So, if building your own e-commerce site from scratch isn't exactly for you, there are easier, less time consuming and some less expensive routes to go instead!
Hosted shop options:
Rather than having to choose a webhost, integrate a shopping cart and design a site yourself, etc, you can set up an easy "hosted" shop site. That means they're hosted by the company themselves so you don't deal with any backend mumbo jumbo. They're perfect for those of you who are used to selling on etsy/dawanda and other marketplace sites as they have the same sort of features and administration, where you can easily plug in information and photos, but with the added benefit of being able to point the shop to your own domain (and not have any direct competitors lurking about either!) and have more customization in your design.
Here are some hosted shop options that you can look into. Most of them have monthly charges, which are pretty minimal. I point-> you research options, pricing and see which one may be the best for you!
Out of these, I know that Big Cartel and Shopify are the most popular in our little indie/handmade sect- I'm not as familiar with the others but know they're are viable options, so mentioned them here.
*Would you recommend one of these over another? Are there any other hosted shop sites available? Or shop template sites? Share with us in the comments below!
Hiring a Web Designer:
Designers give you the best of both worlds- the originality of a totally custom built site along with all the bells and whistles without the headache of you having to figure out how to do it yourself!
Web designers can also help you pick out all the things we mentioned that go into building a an e-commerce site (like web-host, merchant account, best shopping cart for you) and often have trusted and recommended sources that they have come to count on.
They allow you to truly present your shop in the most professional way possible, and if you have the budget to hire one and know you're going to be in your business for the long haul, it's a really great option to take your shop to the next level.
I'd say you should expect to pay at least $1000 to have a professionally designed, totally custom e-commerce site built for you. Some designers also offer pre-fab designs that you can choose from for a lesser expense.
There are, of course, slews of talented designers out there. Here are just a few, of the slew, that I know of personally that specialize in creating self-hosted e-commerce sites for indie/craft businesses.
- Aeolidia (full disclosure: they built my old consignment shop, Modishoppe, and I loved every second of it and would use them again in a heart beat. Also, I recently started working with them offering marketing services to their clients!)
- Lightning Bug Designs
- Paper Pencil Pixel
- Pensandpencilsandpens
- Purr Design
- Smart & Lovely (on maternity leave at the moment! :)
- Trudesign
When choosing a designer, check out their portfolios, see what services they offer, what sort of cart system they use, etc. When you find one who matches your style and seems to offer everything you need, you can contact them for a price quote and additional information. It's a lot of money to spend, so you want to be sure you're working with someone you trust will do a great job, offer impeccable service and be there to answer your inevitable questions.
*And hey! If you're an e-commerce web-designer, or you know of a great one, please feel free to throw your hat in the ring and leave a comment on this post with a link to your site! The more resources we can provide here, the better, so let us know you're out there! :)
If you've made it this far, good job! Here's a secret for you!
Psst...guess what? The lovely and talented Marceline of Asking For Trouble, specializes in designing custom Shopify shops and she's offered to design a special one for one lucky BIZtips reader!
She can help make either your Big Cartel or Shopify shop look extra pretty, and next week, we'll be hosting a special contest for one of you to win use of her services! You'll receive a standard custom theme designed by Marceline that will match your existing branding + all the advice and tips she offers her paid clients- neato, huh? Keep on the lookout for the contest announcement next week!
Phew!
