Squarespace + Big Cartel vs ??

[false_aesthetic]

Has anyone used Squarespace or Big Cartel?

Any thoughts on what they offer vs spending the $$ to hiring someone to build something from scratch.

Bad experiences?



And for the customers . . . what annoys you about stores using those sites?



Thanks

[Tristan]

You don't mention what size company and your link seems to be broken, but I think it depends on what you're selling. Many of these ecommerce platforms are optimized around selling t-shirts or small knicknacks or are optimized for companies who don't make anything and are simply reselling wares. If you're outside those bounds you might struggle to find a platform which matches your needs.

Many of these platforms will have various levels of order fulfilment / workflow management and some integrate with shippers like USPS or Fedex. If I could generate international postage from our accounting system I'd save 15 minutes a day, every day of the week. Also consider what payment gateway(s) you want to plug into, although in the USA you've got lots of options.

I'd suggest to look holistically at your current systems and processes and your typical order fulfilment. What's going to cut down on paperwork and doubleups? Which of your internal processes can change to match a new ecommerce platform and which are fixed?

I can't comprehend in this day and age why you would build something from scratch - even enterprise-level companies and sellers will often be using (customized) versions of a platform which small businesses have access to. Let someone else worry about the websites security, up-time, and response times.

[Too Tall]

Agree with Tristian. I'm currently using woo commerce and it work for what it is. The Payment gateway is flawless however no shipping integration :(. Big commerce by appearances has what i need.

[false_aesthetic]

The stuff being sold would be a small part of the site (definitely under 10 items).

A bigger concern would be using a "canned" layout and being able to customize it so that it doesn't immediately read as a canned layout. I see far too many ugly, semi-broken, sites out there. I used to build my own shit with TextEdit and Dreamweaver but I'm way past that now - my time is better spent watching 30 Rock.

[david]

play with the templates.
even though the templates seem common, your content will set your site apart.
plus, there is a lot of flexibility within templates.
checkout some ot their examples to see how people have made templates appear unique.

[Too Tall]

Whatever happened with this Mr. Tolhurst? I've finally got my data squared away in WooCommerce and ready to make the move to a hosted commerce site.

World domination to follow.

[false_aesthetic]

We opted to design the horse and worry about the (shopping) cart later.

But the time is nigh.

[Too Tall]

We opted to design the horse and worry about the (shopping) cart later.

But the time is nigh.

Don't leave me hanging man. Squarespace is losing my interest.
I've got to bust-a-move

[aaronv]

Most of the larger vendors have created a market for third-party template customizers, you can spend some of your money there to avoid the canned look. Don't, just don't build something from scratch. If you need convincing, look up PCI compliance.