Friend needs help for an online store.. I need help helping her, ha

[davidg4781]

Ok, so she can find the hosting and domain stuff, but what's the best way to do the store front and website and all that?

She found a seller on Etsy that has a lot of stuff, seems like it pretty much gets everything started, for $650. The only thing I don't like about that is if something major needs changing and you can't get ahold of the person (who would probably charge to fix), you have to find someone else and that could get even more expensive.

Are there anything else out there that looks nice and easy to use? She can do design stuff and what not, but I don't think she's that knowledgable in web design. And neither am I.

So, any ideas?

[mactumors]

I would send her to http://www.shopify.com/

They do the hosting, content management, ecommerce, and payment processing. Starts at $30/month. No web development experience necessary and the stores actually look professional.

You can make your own etsy store for free and it requires no experience. I think. So it doesn't make sense to rely on someone else.

[designs216]

I've used Google Checkout in the past but it requires some HTM knowledge to integrate it into your site. Google processes the credit card, bills for shipping and the buyer can select shipping speed/method. Step by step documentation is provided.

Although there is a learning curve, you wouldn't be dependent on a third party developer.

Another thing to consider is setting her up as a seller on Amazon. Finding a random site on the web is like finding a needle in a field full of haystacks but everyone knows their way to Amazon. They will take a big cut but at least while your friend is getting started, it's something to consider.