eShop – some things to consider..

I believe it is good to consider a few things before going ahead with an on-line web-shop as there are many options out there.

The main question I would like to ask you is how busy do you intend the web-site to be – i.e. do you see yourself working full-time looking after it, part time or maybe just a small site giving the visitor an option to buy the products. My reason for this question is that some set-ups are very comprehensive with integrated delivery and invoice systems but also at a cost. So, if you do not see your on-line web-shop being very busy you might the better with a smaller set-up that might not be so fully comprehensive and maybe a little more manual but at a lesser cost.

Packaging and delivery – do you think you want to use postal services such as Chronopost’s different options or maybe a courier service like DHL, UPS Fedex etc. It is good to have a think of this as some web-hosting systems are prepared for one or the other.

Unless you really want to go really big the shop-options are template based and some systems are more restricted than others so it is good to consider whether the layout is most important to you.

If you already have a domain name so you might also have a hosting package already so you what to ensure it is suitable for what you want to do or find an alternate option.

For a web-shop option that is flexible with layout and not to expensive to run I suggest a WordPress option with a shop plug-in. A more comprehensive online shop hosting may not as flexible in layout but can still make it “yours”.