Web Site Upgrades

These past few months have been filled with research into how to upgrade my web site and get the most bang for my buck. There are so many thing to consider.

Online orders have been skyrocketing and my current site is a bit clunky. It only accepts PayPal or credit cards through PayPal, dealing with bulk purchase discounts is tough, the coupon codes (for me) are impossible to track, and it is terrible on any mobile devices or tablets.

I have come to believe that spending a little more for a streamlined system will pay off in the end with a better online order experience and hopefully even more online orders.

My first option was to keep what I have, and add on a payment gateway. This would mean I needed to add some security layers, and find a gateway and processor that I like. Possible: yes. Time Consuming: yes Expensive: Yes. I thought I had an option to use Authorize.net and not need a Secure Socket Layer, but I was wrong and tool two days and spent $50 on a non-refundable set up fee just to learn the whole thing won't work.

So then I explored all in one platforms. I started with Indiemade. Awesome platform. Easy to use. Looks great. Took a day and a half and started inputting inventory, got their payment gateway all set up with my bank, and then went to set up shipping options. Boom. Nope... no flat rate shipping options available. Can't offer free shipping either. Luckily they have a 30 day free trial so all this cost me was my time. At least I learned how important shipping is to me.

I sat with a friend and talked about other options. One she thought of didn't work out. She actually told me about them,. checked them out for me, and emailed to say not to bother all before I got home and had the time to check. Time saved is money earned.

Then I looked into PayPal pro. I could keep my site they way it is and this would add on a credit card gateway. But that wouldn't solve my clunky site, mobile issues, or coupon codes. 

Next was Shopify. This is what I am currently looking at. They have a 14 day free trial. I have put in some inventory items, checked out their shipping, and looked at their themes. It is a little more complex than the system I am using now (Wordpress running Market Theme), but with complexity comes more options. I think this is going to be the way I ultimately go. But I am not positive yet. I will let you know.

No matter what, look for a nicer site with better usability, more payment options, and an overall better experience in the near future!!