What would be some good ways going about making an E-Commerce website?

[El1mination]

It's $1 per month for the first 3 months, if you cannot profit at least $40 after 3 months, you're doomed to fail anyway. Besides that, running ads is expensive.

During this free trial, you can also take any and all of the premium templates and customize them as you want (your draft thing). Once it runs out, cancel it, and start a new trial if that's what you need.

Yeah but I realize now that I don't even need to make a website first I need to find a problems that I am going to solve for others.

 

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[El1mination]

You gotta find your own way to the top Elimination. These guys are shitting on you to make themselves feel better about the decisions they made. You gotta assess your situation and your capabilities and choose for yourself.

Thank you but I understand that they are just trying to help me, they might sometimes be a little rude or frank but in the end that's what is going to help me.

 

[El1mination]

Just quickly read through this thread and it seems like the scenario is this:

"I want to build my own eCommerce site because I want full control of my site along with X, Y, and Z functionality desipite never having sold a product through any website and therefore validating X, Y, and Z will actually bring in sales and are worth developing."

99% chance what you want already exists as a Woocommerce/Shopify plugin. If it doesn't there's probably a reason.

If you have no sales (or even a product idea??) there's absolutely no reason to worry about this stuff.

Find a product to sell, set up a simple site using Woocommerce/Shopify, and START SELLING.

If it works, you can build your own site later if you really want to.

Yes this is what I now realize, thank you. And everyone, the reason I didn't want to pay 40 dollars now is because I don't even have a product to sell so I would have been paying for nothing. But that is my first goal, to find a product to sell.

 

[El1mination]

No I didn't.

If you want an eCommerce website, deploy one of the 1,000 available options and get to work driving sales.

Let me give you a metaphor...

If you want to start a limousine service, would you build the limo yourself?

The limo is fundamental to the business, but NOT THE BUSINESS.

If you want to start a publishing company because you love to write, you gonna build a printing press?

Stop solving problems that already have solutions.

Yes, coding is a great asset -- but using it to code for solutions that have already been solved a gazillion times is a waste of time.

"Stop solving problems that already have solutions." That really stuck with me. I understand what everyone here is saying now, I am still not fully sure why everyone specifically chose Shopify but that's besides the point. My goal now is to focus on finding a problem to solve for millions of people, only then once I have my product I should focus on my website and all that other stuff.

 

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[Two Dog]

Building Shopify stores that converts/looks nice is a high value skill

Building SEO optimised wordpress sites that look good is a high value skill

Coding shit for no reason isn't valuable just because it's harder

You can build a better site on Shopify/Wordpress than you can with code, and it's easier

@MitchC Any current preference for Webflow vs. Shopify vs. Wix vs. Squarespace vs. anything else for an e-commerce site? Or sites selling nice services if that makes any difference?

I'm 100% platform agnostic, but am coming from the world of using pretty Wordpress templates, Elementor and plug-ins. That's definitely not the future which means learning something new from scratch. I'd prefer not to waste too much time evaluating different platforms and watching countless YouTube videos by affiliate marketers.

Friend of mine needs a website relaunch to e-commerce their retail crystal & gem store. Next up are replacing existing websites - including my own - for selling consulting, financial and legal services (3 different sites). Ease of design, ecommerce simplicity, marketing automation and social media ad magic are the big things that come to mind.

Monthly cost doesn't really matter. Let's say under $100 / month unless there's a reason to pay more for goodies.

What say ye?

 

[Two Dog]

lol tell this to MJ when he coded his site.

MJ coded his site around the time people were still using pay phones.

 

[MitchC]

@MitchC Any current preference for Webflow vs. Shopify vs. Wix vs. Squarespace vs. anything else for an e-commerce site? Or site selling nice services?

I'm 100% platform agnostic, but am coming from the world of using pretty Wordpress templates, Elementor and plug-ins. That's definitely not the future which means learning something new from scratch. I'd prefer not to waste too much time evaluating different platforms and watching countless YouTube videos.

Friend of mine needs a website relaunch to e-commerce their retail crystal & gem store. Next up are replacing existing websites - including my own - for selling consulting, financial and legal services (3 different sites). Ease of design, ecommerce simplicity, marketing automation and social media ad magic are the big things that come to mind.

Monthly cost (within reason, say under $100) doesn't really matter.

What say ye?

Shopify is so far ahead for ecommerce I wouldn’t even look at anything else

I have no idea what webflow is

Wix is rubbish

Pretty sure squarespace is owned by Shopify and possibly shutdown, it was always just a beginner version of Shopify anyway, maybe I’m getting mixed up with something else

Woocommerce is probably the best DIY ecommerce platform, but you still have to host it yourself so there goes any money saved anyway.

If it’s for clients I’d just use Shopify because it’s hosted by Shopify so you can scale up traffic, don’t have to worry about security updates etc, you are processing payments on these ecommerce sites so easier just to leave it to Shopify rather than worry about security

Everyone is used to the Shopify stores and checkout now, they load fast and work well, so it converts better, this is the biggest thing, you make all your money back on that alone. Plug Klaviyo and a couple apps in and you are miles ahead of anything else.

I wouldn’t use Shopify for anything other than ecommerce. It sounded like a couple of your examples weren’t ecommerce.

Shopify 2.0 is probably similar to using elementor, you can have themes with sections and add and remove and customise sections on each page

 

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[Two Dog]

Shopify is so far ahead for ecommerce I wouldn’t even look at anything else

Perfect especially with the Klaviyo plug-in. Thank you!

 

[Kak]

I, Pencil by Leonard E. Read | Leonard E. Read

I am a lead pencil—the ordinary wooden pencil familiar to all boys and girls and adults who can read and write. Writing is both my vocation and my avocation; that’s all I do. You may wonder why I should write a genealogy. Well, to begin with, my story is interesting. And, next, I am a mystery...

fee.org

This is a good read for you OP.

No one person had the expertise to produce something as simple as a pencil alone. Don't believe me? Read it. It's short. And free.

 

[biophase]

I am still not fully sure why everyone specifically chose Shopify but that's besides the point.

This is because you have never run an ecommerce site. You don’t know what it can or can’t do. It is recommended because it is good enough for 99% of ecommerce businesses.

 

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[El1mination]

I, Pencil by Leonard E. Read | Leonard E. Read

I am a lead pencil—the ordinary wooden pencil familiar to all boys and girls and adults who can read and write. Writing is both my vocation and my avocation; that’s all I do. You may wonder why I should write a genealogy. Well, to begin with, my story is interesting. And, next, I am a mystery...

fee.org

This is a good read for you OP.

No one person had the expertise to produce something as simple as a pencil alone. Don't believe me? Read it. It's short. And free.

This was interesting, I didn't know it took those many people to make a simple pencil. Thank you for sending this to me. Although this was a very interesting story, I don't understand how it relates to my question of finding value for others and solving a problem.

 

[Andy Black]

There seems to be a lot more involved with making sales from an eCommerce store than building the store software...

Google Podcasts

With Google Podcasts, you can find and listen to the world's podcasts for free.

podcasts.google.com

 

[Two Dog]

This was interesting, I didn't know it took those many people to make a simple pencil. Thank you for sending this to me. Although this was a very interesting story, I don't understand how it relates to my question of finding value for others and solving a problem.

It doesn't. @Kak is referencing your first blog post which insists you'll be building everything for a new website from scratch because you happen to know C++ for a graphics engine. Building a website from scratch in 2023 doesn't add value because my 12YO daughter can literally launch one for free in five minutes. Anyone can do the same.

Fastlane is a perspective, not a set of iron clad rules. It's 1,000% about speed of execution, trying things, failing and improving them. Connect the dots to solve a problem with the fewest steps possible while inventing as little as possible. You don't know *anything* about *anything*, so you'll not be jumping into Fastlane anytime soon. The toll road is closed to you.

Instead, you'll be slogging along through threads like this asking newbie questions until you actually start doing *anything*. That likely sounds harsh, but it's the same thing my kids hear all the time. Good enough for them, good enough for you. Doing *anything* really means only one thing: Ask strangers to give you money for something.

Personally, I find the whole "solve a problem and find value for others" far too challenging for anyone just getting started. It demands too much time and expertise that most of us have long taken for granted. Just look around your house, apartment, dorm room, whatever. Pick up something you don't want, put it on eBay, sell the damn thing and collect the money. Rake leaves for the next door neighbor. Walk someone's dog. Wash someone's car.

It literally doesn't matter as long as you're (a) collecting money (b) from a stranger (c) in return for doing something they are will to pay for. Boom. You've just progressed to the next level and can finally ask a question that starts out "I tried this and...".

 

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[Splitlight]

Shopify is so far ahead for ecommerce I wouldn’t even look at anything else

I have no idea what webflow is

Wix is rubbish

Pretty sure squarespace is owned by Shopify and possibly shutdown, it was always just a beginner version of Shopify anyway, maybe I’m getting mixed up with something else

Woocommerce is probably the best DIY ecommerce platform, but you still have to host it yourself so there goes any money saved anyway.

If it’s for clients I’d just use Shopify because it’s hosted by Shopify so you can scale up traffic, don’t have to worry about security updates etc, you are processing payments on these ecommerce sites so easier just to leave it to Shopify rather than worry about security

Everyone is used to the Shopify stores and checkout now, they load fast and work well, so it converts better, this is the biggest thing, you make all your money back on that alone. Plug Klaviyo and a couple apps in and you are miles ahead of anything else.

I wouldn’t use Shopify for anything other than ecommerce. It sounded like a couple of your examples weren’t ecommerce.

Shopify 2.0 is probably similar to using elementor, you can have themes with sections and add and remove and customise sections on each page

Replying since you mentioned Wix is rubbish -

As a noob I've been reading through as many threads here as I can, and have now made a Shopify test site to see how it works.

I have a service business (and used Wix 'drag and drop' to create an entirely custom website for it last year), and it's quite artistic. With my own custom made art and bits of text highlighting various things on the site, I think it gives a lot of value skew.

From what I can tell on Shopify, you must choose one of very few available themes, and need to pay for anything else.

When I went to edit my Shopify site, the general layout is the same of Wix, except it appears to have a tiny fraction of Wix's functionality to resize things, add components, etc. To change the colour of text I had to edit CSS, whereas Wix just gives you the option to change it with a mouse click.

I feel Wix is great at making websites and getting it to look good without coding, but appreciate the Ecom features will be so much less than a dedicated platform like Shopify.

So do people here with Shopify stores spend lots of time playing about with CSS and/or buying themes to get the look they want? Or have I missed something about the functionality for designing things?

 

[Kak]

Personally, I find the whole "solve a problem and find value for others" far too challenging for anyone just getting started. It demands too much time and expertise that most of us have long taken for granted. Just look around your house, apartment, dorm room, whatever. Pick up something you don't want, put it on eBay, sell the damn thing and collect the money. Rake leaves for the next door neighbor. Walk someone's dog. Wash someone's car.

You talk about solving a problem being too hard... and proceed to suggest problem solving.

 

[Kak]

It doesn't. @Kak is referencing your first blog post which insists you'll be building everything for a new website from scratch

Correct.

What if I wanted to start a pencil company...

So I decided to buy a lumber mill to get the wood.

But I can't buy a lumber mill without a forestry operation. So I need one of those.

But I can't have a forestry operation without a chainsaw manufacturer. So I need one of those.

But chainsaws need gas, so I buy an oil refinery.

But oil refineries need crude, so I buy an offshore rig.

But I need to move the oil so I buy a tanker ship.

But the tanker ship and the offshore rig needs steel, so I buy a steel plant

But the steel plant needs ore so I buy a mine

But the mine needs tractors so I buy a tractor company

But the tractors need engines so I buy an engine company.

Back to the pencil, I still need graphite, paint and rubber.

So I go down those habit holes too.

The point is, someone already did the work for you, you just need to buy the solution off of them. Instead, I just buy rubber, paint, wood and graphite and put them together. I deliver them with a delivery service instead of buying delivery vans. I retail them through retailers instead of building stores.

This is the beauty of capitalism. Everyone serves everyone in a voluntary way. It's epic cooperation between humans that organizes itself.

There are a million turnkey options for an e-commerce website that are incredibly visually appealing. Focus on the product and your competitive advantage, not the stupid site itself. People run billion dollar companies on Shopify.

 

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[Two Dog]

I have a service business (and used Wix 'drag and drop' to create an entirely custom website for it last year), and it's quite artistic. With my own custom made art and bits of text highlighting various things on the site, I think it gives a lot of value skew.

From what I can tell on Shopify, you must choose one of very few available themes, and need to pay for anything else.

Since I asked for the recommendation...

* free and paid themes are available everywhere at every price point for every popular platform
* free vs. paid themes and monthly fees don't matter to me for building out a six figure plus biz. I care much more about "how long will it take to accomplish XYZ" that's needed to launch and grow the business. That's why something like Django has zero appeal. It's a nerd playground, not a get it done quickly tool.
* value skew comes from developing a offer that generates sales. It will almost never come from a prettier website

Regardless of the service business, I'd expect something like Try Free For 14 Days - BookingKoala to be much easier to implement than Wix. They've already solved problems you don't even know you'll experience. For instance, the integrated hiring system helps with the single biggest problem in running a service company => recruiting, screening and onboarding service workers. That's worth $27 / month many, many, many times over in my world.

Where's your website?

 

[maverick]

Imagine all the work you could have done...

 

[Graciasmith]

Firstly depend upon what kind of platform using for e-commerce because different platform have different facility and functionality but common thing is that to making it better by giving UI/UX design, website speed, and proper navigation. Shopify is best and not too much expensive and easy for seo optimisations.

 

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[heavy_industry]

I want to have full control over the website and all components

Where did you get this idea from?

Even if you somehow pulled this off and managed to code everything "from scratch" (5+ years of work), this would result in you having even LESS control. Not more.

95% of your time would be spent fixing bugs and tinkering with the system, instead of actually using it to grow your business.

But wouldn't that make me a hitchhiker? If I'm using someone else's tool to rely on, what if the tool changes their pricing all of a sudden and I lose access to my website if I don't pay a certain amount

Sorry to burst your bubble, but everything in the economy relies on something, which relies on something else, which relies on something else...

By using any kind of programming language, operating system, server infrastructure, internet infrastructure etc. you are relying on other's people work to further your own progress.

This is how capitalism works.

@Kak explained it wonderfully well in this comment.

We appear to be so tall because we are standing on the shoulders of giants - the people who worked hard to build the modern world, with its tools, knowledge, and infrastructure.

Use it and thrive, or stay in the Stone Age and die.

 

[Spenny]

Shopify is so far ahead for ecommerce I wouldn’t even look at anything else

I have no idea what webflow is

Wix is rubbish

Pretty sure squarespace is owned by Shopify and possibly shutdown, it was always just a beginner version of Shopify anyway, maybe I’m getting mixed up with something else

Woocommerce is probably the best DIY ecommerce platform, but you still have to host it yourself so there goes any money saved anyway.

If it’s for clients I’d just use Shopify because it’s hosted by Shopify so you can scale up traffic, don’t have to worry about security updates etc, you are processing payments on these ecommerce sites so easier just to leave it to Shopify rather than worry about security

Everyone is used to the Shopify stores and checkout now, they load fast and work well, so it converts better, this is the biggest thing, you make all your money back on that alone. Plug Klaviyo and a couple apps in and you are miles ahead of anything else.

I wouldn’t use Shopify for anything other than ecommerce. It sounded like a couple of your examples weren’t ecommerce.

Shopify 2.0 is probably similar to using elementor, you can have themes with sections and add and remove and customise sections on each page

Underrated comment. I run my website with WordPress alongside Elementor & Woocommerce because I wanted the modularity that came with it. I certainly got that, but I didn't anticipate that I'd have to debug clashes & interact with a dated system.



Also the amount you save isn't crazy - out of curiosity I lined up all of the cost of platforms in eCommerce.

This one below is for a low average order quanity of £20

(sorry for Americans, it is in glorious Great British Pounds - God save the King.)

You can see that the savings aren't crazy. Who cares about £1000 when you're making £100k in sales. It comes down to:
A) How modular you want it.
B) If you can be bothered to do it.

Do not get me wrong, I don't regret using WordPress as I've now got that modularity I wanted, but if you want to get started quickly, don't bother - use Shopify.

 

[Jon822]

Where did you get this idea from?

Even if you somehow pulled this off and managed to code everything "from scratch" (5+ years of work), this would result in you having even LESS control. Not more.

95% of your time would be spent fixing bugs and tinkering with the system, instead of actually using it to grow your business.



Sorry to burst your bubble, but everything in the economy relies on something, which relies on something else, which relies on something else...

By using any kind of programming language, operating system, server infrastructure, internet infrastructure etc. you are relying on other's people work to further your own progress.

This is how capitalism works.

@Kak explained it wonderfully well in this comment.

We appear to be so tall because we are standing on the shoulders of giants - the people who worked hard to build the modern world, with its tools, knowledge, and infrastructure.

Use it and thrive, or stay in the Stone Age and die.

Too many people conflate using a tool, platform, or service as giving up control. I pay for website hosting and if they decided to shut down, it would suck temporarily but I would quickly replace them. This is not a loss of control: I'm simply using a service and its downfall would not jeopardize what I've built.

This is in stark contrast to building an entire business based on Reddit's API, for example. One change and your entire business is gone. Building on top of what already exists is what business is all about. In a way, I guess you could say that business is just a series of layers: add your layer in, get paid for it, and eventually someone might build on top of yours later.

 

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