Website for a new business, Minimal website design knowledge. Experience with VistaPrint?

MattBuzzy on 09/06/2013 - 17:29

Hi all, I am in the beginning stages of starting up a new business selling rare and unique fruit and vegetable seeds and plants.

I do not have a lot of money to start out so I am trying to save money where I can. I am on a disability pension and would like to try starting a business in this field as I know there is a market for it and it is something I can easily do from home to earn money on the side and hopefully in the long run start earning enough to get off centerlink payments altogether.

I was mainly wondering if anyone had experience with Vistaprint websites, regarding how they turn out, how the payments work, the level of customization ability etc. etc.

They seem pretty good for $200 per year having all the features I require (Online Store, Unlimited Bandwidth, Unlimited Disk Space, Company Email Addresses, Facebook Business Page Builder)

I only have minimal design knowledge and very little http experience so having everything set up for me is nice.

The main questions I would have would be, how hard would it be for someone with very little experience to learn how to set all this up manually? As I can imagine it would be cheaper.

Is there anywhere that offers the features I require cheaper than Vistaprint?

I will be having a grand opening sale for OzBargain members as well as other sales in the future so a checkout system that allows me to make coupons is a must.

Thankyou.

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Comments

  • subywagon on 09/06/2013 - 20:35
    +1

    I've had a client who was with MrSite, a similar all in one web solution product… and they kind of prey on unsuspecting customers without much web development knowledge I feel. There are many hidden costs, and they make it EXTREMELY difficult or expensive to move on to a new provider once your business and web requirements expand and change.

    Seeing how you are most probably relying on selling via the internet shouldn't your website be considered as one of your most important business investments? I know it's hard to start out from scratch with no money as I was in the same position as you on centrelink so I know EXACTLY where you are coming from…

    Just beware as they also OWN your domain name, so if you build up an awesome and popular business they could decide suddenly to keep your domain name and on sell it or anything like that, as they ultimately own it. Apparently they create rather mundane websites that all look the same too..

    I did a google search on them and there are a few bad reviews:
    http://www.megansweb.com.au/site-builder-reviews/vistaprint-…

    http://www.webstarcorp.com/the-webstar-blog/item/66-vistapri…

    http://www.bhuz.com/technical-forum/47873-vistaprints-free-w…

    In my opinion as a webdesigner I'd avoid them and try and invest in a good site built from scratch with a domain name that you own.

    It can be a bit complicated setting up websites etc at first without any knowledge, but as with all things you just need to do your research and you'll soon learn.

    Anyways, good luck with it, feel free to whim me with any questions. Maybe I can help you out in exchange for free seeds and plants in the future? :P

  • MattBuzzy on 09/06/2013 - 22:33
    +1

    Hey thanks for that, wow they looked quite good so I didn't even think of google searching for reviews only asking on here if anyone knew what they are like and whoa could they get much worse haha. The fact that they own the domain name is a little scary in itself.

    I'm thinking of starting out on ebay even though the ridiculous fees between ebay and paypal combined will eat into my profits drastically if customers only buy one item and in some cases I will lose money by selling the item, especially If I have a poor harvest and don't produce many seeds in comparison to the money spent raising the plants unless I raise my prices which would make me lose all my sales because I could not keep up with competitors.

    Ah the intricacies of business, I guess it will all get easier once everything is in full swing and I get well known as a seller.

    Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

    • judyoz on 10/06/2013 - 10:52
      +1

      I think it would be a good idea to start out selling on either eBay, Quicksales or even Gumtree .. to get a feel for your market.

      Also, check out how other seed sellers do it on eBay. I regularly purchase from a couple of seed sellers on eBay and love their range and customer service. One of them offers capped postage at $1 no matter how many packs you buy and posts in a large prepaid envelope, the other offers a free packet of seeds if you spend over $20. Both sell small amounts of seeds which suits me when I want to try something new, and I'd rather buy small amounts frequently than have a heap sitting around for years waiting for me to sow them.

      And I guess you know about restrictions in sending seeds to certain states - WA and Tassie

      Good luck with it!

      • MattBuzzy on 13/06/2013 - 06:08

        Thank you Judy, much appreciated.

        We too will be offering $1 capped standard postage and we will be selling seeds in various amounts to suit most peoples needs. Our Seeds will posted in a standard bubble mailer which will protect our seeds and give our customers the choice of standard, registered or express postage at cost price.

        We will be offering free packs of seeds for bulk purchases, I can't really place a dollar amount yet until I get a feel for the market, but we may do a tier system with more bonuses offered the more spent to reward our customers for helping us grow.

        My fiancee and I are starting this business together as we are both passionate about horticulture and we would love to earn a living doing what we love. We will do our best to provide great service, fast postage and quality products.

        Hopefully I will see you as one of my customers in the near future. Look out for our opening sale on OzBargain!

        Regards, Matt.

  • lisss on 10/06/2013 - 00:18
    +1

    If it's a niche business and you can advertise elsewhere ( and not rely on their pitiful through traffic), try quicksales.com.au instead of eBay. Much lower fees.

  • pdperth on 10/06/2013 - 07:44
    +1

    You need a good hosting service basically - there are many around. Once you have a host and domain name you can link them. You can then start using a CMS like JOOMLA to develop your own site - there are many books and support available to learn.you can keep control of your website yourself once you have knowledge.

  • pjcook on 10/06/2013 - 09:49
    +1

    If you want a simple web building and hosting site, you can't go past http://www.squarespace.com/pricing/ They start at $8.00 a month, the $16:00 per month deal is brilliant, it includes all you need including a free .com domain.

  • subywagon on 12/06/2013 - 00:57
    +1

    Here's an example of a vistaprint site I stumbled upon… it's really unprofessional, and a shame because this lady seems rather talented:

    http://housetohomeinteriors.vpweb.com.au

    Perhaps you could start a wordpress blog site up and still sell via ebay, gumtree etc. Then later as your business becomes more successful invest in a proper website?

    • MattBuzzy on 13/06/2013 - 05:51

      Thankyou Trevor, this looks perfect for me! I have shot them off an email with some questions.

      Regards, Matt.

  • MattBuzzy on 13/06/2013 - 05:52

    Thanks everyone for the input I have recieved some great help and a lot to think about. Much appreciated.

  • Third_Gear on 16/06/2013 - 21:24

    Test your product on eBay first. Gauge interest and if you start selling some stuff move forward with the website. If you can't make a profit out of eBay you will struggle anywhere else.

    Good luck!

  • bich.light on 19/07/2013 - 22:41

    Hey MattBuzzy, I've also been thinking about a website.
    I have minimal web design knowledge and can build a basic website.

    Anyways, I wanted a more professional one and came across this site:
    http://www.squarespace.com/

    In my opinion? They offer a very attractive plan and build a website. I haven't looked in at depth so I wouldn't know of any specifics of hidden costs (if any).

    As a side note, I don't know what your company is but I want you to consider if you really need Unlimited disk space or bandwidth? Surely 20GB is enough for a month? Or possibly even 10GB?
    From my perspective I don't see why you need unlimited, but hey its your money and your decision :)

    Edit: It's a seed company, I assume you'll want texts, pictures and possibly a few videos. But you can always hotlink images from other websites and videos can also be linked from YouTube.

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