Tampa Bay Art Startup
Posted by Dan
There have been some twists in the set up of my startup. In reviewing software and the general expectations of the online shopper, I feel that I have to provide a standard online shopping cart. Since I will be focused on selling Tampa Bay Art, it is imperative that I provide secure sales transactions. Since I will be focused on exposing Tampa Bay artists that are not well known and I am not running a physical gallery, I need to show that this is a serious site and that it is secure to order from. More on that soon…
I finally made it to “Art After Dark“, which is held on the third Friday of every month at the interim location of the Tampa Museum. My fiancee and I bought memberships and checked out the Scooter display. The presentation was small, but featured some very well decorated strollers and various pieces from Tampa Bay artists. The main exhibits were “green designs” and plans throughout the Tampa Bay area including the incredible plans for the new Tampa Museum that should open in late 2009.
This refreshed my view on what I hope for from my “Buy Tampa Bay Art” site. I hope to provide enough exposure to local artists to finance their talent and hopefully land some of their work in the new Tampa Musuem.
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.
I’m a code monkey
Posted by Dan
I got to do some work today that was above and beyond my normal coding. By the end of it, it felt really cool to have done something so RAD. I guess this is my version of a grease monkey day. Anyways, php rocks! Thanks to Cory for teaching me! I always enjoy working on sites, but putting together something very clean that will function very well is awesome. I wanted a pic of a real grease monkey to overlay onto a computer, but I’m on a double today so I was restricted to what I could find easily on the internet.
Web Designer
Posted by Dan
I have been so busy that I haven’t had time to sit back and realize that I am now an actual web designer. Well, I actually started in January, but I began with the basics of updating current sites. Now that I have actually had a few concepts approved and coded out a site, I feel official!
It is so awesome because I am not a natural. I developed an interest in web design while learning pc repair and networking. The interest turned into passion and I could literally spend all day online checking out websites. (And I have a few times). I am definitely in the development process myself. Thankfully, I have an awesome team leader to coach me along the way. I want to learn more and more about the psychology behind design and the backend coding which is a challenge for me. My interest is mostly visual, so I have focused on styles and layouts.
So, I plan to list some of the resources that I find along the way that help me design. First and foremost is iStockPhoto.com. For my skillset, iStockPhoto is the number one resource for web design. My design process is more of a coordination of design elements instead of true start-from-scratch design. So, I find wonderful items at iStock for cheap. $1 gets you some pretty amazing stuff. If you haven’t joined up, I’m attaching a link for you to check it out. (Yes, it’s an affiliate link)
StyleShout and SEOBilgi
Posted by Dan
It’s only right that my first post about web design is one about the designer of this theme. I have not taken the time to learn how to develop a Wordpress Theme, so I rely on awesome people like the Styleshout.com owner and SEOBilgi.
The Style Shout site is awesome! It is designed very well and is an excellent resource for css templates, wordpress themes and web design resources.
SEOBilgi seems to be the php guru that pimps out the Style Shout themes for people like me to use. If I ever turn a profit on a site, I will definitely be donating to these two…