I recently looked closely at our Bloomnet statement and realized that with all of the miscelanious transaction fees, processing fees, membership fees and a rediculous website hosting fee, we are hardly breaking even on the orders we receive through them. One way I am thinking of altering this is by cancelling my website with them and having it hosted by someone else. There are several companies out there with 100's of free templates to choose from and hosting packages starting from under $10/month. Bloomnet is charging me $60/month. Now my question is- basic website for around $10/month but without online selling ability OR ecommerce site for around $23/ month and no transaction fees? We have a very small shop that has been open less than 2 years and it seems that most people like to look at the pics on our website but still call to place the order rather than order online. Do I really need online purchasing capabilities? I am looking at using network solutions, since our domain name is already through them or aplus.net which has been reccomended to me. Any advice on this?
Website Hosts/ ecommerce vs basic website
- Thread starter Tami McAllister
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prestonway
Well-Known Member
I think ecommerce makes you look more serious and professional but I know what you're saying, a lot of people call and say "I'm on your website"... I used to use Godaddy and that is ok but a lot more work on my part and the shopping cart wasn't quite right, it was not florist-specific. Now I have a Strider site and am happy with it.
Especially since you are at the edge of a fairly good sized metro center (Boise) I would STRONGLY suggest you look at a full bore E commerce site. THEN spend a fair amount of time with Search Engine Optimization for "Boise Flowers" and "Boise Florist." Meridian too, but you are Sooo close to a gold mine!
(If you take my advice, can I have ONE free delivery to Meridian? That's where my oldest son and his family live. GREAT place!)
Bill
(If you take my advice, can I have ONE free delivery to Meridian? That's where my oldest son and his family live. GREAT place!)
Bill
In the future floral eCommerce/shopping cart, SEO, online marketing, set up and cutting edge never before seen methods of selling your flowers and buying them will be free along with the power of your consumer to buy via their smart phone on your eCommerce site. Follow me and wait a year. The platform isn't some cheese ball Go-daddy one either, it's Demandware. www.demandware.com
In the mean time, listen to the people who already replied to you, it's really important you have an eCommerce solution.
There is a storm brewing and I'm sick of the good ol boys club, their methods of abuse to the B&Ms and sick of old worn out broken floral models that florists 'fall for' that only hurts their bottom line. Florists don't need another set up fee or annual/monthly fee or service fee, fee, fee, fee. They need free.
In the mean time, listen to the people who already replied to you, it's really important you have an eCommerce solution.
There is a storm brewing and I'm sick of the good ol boys club, their methods of abuse to the B&Ms and sick of old worn out broken floral models that florists 'fall for' that only hurts their bottom line. Florists don't need another set up fee or annual/monthly fee or service fee, fee, fee, fee. They need free.
If the difference is only $13 a month, that's no brainer; of course you would want ecommerce capability just in case someone orders online.
But remember that, with ecommerce site, you might have to sign up with another credit processing company, who may charge you a monthly fee even if you had no order.
I just did a quick keyword-traffic analysis for your town. It looks like there are only 1-200 Google searches are done for 'florist/flowers meridian id/idaho' per month.
Based on this number, it's fairly certain that you will not receive a whole lot of online orders. One order per week wouldn't be a bad guess. Fewer might be more likely.
But remember that, with ecommerce site, you might have to sign up with another credit processing company, who may charge you a monthly fee even if you had no order.
I just did a quick keyword-traffic analysis for your town. It looks like there are only 1-200 Google searches are done for 'florist/flowers meridian id/idaho' per month.
Based on this number, it's fairly certain that you will not receive a whole lot of online orders. One order per week wouldn't be a bad guess. Fewer might be more likely.
I don't know about Bloomnet but I assume that they are like Teleflora in that they continually update your website with seasonal products and categories. This is something to consider when making your decision. You will need to continually update your categories and rotate your product on the pages so that when people visit your site in June they don't see a Christmas section and they do see Christmas when they need it. You may be doing that all manually already so this may not pertain to you at all, but I just wanted you to remember that part of it too.
As for e-commerce, I think the number of Internet orders you receive should cover the added cost. Be sure to tell everyone about your website and put it in all your marketing and on your business cards and encourage people to use it.
As for e-commerce, I think the number of Internet orders you receive should cover the added cost. Be sure to tell everyone about your website and put it in all your marketing and on your business cards and encourage people to use it.
The BloomNet sites are attrociously bad for SEO, so I'd make a move quickly.
Definitely ecommerce. That stopped being a question 5 years ago.
Any ecommerce is good, as long as the platform is decent for SEO (OScommerce and Zen Cart aren't great). Floral specific is better.
Network solutions tends to be over-priced and under-served. It's web services for people who don't know any better, and NS knows it - that's why they can charge $35 / yr for a domain, when others are $9 (GoDaddy) $7 (Strider) etc.
Get a site where you can publish content, not just a catalogue.
Ryan
Definitely ecommerce. That stopped being a question 5 years ago.
Any ecommerce is good, as long as the platform is decent for SEO (OScommerce and Zen Cart aren't great). Floral specific is better.
Network solutions tends to be over-priced and under-served. It's web services for people who don't know any better, and NS knows it - that's why they can charge $35 / yr for a domain, when others are $9 (GoDaddy) $7 (Strider) etc.
Get a site where you can publish content, not just a catalogue.
Ryan
duanermb
New Member
What he said, and this. If you have access to a catalog, you are 90% of the way there. There are some great solutions to be had and most are around $100 per month, so you are doing pretty good, and think of it this way:
Not sure if you are still in the Yellowpages, but consider the cost of that vs. the cost of the website. The number one marketing tool a florist has these days is the website. Yellowpages is dead. Customers far and near are finding you this way. Even the ones who you have marketed to locally will find your phone number and get a look at what you have to offer on your web site before calling in. Put your absolute best foot forward online. (I know guys, practice what you preach! We are working on it!)
There are dozens of reasons to have eCommerce and it is the most cost effective ways of getting an order. Many customers choose this way to order, and many of them do it at times when the store is closed. I agree with Ryan, that if the Bloomnet site isn't performing well, you should try to make a change as soon as possible, and go with a site that is better for search engine optimization. One of your competitors gets 2 websites in the top 6 of Google rankings, there is one other TF site, and the rest are directories and order gatherers. Plenty of room for you to sneak in there and get more online orders, and way more phone calls!
Thank you all so much for the advice! ecommerce it is! I've heard strider mentioned a lot in these forums - what is so great about a strider website? Are they another hosting company or just web design?
Thanks again, I really appreciate all the helpful info!
Thanks again, I really appreciate all the helpful info!
conchandler
Well-Known Member
Yes, I would also like more info. Is it realistic to think that one could get an ecommerce site up and running for the fee that TF charges, approx. $100 or less per month? Thanks.
Strider is the company that operates FlowerChat. Last year we created the Florist 2.0 platform to offer florists a new alternative to the wire service sites, and other floral options that charge high per order fees.
If you want more info, you can visit www.florist20.com or call Jim at 800-314-8895 x802.
Thanks
Tami -
Some of the members here have used Network Solutions' templates in the past. At least one of them put loads of time into his and got very, very poor results. IIRC the templates lacks most basic must-have optimization features.
Be sure to balance the time factor (your time) with the raw monthly cost.
Bill's comment about targeting a larger neighboring city is dead-on. Duane's right too when he reminds that a good site, well placed in Search, is a far better marketing investment than pretty much any other advertising you can do today.
Some of the members here have used Network Solutions' templates in the past. At least one of them put loads of time into his and got very, very poor results. IIRC the templates lacks most basic must-have optimization features.
Be sure to balance the time factor (your time) with the raw monthly cost.
Bill's comment about targeting a larger neighboring city is dead-on. Duane's right too when he reminds that a good site, well placed in Search, is a far better marketing investment than pretty much any other advertising you can do today.
I'm sorry, the strider sites do look great but they are even more expensive than my wire service site! I just can't possibly afford it right now, I will have to use aplus.com or godaddy or some such place for now. There are thousands of free templates out there to use and I am willing to put in the time rather than the money right now. I will definitely do an ecommerce site rather than basic though from all the advice I've gotten here! Thanks again!
Go E-commerce. Your goal should be to "be easy to do business with". Let the customer choose whether to call you and place an order or to order online. The botton line is that you want to get the order.
As far as what service to use, I think Ryan is spot on. There are a lot of options out there and some just do it better and more affordable than others. You should look for a solution that is easy for you and your customers to use. It must be easy for your customers or they will go elsewhere and you want it easy for you to use both in setup and maintenance of your site.
As far as what service to use, I think Ryan is spot on. There are a lot of options out there and some just do it better and more affordable than others. You should look for a solution that is easy for you and your customers to use. It must be easy for your customers or they will go elsewhere and you want it easy for you to use both in setup and maintenance of your site.
BOSS
FlowerChat Administrator
And if you want to check out a Strider site in progress... www.smithsflowers.com
Still not done, never will be
Palms
Well-Known Member
Those are beautiful sites! I definitely know where I will go when I can afford a custom built site someday!
Tami - Here is my Strider site... www.youronlineflorist.com - I love it! I have only had it a couple of weeks and lots of hits! Got my first order yesterday!
You have to look at it as an investment - Maybe you should consider letting go of 1800 altogether and investing that time money and energy into your own site and business... If you are only breaking even - why do you contiune with them?
How much do you "spend" to break even? (you get paid two months after you provide product) If you spend $2000/month on flowers and supplies, labor - everything that goes into that 1800 delivery...
You could just get a 90 day CD at 4% and actually MAKE money with less work and headache... Or invest that cash in a site - something -
I just refuse to make 1800 RICHER! and then they compete againest me in my own market...
You have to look at it as an investment - Maybe you should consider letting go of 1800 altogether and investing that time money and energy into your own site and business... If you are only breaking even - why do you contiune with them?
How much do you "spend" to break even? (you get paid two months after you provide product) If you spend $2000/month on flowers and supplies, labor - everything that goes into that 1800 delivery...
You could just get a 90 day CD at 4% and actually MAKE money with less work and headache... Or invest that cash in a site - something -
I just refuse to make 1800 RICHER! and then they compete againest me in my own market...
conchandler
Well-Known Member
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