# Favourite ecommerce solutions



## colinvansmith (Jun 7, 2010)

Hi, I am new to the industry, I have just bought my first heat press. I have a couple of questions that i'd like help with if you have time.

I am trying to figure out the best ecommerce solution for a website

I am familiar with word press. can anyone advise on the best option for a shopping cart and merchant services that are compatible with word press.

Or I have heard that go daddy and square space have integrated shopping cart and merchant services, does anyone have any experience with them are they better/easier to use

many thanks in advance 

colin


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## tippy (May 27, 2014)

I really like WooCommerce with WordPress. It is very easy to use and is well supported.


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## BidsMaven (Sep 23, 2011)

We use WordPress with Woo Commerce as well. Woo can be frustrating when it comes to customer support but their themes and plugins work really well. With regard to hosting, I recommend HostGator. Their customer support is really excellent.


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## colinvansmith (Jun 7, 2010)

Does woo commerce come with a built in merchant service or do I then need to find my own 3rd party merchant service to take payments


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

I just did a site in the new prestashop model,, I used the default theme,, I went for it because its built on bootstrap and even the back office is mobile,, its not done yet but you can check it out Jacksbax.com


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## tippy (May 27, 2014)

colinvansmith said:


> Does woo commerce come with a built in merchant service or do I then need to find my own 3rd party merchant service to take payments


Maybe I don't understand what you are asking, but WooCommerce isn't a bank - it just takes care of the shopping cart of your site, and hands the total price over to your preferred merchant gateway who takes care of collecting the money. It comes standard with PayPal, cheque, money order and cash, and there are 3rd party extensions available for others - http://www.woothemes.com/product-category/woocommerce-extensions/payment-gateways/


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## buffettnh (Mar 11, 2013)

I am actually moving away from woocommerce. I want to heavily customize which hits too many road blocks. 3rd party plugins and themes are not always 100% in sync with woo, especially when there is an update.

Basic site? No problem. Customize? Look elsewhere.


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## Beautiful Ugly (Dec 18, 2010)

Well I started with opencart there is a small learning curve but it is easy. Woocommerce is the popular one the important thing is where you are comftable with.


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## onesnooze (Apr 25, 2014)

I find customisation a pain in woo. You might want to look at big cartel, shopify etc.

If you settle on woo, make sure you go with a decent host. Lost many hours because of this. 

You might want to look at Lynda.com. There's a guy called Morten Hendrickson. Get some solid info from this chap.


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## buffettnh (Mar 11, 2013)

Just be careful with woo. Plugin costs add up fast + are an annual repurchase. Will be cheaper to go with Bigcommerce for $80 a month. Hosted, set, done.


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## forgedthrufire (Oct 6, 2014)

We use shopify and have been very happy with their service. When researching ecommerce solution, shopify was the only company I talked to that didn't bash the competition. Big commerce and volusion both tried to make arguments about how this or that and such and such isn't supported. Well, they lied! Everything I wanted to do was available as free apps. Also, there are a ton of responsive design themes (scales to fit different devices) which is crucial for a site. Most others are still promising to get responsive designs soon or the responsive themes cost a ton of $.

Best thing you can do is setup the 14-15 day trials and beat on the interface. You may like one better than the other. Shopify was and still is a great fit for us but you may require something different.


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## 3rian (Dec 15, 2009)

squarespace is good, really nice quality themes but are a little limited to customizing smaller details.


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## ceesiren (May 6, 2014)

colinvansmith said:


> Does woo commerce come with a built in merchant service or do I then need to find my own 3rd party merchant service to take payments


Until you know you will be processing a significant number of orders, I'd suggestion using something like paypal so you don't have monthly fees and minimums until you ramp up and are getting a lot of online sales. It's easy to hook up to almost any ecommerce site.


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## forgedthrufire (Oct 6, 2014)

Shopify uses Stripe for their main processor and and allows for PayPal processing with a simple click to turn it on. Both are built in to the system. You also have the ability to turn different card types on and off in the admin dashboard.

Oh, PayPal will make you convert to a business account if all you have isa personal account. No biggie. Just adds more features for card, banks and money management


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## BigSean (Oct 30, 2014)

I'm a massive fan of Shopify for newbies. They've got everything going for them. Easily create a sexy store (responsive design - good for SEO and UX), its a hosted solution (with a built in CDN - all you need to know is its important for loading images lightning fast and having excellent SEO for your site), relatively cheap, and you can use it conjunction with PayPal Payments Pro (a payment gateway and merchant bank rolled into one - small cost, but removes branding so looks sexy). Did I mention its good for SEO?

I've experimented with woocommerce (and I actually like using it in conjunction with the Genesis framework for WordPress), and if your going to go down that route, it can be done on the cheap - but quality will slide. The cost of monthly hosting on a good server is the same as the cost of Shopify (which will be on a fly to the moon server) - so why not go with the option that takes away all the headaches, gives you better value for money, and is really easy to manage.

Anyway, I sound like a sales rep for Shopify. Just know they're really good. Hit me up if you want some more info. I actually quite like BluePark too, but they're only good for UK based sites.

If you do go down the Wordpress - woocommerce route, take a look at Bluehost for hosting - they have a top quality WordPress solution. You can use PayPal Payments Pro with WooCommerce to act as your payment gateway and merchant account.

Hope this helps,
Sean


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

Have a look at this one Demo


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## xfuture (Oct 4, 2014)

I always prefer saving money and paying for a custom site from a web design firm. You get everything you want for $1200 to $5,000 or so if you want a build in design studio. Big commerce is great but $80 bucks a month is a lot, especially when you think in a year you could have purchased something you wanted verse something you settled for. 

Just my two cents.


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## forgedthrufire (Oct 6, 2014)

xfuture said:


> I always prefer saving money and paying for a custom site from a web design firm. You get everything you want for $1200 to $5,000 or so if you want a build in design studio. Big commerce is great but $80 bucks a month is a lot, especially when you think in a year you could have purchased something you wanted verse something you settled for.
> 
> Just my two cents.



I have been a designer and developer for over 15 years. The main reason I went with a packaged program is their teams ability to maintain the ridiculous security and update curve. Plus I don't like my phone buzzing a 3 am telling me a database link just went haywire. 

For the savvy a custom solution may apply but dropping thousands when you have only pennies in the account to get started may not be feasible.


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## BigSean (Oct 30, 2014)

IMO, WooCommerce is he best as it's very well supported. It's free, but the additional plugins required to get the functionality perfect for your own needs can soon add up. I also like using it inconjunction the the Genesis framework (wordpress theme). See the links below.



StudioPress Premium WordPress Themes

http://www.woothemes.com/woocommerce/

https://wordpress.org/plugins/genesis-connect-woocommerce/

Hope this helps


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## historygear (Nov 16, 2013)

It's a tough decision, a balance of pro's & con's. In the end after months of research I went with big commerce - their lowest plan.(hopefully ramping up soon) They recently added Endicia into the process which is handy.


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## buffettnh (Mar 11, 2013)

historygear said:


> It's a tough decision, a balance of pro's & con's. In the end after months of research I went with big commerce - their lowest plan.(hopefully ramping up soon) They recently added Endicia into the process which is handy.


Good Choice. Woo commerce plugins ( like accepting credit cards! ) is $80+ a year. Tack on all the other upgrades and it gets crazy.

Big commerce blows Woo out of the water for a stable platform, practically instant support, and they even help with some customization.


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## Hebiki (Apr 4, 2013)

Ive used Magento a couple of times. My favorite is OpenCart. If my clients want to do content AND sell something..then I use wordpress and opencart.

i always avoid subscription based shops since clients can outgrow it fairly quickly. Set them up in Opencart and it can grow with them without having to pay extra per month. Subscription based shops do have an easier price entry point.


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## ilovefashion88 (Dec 9, 2014)

Hi all of you,

I'm glad to be a part of our community. Here are my opinion:

I'm using Magento for my e-commerce website (It's my signature) and i'm satisfied with my choice.

Magento is the best e-commerce flatform you guy should use for your online business, because of its ability, stability and SEO friendly.

I've started my business for over 3 years with Magento and it's a right choice.

Best regards,


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## DaveSehl (Oct 28, 2014)

I am in the same boat and would like to know about RSK Tech - Get your own Online T-shirt Designer and E-Commerce Software Solution is that any good?
Dave


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## iChris (Oct 5, 2009)

I use big commerce. Easy to use and can be linked to palpay easily and cost is very little to start with. It is a mine field so asking is a good thing.


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## demontaihack (May 24, 2015)

Hi all ,

I really love this topic , I Love Wordpress and i usually use Woocommerce Wordpress plugin to make an Ecommerce site .


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