Do you have a sales web site?

[Joe Pack]

I have been asked so many times at craft shows, "Can I order on your web site?" that I really need to consider it. The problem is that I have no idea where to start. I see lots of ads for web site design and for hosting, but I wouldn't know a good designer/host from a bad one. Prices are all over the place, and they all speak a language I don't speak.

I make pens, bottle stoppers, key chains, weed pots, tea lights, etc., mostly small stuff. I would want the customer to be able to read about me and the production process, see pictures (that I can post/remove easily), prices, ordering info, payment info, etc. I take credit cards, so any credit information would need to be encrypted.

Do any of you have a web site you use to sell your product? If so, how did you go about it? Are you satisfied? What would you do differently next time? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Wanna buy a pen? :-))

[Stephen Massman]

I use bluehost for my hosting. I use Zencart for the shopping cart software and paypal for credit card processing.

Zencart is a supported product with most large hosting providers. But it can be a bit hard to get started. But there is lots of open source community development and loads of plugins.

my site is www.massmans.org

[Dan Bertenthal]

I've heard good things about etsy.com, at least from people who have bought there, though I don't know much else about it. Their slogan is "Your place to buy and sell all things handmade". Seems worth looking into, at least as a temporary solution.
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[Jon Lanier]

I use Homestead and it cost me $19.99 a month. I'm linked up with PayPal where folks can pay with Visa/Mastercard...etc. Here is my site:

www.LanierandSons.com

[Raymond Overman]

Why yes, yes I do. I use HostMonster for my hosting (<$6 month / 2 year contract paid in advance). I actually host five sites currently. My sales site, my blog, my wife's blog, a local groups blog and a test site.

I hand built my sales site with a database back end to make it easy to update, and I use Paypal to accept credit/debit cards.

I've got friends on etsy.com that get moderate foot traffic but they mostly do local craft shows. To be honest, the craft/art shows are where I get the most sales. People like to see my pieces in person it seems. The Internet sales have paid for my hosting twice over so it hasn't been a bad deal.

http://www.overmanshop.com if you care to take a look.

[Lee DeRaud]

I've heard good things about etsy.com, at least from people who have bought there, though I don't know much else about it. Their slogan is "Your place to buy and sell all things handmade". Seems worth looking into, at least as a temporary solution.Etsy works decently well as a display/shopping-cart infrastructure, but they do exactly zero marketing at the site level and their search function truly sucks. And "walk-in traffic" is a bit iffy, as your stuff is mixed in with (or buried under, if you prefer) a truly astonishing quantity of sub-$20 jewelry. It works best if you do your own marketing outside Etsy, steering customers to your shop there for the purchase rigamarole.

(A good clue to the overall vibe of the site is the fact that the biggest sellers on the site are people selling beads, wire, and jewelry hardware to other sellers.)

[Jim Underwood]

I was going to mention Etsy, but now I'll mention eBay and ask about Craigslist.

I've seen turnings on eBay, and some folks do ok on there, but I don't think they're getting rich...:rolleyes:

I'm wondering if anyone uses Craigslist for selling woodturnings?

[Harvey Mushman]

Joe....Try these folks. They do template based websites for crafters. $80 start up fee/ $10 a month thereafter.

http://www.createashoppeplus.com/


If you are handy with computer stuff, you can build the site yourself or you can have them recommend someone. My site cast $275 to have built.

http://www.2friendsdesigns.com/catalog.php?category=4


Same goes with these folk...a little more expensive but also very good.


http://www.u-maintain-it.com/


Hope this helps.

[Henk Marais]

Having a website is a marvelous thing and works well for my kitchen manufacturing company, but if people can not find you it is worthless.
Whoever you deside to go with, please make sure they know a thing or two about SEO (Serch engine optimization)
Most people run a google or yahoo search and only look at the first page or first 10 listed. If you do not apear on the first page people will never find you and you will not have sales from your site.

My site is hostes in South Africa by 05 webdesign. I know the guys well as they have that small company attitute where they personaly get involve and turn their clients into friends. I know Riaan will gladly give you advise on this if you contact them.

Send me a PS if you are interested and you want their E mail adress.

[Jim Evans]

Jon,
Hope you don't mind a bit of proof reading - page on bowls, the zebra wood one

"Zebra Wood comes from South Aftica."

[Bill Arnold]

I don't sell from my website, but the host has all the bells and whistles when, and if, I go that direction. My host is IX Webhosting, based in Kansas. I pay $96 for two years of hosting. Domain registration is free. It has been a reliable service for many years. I have a link to their home page on my website; if you use it, I get credit for the referral. :)

[Lee Chadwick]

I make custom duck, goose and turkey calls that I sell on a website. You can design your own for free and then pay for hosting. I use ushuntinghost.com, $4.99 per month. My site has Paypal, plus shopping cart

www.misfiregamecalls.com

[Jon Lanier]

Jon,
Hope you don't mind a bit of proof reading - page on bowls, the zebra wood one

"Zebra Wood comes from South Aftica."


Thanks Jim... don't mind at all. I've got more mistakes than that in there. Being dyslexic, I'm not always thrilled in going back in and correcting. I need my wife to go over the problems.

-Jon

[Loren Woirhaye]

I do. I've moved to Massachusetts from California after not
doing much marketing of my woodworking for a while.

It's at http://amherstcabinets.com

I mostly do custom work so I don't have a BUY NOW thing
setup.

I work as an independent marketing consultant as well - when I
learned marketing for my woodworking stuff I found I enjoyed it
and went on to working in other areas as well.

Personally I feel that handcrafted wooden goods are a tough area to make
money with as an internet marketing venture. That being said -
your website can be a powerful re-enforcer of good feelings people
get from a craft show.

The correct thing to do is drive offline traffic to your site. You
don't want to be invisible in the search engines but you'll
go hungry trying to sell craft goods if you do all your marketing
online. Offline visitors who ALREADY LIKE YOUR WORK is the
best traffic you can get.

Furthermore you'll want to build an email newsletter and capture
mailing addresses too. When I was getting established in Los
Angeles I used direct mail marketing a lot. These days direct
mail and internet stuff should be integrated. If it's done well
by somebody who understands how to integrate these elements
you'll be able to sell a lot of goods seasonally when people buy
gifts and also stimulate sales in other ways by keeping your
customers interested in buying from you again and again.