Need some advice

[bradshjw]

I've been designing websites for quite some time, but none of the websites I've built were e-commerce websites. Most of the sites I've designed were static pages, flash pages, and community websites. I'm currently a freelancer and I have a possible client that was referred to me, but they want to sell their products online. I'm not opposed to building their website, but I'm not sure how much coding is going to be involved, whether I should outsource, or whether I should politely decline since my area of expertise is not in programming. If I take on this client after our consultation meeting, where should I begin?

Any advice someone can lend me?

[minnapple]

How many products and the frequency of product turnover?

[bradshjw]

Not sure, I have a meeting with them in the next couple days.

[axgrindr]

I can't program my way out of a paper bag and I've set up several different kinds of ecommerce sites.
Most shopping cart scripts hook into the major credit card gateways automatically, or if they are only selling one thing you could always try Paypal.
It all depends on how involved they want to get but it's not too difficult to set up an ecommerce site. You would probably need to know what questions to ask them though, like do they have their own merchant account? do they have a secure server? Do they have an account with Linkpoint or Authorize.net? Paypal?

[axgrindr]

It's also pretty inexpensive to farm out just the ecommerce bit of the project to a freelancer if it gets too involved.

[RailMan]

>>it's not too difficult to set up an ecommerce site

correct - but it's a lot more difficult to set up an ecommerce site that makes sales - after all, that's what ecommerce is about

does a plumber take on roofing?
does a roofer take on electrical work?
does an electrician take on motor repairs?

[axgrindr]

The 'making sales' part has more to do with conversion ratios, usability, and design rather than the actual programming it takes make the site work... which is what I thought the OP was asking about.
The sites I set up are all doing really well because my expertise is in the design, copy and usability it takes to get the visitor to press the checkout button. Setting the site up to process credit card numbers was the easy part and not something a web designer should be afraid of attempting.

[bonnie1bonnie]

The #1 question to ask is: Will the client have a merchant account with credit-card "swiper" module (for brick n' mortar/in-person sales) or will they not need that at all?

An example: A client of mine has been going to trade shows and flea markets for years selling lots of stuff with her credit-card swiper, she has a merchant account with a bank already. So, the site I built for her just lets her log in and type the credit card info directly into her machine. Bingo!

Another customer does not have a merchant account and will (they say) NEVER need one, so I got them going with PayPal. It's so easy for the client to use once I have set it up for them, keeps them out of my hair down the road.

Note: Getting a merchant account and card-swiper is like getting a bloody mortgage! If a client has credit problems or is scrimping on $$, they will probably be looking for a non-bank solution... enter PayPal.

Also note: eBay now OWNS PayPal, so just plan on it getting bigger and bigger. If a client wants to do anything on eBay, they may as well get with it since most eBay buyers are using PayPal.

Remember, PayPal has a full shopping cart system as well as single-purchase buttons. Pretty flexible! A nice solution for clients who want "baby steps" without lots of startup costs and complexity.

So, the first step is to get their business and payment paradigm nailed down. Then start stressing over the shopping cart system.

Good luck! Bonnie