how to make an online store

[kev.c]

Hi i have an idea for an online store, the problem is i'm not very good at computers. Is there an easy way to create a store? i was thinking about e bay but i want to go further than that. Do i need to pay a web designer?

[leroys1000]

If you want a custom,personal appearance,a web designer would
be the way to go.
Many web hosting companies offer ready to go ecommerce web
sites with basic,built in web design software,so you can make
easy changes to the sites look.

[degsy]

There are many scripts and applications that will let you add an online store to your site.

e.g.
Free for PHP
http://www.oscommerce.com/

Small price for ASP
http://www.pagedowntech.com/products/pdadmin.asp

PERL (.CGI)
http://www.actinic.co.uk/



There are also some where you can create the shop on your PC then upload the full thing.
http://www.online-store.co.uk/

[oracle128]

For someone who is not very good at computers, I would definitely not recommend trying to setup your own e-commerce site. Not only do you have to worry about the technical side of things - web hosting, site design, catalogs and shopping carts, server-side scripting, security, and payment systems; you also have to handle the business side of things - registering your business, managing tax, obtaining a merchant account, integrating your merchant account with your web-based payment system, etc.

See also this thread (http://www.cybertechhelp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126690).

[kev.c]

sounds like a lot of work, so probably i should pay somebody to do this? would i be able to mantain an e-commerce site myself if somebody else got it up and running for me?

[oracle128]

so probably i should pay somebody to do this?Most definitely yes.
would i be able to mantain an e-commerce site myself if somebody else got it up and running for me?Probably not. Depending on what scripting language the site you want is written in (Java, PHP, ASP), you'd have to learn it in order to be able to modify it. Though things like adding/removing/modifying products, changing prices, adding special offers etc would probably be done using a simple interface, if the site developer/webmaster is worth their salt. Altering the layout or colour schemes would probably be done with CSS templates, but again that's something you'd have to learn to be able to do if you wanted to change it.