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Need advice for building digital products e-commerce site

by Writer7
11 replies
Hi everybody,


I am in a process of choosing which way should I build an online store for digital downloadable products. The main problem: it will be hundred of products.
Most online shop providers (like Shopify) are charging by the number of items and I will have many items. So I will have a hefty bill to pay (among the other things) just for the store. Since I am trying to bootstrap the whole thing, it is not the solution.
The other way is to make a front page in WordPress and connect it to Storenvy store, at the beginning, and when I earn some money, to extend the site using Woo commerce...
I am not sure?

Anybody has any experience and advice?

Main requirements: will be probably 100 - 500 products, payment would be with Paypal and credit cards, the site should have a possibility of subscription (for instance - for $50/month a customer would have the possibility to download 20 products, etc..).

Any advice?
#advice #building #digital #ecommerce #products #site
  • Profile picture of the author ruby2011
    It's kind of easy to build e-commerce sites with open source software, and there are several candidates worth a try, like Magento and Opencart. However, you need to learn some basic PHP to modify the code as you exactly desired. Or hire a freelancer instead
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  • Profile picture of the author superowid
    Try DAP a wordpress platform.
    Membership Plugin for WordPress | Membership Site Software For WordPress and HTML sites - Automate payments & content delivery
    You can ask the developer with a lot of questions before you decide to buy and use it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Writer7
    Not really what I was looking for, but thank you very much both of you on your answers.
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve B
      Writer 7,

      Take a look at Big Commerce.

      The basic package is $29.95/month ($27 if you commit to annual) and they host the site (no set up for you).

      Unlimited products, unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth, shopping cart for PayPal and other cards, digital downloads, free themes, lots of other features.

      It's a bargain when you consider their security and SEO measures compared to WordPress and other self hosted solutions. If you can't pay this amount from your profit you should probably not start a business just yet.

      Good luck,

      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author Writer7
    Thanks a lot.
    Big Commerce, Fetch App, I will check them as soon as possible.
    Also, I didn´t know Shopify got rid of the number of products.
    I will be more than happy with ready made solution like that.

    Guys, thank you once again.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ron Killian
    Start with woocommerce/wordpress right from the beginning, on your own hosting and domain. It handles digital products very well. You don't want to "switch" later, believe me.

    Plus both are free.
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  • Profile picture of the author joshmoney
    Try cloudnet360, we have integration with paypal, and we have membership sites as a feature. Been using it for my business for quite some time, they have good support to boot!
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  • Profile picture of the author sammiejoe
    Originally Posted by Writer7 View Post

    Hi everybody,


    I am in a process of choosing which way should I build an online store for digital downloadable products. The main problem: it will be hundred of products.
    Most online shop providers (like Shopify) are charging by the number of items and I will have many items. So I will have a hefty bill to pay (among the other things) just for the store. Since I am trying to bootstrap the whole thing, it is not the solution.
    The other way is to make a front page in WordPress and connect it to Storenvy store, at the beginning, and when I earn some money, to extend the site using Woo commerce...
    I am not sure?

    Anybody has any experience and advice?

    Main requirements: will be probably 100 - 500 products, payment would be with Paypal and credit cards, the site should have a possibility of subscription (for instance - for $50/month a customer would have the possibility to download 20 products, etc..).

    Any advice?
    Like a couple of people have mentioned here, you don't want to have to change/migrate to another platform at a later date. Just go with Woocommerce, it's free and it's easy, and the basic install handles most things you will need. They have additional paid plugins if there is a specific function that you might need.

    As far as the membership side of things you could have a separate area for them and use a membership plugin to secure the downloads area.

    Or look into DAP as @superowid mentioned. I think it might do what you need.

    Hope that helps a bit.
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    • Profile picture of the author Writer7
      Originally Posted by sammiejoe View Post

      Like a couple of people have mentioned here, you don't want to have to change/migrate to another platform at a later date. Just go with Woocommerce, it's free and it's easy, and the basic install handles most things you will need. They have additional paid plugins if there is a specific function that you might need.

      As far as the membership side of things you could have a separate area for them and use a membership plugin to secure the downloads area.

      Or look into DAP as @superowid mentioned. I think it might do what you need.

      Hope that helps a bit.
      Thanks a lot.
      I´ll have to make a comparision of different options because what is free in the beginning could end up more expensive later with all paid plugins.

      On the other side, it seams it is the right thing to start with my own site and my own hosting from the beginning (which is exactly what most of my competition is doing).
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  • Profile picture of the author mengwarri
    I seems your requirement is very flexible.
    I suggest the drupal at www.drupal.com , www.drupal.org/project/commerce
    It's a very flexible ecommerce software


    Originally Posted by Writer7 View Post

    Hi everybody,


    I am in a process of choosing which way should I build an online store for digital downloadable products. The main problem: it will be hundred of products.
    Most online shop providers (like Shopify) are charging by the number of items and I will have many items. So I will have a hefty bill to pay (among the other things) just for the store. Since I am trying to bootstrap the whole thing, it is not the solution.
    The other way is to make a front page in WordPress and connect it to Storenvy store, at the beginning, and when I earn some money, to extend the site using Woo commerce...
    I am not sure?

    Anybody has any experience and advice?

    Main requirements: will be probably 100 - 500 products, payment would be with Paypal and credit cards, the site should have a possibility of subscription (for instance - for $50/month a customer would have the possibility to download 20 products, etc..).

    Any advice?
    Signature

    Fashion designer at www.ChicPieces.com
    Seeking the Internet marketing solution

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