# Beginner's guide to E-Commerce



## AndyC

*Introduction:*

 Out of boredom I decided to type up a beginner's guide to E-commerce. Please keep in mind this is going to be very basic. I thought it would be good to have all of this basic information in one post. Please feel free to provide your input if you feel I have left something out or you have additional recommendations.
*
Background:*

This is just a very quick rundown of my experience with commerce and the Internet. Five years ago I started a webhost that had approximately 500 customers when I sold it in 2003. I also have a degree in web development and have been playing around with web design for 10 years.

* Domain Names:*

One of the first things you will need to do is register a domain name. This has become increasingly more difficutl as domain name speculators buy up domains and try to sell them for a profit. To help in finding this domain I highly recommend using Dotomator. With this tool you simply enter a list of up to 15 prefixes and suffixes, combine them, then do a bulk search to see if any of the domain names are available.

Once you have decided on a domain name you will need to register it. For this I recommend GoDaddy. The normal price for a domain is $8.95 but you can usually find a promo code to get a discount. Right now the promo code OYH3 will give you $2.00 off which makes the domain name $6.95. I have confirmed this code does work. 

Whatever you do try to avoid registering the domain name with your webhost, which brings us to our next topic.

* Webhosting:*

Now that you have your domain name you need to find a place to host your website. Most webhosts offer three different types of hosting: Shared, Reseller, and Dedicated.

If your are just starting out you will probably want to find a good shared web hosting solution. If you plan on hosting for friends or hosting multiple sites the reseller option is a good one. The host I recommend is HostGator. They have a plan called the 'Baby' that will allow you to host unlimited sites for $9.95, but all the domains will be created on the same account. They have an unadvertised reseller plan for $14.95 that I use and like because I can host domains on separate accounts. Coupon code hgc25 will give you 9.94 off your first month for any plan you select (Does not include Hatchling).

Once you sign up with the host you will receive a welcome letter that will have instructions on how to direct your domain name so that it points to your new host. 

Now that you have your host it is time to put up a site...

* Website:*

The first thing you need to do here is decided what type of shopping cart system you wish to use. Three of the most popular are:

 CubeCart
 OS Commerce
 Zen Cart

These carts generally have very thorough installation instructions so if you have every installed a script before you should have no problems. Now, if the thought of doing this scares you to death all is not lost. Most webhosts offer a program called Fantastico that will install these carts for you. Once you login to your web host's control panel you can click on the Fantastico link, select the cart you wish to install and just follow theprompts. It is very easy.

Once you have the cart installed you will probably want to customerize the look of it. If you are familiar with HTML/PHP and have good design skills this should be simple for you. To get instructions on how to do this please see the support section for the cart you use.

If you do not have any design skills you will need to find someone to customize the cart for you. One of the most affordable solutions is to purchase a template from Template Monster. You can get a very professional looking template starting at $160. Template Monster will customize the templates for you at an additional charge. The drawback to using a template is that other sites may have purchased the same template so your site will not be unique. You can purchase the template so that it will never sold again but this will cost you in the thousands of dollars.

To get a unique site you will either have do design it yourself or hire someone to customize your cart for you. Two great sites that I have used in the past are Guru and Elance. The prices for a unique site depend on what graphics you need (i.e. a logo) as well as anything else you are requesting. From my experience the pricing starts at $500 and goes up.

In addition to getting the design done and the cart configured you will also need to decide what types of payment methods you want to use and set those up but that is a discussion for a more advanced guide.

* Conclusion:*

As intended this guide is very basic but should give the budding entrepreneur an idea of what they need to do and how to go about it. If there is something you would like for me to expand on or add please reply to this post so that other members can provide their input. If you need any assistance please feel free to PM me. Also, if you have other services you 
would like to recommend in addition to the ones I have provided please do so.


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## Rodney

Thanks for taking the time to make this great writeup, Andy. This is going FAQ for this section for sure.


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## AndyC

Rodney,

Thanks a lot. I almost didn't post it but finally decided that you would nuke it if it wasn't up to par or needed.

Andy


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## Rodney

AndyC said:


> Rodney,
> 
> Thanks a lot. I almost didn't post it but finally decided that you would nuke it if it wasn't up to par or needed.
> 
> Andy


It's WAY needed. 

More stuff like this that is helpful, clearly written, a good general reference point, not filled with bias or affiliate links is definitely a good thing 

MUCH appreciated!


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## Your Mantras

Yes it was a great post! Luckily I am a Graphic Designer/Web Designer and designed my own site, but I wasn't sure what to do for selling online (seeing I had practically no money to spend!). I actually have set up a cart for FREE through PayPal which may be helpful to poor people. I just pay a percentage of the sales to PayPal, but at least there is no set up fee and I know it is secure. I host my site through Freewebs.com - Free website, free hosting, free webpage - Make a web site with photo albums, blogs, videos, forums and more! and have transfered it to my purchased domain name. This is a great way to start your business up with little cost while you are testing your market and seeing what people think of your products.


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## Rodney

> I actually have set up a cart for FREE through PayPal which may be helpful to poor people. I just pay a percentage of the sales to PayPal, but at least there is no set up fee and I know it is secure.


Keep in mind that using just the PayPal only shopping cart may turn off some visitors because of the popup navigation of the add to cart buttons and the fact that some people just don't like to go through PayPal to make a payment.

I agree, it's an OK way to start, but there are some drawbacks that could cost you customers. But it is better than nothing at all


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## Your Mantras

Thanks Rodney, you are probably right. I do plan to go through a paid cart soon, do you have any recommendations? Just using it to start.


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## Rodney

> I do plan to go through a paid cart soon, do you have any recommendations?


I don't think you need a paid cart. 

A free cart like Andy recommended above would work just fine. Out of the 3 he mentioned, my usual recommendation is cubecart.


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## plan b

Andy,, thanks for the outline,, simple easy and to the point,,, how easy would you say it is to set up the cart,,, and which one out of the 3 you listed is the best one for someone that knows zip, nada, zero about the carts or how to do anything with the cart????
Thanks again for the post,,,

R.


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## Rodney

> and which one out of the 3 you listed is the best one for someone that knows zip, nada, zero about the carts or how to do anything with the cart???


I'm not Andy, but I think all 3 of those carts will require that you either know how to edit some files and upload them, or hire someone to do it for you. 

Out of the 3, I recommend cubecart for ease of customization and features, but even then, if you are uncomfortable with messing with files, then you might need a "hosted" shopping cart where you pay monthly and don't have to do any installation. 

Just like many things, if you don't want to do it yourself, you can outsource it and pay someone else a fee to do it for you 

cubecart (and the other free shopping programs) have great member to member support communities and help documents on their site. You can get step by step instructions on how to install their products and some even have instructional videos on the process to make it easier for newbies.


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## AndyC

plan b said:


> Andy,, thanks for the outline,, simple easy and to the point,,, how easy would you say it is to set up the cart,,, and which one out of the 3 you listed is the best one for someone that knows zip, nada, zero about the carts or how to do anything with the cart????
> Thanks again for the post,,,
> 
> R.


I agree with Rodney on this, I would go with Cube Cart. If you have the desire to learn a little I am sure you could setup the cart yourself. Design on the other hand is a different story. I know when I visit a site I can tell instantly if I will stay and browse. So it is very important that you put a lot of thought into your design.

Andy


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## plan b

yep, thats what I understand about sites,, I am selling by word of mouth now,, I have been in sales all my life so I don't hesitate to open my mouth,,, but this web thing is totaly different,,, so when I do it it has to be correct for it to fly,,problem is I don't have months to put a site in place,, so I guess my route is going to be costly,, anyways great post guys,, anything else you think of please pass it on.. 

Thanks

R.


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## johnner69

just curious as to why you guys like cubecart over zencart? If you could explore the differences that would be extremely helpful as i've always thought ofzencart as the best free option going right now (considering oscommerce development stalled)

also there is another coupon code for hostgator (little known) that actually does get you $25 off. thecode....: david


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## AndyC

johnner69 said:


> just curious as to why you guys like cubecart over zencart? If you could explore the differences that would be extremely helpful as i've always thought ofzencart as the best free option going right now (considering oscommerce development stalled)
> 
> also there is another coupon code for hostgator (little known) that actually does get you $25 off. thecode....: david


I find that modifying Cube Cart's templates is MUCH easier then it is with Zen Cart. That is the main reason.

Here are some reviews of free shopping cart software:

Shopping cart software review - osCommerce, CRE loaded, Zen Cart, Cube cart. E-commerce addons for Joomla sites
scriptygoddess » Shopping Cart Roundup

Hope these help.

Andy


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## johnner69

hmm ok thanks andy. I will have to play a bit more with cubecart then. easier is definitely better for my customers thats for sure!


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## AndyC

plan b said:


> anyways great post guys,, anything else you think of please pass it on..
> 
> Thanks
> 
> R.


What other things would you like to see? I would be glad to post more articles/guides.

Andy


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## plan b

Website development for dummies!!! Not dummies but for people that are code challenged,, maybe the best way to go if you were to say buying a subsciption type easy to set up website,, to get you going,, there are a lot of that type out there but which one is the best,, and the best bang for the buck....

Thanks

Roger


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## mxbuz

I would also like to know what people think of the drag and drop site builders? Do their shopping carts compare with CubeCart?

Also mentioned earlier about getting a template and using it with a shopping cart. Is that something that someone could go into more detail on? Do you just download it to your cart's control panel? Where? Same with different payment options. How to download and to where? Stuff like that would be GREAT!

Thanks for the help!


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## Rodney

> I would also like to know what people think of the drag and drop site builders?


I think they will give you a very generic looking site, however you will be able to do more of the work yourself.

It's a tradeoff between lots of features and more customization and point and click easy of use.


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## tshirtnewbie

So based on the first post, let me confirm all I need to get my e-store going is a domain, web host, and shopping cart, right?

I really thought from the other once and for all list that I needed more than that??


*EDITED TO ADD*:

Well I kept reading and it looks like I was missing 2 things.....lol I seem to be missing the merchant account, payment processor, and security.


So let me ask again, *I* *guess these are the six things needed, right*?


Another thing, after getting the domain and web host, *do I have to purchase seperate website building software OR will this be included with the domain or web host I purchase*?


Thanks for any info provided!


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## Rodney

> So based on the first post, let me confirm all I need to get my e-store going is a domain, web host, and shopping cart, right?
> 
> I really thought from the other once and for all list that I needed more than that??
> 
> 
> *EDITED TO ADD*:
> 
> Well I kept reading and it looks like I was missing 2 things.....lol I seem to be missing the merchant account, payment processor, and security.


Yep, those 6 things seems to sum it up.



> Another thing, after getting the domain and web host, *do I have to purchase seperate website building software OR will this be included with the domain or web host I purchase*?


Many times, _your shopping cart will be your website_. 

The shopping cart can "power" your homepage, about us page, sizing chart page, product pages, add to cart, checkout, contact us, etc.

Many web hosts these days come with the ability to install open source shopping carts like cubecart with just a few clicks on the mouse. 

If that's something you think you might need, be sure to check the features of the host before signing up.

Some hosts do offer point and click web building software, but the sites that are produced with it can often leave a lot to be desired.


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## tshirtnewbie

Rodney said:


> Yep, those 6 things seems to sum it up.
> 
> 
> 
> Many times, _your shopping cart will be your website_.
> 
> The shopping cart can "power" your homepage, about us page, sizing chart page, product pages, add to cart, checkout, contact us, etc.
> 
> Many web hosts these days come with the ability to install open source shopping carts like cubecart with just a few clicks on the mouse.
> 
> If that's something you think you might need, be sure to check the features of the host before signing up.
> 
> Some hosts do offer point and click web building software, but the sites that are produced with it can often leave a lot to be desired.


 
Thanks for giving me the ok! lol

Just one more thing though, so if I do the domain with godaddy and the hosting with hostgator and use paypal's website payments standard(merchant account, shopping cart, and payment processor in one)...that takes care of 5 and leaves me with the security..

There is just SSL left to take care of ....*any inexpensive places to purchase this certificate?*

I know there is shared SSL that comes with the hosting company but I read it is recommended to have your own..so I probably should purchase one BUT I would wait if it is not that unsecure with the shared one.

Any comments from those who may not have purchased a seperate SSL certificate would be appreciated.


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## Rodney

> Just one more thing though, so if I do the domain with godaddy and the hosting with hostgator and use paypal's website payments standard(merchant account, shopping cart, and payment processor in one)...that takes care of 5 and leaves me with the security..


I wouldn't suggest using paypal's shopping cart. It's not very user friendly. 

If you're putting together a website, you might as well get a free shopping cart that is easy to use for both your customers and for you as the merchant. 

Check out cubecart (available at cubecart.com)



> There is just SSL left to take care of ....*any inexpensive places to purchase this certificate?*


I think godaddy sells those too. I'm not sure how good they are. 

Your host may be able to suggest places to buy a SSL Certificate that will work with their servers, or they may sell their own.

I buy mine from theplanet.com, but I have a dedicated server, so I can install them myself.

I'm not sure how shared hosting accounts work with install SSL certificates, but there's probably information on your web hosts help pages.

If you are JUST going to use PayPal website payments standard (that's not really a merchant account), then you don't need the security because all payments are processed at paypal.com and not on your server. 

You only need security if the customer is entering their credit card information on your website.

With PayPal website payments standard, the customer is transferred to PayPal.com and they enter their payment details on PayPal's secure servers.


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## tshirtnewbie

Well, I think I may just go with paypal as I have a big headache from all this research..

BUT, when I get passed this newbie to building an e-commerce website STAGE, I will take more chances with splitting up the components that go with getting all of this together..for now the more combined the better in my eyes.LOL

Just for my info though, I went to cubecart's site and I see that it is 90 dollars, am I missing something if it is free?


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## Kysmiley1

For those who may not know it yet, Payquake now offeres thir merchant account with NO setup fees. This will allow you to have your own merchant account and therefor keep more customers from leaving when they see Paypal. You will need a secure site though to accept credit cards. For those who are not sure if they have one, it is normally a site that starts with https://yourdomain.com notice the S on the end of http.
Just my two cents
Pat


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## Rodney

> Just for my info though, I went to cubecart's site and I see that it is 90 dollars, am I missing something if it is free?


Yes, it's free. Only if you want to removed the "powered by cubecart" link at the bottom does it require you pay the fee.


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## Ross B

Rodney said:


> Many times, _your shopping cart will be your website_.
> 
> The shopping cart can "power" your homepage, about us page, sizing chart page, product pages, add to cart, checkout, contact us, etc.
> 
> Many web hosts these days come with the ability to install open source shopping carts like cubecart with just a few clicks on the mouse.
> 
> If that's something you think you might need, be sure to check the features of the host before signing up.


Wow! Let me get this right, Rodney. You're saying that once you've downloaded Cubecart, you can use it to construct your entire e-commerce website? You don't need FrontPage or Dreamweaver or WordPress or any other CMS? In other words Cubecart is not only a shopping cart, but a facility to build your CMS with the Cubecart shopping cart integrated into it? 

If so, that sounds pretty damned amazing! I have looked through the Cubecart site, and from what I can work out, it does seem that I am understanding you correctly. They appear to offer three skins that can all be modified according to your requirements. 

Is there much limit to the mods that can be done? Can you, for example, get rid of some of the sections shown on their skins (eg: "Shop By Category", or "Information")? 

I assume you can replace their "cubecart ecommerce modified" logo on the header and replace it with your own text and graphics (while retaining the cubecart copyright reference at the bottom of the page)?

Can you download Cubecart and use it to design your website offline, on your HD, to the point of completion, THEN take out a domain name and have the site uploaded to your chosen host?

Can you incorporate CafePress into your cubecart-produced website without being an expert in web design, HTML etc? 

Can you incorporate Cubecart into an existing website produced with FrontPage etc?

Apologies for this gush of questions (many probably technically ignorant to the point of stupidity), but this all sounds too good to be true. Guess I'm reality checking!

Cheers


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## Rodney

> Wow! Let me get this right, Rodney. You're saying that once you've downloaded Cubecart, you can use it to construct your entire e-commerce website? You don't need FrontPage or Dreamweaver or WordPress or any other CMS? In other words Cubecart is not only a shopping cart, but a facility to build your CMS with the Cubecart shopping cart integrated into it?


That is correct. 

I actually just did another cubecart install last night for a client. I created the homepage, about us page, contact page, terms and conditions page, all within cubecart.

I took the default "Legend" skin/template that is included with cubecart and completely customized it to look like the client's website. Once it's done, there would be no trace of "cubecartedness" 



> Is there much limit to the mods that can be done? Can you, for example, get rid of some of the sections shown on their skins (eg: "Shop By Category", or "Information")?


You can get rid of just about anything you don't want. In fact, the T-ShirtForums store is running on cubecart, and you can see that a lot of the default "stuff" has been removed.



> I assume you can replace their "cubecart ecommerce modified" logo on the header and replace it with your own text and graphics (while retaining the cubecart copyright reference at the bottom of the page)?


Yes, that's definitely allowed and recommended.



> Can you download Cubecart and use it to design your website offline, on your HD, to the point of completion, THEN take out a domain name and have the site uploaded to your chosen host?


It's much easier to just download cubecart and install it on your webhost and do the customizations online.

If your site is not ready yet, then you can just put up a placeholder. So that when someone types in example.com, they just reach a blank or "coming soon" page. This would be your index.html page. You can still have cubecart installed and running so you can work on it. You would be the only one to see it (it would be at example.com/index.php). Once you've finished customizing it and are ready to launch it, you can just delete the example.com/index.html file and people will be able to see your store.



> Can you incorporate CafePress into your cubecart-produced website without being an expert in web design, HTML etc?


Two separate animals there.

CubeCart is if you have your own products and are shipping them yourself.

CafePress does all that product creation, shopping cart and shipping, so you wouldn't need cubecart.

If you are trying to get a customized CafePress store, you'd be better of downloading CPShop (marty > cpshop ). It's designed to allow you to host your CafePress store on your own domain name. Fully customizable. The guy that developed CPShop is super nice. He even works for cafepress.



> Can you incorporate Cubecart into an existing website produced with FrontPage etc?


If you have an existing website design that you've created in another program, yes, you can incorporate that design into cubecart.

I'm not 100% sure what you specifically mean by "incorporate", so if that's not what you meant, just let me know and I'll try to clarify.


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## Ross B

Brilliant responses, Rodney. Thanks so much. And yep, you got my intended meaning 100% re "incorporate". 

Amazing, I've spent so long researching things and reading through the Tshirt Forums for over a year now, and the light has only just gone on regarding the full functions of "shopping carts" like CubeCart, which I have seen recommended numerous times by you and others. Just shows the folly of assumption. I thought I 'knew' far more than I actually did about an area I hadn't even properly investigated. Thanks again for illuminating me.

Can't help but wonder how much else I errantly assume I 'know' about!


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## Rodney

Ross B said:


> Brilliant responses, Rodney. Thanks so much. And yep, you got my intended meaning 100% re "incorporate".
> 
> Amazing, I've spent so long researching things and reading through the Tshirt Forums for over a year now, and the light has only just gone on regarding the full functions of "shopping carts" like CubeCart, which I have seen recommended numerous times by you and others. Just shows the folly of assumption. I thought I 'knew' far more than I actually did about an area I hadn't even properly investigated. Thanks again for illuminating me.
> 
> Can't help but wonder how much else I errantly assume I 'know' about!


Don't worry, I'm sure you're not the only one. I think a lot of people think that shopping carts like cubecart are something totally different than what they are (or what they can be).

I think a lot of people see the default "skin" of the shopping cart and see that it doesn't look like they want their site to look, so they move along.

Or people think it's more complicated than it is (when it can actually make your job much easier).


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## lisanada

is cubecart necessary for setting up a shop with spreadshirt?
i've purchased a domain name and i am still researching a good web hosting company. 
i'm getting confused from reading the posts about ecommerce beginners with using a shopping cart, merchant account, ssl cert. eeek!
and just realized that spreadshirt should be doing all of that.
but i'm still confused and unable to distinguish what's the correct approach.

i want to have a main/concept webpage [blablashirt.com] linked to spreadshirt to fill in orders. its all i want.

all help is greatly appreciated! thanks a ton in advance.


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## Rodney

> is cubecart necessary for setting up a shop with spreadshirt?


No, cubecart is a shopping cart. spreadshirt handles the shopping cart functions as part of their service.



> i'm getting confused from reading the posts about ecommerce beginners with using a shopping cart, merchant account, ssl cert. eeek!


You just have to realize that not everything you read will apply to your specific situation. We have a spreadshirt section of the forum over here.

Spreadshirt (and other fulfillment companies) handles all the web hosting, shopping cart, merchant account, ssl, warehousing, printing, etc. That's the benefit of using a fulfillment company, so you don't have to worry about those other things.



> but i'm still confused and unable to distinguish what's the correct approach.


There is no "correct" approach. Only the one the best fits what you specifically are trying to do for your business.



> i want to have a main/concept webpage [blablashirt.com] linked to spreadshirt to fill in orders. its all i want.


Then that's all you have to get. A domain name and a web host. Some domain name sellers even offer free 5 page website hosting (or a free welcome page), so if you shop around, you may even be able to JUST buy the domain name and get the web hosting that you need (a simple one page site) free.


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## Ross B

Rodney, I've followed up on your link to Marty's CPShop, and it does look excellent and good value. I can't work out, though, what he is offering that is not attainable through a CafePress Premium store. 

I do not have a CP store yet, so obviously have no practical experience, but from the reading I've done, my impression is that CP stores allow you to customise their storefronts to suit your personal store theme and the way you want to set things up. CPShop appears to offer the same. Is CPShop easier to customise, or more intuitive? Is this the advantage Marty is offering? (If so, it may well be one I am prepared to pay for, but I suspect he is offering other things that I am missing, and that CP does not offer).


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## lisanada

sigh, thanks rodney, you're the best!
i mostly read YOUR entries bc they are clear and concise.
i'll be on my way now, woo hoo!


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## tim3560

AndyC said:


> Whatever you do try to avoid registering the domain name with your webhost.


Why is this? I've bought from and had yahoo host a couple of domains for me. What am I missing?


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## Rodney

> Rodney, I've followed up on your link to Marty's CPShop, and it does look excellent and good value. I can't work out, though, what he is offering that is not attainable through a CafePress Premium store.


The biggest feature is that the cafepress premium store has to be at the cafepress.com domain.

CPShop allows you to have your cafepress products and shopping cart functions on YOUR domain name (example.com instead of cafepress.com)

This can help with your search engine listings because when Google shows results, it will only show a couple results from the same domain name. So if your shops have similar content as other shops, they could show up ahead of you and your products won't show up in a google search.

Whereas, if you have your own domain name, the stores at the cafepress.com domain will show up, but your site will show up separately since google treats the domain name as a totally separate website.

Also, the level of customization is greater with CPShop. There's alsoa few features that aren't found on the cafepress side.


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## AndyC

tim3560 said:


> Why is this? I've bought from and had yahoo host a couple of domains for me. What am I missing?


With Yahoo you are probably okay. But I think this is a good general rule to follow because I have seen a lot of people lose their domain names doing this. The reason is because the webhost registers the domain name under their own info or own account. So if you go to leave this host you can't take your domain with you. I was in the webhosting business and have seen it happen. I don't know if it happens so much anymore but to be safe I think it is best to keep the two separate.

Thanks,
Andy


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## Ross B

Rodney said:


> The biggest feature is that the cafepress premium store has to be at the cafepress.com domain.
> 
> CPShop allows you to have your cafepress products and shopping cart functions on YOUR domain name (example.com instead of cafepress.com)
> 
> This can help with your search engine listings because when Google shows results, it will only show a couple results from the same domain name. So if your shops have similar content as other shops, they could show up ahead of you and your products won't show up in a google search.
> 
> Whereas, if you have your own domain name, the stores at the cafepress.com domain will show up, but your site will show up separately since google treats the domain name as a totally separate website.
> 
> Also, the level of customization is greater with CPShop. There's alsoa few features that aren't found on the cafepress side.


OK, gotcha now Rodney. Thanks for the explanation and further info. You've clarified a whole lot for me on this thread, for which I'm really appreciative.

Cheers!


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## tim3560

AndyC said:


> With Yahoo you are probably okay. But I think this is a good general rule to follow because I have seen a lot of people lose their domain names doing this. The reason is because the webhost registers the domain name under their own info or own account. So if you go to leave this host you can't take your domain with you. I was in the webhosting business and have seen it happen. I don't know if it happens so much anymore but to be safe I think it is best to keep the two separate.
> 
> Thanks,
> Andy


Oh, ok. Yeah, I could see that being a huge problem.


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## rusty

Great information here. Thanks Rodney and others.

For CubeCart, if I start with the free version (v3), and later decide to upgrade to the paid version (v4), is it easy to upgrade or do I have to do a lot of re-work?


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## RAMESH

Has anyone used siteground.com?

they has an e-c0mmerce package for $5.95 oer month.
please give your thoughts.

Ramesh


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## peteVA

Several responses -

First, no problem on the upgrade with CubeCart. You can check it out at their support forum. I install 4 or 5 a week for clients and it's a good cart, with a good forum. 

Here's a link - CubeCart?

Regarding the host registering the domain, there are some who will hold the domain "hostage" if you want to move elsewhere. You can fight it, and eventually win, but it's a big hassle. 

You'll note that some offer "free domain names" but you pay one way or another, and they may want to charge you to take your own domain with you.

I will never register a domain for a client. I do not want to even be thought of as even possibly holding on to a domain. Plus, as a big believer in "do-it-yourself" site management, I figure if they can't make it through a domain registrar on their own, they'll never conquer ftp.
.


----------



## HulaArt

I purchased my domain names through GoDaddy.com. I have not set up my website yet. Do I NOT want to use GoDaddy as my webhost? 
Will I have a problem moving my domain names from GoDaddy if I have not set up my website yet?


----------



## rusty

HulaArt said:


> I purchased my domain names through GoDaddy.com. I have not set up my website yet. Do I NOT want to use GoDaddy as my webhost?
> Will I have a problem moving my domain names from GoDaddy if I have not set up my website yet?


I don't think you'll have to worry about GoDaddy holding your domain.


----------



## peteVA

You will leave your domain names with GoDaddy. Their is no problem there. You simply go in and change the "Name Servers" to those that you are supplied by your host.

It just so happens I offer hosting and specialize in working one-on-one with newbies. 

The help and advice is all free, you just pay for the hosting, which is around $5 a month. 

Send me an email or PM and I'll be happy to get you started.
.


----------



## HulaArt

rusty said:


> I don't think you'll have to worry about GoDaddy holding your domain.


Do you mean if I use them as a webhost, or if I want to use another as a webhost??


----------



## Artwear By Alida

AndyC said:


> *Introduction:*
> 
> Out of boredom I decided to type up a beginner's guide to E-commerce. Please keep in mind this is going to be very basic. I thought it would be good to have all of this basic information in one post. Please feel free to provide your input if you feel I have left something out or you have additional recommendations.
> *
> Background:*
> 
> This is just a very quick rundown of my experience with commerce and the Internet. Five years ago I started a webhost that had approximately 500 customers when I sold it in 2003. I also have a degree in web development and have been playing around with web design for 10 years.
> 
> * Domain Names:*
> 
> One of the first things you will need to do is register a domain name. This has become increasingly more difficutl as domain name speculators buy up domains and try to sell them for a profit. To help in finding this domain I highly recommend using Dotomator. With this tool you simply enter a list of up to 15 prefixes and suffixes, combine them, then do a bulk search to see if any of the domain names are available.
> 
> Once you have decided on a domain name you will need to register it. For this I recommend GoDaddy. The normal price for a domain is $8.95 but you can usually find a promo code to get a discount. Right now the promo code OYH3 will give you $2.00 off which makes the domain name $6.95. I have confirmed this code does work.
> 
> Whatever you do try to avoid registering the domain name with your webhost, which brings us to our next topic.
> 
> * Webhosting:*
> 
> Now that you have your domain name you need to find a place to host your website. Most webhosts offer three different types of hosting: Shared, Reseller, and Dedicated.
> 
> If your are just starting out you will probably want to find a good shared web hosting solution. If you plan on hosting for friends or hosting multiple sites the reseller option is a good one. The host I recommend is HostGator. They have a plan called the 'Baby' that will allow you to host unlimited sites for $9.95, but all the domains will be created on the same account. They have an unadvertised reseller plan for $14.95 that I use and like because I can host domains on separate accounts. Coupon code hgc25 will give you 9.94 off your first month for any plan you select (Does not include Hatchling).
> 
> Once you sign up with the host you will receive a welcome letter that will have instructions on how to direct your domain name so that it points to your new host.
> 
> Now that you have your host it is time to put up a site...
> 
> * Website:*
> 
> The first thing you need to do here is decided what type of shopping cart system you wish to use. Three of the most popular are:
> 
> CubeCart
> OS Commerce
> Zen Cart
> 
> These carts generally have very thorough installation instructions so if you have every installed a script before you should have no problems. Now, if the thought of doing this scares you to death all is not lost. Most webhosts offer a program called Fantastico that will install these carts for you. Once you login to your web host's control panel you can click on the Fantastico link, select the cart you wish to install and just follow theprompts. It is very easy.
> 
> Once you have the cart installed you will probably want to customerize the look of it. If you are familiar with HTML/PHP and have good design skills this should be simple for you. To get instructions on how to do this please see the support section for the cart you use.
> 
> If you do not have any design skills you will need to find someone to customize the cart for you. One of the most affordable solutions is to purchase a template from Template Monster. You can get a very professional looking template starting at $160. Template Monster will customize the templates for you at an additional charge. The drawback to using a template is that other sites may have purchased the same template so your site will not be unique. You can purchase the template so that it will never sold again but this will cost you in the thousands of dollars.
> 
> To get a unique site you will either have do design it yourself or hire someone to customize your cart for you. Two great sites that I have used in the past are Guru and Elance. The prices for a unique site depend on what graphics you need (i.e. a logo) as well as anything else you are requesting. From my experience the pricing starts at $500 and goes up.
> 
> In addition to getting the design done and the cart configured you will also need to decide what types of payment methods you want to use and set those up but that is a discussion for a more advanced guide.
> 
> * Conclusion:*
> 
> As intended this guide is very basic but should give the budding entrepreneur an idea of what they need to do and how to go about it. If there is something you would like for me to expand on or add please reply to this post so that other members can provide their input. If you need any assistance please feel free to PM me. Also, if you have other services you
> would like to recommend in addition to the ones I have provided please do so.


Great topic!
Why do you suggest you don't use the hosting company and the same domain name seller?


----------



## peteVA

This has been discussed just above. SOME, not all, hosting companies will try to hang on to YOUR domain name if you buy it through them, particulary those who "give it away" as part of their packages. They claim the name is theirs and they are just letting them use it.

I am in the hosting business and refuse to sell or register domains for my clients, so there is never any question of intimidation. SOME hosts will hold yuor domain "hostage". You can often get it, but not without a lot of hassle.

Just for your own protection of something that you hope will increase in value, get your own domain names and file them in your own name. 
.


----------



## Artwear By Alida

AndyC said:


> With Yahoo you are probably okay. But I think this is a good general rule to follow because I have seen a lot of people lose their domain names doing this. The reason is because the webhost registers the domain name under their own info or own account. So if you go to leave this host you can't take your domain with you. I was in the webhosting business and have seen it happen. I don't know if it happens so much anymore but to be safe I think it is best to keep the two separate.
> 
> Thanks,
> Andy


I have a horror story about this. I hired a person to build a site for me. He bought the domain name in HIS name and put in the contract (which I didn't read very well), that if I ever stopped using him for my website, I did't own the domain name or site again.

The only way I got to keep it and the website was that he practiced some other unethical things, like getting a t-shirt order from someone I had already told her what to use for the design.

So I had to threaten to sue him to keep the domain name and website. Then also after I had hired him, he told me he didn't know anything about e-commerce, so I used my site for resume and called people on the phone, sent emails, etc to try to get orders. I had run out of money and the site needed to be totally redone.

Undercapitalization is one of the 5 top reasons small businesses fail within 5 years.

So if you hire anyone to do your site for you, make sure you buy the domain name yourself.


----------



## peteVA

One other thing that should be discussed regarding domain names is asking about proposed names on forums. Suddenly you may find what was available 10 minutes ago has now been bought by someone else. Of course, they may let you buy "your" domain from them at a nice profit.

And I've been told that more than one domain name has be "hijacked" after checking it's availability on GoDaddy. It seems some folks have a way to see what are being checked and then grabbing them.

Two morals of that little story.

Have your money in your hand when you go to GoDaddy. If it's available, get it right away.

And, don't use GoDaddy when you're just brain-storming for names. Go right to whois.
.


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## rmsigns

ohhhhhh this is great information but being i'm such a newbie i still have many questions. 
1) is there a standard set of information to add to ones site for policies or do we make them up ourselves?
2) if i make shirts and sell them online do i need to have a copywrite statement?
3) so i need to relable my shirts with instructions on washing ?
can't wait to hear the answers..haha i feel a little uninformed..hehe
maureen


----------



## Rodney

> 1) is there a standard set of information to add to ones site for policies or do we make them up ourselves?


You should make them up youself since everyones policies will be different. You can get legal forms from coollawyer.com



> 2) if i make shirts and sell them online do i need to have a copywrite statement?


Not necessarily.



> 3) so i need to relable my shirts with instructions on washing ?


No, you don't _have to_. Some people do though.


----------



## rmsigns

thanks rodney for the great tips once again. will stop by your booth and say hi at longbeach. 
cheers
maureen


----------



## Wombat

peteVA said:


> One other thing that should be discussed regarding domain names is asking about proposed names on forums. Suddenly you may find what was available 10 minutes ago has now been bought by someone else. Of course, they may let you buy "your" domain from them at a nice profit.
> 
> And I've been told that more than one domain name has be "hijacked" after checking it's availability on GoDaddy. It seems some folks have a way to see what are being checked and then grabbing them.
> 
> Two morals of that little story.
> 
> Have your money in your hand when you go to GoDaddy. If it's available, get it right away.
> 
> And, don't use GoDaddy when you're just brain-storming for names. Go right to whois.
> .


 
Wow thanks for that insight...Here i am checking on dozens because i'm not 100% sure and of course i was using godaddy to do this...So whois is safe to check domains? and if so why?


----------



## peteVA

I don't know that any place is safe. The one I have been told is not is GoDaddy.

What I'm really saying is - 

Don't look until you are ready to buy. 

Don't ask around forums ahead of time.

When you find one you are interested in buy it then, it might be gone tomorrow.
.


----------



## Artwear By Alida

peteVA said:


> I don't know that any place is safe. The one I have been told is not is GoDaddy.
> 
> What I'm really saying is -
> 
> Don't look until you are ready to buy.
> 
> Don't ask around forums ahead of time.
> 
> When you find one you are interested in buy it then, it might be gone tomorrow.
> .



I chose GoDaddy because of it's ratings in a hosting review of hosting companies.

Please, can you be specific about any problems?

Thanks.
What is wrong with GoDaddy?????


----------



## Your Mantras

Thank you all so much for the info! Great information.


----------



## rusty

Artwear By Alida said:


> I chose GoDaddy because of it's ratings in a hosting review of hosting companies.
> 
> Please, can you be specific about any problems?
> 
> Thanks.
> What is wrong with GoDaddy?????


I believe he explained it in post #50 above. He's just talking about checking for domain name availability. I don't think he's told anybody not to use GoDaddy.


----------



## peteVA

There is nothing wrong with GoDaddy - FOR DOMAINS. I have 25 or so there myself.

All I was saying was that it seems people get their domains "swiped" by going there and checking availability but not buying right away. Then, suddenly that name that has been unused since the biginning of the Internet is suddenly taken when they go back in a day or two. It seems like someone is "poaching" domains.

In another situation, which I know for a fact to be true and have been told has happened in other cases, they sold a paid for domain out from under someone because they did not keep their contact information totally up to date.

In this case it was a situation where an email address got cancelled because the ISP was sold. I've had the same happen to me. I was with highstream.net and they sold out. I had a week or so to make a change, I'm sure I overlooked some.

Anyhow, someome bid on the domain, or even told GoDaddy the contact was not current, so GoDaddy cancelled it, it wasn't even renewal time, and sold it to someone else. The phone number and the snail mail address was correct, but GoDaddy did not even notify the owner.

They wanted to be able to "auction off" the good domain name which had been around for 5 or 6 years to someone for a higher price. And then the original owner was contacted and told they could buy their name back for something like $ 500.

All legal, since thye did not change their email address. Legal yes, ethical I don;t think so. 

There is a growing demand for domains with activity and longevity. So, GoDaddy is selling them off under whatever excuse they can find.

BE FOREWARNED.

Personally, I do think every other product GoDaddy offers is over-rated and over-priced. I strongly suggest to my hosting clients to go there, get their domain and get out just as quickly as they can. 

I'd like to see Danica Patrick win a race. I do often suggest GoDaddy for domains, but that's about all the good I can say about them.

And keep your information updated!
.


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## Artwear By Alida

peteVA said:


> There is nothing wrong with GoDaddy - FOR DOMAINS. I have 25 or so there myself.
> 
> All I was saying was that it seems people get their domains "swiped" by going there and checking availability but not buying right away. Then, suddenly that name that has been unused since the biginning of the Internet is suddenly taken when they go back in a day or two. It seems like someone is "poaching" domains.
> 
> In another situation, which I know for a fact to be true and have been told has happened in other cases, they sold a paid for domain out from under someone because they did not keep their contact information totally up to date.
> 
> In this case it was a situation where an email address got cancelled because the ISP was sold. I've had the same happen to me. I was with highstream.net and they sold out. I had a week or so to make a change, I'm sure I overlooked some.
> 
> Anyhow, someome bid on the domain, or even told GoDaddy the contact was not current, so GoDaddy cancelled it, it wasn't even renewal time, and sold it to someone else. The phone number and the snail mail address was correct, but GoDaddy did not even notify the owner.
> 
> They wanted to be able to "auction off" the good domain name which had been around for 5 or 6 years to someone for a higher price. And then the original owner was contacted and told they could buy their name back for something like $ 500.
> 
> All legal, since thye did not change their email address. Legal yes, ethical I don;t think so.
> 
> There is a growing demand for domains with activity and longevity. So, GoDaddy is selling them off under whatever excuse they can find.
> 
> BE FOREWARNED.
> 
> Personally, I do think every other product GoDaddy offers is over-rated and over-priced. I strongly suggest to my hosting clients to go there, get their domain and get out just as quickly as they can.
> 
> I'd like to see Danica Patrick win a race. I do often suggest GoDaddy for domains, but that's about all the good I can say about them.
> 
> And keep your information updated!
> .


Thanks...I originally bought my domain name from TuCows but transferred to GoDaddy..now whom do I renew with, TuCows or GoDaddy?

Thank. I love this forum


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## peteVA

GoDaddy

They will let you know when it's due. They often start notifying you a couple of months ahead of the expiration.
.


----------



## rusty

Artwear By Alida said:


> Thanks...I originally bought my domain name from TuCows but transferred to GoDaddy..now whom do I renew with, TuCows or GoDaddy?
> 
> Thank. I love this forum


If you transferred it to GoDaddy, you would have to renew it with GoDaddy, unless you wanted to transfer it again to another registrar.


----------



## sharps

I as well reccommend to not use godaddy from my own experience. They inundate you with promotional telephone calls, spam, and I had talked on the phone for an hour to remove extra options from a simple renewal only to have them charge agin for it a week later. They did eventually fix everything, but now i prefer enom. Very straightfoward and intuitive.


----------



## Artwear By Alida

sharps said:


> I as well reccommend to not use godaddy from my own experience. They inundate you with promotional telephone calls, spam, and I had talked on the phone for an hour to remove extra options from a simple renewal only to have them charge agin for it a week later. They did eventually fix everything, but now i prefer enom. Very straightfoward and intuitive.


I chose GoDaddy because of the ratings.
If GoDaddy is so bad, why is it in the top ten ratings of webservers??????

I mean, just like any reviews, GoDaddy is in the highest.

It's the only reason I switched.

I want dependability and no down time.

Just as in any ratings, GoDaddy has some of the highest marks.


----------



## Ross B

Artwear By Alida said:


> I chose GoDaddy because of the ratings.
> If GoDaddy is so bad, why is it in the top ten ratings of webservers??????


If you're referring to the host ratings sites that are all over the web when you google "best hosts", "host reviews" and the like, I suggest they are HIGHLY suspect. Many, many of those sites are merely advertising fronts for the big hosts - and there is no doubt that GoDaddy is one of those prominent players.

I've posted about this before. If you want to check out my reasoning, do a search of the T-shirt Forum, or have a look at the link at the very bottom of my perthpunk.com site (in blue and white, entitled "Looking for a great low-cost web host - CAUTION!"). 

Having suggested that many of those host ratings sites are bogus, I am not necessarily dissing GoDaddy. I wouldn't use them because I think there are better hosts around, but that's a matter of personal choice and perception.

BUT...on the topic of original domain names being registered soon after typing them into GoDaddy to see if they are already taken, Tech Crunch has just outed Network Solutions for doing precisely this (NS were the first domain registration site - when they lost their monopoly, it subsequently opened the door to cheaper players like GoDaddy, who quickly became more successful). 

Network Solutions' trick is to gobble up any unregistered name typed into their domain search facility (that is, so it is unavailable), then lock the unfortunate searcher into their higher domain registration fee and prevent them from going to someone like GoDaddy to register the name. 

So, IT DOES HAPPEN AND IS HAPPENING. If GoDaddy and the like are not doing it currently, you can bet they soon will be. The precedent has been well and truly set.

I think this is important enough to warrant its own post, so I'm posting this info separately.


----------



## Artwear By Alida

Ross B said:


> If you're referring to the host ratings sites that are all over the web when you google "best hosts", "host reviews" and the like, I suggest they are HIGHLY suspect. Many, many of those sites are merely advertising fronts for the big hosts - and there is no doubt that GoDaddy is one of those prominent players.
> 
> I've posted about this before. If you want to check out my reasoning, do a search of the T-shirt Forum, or have a look at the link at the very bottom of my perthpunk.com site (in blue and white, entitled "Looking for a great low-cost web host - CAUTION!").
> 
> Having suggested that many of those host ratings sites are bogus, I am not necessarily dissing GoDaddy. I wouldn't use them because I think there are better hosts around, but that's a matter of personal choice and perception.
> 
> BUT...on the topic of original domain names being registered soon after typing them into GoDaddy to see if they are already taken, Tech Crunch has just outed Network Solutions (the first domain registration site who, when they lost their monopoly, subsequently opened the door to cheaper and quickly more successful players like GoDaddy) for doing precisely this. Their trick is to gobble up any unregistered name typed into their domain search facility, then lock the unfortunate searcher into their higher domain registration fee and prevent them from going to someone like GoDaddy to register the name.
> 
> So, IT DOES AND IS HAPPENING. If GoDaddy and the like are not doing it currently, you can bet they soon will be. The precedent has been well and truly set.
> 
> I think this is important enough to warrant its own post, so I'm posting this info separately.




Okay, I originanly bought my name through tucows.

Then, I was with powweb, but still renewed with tucows.

I now have totally moved my domain name to GoDaddy.

Powweb has a domain name parking you pay about $7.00 a year for so no one can take your name.

I think since you are talking about this, you should mention domain "parking".


----------



## Ross B

Domain parking is an entirely different matter. Anyone is free to choose to pay to park an available domain name. The crucial word here is "choose".

What I'm talking about is a sneaky, unethical tactic (IMO) currently being used by Network Solutions (and maybe others...) where they "park" your domain for you without you asking - out of a self-serving profit motive.


----------



## rusty

Artwear By Alida said:


> Powweb has a domain name parking you pay about $7.00 a year for so no one can take your name.
> 
> I think since you are talking about this, you should mention domain "parking".


I'm not sure what you mean by "domain parking". If your domain is registered to you, nobody can take it from you no matter who you used to register it. If you let it expire, then it's available to the public. You should not have to pay anybody to protect it for you, assumed it is registered to you.

I believe domain parking refers to hosting, where you can "park" a 2nd domain somewhere underneath the hosting structure of another domain... like pointing it to a subdirectory of another currently hosted domain so that you don't have to pay for 2 separate hosting accounts. But I could be wrong. I'm not a expert on all the terms.


----------



## peteVA

No, parking is when you buy a domain, but do not use it right away (or ever). GoDaddy will park it for free. You can see this if you type in a domain and a GoDaddy or some other ad comes up in place of the actual domain.

It's yours, but it's not active.

When you have let's say a .net and a .com domain of the same name and have the .net go to the .com, that is forwarding.

If you have one hosting account, but several domains under the same account it depends on your particular situation. Some hosting accounts allow multiple domains from the same control panel Others allow them as "add-on domains" where they are actually a sub-directory of the main domain on the server, but they appear as a seperate domain to the public.

GoDaddy is fine for buying, storing/parking, forwarding, whatever with domains. But they pretty much give them away and need to make up for it in other ways. It the "other ways" that I suggest people avoid. They generally over-charge and under-deliver on the other services they offer.
.


----------



## rusty

peteVA said:


> No, parking is when you buy a domain, but do not use it right away (or ever). GoDaddy will park it for free. You can see this if you type in a domain and a GoDaddy or some other ad comes up in place of the actual domain.
> 
> It's yours, but it's not active.
> 
> When you have let's say a .net and a .com domain of the same name and have the .net go to the .com, that is forwarding.
> 
> If you have one hosting account, but several domains under the same account it depends on your particular situation. Some hosting accounts allow multiple domains from the same control panel Others allow them as "add-on domains" where they are actually a sub-directory of the main domain on the server, but they appear as a seperate domain to the public.
> 
> GoDaddy is fine for buying, storing/parking, forwarding, whatever with domains. But they pretty much give them away and need to make up for it in other ways. It the "other ways" that I suggest people avoid. They generally over-charge and under-deliver on the other services they offer.
> .


Thanks Pete for clearing that up. I guess different hosting companies use different terminology. I use LunarPages, which uses cPanel, and here is what the description is under "Parked Domains"

"Domain pointers allow you to "point" or "park" additional domain names to your existing hosting account. This will allow users to also reach your website when entering the "parked" or "pointed" domain into their browsers."

They way you've described "parking" sounds pretty much just like forwarding to a hosts own ad page. I'm not sure what good that is, or why anybody would want to pay anything for that.


----------



## Artwear By Alida

rusty said:


> Thanks Pete for clearing that up. I guess different hosting companies use different terminology. I use LunarPages, which uses cPanel, and here is what the description is under "Parked Domains"
> 
> "Domain pointers allow you to "point" or "park" additional domain names to your existing hosting account. This will allow users to also reach your website when entering the "parked" or "pointed" domain into their browsers."
> 
> They way you've described "parking" sounds pretty much just like forwarding to a hosts own ad page. I'm not sure what good that is, or why anybody would want to pay anything for that.


Well, I see the solution is to pay up for your domain name a few years ahead.
I always got a warning my domain name was set to expire and I know the date, so I pay for it.

I guess Impression magazine would be the source to get reviews of Hosting companies.

I have tried three.

For me, Go Daddy seems okay....all of them had hidden costs and some were geared to Windows OS and I like Go Daddy because it seems more Mac friendly.

I think we should ask Impressions mag and let them do the reviews..maybe they will do an article on it if they haven't.

For me, I just leave it up to me web developer.
I know a little bit, but generally "html and CSS" challenged.

I am the artist. I don't have time to learn everything my web guy is going to do to get my site up and working. I outsource everything.

But I learn a great deal on this site.


----------



## TVS

I have to admit, i have been with godaddy.com for a long time myself as many others here.
I only get my domain names from there but have no experience with hosting from them.
I can also say what has been mentioned about godaddy and its domain name sniping is true, some how they snipe a good domain name right out of your hands if you dont buy it straight away and i`ve even found when a domain name is not in use, if its a good one they say its gone, when it realy is not.
I now use whois to check domains before going on to buy them, but even then sometimes godaddy snatch the name right from under your feet.
Just my 5 cents worth.

Jim


----------



## Mossive

excelent write up! i had just bought my site on go daddy and needed help with where to go next and now i know thank you!


----------



## kimdallas

thanks 4 the info much needed!!!!!!!!!


----------



## sonambulo

this is really good stuff

NOW, those of you (including Rodney) that have used cubecart to build an entire site, do you find that the quality (based on cubecart's limitations) is noticeably less than what u would get having some 'pro' completely customizing the site?

If so would buying the cubecart v.4 for ~$200, put you in a position to create a site at a "pro" level?


----------



## peteVA

It's pretty much an apples and oranges kind of thing. The cart would be the applex and the design / template would be the oranges. The cart itself must maintain a certain structure to run but the template/design can be as varied as you want to make it. This is true with most carts, including the free v3 CubeCart.
.


----------



## pamelajo100

Thanks Andy your tips are informative. I am new to have a website but need all the help I can get it going. I am having problems with photos ,but is there anyplace I can go to get other constructive input?

Thanks Pam


----------



## Rodney

> NOW, those of you (including Rodney) that have used cubecart to build an entire site, do you find that the quality (based on cubecart's limitations) is noticeably less than what u would get having some 'pro' completely customizing the site?


No, the quality is the same or better in my opinion.

You can find more opinions on cubecart by doing a search of the forums for cubecart. You'll see lots of my posts and experiences with it and other carts.


----------



## goodtease

I just wanted to say that I have a cubecart site, zencart site, oscommerce site, wordpress with shopping plugin, creloaded site, and now I finally decided to do Magento Ecommerce. I think when you start out find a hosting company that uses Fantastico. Great program to automatically install all the ecommerce engines out there. So if you don't like it just delete it and try another one.....

Now as far as customizing that is another story. That is a pain no matter what cart you do. If you are not anal about design...then maybe you can just use a template. But if you have a certain look then that is where you can start getting expensive....or you will find yourself doing more web development than actually selling shirts. There are a lot of good freelancing sites out there that you can get the basics done for little money.

Just thought I would put in my 1 cent....currently trying to get a shirt order of 300 done and needed a break....and got another 600 yeah! 

need more soda..


----------



## johnner69

Which do you find easiest to work with (besides the templating look issues)

which carts allows you to more easily customise the layout of the product pages?

which one do you find easiest to administer (add products/edit process orders etc...)

thanks!

John


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## goodtease

John,

That is a good question. And to answer that I first have to say it depends on your technical skills. Fortunately for me I was in I.T. for 8 years....however I am getting out of date with all my programming skills. That being said I find that of all the systems Cubecart and Zencart are easiest to administer if you don't have to much programming experience. But it still takes time to learn the system and get to a point you aren't hitting your head against a wall. Also there are alot of templates you can use...and you can just take a template and edit the template and then install it.

Oscommerce was a pain in the *ss. Also it hasn't been updated in a while and the support in the open source forums seemed to decline. Way to many bugs and it tended to crash if you really don't know your php.

Magento, I just started using as of 2 weeks ago. SO far so good. BUT you will spend $$$ on hosting because it requires alot of computer power. This is not meant for a beginner. And if you don't know it....you simple won't be able to do it on your own unless you plan on quiting your job and not selling any tshirts for a year. However, you can go to getafreelancer.com or any other freelancer to help edit the magento code and template for reasonable fees.

Hope that helps.

Anthony


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## rmsigns

OScommerce wasn't an easy task, took me about 6months of working on it constantly to figure it out. Now that I'm all set up on OS.. I've been looking into other formats. Good luck with finding one that works for you!
Cheers
R&M


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## johnner69

anthony,

thanks for your reply. to be honest i find zen cart admin area to be a dogs breakfast and the most complicated thing I have ever seen. I am a web guy so its not that i don't know what i am doing, it just seems very poorly setup to me.

i've also heard magento's code is very bulky and not all that well done yet and is also very difficult to template?

thanks for the input, I may checkout cubecart, also going to look at squirrelcart, and prestoshop too.


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## RM5

Well done thoughtful thread. The one thing I would add is to be careful and really check out the host you chose. We have been fortunate by blind luck with our host. (We built our web site 5 or 6 years ago to support our business. When I started getting the site together I was totally clueless). But I hear horror stories about some hosts. Not a reflection on any of the hosts mentioned above. I have never checked them out just not the one I happen to use.


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## cocoaflannel

I signed up for hostgator a day back (baby), it automatically activated a coupon that took about 20 off the year's cost winterwind I believe it was called.


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## tsquared

Any opinions concerning DecoNetwork, new version coming out end of Jan. ISS LongBeach


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## Sirvivhor

Andy: thanks so much for taking the time to explain all of this. It's all pretty foreign to me and that is why I'm having someone design my website and basically get it ready for me to use and sell my shirts. I had already purchased my domain names from GoDaddy. Now, I want to make sure that the people designing my website choose the best and least expensive host and, the best shopping cart. Seems like cubecart is highly recommended here. Host Gator, Go Daddy and Just Host seem to be good recommendations for hosting. Is this all correct? Also, is there anything else I should make sure of before I pay these people to set everything up for me? I was already told that my hosting will be about $85 per month and that seems high to me. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. All I want to have to worry about is selling my stuff and marketing. Thanks!


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## dlldotexe

Nice list Andy.


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## Shipz

Hi guys.

First off these forums are brilliant. I have spent quite a few hours reading through loads of the threads and the information is excellent.

Ok. I am in the process of trying to get an online shop organised and after reading comments here decided to try Cubecart. 

I have installed it locally so it gives me chance to play with it. I downloaded v3 rather than v4 as v3 is free and v4 you pay for. I didnt want to pay for it if i couldnt get my head around it. Well it all installed ok but at the moment i'm having issues with error messages from php as the version of php i have is one that v3 wasn't developed for. So my first experience as been a bit rough. Also it appears that the max file size for an image is 2kb. Which appears small to me. I only started with it late yesterday so hopefully things will improve. 

I was just wondering is v4 a lot more versatile and easier to customise than v3. Also if upgrades are made to your host regarding php updates will that cause major problems with your shop? 

I don't mind spending some time trying to get my head round the cart but once i have it how i want i don't want to be having to start re-coding every few months to keep ahead of php upgrades etc. 

If anyone who as used Cubecart as any advice regarding customisation tips then I would love to hear them.


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## Rodney

> Also it appears that the max file size for an image is 2kb


You can definitely use larger images than that in CubeCart. That might be an issue with your local PHP setup...it's definitely not a restriction of CubeCart.



> I was just wondering is v4 a lot more versatile and easier to customise than v3.


They are both very easy to customize as the HTML is separate from the php coding.

If you know HTML/CSS you should be able to edit the cubecart templates without much problems. I posted a step by step here: http://www.t-shirtforums.com/ecommerce-site-design/t24694.html



> Also if upgrades are made to your host regarding php updates will that cause major problems with your shop?


Generally speaking, it shouldn't. However, with any software that's on your site, it's a good idea to keep up with updates.


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## Shipz

Thanks for the reply Rodney.

It appears that my php setup may be causing most of the problems i am getting. I havent had chance to try anything with it today but i shall have a look and see if there is something limiting image size. Thanks .

I did manage to start playing around with the Killer skin yesterday. I know a bit of HTML and CSS so i am hoping i can get my head round it. I must admit it looks daunting with all those different files but i have made a start on the homepage so hopefully things will get easier. 

Are there any sites you would recommend for novice Cubecart customisers Rodney? Something that is idiot proof lol.


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## Rodney

> Are there any sites you would recommend for novice Cubecart customisers Rodney?


The forums there are pretty helpful, plus there's lots of information here as well (you can always post a new question to ask something at either place )

My advice is to take a look at the post I linked to and just start testing with the main index template, then the shopping cart template.

You may want to do testing on an actual hosted website. Some hosts have 1 click installs of cubecart that can speed up the process a bit.


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## Shipz

I finally had a chance to have a play with Cubecart again and resolved the 2k limit on the image size. So if anyone as the same problem it's really simple to sort. In the general settings part of the admin area scroll down to the max upload file size and dont do what i did and leave it the deafualt value. I changed mine to 512000 i guess this gives a max size of 512kb. I told you i was a bit of a dummy. Anyway that cured that problem.

I have managed to mess around with the homepage etc and add some categories and products. My next question is this. I want to build a shop that enables me to do a multitude of things. I am therefore after some way of offering different attributes to products ie. size, garment type, garment colour, vinyl colour. I also need to be able to offer variations on rhinestone colours and the capability to upload images too. If i have read correctly there are mods that you can get to do this. I would love to hear from you guys on which ones you would recommend for this and even better if you could point me to some live shops that use them. 

I'm hoping to offer the following products and services so any ideas how i can achieve them with additional mods would be much appreciated.

1. Slogan t's ( Stock designs or customers own)
2. Rhinestone t's (Stock designs and customers own )
3. Personalised gift items such as mugs, mousemats, t-shirts etc using sublimation method.
4. T-s with customers photos for such things as hen nights etc but on to dark garments using transfers.
5. A range of plastisol transfers that will be pressed onto shirts.
6. I have a couple of accounts with wholesalers and intend to selll some of there printed shirts too.

As you can see there will be quite a few attributes needed. I would like to do it all from one site but am i pushing it. Should i look at building one site for each range?


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