That's 32 potential sales today, not something to scoff at.

RemedyMan, funny you should mention PayPal. I'm looking at their developer sandbox trying to figure out how it works. I guess I can add Buy Now buttons to my web pages for testing, but they don't actually work-if somebody clicks it seems to work but doesn't actually process the payment. PayPal definitely makes accepting payments a lot easier. There are other options, like 2Checkout, but PayPal has all the tools that one can basically insert into their webpage and they're good to go. I think Google Payments also has a lot of useful tools for selling online.

I like the idea of making a single page for each item, as opposed to a full featured catalog, since the woodworking projects I'll be selling are each one of a kind. It doesn't make sense for me to have a catalog. I'd rather make a page for the item, add a paypal button, and when it sells it will be sold. The page will still be there, but nobody will be able to buy that item again. Not sure how that works… maybe the buy button turns to a sold button? Soon as I get their sandbox figured out I'll do some testing.

 

Hello TedW. My website is in my signature at the bottom. I use 3dcart.com for my website. They have many different templates that you can customize to fit what you would like. They also can set up a Facebook store for no extra charge. They have a lot of automation features that I like. Like sending emails when the order is received, the order is being processed, the order is shipped and a follow up for their online review.

 

I don't know if this is going to be much help to you, but Wordpress offers a lot of flexibility when it comes to site development. It's not just for blogging (though that is what it is known for). My wife and I pay for our own server and hosting. The site (it's mainly her's) is:

Southern Sprout

You can pretty much mold Wordpress into any arrangement you want if you're clever enough (or if you feel like just paying for a prepackaged theme).

I'm a software engineer so my advice on what is easy may not apply in your case.

As far as payments go, there are plenty of easy to use methods from PayPal, Amazon, Square, etc. The problem is how much are you willing to pay for that convenience.

This isn't to be rude, but it seems like with your recent posts you're just asking for a way to do it without actually having to do the work. That's not going to be the case unless you don't mind paying for someone to handle it for you. My advice is stop asking (again, I'm not saying that in a condescending or rude way) and just start doing it. You'll learn a lot along the way… trust me. We can only help so much unless you come in with some specific questions. I have no real way of determining how much knowledge you have so I don't really know where to start and what to leave off. Understand?

And on to the opinion section of the post: Nowadays, I think it's necessary to have a well-sorted, user-oriented, well-designed site. That's just my opinion, but I know if I go to a site that looks like it was made even from 2001 I usually immediately exit.

 

May I ask, why you immediately exit it because it was made in 2001 or looks like it ?

 

May I ask, why you immediately exit it because it was made in 2001 or looks like it ?

Good question, so I'll clarify. If it looks like it was made in 2001 (because 2001 is old to me and I think sites from that era were poorly designed for the most part) and I'm trying to buy something, I'll leave because they have a higher probability of being difficult to navigate, not providing enough information, or have owners I don't like dealing with.

Guess it's somewhat of a habit of my generation… everything now and avoiding things that seem inconvenient. My friends do the same thing. If it looks old, it probably isn't selling anything new or useful to me now.

I've had experiences in the past with those types of sites that left a bad taste in my mouth. Mind you, this doesn't mean everyone with a dated-looking site is bad to deal with, just almost everyone I've dealt with has been. So, it's easier to just avoid them.

 

I would probably be old to you too and thank your for answering my question. I seem to be having more problems with the new age of sites than the "older ones".

I'm going to take up for some of the older sites, especially the mom and pop sites. My wife's favorite restaurant site was built in Frontpage 2000 in about 2001. Awesome place to eat and one of the most popular in our area. They still use that site except changing the menu and wishing their regular customers Happy Birthday on it. MY wife offered to build them a new site several times for free and they would say to her..thank you honey but everyone tells us they love our site just the way it is..and I love it too because it was built by themselves. Looks and works the same in all the browsers They also get many young adults telling them they found them through their site. So undoubtedly they didn't exit the site because it is old.

I have several vendors that have "old sites" and they seem to have more people visiting than exiting their sites.They also built their own sites back in the early 2000's. So far as I know no one has ever gotten any diseases from visiting their old sites.

We do many sites a year from small business to corporate and most all of them tell us they hate the new sites and build their sites to match their company profiles, and this is what we do.

I have no problems with the new sites other than most of them look cluttered and my eyes get tired of scanning their home pages trying to find what I'm looking for.
I think Wordpress, Joomla and Drupal are great for the average person that wants, need a site for their personal or small business use. More people than not cannot afford to pay a web development company to build and maintain their sites for them.

In a recent developers seminar we attended there was a young girl sitting next to my wife that is a web designer. The keynote speaker asked..where would the net be now without all the pre made themes we're seeing? The girl told my wife..I would be without a job.

I've made a link to four sites we're working on now..these are their home pages…sure they may look old to you but the clients love them. The designer of these home pages is 30 years of age and has a master's in computer sciences. She is also our database coder.

But, I understand where you're coming from and I mean no pun intended by this post.

http://www.m3sitetest.com/temp3206.html

 

PuzzleMan, now that's a professional looking site! I'm really impressed and if I had a kid or 2 or 5 you would be getting some sales from me right now. In fact, I'm going to mention your site on facebook as soon as I'm done posting this. Thanks for sharing! I have heard of 3DCart but never looked into it.. I will now.

Doss, I don't find anything you said to be rude. I appreciate an honest opinion and thank you for sharing yours-that's what this topic is about. I'm not looking for specific answers to specific questions but, rather, lots of answers to no particular questions other than what is your website and tell me a bit about it.

Regarding websites over 10 years old, I spend countless hours browsing the web, just looking at different websites… some for inspiration, some out of curiosity, some to find information or advice. I find that it makes little difference how old a website is. Many newer websites I find absolutely confusing, obviously having traded simple navigation for sleek design, while others manage to merge the two quite nicely.

Some older websites are obviously outdated, giving the impression that the company behind the website doesn't care and, thus, might not take business seriously. Conversely, many older websites are like a vintage piece of furniture-well cared for over the years, reflecting a sense of continuity and personal devotion-something which too many businesses lack.

I am not easily impressed by a sleek new websites, which anybody can buy or build on a whim. I'm impressed by the content and the character it portrays. Don't get me wrong… I like a modern sleek design. But that's just the cover of the proverbial book. Like people, it's the character that matters most.

You say your you and your wife pay for your own server and hosting. That seems a bit redundant. Surely you don't pay for a dedicated server for a single wordpress blog, do you? and the And Hosting part.. which is it, server or hosting? Sorry, but that statement is confusing. If you have a server, why pay for hosting? And if you have one wordpress blog, why pay for a whole server? Anyway, your wifes blog looks nice but it takes too long to load… too much stuff on the home page. But then, blogs are generally personalized by nature, so if that's the way she likes it then more power to her. I like it too!

 

Ted and Bruce, thank you both for not taking what I was saying harshly. Going back and reading it, I know it could've been taken that way.

Ted, we pay to have our site hosted. I often say server and hosting because it's what we say around the office. We have several of our own servers and that's just what we say when someone else is providing the hardware and connection… I don't know why, but we do. Well, I guess I do know why. We build a lot of intranet sites. That's part of it. Plus, a server means nothing if you don't have an external connection to the world. Also, it was to make a distinction between Wordpress sites. There are two main types 1) hosted by Wordpress.org or 2)on your own server (or rented server). And thanks for the compliment on the site.

Let me clear up a few more things.

1. Any website is better than no website… well, almost always. As much as I hate placeholder sites, they at least show people that you plan on putting something up.
2. If you have a successful business (especially one that doesn't depend on the internet), chances are most people won't care what your site is like.
3. If you have something that just works and people are used to it, it also doesn't matter how old it looks (take craigslist for example).
4. There is a difference between a slick-looking and an actual slick site. My opinion is that design of a site should depend on what you are trying to accomplish: conveying information, forums, selling, promoting interaction between members, promoting interaction with your company, etc. They all have different design needs. All the Flash, Flex, Javascript, and Silverlight won't help you if your site it too confusing to use.
5. I'm not that young, but I'm not that old either
6. Don't take anything I say about websites too seriously. I don't hold any of this (well, apart from good design) too close to concrete. There are exceptions to all of this and many sites that do well in spite of this. It's all just my opinion.

 

Doss, thanks for clarifying… I'm easily confused and need all the help I can get

I should clarify that my reason for starting this topic was to A) get some random ideas and inspiration, and B) so others may get some ideas and inspiration. Fact is, I have considerable knowledge about building websites, hosting, servers (Linux, cPanel, etc..), but I haven't put much of it to practice in the real virtual world-the reason being that I have mental blocks. I get stuck on one little thing, say a design element or exactly how to word some content, and I can't get past it. That's why I need ideas and inspiration from others.

Note, however, Bruce is leaps and bounds ahead of me in the know-how department. Whereas he is fairly knowledgeable about the language of the World Wide Web (PHP, CSS, JavaScript, JQuery…), I am just good at figuring out how to mix and match code provided by others, mostly the free open source stuff because that's what I have to work with. I am quite proficient with Joomla! and WordPress.

I am working actively building a website. Except for a couple of errands I have to take care of today, I have the rest of the week off so I can focus my rather narrow attention span and, hopefully, finally, get it launched.

 

SEO plugins, google love, slugs, web 2.0, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
information overload. And I am loving it.

I need a chat forum tool or page. Any ideas for wordpress?

 

What you want is bbPress. You can install it directly from the admin section - plugins, add new, search for bbpress and it should show up near the top of the list. Then just click the install button, then activate it. I think it even adds the menu link, so you don't have to.

bbPress is pretty limited in functionality, but it works. Wordpress is seriously lacking in any decent forum integration. If you want more advanced forum, let me know and I'll try not to throw too much at ya to quickly, lol. But if you just want a simple message board, bbPress should work. Glad you're enjoying it.

 

I am a software developer so design is NOT my strong point. But I am good with a database and I do love to make code run as efficiently as possible. The site I had was basic in design, but it was dynamic. The only graphics on the site were of things I was selling.

Ted's idea of one page per product is a GREAT idea for stuff that you only do once. And you can keep it up there so people can see samples of what you have done. I would do that myself this weekend if I wasn't up to my ears in other projects at the moment. And it would be no challenge at all to store a flag in the database for in stock or not and if not then don't show the paypal (or other) button.

If you are using a database (and I see no reason not to) and/or php and have some issues, feel free to ping me. I am more than happy to try to help.

But if you want to talk about colors and pictures and all that flashy looking stuff, I am not your man. Query tuning. Load timings. Those are the things I live to do. Really not sure how woodworking has worked it's way into it, but hey, I enjoy it.

 

Ted you are the man! bada boom!

 

I've built one site and am working on a second one. The first was done for my employer using Wordpress and a professional theme that was purchased from Theme Forest. I picked out a theme that was very close to what I needed then did some minor visual tweaks. It is hosted by Hostgator using one of their webserver packages. Total cost to startup was about $150.00. Annual fees will be around $120.00.

Custom Church Furniture by Remmert Studios

I chose Wordpress since it's very easy for people with limited computer skills to use and update. That means I don't have to add all the content personally and can easily train others to make blog posts, add pictures and make new pages.

To get all the functionality I needed required many plugins. Most of them are for security and other administrative functions but there's also a NexGen gallery plugin to handle portfolios and picture organization.

SEO is pretty simple but it's not easy. First, the theme has built in SEO functions that let me choose what page titles and page descriptions search engines will display if they show up in the results. The trick is to build page content that fits the keyword phrases I want to target. Then page titles and descriptions are made to accurately reflect the content.

The second aspect to SEO involves making plenty of pages for search engines to find. The more content the better. Just organize it so viewers don't get lost and that all of it is unique. Pages with duplicate content are a waste of time and may hurt a site's rankings.

I wear too many hats at work and am therefore strapped for time. Because of that I use a lot of pictures in place of carefully handcrafted pages. Good quality pictures get a lot of mileage. On that note, the site is still a work in progress (always will be too) and there are plenty of older photos that badly need updating.

Since I've started working with our website (approximately a year) the traffic has picked up notably. It now places high on many important search terms whereas before it was impossible to find.

Second Website

This one is still under construction and isn't close to being complete but it's built in the same manner as the above. It's for a part time business venture I'm working on to target a tiny but growing customer base.

Altar Rails and Traditional Church Furniture

The content is lacking at the moment since I still need to do some more writing and get the pictures and web graphics done. I do have a blog hosted under a subdomain (run by someone else) that attracts a crowd from a potential customer base though. The best part is that I get over a 1,000 visits a month and I haven't even started promoting my website yet.

I probably won't "officially" go public with that business and website for another four weeks or so. However, when I do, high quality pictures and video will be an important part of the marketing strategy. I'll be investing plenty of time and money into photography.

In the long term future I hope to build a couple more websites as subdomains to promote different product lines.

 

JAAune that was impressive.

 

Thanks.

I forgot to mention that those "fancy" pictures in the slideshows were done using some simple techniques in GIMP (open-source Photoshop clone). They're fairly quick to make now since I took the time to create some templates that are exactly the size needed and have the layers already setup.

The hardest part is making sure I have all the pictures needed. I'm still kicking myself for neglecting to take proper pictures of most of my own work and some of the Remmert Studios stuff as well. Nowadays there's always a camera on a tripod in the shop. Soon I'll setup an area to do formal studio photography so I can completely document every finished piece.

 

My website is http://www.steelrollingmillmachinery.com/

I don't know how to do SEO for it.

 

www.southeastcities.org

This is a website I'm running for a Relay for Life event in my area. I used Joomla to create and maintain it. Pretty straight forward once you get the hang of using it.

 

Check out my site on a mobile device. www.chiselandforge.com

 

No problem Dave.. can I borrow your mobile device?

 

Chris, Joomla is by far my favorite platform. I find it a lot easier to use than WordPress, and far more useful for almost any type of site. I'm working on 2 sites right now, one using Joomla and another using WordPress multisite. The later will be for fellow woodworkers to create their own website (official announcement coming soon) and the Joomla site will be for woodworking articles and such.

Your site looks nice - clean and easy to find ones way around. Thanks for showing us.

Dev, your site looks awesome! Almost makes me want to go into steelworking I'm no SEO expert but I see you have descriptive title tags and description tags. I think everything beyond that is just getting back links, fine tuning and stuff like that. An SEO expert might pick away at every single page and tweek everything, but I think you're on the right track.

JAAune, I looked at your sites the other day and kept meaning to comment.. they both look pretty good albeit still under construction. I like the church furnishings and will spend some more time looking through your site when I get the time.

 

I learned meta tags today.
Ted where is the new site?

 

Then you probably learned that the title metatag and the description metatag are the most important. Keyword metatag is not so important, as Google, Yahoo and other major search engines don't pay attention to them any more.

I can't say where the new site is until it's ready, also can't say much about it until then. I think it will be ready tonight, in which case I'll announce it tomorrow.

 

I found I was spending way to much time at the key board. I limit my time to LJs and a few other sites (one hour at the most per day spending more time in the shop). If I ever get another site I will pay someone to build it.

 

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