Making A New Site

Going to dump old site and redo from scratch.

[RVSam]

I want to do this the correct way so I’ll like to get your input please. Thank you for any input.

I have had a ecom site for 15 yrs now and was doing ok but the last bunch of years dropping off. Same story across the web from lots of people.

I sell a hardware line used in homes / business and have app 600 items. I want to do a new site and new domain name as well, for a few reasons, and am thinking about using Big Commerce.
First question, what do you guys think of them?
Second question. What is the best way to close down the other site, I want to dump everything to do with it by the time I am done because I don’t want 2 business selling same items on 2 sites from same location.

One more question please. Seeing as I am going to sell hardware, should the URL be something about Horses, lol, just thinking of Google and exact name match and that keyword thing in the URL..

[makeonlineshop]

Why changing the domain name ?

Why if you change the domain name you want to close the old site ?

I would keep the same domain name and URL or if I decide to open a new shop I also keep the old one to try to improve it.

[lgn1]

DON'T DUMP THE OLD SITE !

It's better to have two site's, as it's twice the chance of somebody finding you, and less chance that they will find the competition.

We have two different sites, selling the same product with different shipping charges and markup, and a different look They both have the same address, and no body has commented on it in six years. It may be obvious to you, but customers are focused on product and price, and never pickup on the address being the same.

Ferengi rule of Acquisition #327: It is better to compete with yourself, than the competition.

[tangor]

Unless there is a compelling reason to dump the old site, don't. That reason would be a google ban (for example) or toxic neighborhood/links.

If this is not the case then make changes to the existing domain to improve traffic.

Keep in mind that a new url means starting over... from the bottom.

[RVSam]

Let me explain more as to why I was wanting to dump the old site. It is a template site that is 15 years old. All contents are new and updated a lot but the coding, etc of the platform is old . I want to do things with it that I read on here to stay “nice” to google but according to the place I rent the template from it can not be changed. Some changes seems simple enough to me, but he says, can not be done on this template. For the cost of the monthly fees I can leave it as it sure does pay for that. My thoughts where of having 2 sites close to the same and google problems.

[aakk9999]

Why not re-develop on the same domain? You can then also redirect old URLs to appropriate pages on the redeveloped site.

[RVSam]

That’s another reason why I want to change. I rent each month the software which is a ecom template site which I entered all the info on and update new items, BUT , I can not do anything in the html and coding areas. I can only fill in the blanks for items, pricing, etc and very limited. I read in here about stuff you guys do, which for most I can understand and follow, but can not do any of it.
So what I’m saying is on the let’s call it, the old site, I will not be able to get into that area to put up a redirect.
I do not want the new to be anything like the old except for selling the same items . I also will need to keep the old going until the new, hopefully earns its keep and grows beyond is my dream.
If I just switch content on same domain and the SE’s drops me, I’m dead in the water. I for sure would love to keep the traffic, links, etc we have received over the last 15 years though.
Guess what I’m trying to say is that everything is ok Except for the software I’m using. If I could do a carbon copy and have software that is newest and greatest and I have more control over, I’ll Jump on it.

[tangor]

Okay. More info suggests other alternatives.

One, find a software/interface you like, and can control, then set up a dev machine (ie. off-line) and create that site. Test it. Input your merchandise, etc. When happy with it, have the htaccess redirects prepared and dump the old site and replace with the new. One fell swoop, so to speak. Take the short hit for the SE's finding all, then go from there. That's one way to get out of a locked in third party control of your site.

OR, you can do the above bit by bit, gradually migrating from one template/control to another. Nothing wrong with that approach, just means you'll have to document/maintain action logs to know what's been done and to plan for the next part of the transition.

[aakk9999]

Do you control your domain name and just rent a software? I mean, when you do "whois" of the domain name, is it in your name, do you own it?

If yes, things are much easier. You crete a new site you can control (offline, like tangor said). Once you test everything, then before you replace your current site (where you cannot control the software), use some crawl tool (see [webmasterworld.com...] and [webmasterworld.com...] for list) to make a list of all of your current URLs (URLs generated by software you cannot control).

Once you put a new site on the existing domain, then use the list you created to create redirects from old URLs to new ones - and you will preserve your domain history and longetivity. You do not need to edit html or software in order to crete redirects for domain you control, even when the software it used to run is no longer there.

In short, it does not matter whether you can edit html and coding area. What is important is - do you control the domain name and can you hosted it anywhere you want. If you do, the rest is in your control anyway.

[RVSam]

Yes I own the domain and my name shows in the whois. WOW, got my heart going 100 mph now, lol. That way sure as heck sounds like the way to go.
Now I can get busy looking and playing with new software which I hope will be the latest and greatest .
THANKS MUCH GUYS.
Any thoughts on Bigcommerce ?

[minnapple]

I helped move a very old client to the bigcommerce platform and we all were very happy with the end results,
Easy to use and modify even with the basic skill sets.
I give it a thumbs up.