# What Are the Least Costly Online Store Options?



## JeffNC (Dec 25, 2012)

I want to market shirts of my own designs nationwide and do so exclusively online. I don't want to go whole-hog and bet the farm on this endeavor until I get my feet wet. So: what are my least-costly options for opening a store?

Since I am brand-new to this, please ask any questions needed for clarification.

JeffNC


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## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

i would go with a wordpess setup and woocommerce (free) and namecheap for your webhost/domain name (if you don't have one)

hosting + .com domain name = $26.34 (first year)

for payment processor, stripe is free (easy to add to woocommerce) and lets customers use all the major credit cards to purchase your wares


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## JeffNC (Dec 25, 2012)

Thanks, into the T; I will look into those. 

So how does one pull customers to the Wordpress page? I have another unrelated business that I have owned for over 30 years, and most of my advertising for it has been via classified ads in a hobby publication (print media). I don't think that would work here. 

Or is that what Woocommerce is all about? I've never heard of it before.

J.


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## TABOB (Feb 13, 2018)

JeffNC said:


> So how does one pull customers to the Wordpress page? I have another unrelated business that I have owned for over 30 years, and most of my advertising for it has been via classified ads in a hobby publication (print media). I don't think that would work here.


You could do ads on hobby publications (online). It works more or less the same way.


As for Woocommerce. it's a free online store extension for Wordpress. I don't like it much personally, but a lot of people use it.


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

into the T said:


> i would go with a wordpess setup and woocommerce (free) and namecheap for your webhost/domain name (if you don't have one)
> 
> hosting + .com domain name = $26.34 (first year)
> 
> for payment processor, stripe is free (easy to add to woocommerce) and lets customers use all the major credit cards to purchase your wares


I agree with this approach. Most reasonably computer-savvy people can figure it out. I used Stripe and PayPal for payment and used namecheap for hosting and domain, but wrote my own web site rather then use plugins and templates. That last bit is a bit silly to consider doing, even if you are a web guru, but I'm silly that way 

Note, the main downside to having your own web site is that unless you drive traffic to it with paid ads and/or already have a strong social media following, building it will not result in anyone coming. Okay, that's a lie. A few random people somehow found my web site on their own in my first few months up.

If paying for traffic and social media stardom are not in your stars, you might consider some of the online marketplaces that people GO to on their own when looking for stuff to buy. I'd start with Etsy and/or eBay; I have multiple stores on both (but forget eBay if you are doing POD (Print On Demand) shirts, as I don't think eBay allows drop shipping). Beyond that there is Amazon, which has great traffic, but takes more of your $ and bans you for life if you make the wrong mistakes, so not the place to start as a novice.

And beyond that, there are the POD marketplaces, Redbubble, TeePublic, Merch by Amazon (currently mostly closed down). Costs you nothing but your time to design and upload, but you also get back less in return. Such is the nature of business, less work, less risk, less money.


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## JeffNC (Dec 25, 2012)

Wow, some great info here, TABOB and NoXid; thanks much! I must "digest" it now --- this is pretty much the "first day of school".

J.


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## TABOB (Feb 13, 2018)

NoXid said:


> but wrote my own web site rather then use plugins and templates. That last bit is a bit silly to consider doing, even if you are a web guru, but I'm silly that way


I don't think it is silly, and I do the same. I basically have my own small framework and I re-use it for all my websites.
It is based on a few core classes like the database, Image manipulation, and a class with common methods like request sanitizing, URL generator etc. Based on these I can spin-up a new project in 3-5 days. If there is something I have not done before, I have a look at open source projects doing something similar and I replicate it. This way I know how everything works, the code is minimal, and I never have to worry about updates breaking my website.





NoXid said:


> Note, the main downside to having your own web site is that unless you drive traffic to it with paid ads and/or already have a strong social media following, building it will not result in anyone coming.


Unique content is the answer. There are plenty search terms with less than 400,000 results on google search, and actually most of the results even on the first page are irrelevant. OK you may only get 20 visitors per month from these, but repeat that 1,000 times, which isn't really as hard as you may think, and it becomes 20,000. I have a massive list of such terms and I keep adding more than I can take out. It does work. The other easier option of course is to find relevant low cost keywords and pay google. I did this for my sister, a few years ago and it is still working. She is paying around £50 for 500 clicks, but that converts to 15-20 additional jobs per month.





NoXid said:


> If paying for traffic and social media stardom are not in your stars, you might consider some of the online marketplaces that people GO to on their own when looking for stuff to buy.


I use Etsy and Ebay for free and low cost marketing. I'm basically harvesting customers by interest. Somebody who's buying floor-mats for a Mustang, is likely to have a Mustang. Somebody buying a dog accessory, obviously has a dog...etc.





NoXid said:


> And beyond that, there are the POD marketplaces, Redbubble, TeePublic, Merch by Amazon (currently mostly closed down). Costs you nothing but your time to design and upload, but you also get back less in return. Such is the nature of business, less work, less risk, less money.


Free marketing opportunity again. The high cost will make a lot of people to check if the item is available cheaper elsewhere.


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## abefroman (Jul 18, 2020)

I agree with the WooCommerce setup but I wouldn't use NameCheap for hosting. They do not directly accept free Let's Encrypt SSL. I'd go with Siteground or Blue host to start. Once it's working and selling, move to a better paid SSL


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## TABOB (Feb 13, 2018)

abefroman said:


> I agree with the WooCommerce setup but I wouldn't use NameCheap for hosting. They do not directly accept free Let's Encrypt SSL. I'd go with Siteground or Blue host to start. Once it's working and selling, move to a better paid SSL


1. Namecheap is good for domain registration. Where you host the website is another issue.
2. Using Cloudflare is a better option for Free SSL. Alternatively you can buy your own SSL for just $5 per year. 
3. It's better to keep your domain registrant separate from your host.


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## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

abefroman said:


> I agree with the WooCommerce setup but I wouldn't use NameCheap for hosting. They do not directly accept free Let's Encrypt SSL. I'd go with Siteground or Blue host to start. Once it's working and selling, move to a better paid SSL


namecheap gives you positive ssl for free for one year, then $3 for the next year and $5.88/year thereafter

as op is new to this namecheap's 24/7 online chat help is very beneficial,
plus it also meets op's requirement for inexpensive

bluehost is an eig site and should be avoided (see here)

siteground is good, but is also quite a bit more expensive:
namecheap - 20Gb and 3 websites is $1.44/month first year and then $2.88/month thereafter
siteground - 10 Gb and only 1 website is $7/month 1st year and then $11/month thereafter

i don't think it is that big of a deal for someone who is just wanting to start a t-shirt company 
to have hosting and domain name at the same place (esp. a beginner)



> If you want to launch your first WordPress website on a brand new domain name: Get the domain and hosting from the same company. link


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## webtrekker (Jan 28, 2018)

abefroman said:


> I agree with the WooCommerce setup but I wouldn't use NameCheap for hosting. They do not directly accept free Let's Encrypt SSL. I'd go with Siteground or Blue host to start. Once it's working and selling, move to a better paid SSL



I would personally steer clear of Let's Encrypt! for my e-commerce site. A paid-for SSL costs very little and gives you and your customers peace of mind. It also won;t need renewing every 3 months.


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