Opening An Online Store

1-13-05, 02:42 PM

Hi all. Is it really possible to build an online store with powebs package? And if so is there a limit to the number of products and or categories i can place in my store? Why should i choose say poweb for building an online store over say freemerchant.com

stevel · 1-13-05, 03:04 PM

Certainly it is possible - many of us have done it. There is no practical limit I know of.

As for freemerchant.com - you're sort of comparing apples and oranges. freemerchant.com provides various levels of web stores as their business (and despite the name "free" in their name, even their cheapest package costs more than PowWeb.) They provide a turnkey solution and support it, but you are limited to whatever is in the package you buy.

PowWeb is a web host that allows installation of many different kinds of e-commerce packages, but e-commerce is not PowWeb's primary business and they do not provide technical support for e-commerce packages. (We users do help out in the forum, though.) PowWeb does provide a semi-automated install of osCommerce, an open source e-commerce package, but that is not your only option. You are limited only by the services PowWeb provides (for example, ASP and Java servers are not supported), but most stores need only PHP or Perl and MySQL, both of which PowWeb has.

One limitation is that PowWeb provides only shared SSL (for free) and does not, at this time, allow you to install your own SSL certificate. That may come in the future.

If you want to see a sample store here, check out my Cheshire Garden link below.

1-13-05, 03:23 PM

Thanks a lot for your help. I see what you mean. I liked that website of yours it looks very nice and that's one thing about freemerchant. their cheapest package costs more than powebs package. i saw some sample websites from some of their members and they look nice. But the thing is that they are probably just as nice as yours. And the thing is that i don't know how my online store is going to turn out. i am hoping it will make me some good money but i was inching towards paying as little as i could each month for an online store provided i get good service. So i am inching towards powweb. Is there a limit to the number of products or categories that i can display in powweb's package? If not i'll think it over but will most likely get powweb.

stevel · 1-13-05, 04:26 PM

PowWeb does not have its own limit on products or categories. I suppose at some point you are limited by the total amount of database space you are allotted, but that is VERY large and should not impose a practical limit (unless you are amazon.com!) There may also be limitations from your choice of e-commerce software.

You will have to invest time and effort to build your web store - your selection of the basic software will affect this to some extent.

1-13-05, 04:45 PM

Is oscommerce easy to use? I've never built a website before much less an online store but i am a very aggressive and quick learner. I've read that there are some online tutorials for oscommerce. Do you need to have a lot of experience to learn how to handle the software easily and fast?

stevel · 1-13-05, 10:11 PM

"Easy to use"? Hmm.. I suppose it depends on your background and experience.

Following the tutorials, it is not difficult to get a functioning osCommerce store up in a couple of hours. This assumes that you can live with all of the defaults for what gets displayed where, and don't need customization of the look beyond changing an image or two.

I wanted more than that, and while the overall structure of my store is pretty much the default, it has lots of tweaks here and there, with various contributions added in. It took me several months to get to the point where I was willing to open the store, though I can't say I worked on it full time.

There are packages based on osCommerce that can speed things up. Zen Cart (www.zen-cart.com) is one of these. There are various other "loaded" osCommerce distributions with lots of contributions added. I have not used any of these. I'm a programmer so I preferred to do it myself.

My advice is to start simple - do decide what you want the basic look of the store to be like, but don't try immediately for every bell and whistle out there. If you go the straight osCommerce route, there are "template" contributions that can ease a custom look.

osCommerce is hardly the only e-commerce software out there. Browse this section of the forum and you'll see recommendations for others.

BradleyStJ · 1-16-05, 07:26 PM

Hi Spider_man
I'm thinking you are were I am in ability to manipulate software programs????

If that is the case, then let me tell you that I found the OSC a lot of work,
and a lot of time to configure. And I still didn't get it up ! ! !

I found an alternative that is easy to work with ::AShop::, check out my store @
http://www.TheEbookStore.ca

Also it would be hard I think to reach powwebs limit, and there is no apparent limit to AShop

Bradley

1-13-05, 02:42 PM	#1
spider_man84 Posts: n/a	Opening An Online Store Hi all. Is it really possible to build an online store with powebs package? And if so is there a limit to the number of products and or categories i can place in my store? Why should i choose say poweb for building an online store over say freemerchant.com

1-13-05, 03:04 PM	#2
stevel XPW Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 9,464 Reputation: 265	Certainly it is possible - many of us have done it. There is no practical limit I know of. As for freemerchant.com - you're sort of comparing apples and oranges. freemerchant.com provides various levels of web stores as their business (and despite the name "free" in their name, even their cheapest package costs more than PowWeb.) They provide a turnkey solution and support it, but you are limited to whatever is in the package you buy. PowWeb is a web host that allows installation of many different kinds of e-commerce packages, but e-commerce is not PowWeb's primary business and they do not provide technical support for e-commerce packages. (We users do help out in the forum, though.) PowWeb does provide a semi-automated install of osCommerce, an open source e-commerce package, but that is not your only option. You are limited only by the services PowWeb provides (for example, ASP and Java servers are not supported), but most stores need only PHP or Perl and MySQL, both of which PowWeb has. One limitation is that PowWeb provides only shared SSL (for free) and does not, at this time, allow you to install your own SSL certificate. That may come in the future. If you want to see a sample store here, check out my Cheshire Garden link below. __________________ Steve

1-13-05, 03:23 PM	#3
spider_man84 Posts: n/a	Thanks a lot. Thanks a lot for your help. I see what you mean. I liked that website of yours it looks very nice and that's one thing about freemerchant. their cheapest package costs more than powebs package. i saw some sample websites from some of their members and they look nice. But the thing is that they are probably just as nice as yours. And the thing is that i don't know how my online store is going to turn out. i am hoping it will make me some good money but i was inching towards paying as little as i could each month for an online store provided i get good service. So i am inching towards powweb. Is there a limit to the number of products or categories that i can display in powweb's package? If not i'll think it over but will most likely get powweb.

1-13-05, 04:26 PM	#4
stevel XPW Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 9,464 Reputation: 265	PowWeb does not have its own limit on products or categories. I suppose at some point you are limited by the total amount of database space you are allotted, but that is VERY large and should not impose a practical limit (unless you are amazon.com!) There may also be limitations from your choice of e-commerce software. You will have to invest time and effort to build your web store - your selection of the basic software will affect this to some extent. __________________ Steve

1-13-05, 10:11 PM	#6
stevel XPW Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 9,464 Reputation: 265	"Easy to use"? Hmm.. I suppose it depends on your background and experience. Following the tutorials, it is not difficult to get a functioning osCommerce store up in a couple of hours. This assumes that you can live with all of the defaults for what gets displayed where, and don't need customization of the look beyond changing an image or two. I wanted more than that, and while the overall structure of my store is pretty much the default, it has lots of tweaks here and there, with various contributions added in. It took me several months to get to the point where I was willing to open the store, though I can't say I worked on it full time. There are packages based on osCommerce that can speed things up. Zen Cart (www.zen-cart.com) is one of these. There are various other "loaded" osCommerce distributions with lots of contributions added. I have not used any of these. I'm a programmer so I preferred to do it myself. My advice is to start simple - do decide what you want the basic look of the store to be like, but don't try immediately for every bell and whistle out there. If you go the straight osCommerce route, there are "template" contributions that can ease a custom look. osCommerce is hardly the only e-commerce software out there. Browse this section of the forum and you'll see recommendations for others. __________________ Steve

1-13-05, 04:45 PM	#5
spider_man84 Posts: n/a	Is oscommerce easy to use? I've never built a website before much less an online store but i am a very aggressive and quick learner. I've read that there are some online tutorials for oscommerce. Do you need to have a lot of experience to learn how to handle the software easily and fast?

1-16-05, 07:26 PM	#7
BradleyStJ Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: CANADA Posts: 126 Reputation: 5	Hi Spider_man I'm thinking you are were I am in ability to manipulate software programs???? If that is the case, then let me tell you that I found the OSC a lot of work, and a lot of time to configure. And I still didn't get it up ! ! ! I found an alternative that is easy to work with ::AShop::, check out my store @ http://www.TheEbookStore.ca Also it would be hard I think to reach powwebs limit, and there is no apparent limit to AShop Bradley

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