Hi,
I want to start an eshop and had set my sights at using 1&1, all pretty straight forward I thought until I bumped into your forum. I think I will have to get myself a Jargon Buster sheet, every posting appear to have a peppering of PHP, ASP, css, xml, phtml to name just a few. No doubt I will decipher these codes in due course, bit scary though. So having established I am clueless can you help?
I plan to sell three products to a very limited group of people that I have on a database, so I am not expecting any passing trade, all my customers will be generated by mailshots and invited to look at my website and buy my products. I will be adding to my range of products in time but the max number of products will be around 12.
I chose 1&1 because that’s the only one I had heard of. Lawrence, in a posting wrote, these packages are basically "ecommerce for dummies". I thought “that’s me” lets go. After reading many of the items on your forum I realise I need help. Any suggestions or experiences will be gratefully received.
Regards
Grandpappajim

Hi Grandpappajim

As you have probably gathered from some of my previous posts, I'm not a huge fan of 1&1 and similar ecommerce systems, though given your requirements stated above, you have no need for bells and whistles, and won't have to worry about the likes of SEO, so this type of package may be more suitable for you than the usual S/W I recommend. However, I would suggest having a look at something like http://www.mrsite.com/ rather than 1and1 who have a shockingly bad reputation.

Have a look at this on 1&1 then compare it to a similar search for MrSite, the difference is striking.

I can't give you first hand experience of using "shop in a box" systems, but I think you can tell what direction I would take if I was going to use one.

If you have any questions about PHP, CSS etc, then fire away, we'll do our best to answer them in a jargon free way for you.

Welcome to the forum

__________________
Lawrence

Thank you so much for your advice, I looked into some of the comments on the internet and I am stunned. I buy several web mags but never noticed anything on this company, I would have been like a lamb to the slaughter. I will look at some others.

regards

Grandpappajim

Hi,
I had a look at MrSite but the only price I could find was £99 when I entered the Buy Now zone. There are a couple of references to certain things that can be changed for an additional charge, but no mention of how much; it all seems a bit vague. When I hit the “Take a tour” button all I got was a single page, bit disappointing really. I couldnt really establish what I was getting and how much it is likely to cost - long term. So is there a web host outfit that anyone has used and can recommend?
regards
GJ

I would have a look at www.trustahost.co.uk they ll be able to give you a complete package and there support is very good

__________________
Dynabid Online Auctions www.dynabid.org

Thanks for that Dynabid, I really am a bit green when it comes to setting up an eshop, Trustahost has been recommended but there are a few things I cant decipher, any help would be appreciated.

Dedicated IP Address = ?

Every account comes with..
.PHP 5 , MYSQL 5, PERL =?

affiliate program. =?

And finally has anyone experienced the services of Trustahost?

Regards

GJ

php is he software you use were using php 6 my sql thats the database where all your things go into and regarding experience with trustahost we ve been with them since they started and our other site EA-alternatives as well you can see our testimonials on there homepage

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Dynabid Online Auctions www.dynabid.org

Hello there grandpappajim,

Many thanks to DynaBid for referring me to the forums and to this post

Quote:

IP Addresses cost £1 per month per ip address. They are only to be used on SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificates.

PHP 5 & MySQL 5 are core components on all machines. Since PHP was depreciated last year we have no option but to use the latest:

PHP 5.2.6
MySQL - 5.0.51a-community

We currently have a 25% Affiliate Programme which is available at http://trustahost.co.uk/affiliates.php

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us via the following methods:

Live Support : http://www.trustahost.co.uk/
Monday - Friday 7am till 11pm

Email: Support@trustahost.co.uk
24 Hours A Day

Support Ticket : https://www.trustahost.co.uk/clients/submitticket.php
24 Hours A Day - 2 Hour Ticket Resolution Guaranteed!

Telephone Support - 02032868110
Monday - Friday 9am till 9pm

For Pre-Sales Support please go to http://www.trustahost.co.uk/clients/contact.php

Best Regards,

Dominic Quick
TrustaHost Director

Should you consider zencart, several recommended zencart hosts
who will install Free Of Charge for you via
http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?ma...es&pages_id=10

__________________

Ready made zencarts/Zencart Templates/Mods Available

do not use 1and1 the worst service ive ever had.

eukhost.com all the way for me.

and there 24/7 service is amazing

__________________

Thanks for that, I had a quick look but am a bit worried about the shared hosting, I cant stand these sex and dating sites and I switch over when ever I hit a site carrying these types of banners so I am sure others will.
regards

GJ

Thanks baydog, I start reading into these sites and then get stopped in my tracks with unknown items such as "free tickets". Whats that all about?

I think you may be confused about what shared hosting is. Shared hosting means that your site is hosted on the same physical server as others, your site is separate and distinct from other sites on the same hardware. You can't access their sites and they can't access yours. The vast majority of websites are on shared hosting, only a very busy store would require a VPS or dedicated host. There is a huge price difference too, shared hosting can cost £50ish a year, whereas a dedicated server will cost £90ish+ a month (this figure can be far higher depending on server performance).

The sites you mention have chosen to display those ads. They could just as easily be hosted on dedicated servers as a shared host.

__________________
Lawrence

Thanks for explaining that for me, it really is a confusing business. Is there a good book around that can be recommended?
Regards
GJ