Phase 1 - Service Selection
Posted by Dan
I have decided on FatFreeCartPro and Authorize.net for my cart and merchant services.
Why? FatFreeCartPro provides the most design flexiblilty. Since I am going to be selling art, I am focusing on a gallery look. I want a unique design and online shopping experience. Authorize.net is the primary merchant for FatFreeCart and I will be offering Google Checkout and Paypal as well.
Time was the biggest factor in eliminating the open-source solutions. High PHP server requirements eliminated Magento and an awkward install requirement botched my ZenCart ambitions. After two hours to download and upload, I ran into technical issues. This was a really good thing though, because it was a big glowing sign saying DO NOT DO THIS! The techie in me has felt obligated to install and run my own cart.
It was neck and neck between Shopify and FatFreeCart. My favorite solution of all is still Volusion, but it is out of my price range. With ten percent of overall sales being the primary revenue, merchant fees and hosting alone will threaten basic profitability without even considering compensation for time. Volusion is for actual merchants. It is awesome, but about double the price I’m willing to spend right now. Maybe for my next site….
So, now it’s on to design, which is the best part…
My attempt at a Tampa Bay based Startup
Posted by Dan
I am currently planning out a startup based on community-driven sales for artists in the Tampa Bay area. I thought that in my planning it wouldn’t be a bad idea to share the process. It will keep me focused on evaluating each aspect and will keep me posting on a regular basis.
So, my plan of attack is spread out amongst 7 phases:
- Service Selection
- Site Setup
- Artist Signing
- Launch
- Marketing
- Expansion
Of course, each phase is made up of individual decisions and processes. Phase 1 is Service Selection. There are three general approaches to this decision.
- Open-Source Software + Merchant Services
- Online Shopping Cart Service + Merchant Services
- Bolt-On Shopping Cart Service + Merchant Services
The needs that I am faced with are the ability to display items in an accessible manner and to provide the opportunity for these items to be purchased via credit cards. The important factors to consider are user experience, time investment and financial investment.
Displaying the items can be done with online shopping cart software or by general design and a link to software. Generally, the time investment and financial investment are inversely related. The more time that I am willing to spend on setup and processing, the less it will cost and vice versa.
- Open-Source Online Shopping Cart Software + Merchant Services - My top 3 choices are open-source solutions because if I am going to spend the time to set up the cart manually, then I do not also want to pay for the software. Magento, osCommerce and Zen Cart are my top 3 choices. The positives are that they require little or no financial investment and they provide great flexibility with my choice of merchant services. The negative is that they require significant time to setup and maintain.
- Online Shopping Cart Service + Merchant Services - In my research I have found some online shopping cart services that have intuitive software and hosting setup, requiring only product entry to begin. Hands down, Volusion is my number one choice. The positives are minimal time investment and good flexibility in choice of merchant services. The negative is that the services add to the financial investment and overall overhead for the startup.
- Third-Party Bolt-On Online Shopping Cart Service + Merchant Services - I have also found a bolt-on service/software. FatFreeCartPro is my number one choice for this type of solution. The positives are flexibility in design and implementation and minimal time investment. The negatives are increased financial investment and limited merchant service options.
So, there is a list of my current options that I am weighing out. Once I make a decision, I will post a follow-up and describe how I will be moving to setup.
Photo of the Day - May 19, 2008
Posted by Dan
Portal de l’Àngel
Originally uploaded by Mor (bcnbits)
Wonderful HDR that I found on flickr….
Photo of the Day - May 14, 2008
Posted by Dan
I really like this tone for shots of people. The colors add so much to the mood…
Save the Child II by *afvoetomath on deviantART
Photo of the Day - May 12, 2008
Posted by Dan
Kind of a dark twist on the hp commercials…..
Orange. by ~celeste-blacke on deviantART
Switching gears….
Posted by Dan
I recently started posting a design of the day listing, focusing on mainly web designs. However, thanks to my GW fun bucks (which I hope I’m getting) I am now the proud owner of an Olympus E-420 Digital SLR camera. My spare time has been filled with learning how to use it and admiring the work of others, so my posts will be switching to a “photo of the day”…..
Whew!
Posted by Dan
I upgraded to the new Wordpress and let’s just say it didn’t go very well the first round. So, I’ve been back and forth between the updgrade and my new toy all night….
The “Design of the Day” starts now….
Posted by Dan
“My name is Dan and I am a design-a-holic.”
I spend as much of my day as possible consuming design. I work full-time as a web designer and during my lunch breaks, I scour css gallery sites, iStockphoto.com, SmashingMagazine.com and various other resources. If I’m not working my other job, I’m consuming more on deviantart.com and other great sites.
So, I have decided to share.
During my days, I’m going to pick one item to feature for my “design of the day”. It’s going to be a wide open category because my interests are so varied. Web design, graphic design, photography, architecture, etc. will all be rolled up into one. Basically, it will just be my favorite “eye candy” of the day.
I’m baaaacckkkk!
Posted by Dan
Not that I had a crazy following or anything, but I’m back in action. DanDenney.com went down from a blog setup through 1&1 hosting. I like 1&1 and this is still hosted with them. For some reason, though, if you set up a blog using their control panel, you can’t edit your site AT ALL. So, no custom themes, no uploading, nada. Oh well. I needed to get rid of motifwebdesign.com anyways.
My freelance career is over. (Woohoo!) I enjoy creating and coding, but I don’t enjoy selling. Plus, I’m horrible at it. Thankfully, the wonderful people at Digital Eel have given me a chance to break into the web design industry. I love the way that they do business and I am extremely thankful for this opportunity.
So now I have two full-time jobs. Sounds crazy, but it’s really not bad at all. Things worked out perfectly for the scheduling between the two and to allow for my nights with Jasmine! Plus, both jobs are things that I greatly enjoy and I have great bosses. It’s not even like working (most of the time).
Anyways, this is going to be my outlet for all things internet related. I am an internet geek and I want to share the great things that I stumble across……