# Alternative to SiteCube



## Titere (Sep 14, 2006)

Hello
I found a site called sitecube were you can choose templates and edit them. They have some nice ones and it is really easy to work with them (I know because I signed for a trial).

The thing is that their sites are really busy. I mean, they have lots of sounds and movement and things jumping and flashing. I dont like that. 

I like the easy way you can work those templates and SPECIALLY their store option. You can add a store with them and it is really easy and nice. You dont have to do much, just upload a photo, add description and price and thats it. That is what I like the most.

I know other site building and hosting pages, but you have to o all by yourself. I just want to upload and go. Thats why I like ebay. I upload the pic, add description and thats it.

Any advice? Where to go?

Joe


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Try www.bigcartel.com

Are you saying you can't design a site at sitecube without it being busy? Or are you just talking about their homepage?

Can you post a link to the site you created?


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## Titere (Sep 14, 2006)

The whole site is busy. There is no way to stop the buttons animation. There is always something moving and blinking when you got from one link to another.

Ill check bigcartel.

Joe


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

It also depends on how much you want to spend and what features you need.

There are point and click options like yahoo store builder, monstercommerce, volusion, etc that don't require you to "install" anything. You just upload your designs and edit their existing layouts.


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## brentonchad (Aug 24, 2007)

I am right in the middle of researching and finding a solution. I have really liked 3dcart.com. I didn't find a lot of info on the forum about it. However they will let you set up your store for free - full featured - as a trial. If you like it then you can simply pay and go live with it. The templates are simple but I thought still had somewhat of a custom feel to them which I liked. But it was fairly simple and took less than an hour to get going. They are few bucks more a month than some but cheaper than others -so they are middle of the road.


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## Titere (Sep 14, 2006)

To be honest, I dont want to pay much. I have an ebay store and Im paying a monthly fee already. If i make a site it will still right after ebay. ebay is not the greatest thing ever, but I have to make little effort to get customers and I can sell worldwide easily.
With a website of my own I will need to spend so much time and money to get a decent flow of people. Thats why Im sticking to ebay.

I have had sites of my own, but I hardly get sales from there, but it is always nice to be able to show people your own store.

Thanx Rodney and Chad


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> With a website of my own I will need to spend so much time and money to get a decent flow of people. Thats why Im sticking to ebay.


If you're not totally convinced on the idea of having your own site autonomous from eBay, then it might be best to hold off on it.

No need spending money to do something halfway when you could focus that money elsewhere.

But a website done right, can bring in as much sales (or more) than eBay can  Once you figure out how much you're spending on eBay fees per year, and then figure out how much getting a website setup would be and how much you would spend on marketing your own online presence and brand, the numbers can make sense. It also will bring up more marketing opportunities.

For example, I don't know of anytime I've read a news story or tv story or magazine story featuring an ebay seller's store. But I have read tons of articles, seen lots of tv stories about people's own website selling their t-shirts and other products. When you're on your own and you do something great, people talk about YOU and not about "eBay".

eBay does have a huge ease of use factor, and sometimes that ease of use is worth paying extra for. No doubt.

But when you're ready to take the next step, although it won't happen as fast as eBay sales, it is possible to get out there on your own.


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## breakaway (Jun 26, 2008)

cubecart sites all tend to look the same when i looked in their showcase section. they are nice to look at but I don't know if it would be suitable.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

fresh123 said:


> cubecart sites all tend to look the same when i looked in their showcase section. they are nice to look at but I don't know if it would be suitable.


Cubecart is totally customizable. I don't think it's the easiest thing to do, but you can make it look like any site you want.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

fresh123 said:


> cubecart sites all tend to look the same when i looked in their showcase section. they are nice to look at but I don't know if it would be suitable.


I wouldn't go by their "example" sites. They aren't filtered by the "best of" or anything. Just a random directory of people that use the software.

Cubecart sites can look like ANYTHING you see. Pick a site you like, cubecart can be styled to look JUST LIKE IT. 

Most people that you see in the example sites don't take the time to customize it either because they don't need to make their business run, they don't want to, they don't know how, or they don't have money.


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## macat (Aug 26, 2008)

I use a cart called Squirrelcart, it is a cart you buy and the first year includes free hosting for your site. I have my own hosting company so that wasn't an issue for me. The cart is very nice in many ways and is customizable if you know basic html, and I do so that wasn't an issue either. One of the things that made it perfect for me was I print custom things so the image or file upload feature was a must. It has no limits to how many images one can upload and I do custom calendars so this was a must for me.

You can check the cart out here:

PHP Shopping Cart Software - Squirrelcart - Your complete PHP / MySQL e-commerce solution

Support is quick, quicker than most software companies, and they are constantly improving and adding features to it.

I have recommended it to a couple of my web design clients who need shopping carts and they are happy with it.

If you don't know html it does come with a basic out of the box template that is OK.


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## Titere (Sep 14, 2006)

Thank you all. I appreciate you taking the time to help me out.
Rodney, thanx for your words. I think you are right.
Joe


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