A question for Webby & Shartley...

[tooslow]

...or anyone else who has web design experience.

I am begining the process of taking my retail paintball business online and I am toying with the idea of designing the site myself. Normally I would consider this a very bad idea, as I certainly am no web professional.

But I have recently come across a web development tool called "EC Builder Pro 6.0" by Multiactive Software. If I can believe what Multiactive is telling me, then I should be able to create a functional online store by myself.

So, I am wondering if any of you have had any experience with this software and can maybe give me some of the pros and cons of using it.

My alternative is to try and find a web designer who will work for a combination of paintball gear and very little cash (hint, hint).

thanks guys.

[shartley]

My philosophy is you get what you pay for, and most of the time when people try to do a business site themselves.. it looks that way. And I would NEVER buy a single product online from a business that did not take the time or money to do it right.

Professional Businesses should use professional design for ALL things they do. If they don't...... how professional are they? And should they get MY money?

Does this mean that businesses with smaller budgets can't get professional design? Not at all. But saving a couple bucks on design is saving a serious business absolutely nothing.

But that is only one way to look at it. I am sure there are hundreds of people that would tell you that the "Internet Toolbox" and other systems like it make people lots of money..... pffft Right, then why don't truly successful businesses use it?

I am not an ego stroker, or one that pumps up dreams..... enough said.

I read your WHOLE Post, and I know your situation. Feel free to send me an e-mail if you like.

[Webmaster]

Well there are three factors when making an ecommerce site, its look, its functionality, and how its back end works.

Creating a simple look and feel that can be cut up and junked in can be done by even the most basic of designers. Exceptional designers will give you some "flash bang" for your buck as well help the site have a unique identity, instead of a generic look.

The most important thing is to be clean and functional. Amazon.com is a great example - very clean, easy to find things. KISS - keep it simple stupid. Too many people use flash, music, and/or animated gifs to try to spice things up. That in my eyes is akin to having some clown standing in my way juggling while I just want to go into walmart and guy a CD.

Then you have how it functions and flows. Part of this is organizing the navigation and the other part is understaning the flow a customer takes when making a purchase. If you confuse a customer or make it too difficult to order - then they will leave.

Finally you have the back end. Generally I recommend somethnig that is open and customizable and expandable. For me, that means having a custom ASP shopping cart system programmed. Resulting in something robust, and non propriety. I could hire 100 differnent people who could all work on it with no worries.

But that isnt always an option for smaller businesses. Not everyone can afford a custom solution. Many must settle for a "boxed" solution. Indeed we us ShopSite for many of our customers.

I have never used the software you are asking about. As shartely said - you get what you pay for. The problem with "boxed" solution is you only get what is in the box. This can mean bad support, the company going out of businness, no longer supporting thier software, bad functionality, bad programming, poor security, rigid templates you cant customized, and proprietary, non-standard code.

That said just looking over the package you were looking at, I'd say they arent half bad. But its hard to tell just by skimming some web pages.

They have a 30day trial - you should try it and see for yourself. They have clients listed who use thier software, you should call them up and ask them how they feel about their experiance.

If you find a knowledgable designer or HTML guru, they too can look closer and give some opinions. You may still have a designer make the basic look and feel of the site, and then use the software to make the ecommerce portion.

I wish you luck - take it slow and do research. I would love to help you out personally, but if I took on one more freelance job to divert my attention from AGD, Tom would kill me.

[synreal]

i'd like to echo what both of you fine gentlemen said, and add 'good luck'.

i have seen/built some gorgeous/rich/functional/(insert buzzword here) sites that simply fell flat on their faces. for no reason other that the god weren't smiling upon them quite hard enough. you may want to invest in some good luck charms, or atleast get your website properly blessed before launch

my only advice is to avoid canned products if at all possible. this is not to say that they aren't good, i've worked with some excellent boxed solutions over the years. the troubles i find in them are, they all tend to look the same, which makes it tough for you to make a name for yourself in the market.

secondly, they end up costing you more in the long run. when it comes time to upgrade modify the site, as your developers will have to tear apart and learn the application before they can start work on changing it.

you'd be surprise at the deals you can strike with people if you shop around for a design/development team.

if neither of these fine gentlemen has time to help you, or if you simply have some questions still, shoot me an email, i'll be more than happy help you out.

good luck
-james

you get what you pay/barter/smooze for

and besides, i'm closer to canada than either one of these chaps, eh