posted on March 7, 2004 05:03:24 PM new
As much as eBay has worn me out and as much as I just loved dealing with NPBs and the like, I worked my little fingers to the bone to get my site 95% finished.
Thanks, ihula, for suggesting ecommercetemplates! It was a struggle getting through the php thing at first, but I did it! Not without a few bumps in the road. Thanks to their customer service and Vendio's the bumps weren't so bad.
I'm cutting back my eBay to just collectibles and antiques. For the most part, my store is pretty automated and I got someone to do the shipping for me. All I have to do is agree to make dinner 5 days a week instead of sharing the chore. Sounds good to me! The fees were beginning to eat me alive. Instead of spending $200+ per month, this store will cost me $24.95 per month. I can certainly live with that. I'll probably see more reliable business as well.
I've already gathered opinons from the RoundTable board, but I'd like to get some from here as well. They offered some good suggestions, which I put to good use.
Oh, and ihula, I'm still buying that video. I just haven't had time to discuss it with my daughter yet.
posted on March 7, 2004 07:09:35 PM new
Did read the advice on the R.T. and think you have done fine. The flash got to me but I see its gone.[worthless]
Just keep it simple and easy to use so people looking do not have a problem getting around.
Looks pretty good, hope it works well for you.
posted on March 7, 2004 07:16:26 PM new
I love it! How did you get your services link to work? I couldn't find what it connected to in front page, so mine just says page not found
Your layout is great, and you finished it in record time....I'm very impressed!!!!
If you are interested in a video for your granddaughter let me know - some are for specific age groups and I could probably recommend which one is best
posted on March 7, 2004 07:25:59 PM new
The way to go, newbies pay attention. $24.95 vs $200.00, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Don't fail to notice an eBay presence will be maintained, just not all the fees.
posted on March 7, 2004 09:14:47 PM new
Looks good! I'll be curious to hear how it works out! How will you drive traffic to your site? Did you pay to have your site prominently featured in the search engines?
The Internet seems like such a huge "place", I've often wondered how likely is it that buyers would "find me" if I went to all the trouble and expense of building my own web store.
My web hosting provider submitted to some as did my template provider. The rest I've been doing one by one. Most of the search engines I won't bother with. The biggie is Google. I had this planned for quite a while so I had business cards that I attached to all my eBay orders announcing the store. I've also emailed all my friends and family and they did the same. There are services to submit for you, but I think if you're willing to spend the little time that it takes you can pretty much do it yourself. You can Google search for search engines and each one will instruct you on how to submit to them. I also used PayPal stores.
ihula
Everything just worked. I had some problems, but went on their forum and posted the problem. I got an answer rather quickly. That's what I would do. I just typed my services information on the services.php page. They do have a forum geared specifically for php users.
Edited to add: There are also numerous free link exchange programs out there.
posted on March 9, 2004 03:35:17 PM new
Hey Cheryl -
Perused your site...looks good! Wanted to mention you had a type on your Help page, under "How is my order shipped?" You have "of" between Priority and Parcel Post instead of "or". I know, picky, but I figured you'd want the site tight for the grand opening!
"Who's tending the bar? Sniping works up a thirst"
posted on March 9, 2004 03:39:43 PM new
Wow - koto - you're good. Do you want to glance over mine for typo's? http://thedealwheel.com.
PS - Cheryl I got my services page to work! I posted on the support forum and they helped. Turned out my template didn't come with the page, only the link to the page so I had to create the page myself. I paniced at first, but it was really easy
PPS - you must have more computer knowledge than you are letting on, because your site really does look good
I've been working with computers since the DOS age. I remember when I used Windows for the first time. I believe it was 3.1. Ha! For years I resisted using word insisting instead on using WordPerfect! It's been loads of trials and tons of errors all the way. Sink or swim in most cases. Glad you got your link fixed! Their support board is A-1.
Thanks, koto! I must have looked at that page 100 times and never saw it!
Congratulations on your efforts! Designing a site is a lot of work.
I have been looking around your site and have a couple of suggestions. As I move from page to page using the left nav bar or the top menu I would like to have a better sense of where I am in the site. The quick fix could be to have a bold headline title at the top of each page that matches the button text. If your template allows, a more elegant solution would be to change the left or top button to make it obvious where you are. On the left bar the color of the background could change and on the top bar you could change the color or weight of the type for the section you are in or add an arrow of dot to the button if that is possible with your template. I prefer static html for small sites and I often put a small row of buttons next to the navigation with a "you are here" indication in text or a graphic indicator.
I also notice the aspect of the picture with "For Everyone" on the Products page is distorted. This always makes me uncomfortable. I would recommend finding a picture that can be cropped to the size you need without stretching it.
Good luck with the Grand Opening of your new site!
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“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
posted on March 10, 2004 10:15:37 AM new
Thanks, photosensitive. I have been looking for another photo, but the search has not been an easy one. Any suggestions on a site where I don't have to pay an arm and a leg for a photo would be appreciated. As for the buttons, I don't know enough about php to make those changes. Had this been straight html, it would have been a snap. Until I know a bit more, I don't want to mess with the buttons. I'm afraid of everything disappearing again. Thanks again.
posted on March 10, 2004 10:30:20 AM new
I thought the php might be a problem. Before I retired there was a whole floor of whiz bang programmers to call on but now I have only myself. I really love html - simple and effective. Since you are unsure about changing it I would go with a headline at the top of the page.
Let me see if I can come up with an image that will work for "everyone" that can be used without royalty.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
posted on March 10, 2004 10:46:04 AM new
Thanks, photosensitive. I did put the headings in. I see what you mean. I think what I'll do is experiment with my backup (I've been greatful more than once for that backup) to see what I can come up with. Part of the problem is that FrontPage does not recognize php so all your buttons and such are kept in a folder called "includes". This is where you make the changes. There are some web sites out there that assist in leaning php, but I just have not had the time to read everything yet. I just downloaded a trial of dreamweaver and so far I don't care for the program. I still prefer FrontPage. Teaching an old dog new tricks isn't easy.
posted on March 10, 2004 10:51:38 AM new
Interesting. I love Dreamweaver but hate Front Page with a burning passion.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
Sniping works up a thirst"