Need eCommerce Provider - a dinosaur learns new tricks.

[outsourcedagain]

I'm a "newbie" to the world of eCommerce and setting up web sites, although I have had some very limited HTML experience developing screen mockups for a recent project with my soon-to-be ex-employer. I have been a software developer for fifteen years, although most of that was supporting legacy applications that were written in COBOL.

I will soon be embarking in a new direction - developing and supporting an eCommerce application that will sell durable medical equipment. My partner in this endeavor would like to get a functional site up and running ASAP; therefore, we have been considering the services of some of the eCommerce hosting services that provide the complete, all-in-one storefront packages - everything from the domain registration, merchant account, etc., to the storefront templates, shopping cart, database, etc. itself. The original idea was to get the store up and running quickly and try to start developing a web presence using a "canned product", and then possibly customize the site later if desired. We started out by looking at a couple of the more widely advertized providers like GoDaddy's Quick Shopping Cart or Yahoo's SiteBuilder, but after discoveing this forum I thought it would be a good idea to get some suggestions from some folks who had been down this road before.

Has anyone had any experience good or bad with the providers mentioned above? Any other good eCommerce providers you would recommend?

I have already found a lot of good general information on this forum about SEO, marketing, support, etc., and I would appreciate any advice that some of the guru's could provide. I am really looking forward to learning as much as possible about the eCommerce world.

Thanks for all the help!

[Mall23]

Depends on how involved and/or how much $$ you'd like to spend.

Downloadable software requires that you learn (minimally) about mySQL/PHP and/or MSSQL/ASP to get it up and running.

Some of the more fancy software companies will set it up for you.

Some let you install it on your server and you get the source code. Others host it for you (like the Yahoo stores you mentioned).

Once it's up and running, again, it depends on what level of involvement you'd like. With the hosted software, you can only customize the store as much as their interface allows -- which is great if you really don't care about the nuts and bolts.

Downloaded software generally allows (there are exceptions) you to change ANYTHING in them. This is more for the power programmer, or store owner who wants to hire a programmer to do the modifications for them.

For my friends, I generally suggest getting a basic store up and running on an inexpensive hosted solution. As you store (and profits) grow, expand out to your own domain and downloadable solution that you can spend a bit on and get customized...then it gets into a whole world of finding a good/honest developer (kinda like finding a good/honest car mechanic).

[outsourcedagain]

"I generally suggest getting a basic store up and running on an inexpensive hosted solution. As you store (and profits) grow, expand out to your own domain and downloadable solution that you can spend a bit on and get customized"

Mall23, that is pretty much what I would like to do. I really want to become skilled with HTML, js, java, and whatever else it will take to customize the storefront. I look at it as an opportunity to learn something new, although I have no illusion of developing something in a short time with my learning curve. My hope is to find something that will give us a decent storefront (something that doesn't look completely "canned") and a robust shopping cart, but with enough flexibility that I can come back in later and integrate my own customized HTML storefront. I see no reason to reinvent the wheel in regards to the shopping cart when there are plenty of good solutions out there already.

Can anyone offer any eCommerce providers out there that would fit the bill? Cost is not a huge factor, but obviously we don't want to drop a huge wad on something that is not guaranteed to fly.

Also - any suggestions regarding marketing/SEO would be appreciated.

Thanks for the help!

[Leosghost]

dont let someone else control your domain name ..buy it yourself through whomsoever you want ..but don't go the hoster dom name package route ..read the domains fora ..you'll see why

Oh and welcome to WebmasterWorld

[Mall23]

Hope it helped...

There are a zillion solutions...might start by looking at HotScript.com under their "Remotely Hosted" section.

Then Yahoo has quite a complete list at:
[dir.yahoo.com...]

[Beagle]

When looking at package deals, keep an eye on what you'll have to do if/when you decide to become more independent in the future, and whether you're willing to do it. For example, if you use a webhost's site-building program it may very well work only with that host and you'll have to start over if you want to move your store somewhere else.