Starting my own website...who do I use?

lil_goldie

lil_goldie

New Member
Apr 15, 2009
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Chatham, Ontario, Canada
www.pizazzfloralsandballoons.com
State / Prov
Ontario
Well, I've officially gone nuts.
I've created a project for myself that will take me months of time and lots of effort.
Hopefully for some gain, but who knows! It COULD tank in the water.

There are currently NO party stores in my town, the closest one is 45 minutes away and when I spoke to this shop, they said at least 25% of their business comes from our area.

Now, I can't have that, can I?

So, due to a lack of space at my shop, I'm creating an online party supply shop with free pick up in my city or shipping across Canada.
I've got a good relationship with our supplier as we work with them all the time.....

Now, How do I make a website?
I need strict inventory control, and it needs to be user friendly for me, because I thought HTML was internet code for "Having the Time of My Life"

I found a couple of companies, but the only problem is, If you ever decide to leave the company, you would have to start from scratch and re-do all your images etc.

Does anyone have their own website?
Who did you use? How did you do it?
Help!
 
i first used front page OK but no shopping cart.

I now have a STRIDER site (Ryan/Infinite). I love it and it does well. They will set it up and you can add your own images etc it's pretty easy to do.

Best $$ i've spent.
 
Chantelle,
I second the vote for a Strider site. We spent 2 years, hundreds of hours and lots of money with "consultants" in order to get the features that we wanted. Thankfully, my husband knows programming and was able to tweak the features on our site.
The shopping cart will be a bigger issue for you since you plan on shipping to other provinces and will need to be able to handle the different tax rates.
Definitely talk to Ryan - the bonus here is that he is always available if something goes wrong.
Emily
 
oh yea I will second that RYAN is always available. This tecno nongeek has contacted him over the most stupid issues and he (or jim) have always gotten back asap. best customer service by far.
 
Hands down, Strider. Not just because of this forum either, if I was dealing with Ryan's company outside of this forum and this industry I would be equally enthusiastic! I could go on and on. Always a pleasure, never a problem.
 
I would definately recommend Strider, espeically since the ticket system for reporting any problems came in. Nearly all of my requests have been answered within 24 hours and there is a 8 hour difference with time.

Also on a practical level, the back office is very simple to use. It can seem a little confusing at first but really if i can use it, anyone can.

I would get in quick though as i am sure Ryan has said he may not be taking on new clients for a little while while he does a new version. :)
 
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Eric S said:
Ryan I think you need to put a little more advertizing for Strider Websites on FC.

Way too many FC members are forgetting that the same people that run this very forum also does killer websites.

Check out some of the members that do have a strider site.
http://www.belvedereflowers.com/
http://www.colemanflorist.com/
http://www.about-flowers.co.uk/
http://www.gammageflowers.com/
http://www.thornapplefloral.com/
http://www.smithsflowers.com/
Click to expand...

www.theivygreen.com go strider!
 
Well, this is a nice end to day ... I'm all warm and fuzzy :) Thanks guys & gals!

Chantelle, I have a couple of ideas for you. Call tomorrow any time 800-314-8895 and we can chat about a few options.
 
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Reactions: lil_goldie
Eric S said:
Ryan I think you need to put a little more advertizing for Strider Websites on FC.

Way too many FC members are forgetting that the same people that run this very forum also does killer websites.

Check out some of the members that do have a strider site.
http://www.belvedereflowers.com/
http://www.colemanflorist.com/
http://www.about-flowers.co.uk/
http://www.gammageflowers.com/
http://www.thornapplefloral.com/
http://www.smithsflowers.com/
Click to expand...

and

http://www.centralsquareflorist.com
 
You're not nuts, you're progressive. I say this with the utmost respect - embrace the fact that you are progressive. If you think you're nuts, everyone else will too. If you project yourself as progressive, you will succeed.

And call Ryan. In my now defunct other business I used a Yahoo store. Worst website I ever worked with in my entire life. CALL A PRO (Ryan), you won't regret it.
 
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Reactions: anytimeflowers
Well why do you need to create a new website?

Are you going to create a whole new business?

OR are you wanting to sell party supplies that are picked up at your shop?

Because if you are why can't you create new catagories on yout TF website (that you are already paying for) and just sell them there?

You can create another domain name like pizazzpartysupplies.com and that address can be directed to your TF site.
Then you can just sell them from there.

I'm not pro TF, just my thinking is if you already have the site, use it to your full advantage!

Flowers By Martha Lee had 2 websites when I cam to work here... The Tf site was a commerce site the other was not. But now BOTH domaine names lead to one site.

I cleaned up the TF site and we get compliments on it all the time. It's not what I want in my heart of hearts but right now , it's what we can afford.

I also have a very good friend named Jackie. Jackie has 2 sites, because she has 2 seperate business, but they link to each other. Check it out- www.jackiekdesigns.com

I love her sites. They are warm and fun and young at heart and people love her. However I don't think they are commerce sites, I imagine they could be though. I just love the way they are formatted, nice and clean. Plus I love the music. And I love that you can turn it off when you are sick of it!

Anyway good luck with your new project!
 
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