Forum Moderators: buckworks
Needs/Wants (apart from a good, solid cart solution):
* First-time cart deployment. Will be offering newsletter subscriptions/products. Small company. Have xth-generation brochureware site that is also due for a revamp/expansion.
* Very keen on delivering first/back issue as a PDF download – makes server performance extra important.
* Relatively limited budget (need to prove e-commerce!) so need to do as much as possible myself to start with. No real scripting ability and coding mainly limited to Dreamweaver WYSIWYG. Capable of learning a bit but don’t have time to master too much.
* Like the idea of starting with a hosted solution to minimise up-front sunk costs and avoid worrying about servers etc. However, get the impression from that software/custom solutions are generally considered better, so would perhaps migrate in due course with a developer’s help.
* Selling out of the UK so need to support for local tax and, ideally, would also like multi-currency support.
* Was expecting to find offerings with good reputations focused on serving publishers and software vendors but haven’t come across any.
* Hosted offerings that have caught my eye: SearchFit, MonsterCommerce, Click And Build (UK-based). Bit worried about resilience of download fulfilment.
* Semi-hosted or vendor-installed (but worried here about lack of appropriate skills and scale of upfront costs): Actinic (UK-based), ShopSite, StoreFront.
First-time post! Have searched the archives and elsewhere so hope I don’t immediately get pointed to past threads that I’ve missed.
Many thanks for all/any advice/guidance
Alex
I hope it's not considered rude to break into a thread like this. I'm prevaricating over my first dip into e-commerce, carts etc. but am now firmly leaning towards Actinic Business over hosted solutions (particularly SearchFit and MonsterCommerce). See thread [webmasterworld.com...] if interest in earlier musings).
Not [yet] familiar with Ablecommerce but it looks comparable/interesting. Other apparently turnkey solutions that caught my eye included YourVirtualStore (based on VP-ASP) and StoreFront.
I like Actinic's UK orientation (home is where the traffic jam is) and the greater control it would offer me over a hosted solution (e.g. for migrating between hosts). Seems to have a good, solid if a little stodgy reputation. Seen some very nice Actinic-based shops, which is reassuring.
Apart from hoping someone could confirm/knock the wisdom of favouring Actinic Business, I'm now trying to find out more in areas that hopefully complement this thread. So:
* Any recommendations for good UK Actinic hosts/packages, both for the platform and QoS. Thinking about ClaraNet.com and others but I'm always a sucker for slick presentation.
* Is Actinic Business Developer Professional worth the premium pricing (interested in the Dreamweaver integration not the multi-site capability)?
* Are the bundled extras, such as Cover and training, worth considering?
* Does anyone have experience with the Download Option. Sounds like just what I need but does it deliver on its promise.
* Any hints, tips etc. for an Actinic newbie* -- e.g. good resources, threads, lessons learnt etc.
* Thoughts on Actinic re. support, development etc. (I notice they've recently done an MBO so want to be reassured they'll go the distance etc.)
* Are there any ways to spread the cost (starts at over £799/$1,300+tax just for the software)? The upfront hit for everything would be painful. Staging over 12 months would far better.
* Is it easy enough to sign/configure a payment processor (I have offline merchant accounts).
(* Also a WebmasterWorld newbie and really grateful for all the info/knowledge I've been hoovering up. Really boosted my confidence re. choices and dipping into this area etc.).
...now defecting/re-posting from own lacklustre thread to Essex_boy's (Ablecommerce over Actinic -- [webmasterworld.com...] as I'm veering towards Actinic Business so have a hopefully complementary interest.
