t-shirtatude3

Hi all,
Has anyone used Godaddy's "Quick shopping cart" feature to build a t-shirt site. It seems like it could be a modest application. Will very much appreciate any feedback or thoughts.

 

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Lacuna Vaegus

I was wondering about the same thing- I have not seen much on the forums about the GoDaddy cart. I have set up hosting for several websites through GoDaddy, and it's been very simple and their customer service has left nothing to be desired.

I know a girl who set up a small online store to sell some of her homemade items. She had no web design experience, and said GoDaddy's cart was really easy to set up and has had no problems with it so far. I'm still a little skeptical though because the only reviews I've seen on the web (on other forums and review sites) have been extremely negative.

 

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Flagrant-T

I've used it for a few years now. I'm looking to switch in the very near future (i.e. this weekend). When I started using it, I didn't know too much about this stuff and I don't think there were as many shopping carts as there are now.

The PRO's
Easy to setup
Easy to ad options (sizes, colors)
Has desent stats
I like buying all the products from one source (address, e-mail, shopping cart, ssl, etc.)
Worked well, seemed robust
Good phone support (although no 800 number)

CONS
Although there were different themes, I found the overall layout very un-flexable. My biggest complaint here is that there thumbnail pictures are about the size of my thumbnail, with no option to increase there size. So if I am selling six t-shirt designs, I can't make them each 1/6 of the screen, they are just 6 little pictures that are not easy to see. When I call support to ask how to make them bigger, they said when you click on them they get bigger but there is no way to make the "store" pictures bigger. They are constantly changing things, but haven't really addressed this.

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Bigpapi

This is a great post, and I am hoping for more feedback on this also. I am currently in the market for a website and I am looking a few options.

 

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awnold

google checkout has a cart you can use and setup with 5 minutes. I use it and it works great.

Google Checkout

 

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jkruse

I wouldn't deal with godaddys crappy setup

check out storenvy or bigcartel

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Bigpapi

Quote: Originally Posted by jkruse I wouldn't deal with godaddys crappy setup

Could you be more specific on you don't like about it?

 

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Austin300

Great topic


I just got off the phone with Go Daddy.


The big question is how many items are you going to sell on your site. If it is over 20 then many of the smaller basic sites are already out of the picture if you plan to expand.


Here are a few things that you need to know about Go Daddy. First of all I use them for several domains and have never had a problem with them. There Website Tonight page is simple to use and easy to work with although they DO have way to many options and you need to just take your time to navigate the site to find what you are looking for. The Website Tonight option is economical and easy to use but they are basic website designs and that's what you get for the price you pay. It's not a bad deal because like the name implies.. its Website Tonight (more like 3 days of moving things around)



Go Daddy first and foremost is NOT a website builder when it comes to a basic domain name. they are not selling domains and giving you Website design consultants for the price you pay. Look around and see what web-designers are making per hour and you will get the picture. Many of the problems people have with Go Daddy are due to their lack of knowledge on making a basic website even with the simple Website Tonight.



As far as setting up a basic shopping cart I think you need to realize how big you want to become. Are you ready to pay the added fees when it comes to a Merchant Account or are you happy with a shopping cart that uses Paypal for your credit card payments.

There comes a time when you build a website that you need to realize that you want a simple yet professional site for people to see and purchase your goods that goes beyond a simple 20 item website. A start up website selling a few items will normally go well over 20 items so you will most likely pay for the 100 item shopping cart at first.

The cost (Go Daddy 100 item shopping cart ) is around 30 dollars per month and this comes with the paypal check out that allows credit card payments. Add a merchant account and you could be spending well over $75 per month on the site.

Paypal used to be something that people frowned on when they saw it but now they are pretty much recognized in the business as being a safe place to do business with and their business checkout is pretty professional looking compared to the old setup. Paypal handles the billing and transfer of funds to your account.

The other option at Go Daddy when it comes to handling credit card payments online is done though the Chase Merchant Account system. You will have to apply for an account and then work your billing through them.




I think you need to sit back and make a decision what you want your website to look like and what you are selling. If it will work for your needs then I think the price is right. The ability to expand your site, add products and have a professional image with YOUR website name at the top is what keeps people coming back.

You can always start off small with a Domain name and FORWARD your domain to Big Cartel
if you are on a budget and selling a small amount of items if you are "Feeling the water" This
is a powerful tool and as you expand you can move forward with a larger shopping cart in the future. Big Cartel uses Paypal for credit card payments also.



If you navigate the Go Daddy site you can find actual websites that use the Go Daddy
Shopping cart that have BOTH options of checkout. One has a Paypal checkout system
and the others have a Merchant Account. I think the one form Britain has the Paypal
Checkout so you can see what it looks like to your customers. Remember that those are
LIVE websites so don't order items if you dont plan on paying for them.

Go to their website, click on BUSINESS and then to SHOPPING CART. There will be a link to several sites to the right.

Now, If you have the time and money to either pay a web designer or use a shopping cart software program to make your own then there are numerous options. It all comes down to how much you want to spend and how much time and energy you have to build your own. I am one who would rather use anothers template and spend my time pushing the business forward.



Hope that helps

 

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Jamey

I tried it recently. It sucks. Your limited right off the bat in a lot of ways.

So far...the best I found is CS Cart. I have not tried Pinnacle cart though. I hear real good thing about that one as well. All I know is that it better be REAL good to beat out CS Cart.

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Austin300

I have heard good things also about Pinaccle and have also been looking at

3dcart

(not sure if I can post this link to their site)

3DCart Shopping Cart Software - Pricing

I would look around each provider and kick the tires. Go to their actual clients
and see their shopping carts and templates. I have spent the last few hours
looking at several.

 

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Austin300

Volusion seems to have some great options and many other requirements on the user dashboard.


Online Store Builder


Point and click and no HTML is needed.

 

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Bigpapi

Austin, Those links are all web building sites that work much like Go Daddy? Or are they just for the shopping cart feature?

I know I am premature on the question, as I am about to click on the links and find out...

 

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Bigpapi

Quote: Originally Posted by Austin300 I have heard good things also about Pinaccle and have also been looking at 3dcart (not sure if I can post this link to their site) 3DCart Shopping Cart Software - Pricing

This place seems a little pricey for me. I am a start up and would prefer to keep my initial costs as low as I can.

 

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Austin300

Big P

A domain and a shopping cart are two separate things.

A domain can be bought for around 10 dollars per year.

It is just the www.websitename.com that you buy and
own. This becomes your entity on the internet and once
you decide on a great company name you should grab
up the domain name as soon as possible.


A shopping cart is a place / site on the internet that your
domain is pointed to. It will become your website if you
decide to create one or you can make a Big Cartel site
or something similar and FORWARD your domain to it.

Forwarding your domain in the beginning is important
because once you have your domain name set up
you control it. You can then forward or point it to
any site on the internet and NOT change your advertising
and marketing. Everyone knows how to find you by
looking for your same trusted www.site. Changing
web "addresses is confusing to your customers and
also costly as time goes on.



I have been doing my research on these carts the past few weeks and find that if you want to sell items without jumping into a large format cart then Big Cartel appears to be easy to use for a small start up testing the waters.

If you want to go pro with the site and have the back of the house features for a large operation then the larger carts are what you should look into.

Go Daddy appears to be limited in the back of the house options and function as well as templates for the site, however, I see know of several sites that are fine with them.

The others are set up for a full service site that
keeps track of stock, sending out mass emails,
Quickbook / finance, tracking who clicked on
what item, the option of adding like items before
check out, the ability to see who OPENED the
marketing / promo emails and the list goes on.

Some will have you trying to figure out HTML coding
and the others have easy to use templates that are
set up for the person that wants to get moving forward
with little or no HTLM experience at all with an easy to
use dashboard for creating the cart.

It all depends on how far you want to take it.

I am no expert on this but thats what I've found
so far and the more professional formats allow you
to expand without changing your entire cart
over to a more user friendly system as you grow.

In the end it comes down to your image, time and budget $$$

 

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PreClassics

Honestly I used to host with godaddy but really got annoyed after signing in and getting a bunch of add this for only $2.00 or bundle this and get this free.. I just wanted a straight up host with unlimited everything for cheap.. so I moved to JustHost.com.

Go daddy is initially cheap but once you start configuring the things your going to need its about the same as any hosting site that gives you everything up front for a low price. Sorry I am just a godaddy hater..

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