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What you need to know:
We currently we work with the following web hosts:
PappaShop,
Merchant Mom's, and
ShoppePro. All
three offer affordable website hosting with a built-in shopping cart system that
is easy for you and your future customers to use. No HTML knowledge is
needed to maintain your site with these hosts, and adding content is quick and easy!
We choose to work only with these companies for several reasons. First, they allow you to maintain your own website without ever having to rely on a designer to update pages or add items for you. Updating your site is very much like updating a blog. Second, they give you the freedom to add products, update inventory, offer wholesale pricing, give bulk item discounts, suggest complimentary products to your customers, and be in control of your own keywords and search engine optimization. They also have some really great built in pages that come standard with every website such as an event calendar, guest book, contact form, press page, gallery, and site map. You can add as many pages as you choose, and you can do it with the click of a button. And on top of all that, they have great customer service and a thorough "help" section to help you learn how to use and understand each of these features. You may also choose to forgo using the shopping cart, and activate that feature later, keeping your site an information only site for however long you choose. All three hosts are great, but our preferred web host is
PappaShop.
These sites are great for small business, and clients who don’t know a lot about maintaining a website, but they do have some limitations. If you are worried about these limitations, or feel you might simply outgrow a Pappashop site, we highly recommend choosing a Zen-Cart site. Read more about this new option here.
When you purchase one of our template packages, you and the designer will work to create a "template" for your new website. The template itself
consists of a single html file that acts as a "frame" for the
content of your website (telling the system how to make each page of your website look); this will include a banner, background file, and a navigation menu.
You will always have full control over adding or deleting pages or products through a store admin and each new page you create will use the same
template and blend seamlessly with your new site. You will be responsible for setting up the content
of each page within the "frame" of template itself, unless you purchased these services through our design menu. We offer several extra design elements
for you to use with your template, that can be added on at the time of set-up or in the future. For
your convenience we also offer bundled template packages that include some
of these popular extras.
Lets get started!
Step 1
If you don't already have a domain name (website address) you will need to purchase one. We recommend GoDaddy for this. We find they have some of the best prices around (around $2 - $14 a year) and think their domain manager is very easy to use. Simply visit their site, decide what you want your website address to be, and purchase your domain name. While we love GoDaddy, for domain names, we don’t use their web hosting. Please read on for hosting recommendations....
Step 2
Pick your web host and sign up for an account. Use this link to visit our preferred web host, PappaShop. Choose either the "Basic" or "Premium Plan" (if using PappaShop).
Step 3
Sign up for a merchant account through Paypal so you can begin accepting payments on your new site.
Step 4
Select and purchase a design package through our design menu. Please be sure to read through our terms and conditions prior to purchase.
Step 5
Wait for further instructions via email. Once you get the automated confirmation of your order, a designer will contact you within 24 hours with a scheduled start date of your design project and
a list of questions to aid in your design. Most projects will be scheduled several weeks out, so you can use that time to think about your design choices, take your product photos, and write your shop policies and content.
IMPORTANT, PLEASE NOTE: You will be asked to provide us with text and images to use on your website. Please use this time to take photos for your website, write the text for the pages, and get your products figured out. YOU MUST HAVE THIS COMPLETE BEFORE THE START OF YOUR PROJECT to ensure that we stay on schedule. If the project is not completed by the scheduled end date because you are unable to provide us with the needed information, you will be charged additional fees. ($125 per week past the scheduled end date). |
If you already have an existing e-commerce
site, we can offer graphic design
services to update your site or add some extra elements to give it a
new look. However installation of these items is not offered to customers who do not use one of our preferred webhosts. For a quote, please email
us with a list of design notes and size requirements for each image requested.
Interested in a Zen-Cart site? We now offer two design options for Zen-Cart clients. Purchase a pre-made Sadie Olive design through Lightning Bug Designs, by using the "ready to glow" link above for
more details. Or inquire about a custom Zen-Cart Site, using the link above. |
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