail routine. Works great!!! Your site can be a big asset but also a time consumer. Be sure to freshen it up every so often or few will come back to check it out. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GB GONE Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 BTW... If you are looking for a FREE...yes FREE website, FREE hosting and FREE domain registration, check out Microsoft Office Live. Link below: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/officelive/default.aspx It is a little limited in the templates you can use but if you are looking for a web presence for FREE, you might want to consider it! As a note, I did set up a simple web for my daughter's cheerleading squad and it was easy. Also, I don't own stock or anything in Microsoft Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAWGHUNNA Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 Check this free site out....My 15 year old son built this for me...but then again,he is a very brite kid. I have not set up paypal or what ever yet...so I'm finding this thread very useful. Thanks for the info. www.freewebs.com/hawghunnalures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delw Posted May 23, 2007 Report Share Posted May 23, 2007 Nice site hawg, Here is some general things to think about especially with free hosting sites. If you guys really want to sell your baits the last thing you want is a free site. You don't want ad's all over the place, and you don't want music. You also want a site that loads quick with out typing in or clicking multiple pages to access it. Most buyers are impulse buyers ie they want it and want it now. waiting for music to load up they will turn the website off. if they don't have cable it will take a while to load my dsl line( I have the fast one) doesnt load very fast when music is involved. if you have pop-up ad's on your website they will also turn off customers. for a free site thats fast, you can use your cable account if you have one.( they give you like 7 email accounts with 10 megs per email addy, thats alot of space to build a site and it works with paypal. however the address is very long for guys just to type in. this is why if your serious you get a .com name and a simple quick catchy one. and you pay a cheap price for a server. I am on the web alot and won't even visit sites with pop up ad's or advertisment all over the place and sites that requier you to click a link to by pass an opening video or song. its not worth my time. Don't get me wrong some of these sites are extreamly nice, but I would rather see the product than listening to music or x'ing out pop up ad's. Hawg, I wasn't critisizing (sp) your site in away shape or form, you just happen to be the forth one in the last 3 days that showed a site 3 asked what would make it better so I made a suggestion to those three, and then saw yours and thought I would mention it. those pics are very nice looking BTW. and your kid did a nice Job. Delw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAWGHUNNA Posted May 23, 2007 Report Share Posted May 23, 2007 Del, No offense taken...I'm not really ready to hit tha market wide open yet...and I have a .com website www.lilwaterbassin.com. The Hawg Hunna Lures site as well as the Lil' Water Bassin' Adult Child Tournament site were sorta done to help promote JR's abilities with photos,webs,videos and so on as this is the career that he is thinking of taking. Your points are well taken,and I'll still order the cut tail mold from ya:lol: Just wanted people to see that with some creativity free can be very nice thanks to Jr.(tripped imaging). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dampeoples Posted May 23, 2007 Report Share Posted May 23, 2007 for a free site thats fast, you can use your cable account if you have one.( they give you like 7 email accounts with 10 megs per email addy, thats alot of space to build a site and it works with paypal.however the address is very long for guys just to type in. this is why if your serious you get a .com name and a simple quick catchy one. and you pay a cheap price for a server. Delw To add to this, look to a domain provider such as dotster.com and buy a domain, then forward that domain to your cable/dsl account space, so the long addy isn't in the picture. There will also be an option to mask the url, which I recommend because in the future, if you want to purchase space, or move, etc, the cable address (the long one) will be hidden, and all that will be seen is the domain name, such as www.thejbfc.com instead of www.cableprovider.com/username/site.html, so you are free to change the backside of things without sending people to dead pages in the future. There are some cheap plans out there, doteasy.com will hook you up with a domain and some space for $25/year, but be careful. If you intend to use a shopping cart or something that requires a database, you're SOL with this plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delw Posted May 23, 2007 Report Share Posted May 23, 2007 Hawg, glad you didnt take it wrong. its a very nice site like I said above. Thats good advice DP. Ive been buying domains for years, the one thing I learned is I only buy through networksolutions.com. yes they might be a little higher but I know what I am getting. iv'e had some friends buy cheap domain names from other sites only to get reemed when they move the site to thier own hosting or chnage something. its very important to read the domain name contract, cause there are alot of extra charges that pop up in some of them. with network solutions there isn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
