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FINALLY GOT MY ONLINE STORE UP! Suggestions?
 

I hope this would be okay but everyone on this forum is usually very relaxed so I'm guessing it will be fine!

About a month or so ago I go the boot from Ebay! I was left with thousands of dollars in women's clothing and no place to sell! So with A LOT of beginner guidance and information from THIS SITE, I have finally been able to establish my very own web site selling young women's clothing. Keep in mind that I literally have NO WEB DEVELOPER BACKGROUND, and I just took a 4-week class on graphic design in college. Everything was started from the ground up. As of right now, I have spent just over $1,000 for the design of the store, logo, domain, hosting, etc. I think that's pretty damn good! I have been doing all of my own modeling and photography, and photo editing. I am afraid that some of the photos may look too amateur.

I would love for all of your expertise! Any suggestions at all about .. anything .. regarding my site would be GREATLY appreciated. So far, the site it live but I haven't started any ad campaigns, so there is literally NO traffic going to the site.

Also, not all of my products have been listed yet. Categories look somewhat bare, but I am working on getting the rest up.

Really, if it weren't for this forum, I probably wouldn't have been able to REALLY get started on this site. So THANKS to anyone who helped me out =)

Here it is:

FridayNightFashions.com

Be brutally honest!!!!!

It looks pretty good!
Just put more stuff in your store and then start bringing traffic towards it.

the brutal honest truth is ...

i love that site!! I've been contemplating starting my own site but have had doubts about webpage development etc.. Truly an A++ effort. Wish the best to you and i'll refer some female friends to your site as well

Very nice site... it looks professional so once you start getting targeted traffic to it you should see good sales. Good luck to you!

VERY NICE! You did what most of us Dream of doing. :rolleyes:

Keep us updated with how you progress and hopefully prosper.

I'll do my part and forward your URL to everyone I know through email.

It's not so hard. It just takes some money and a lot of grunt work. But it's worth it. :)

Honestly, you all are TOO sweet! Thank you so much for all of the compliments =)

Yes, as askpin said, it just takes a little bit of money and determination.

I have basically worked non-stop for the past month on researching and then doing all of the work getting the site up, trying to get every last detail perfect.

I am by no means an expert, but I am very proud that I have been able to make a functional site. Still haven't sold anything though =)

Like I said I have spent just over $1000 so far, which I think is fantastic (NOT including inventory, that's a whole nother story). You could spend less if you have a background as a developer, but I certainly don't. I just finished college and have a degree in NUTRITION. I am 21 years old and I used money I have saved up from babysitting mostly, and some left over from what I made when I was able to sell on Ebay. I was able to do some of my own graphics after I took a Photoshop course, and everything else I have basically just been teaching myself as I go. I have learned quite a bit about HTML.

TRUST ME, if I can do it, anyone can! You just have to REALLY want it, and I really really wanted this. Research research research. My ultimate goal is to be able to live off this in the not-too-distant future. We shall see!!!!!!

I am now very glad that Ebay booted me because it FORCED me to take my sales elsewhere and now they won't be getting any more of my money (okay, so maybe a little still..)

Again, thank you all so much for your kind words. I'll keep ya'll updated!

i want to see too, but the link is not working for me right now, i will try later. But just a note, if you do a lot of photos then I would suggest investing on a good camera. And by good camera I don't mean those compact cameras ;)

Yeah, it's down for me too. Who is your host?

You might want to try HostGator, they're top notch.

As are Bluehost. Flawless customer service, and I had 0 downtime back in the day when I was on shared.

I think the website looks fantastic. Great layout, nice and easy navigation, appealing to the eye, and functionality with ease.

If I were you, I'd start doing some search engine optimization on it (that's a whole new world, feel free to check out forums.digitalpoint.com for some great advice), and maybe some keyword advertising.

Best of luck - and I hope things work out for you!

I as well use hostgator. Very good hosting I may say as I never had one down time. Go and google hostgator $.01 first month signup and then after that it's only $10. So give it a go with hostgator because you never want to be down when your customers come knockin!

my friend referred me to Godaddy , he uses that and said he hasnt had any problems with it yet

Beautiful site Texan. Honestly when I clicked the link I expected some starter website like yahoo stores or something like that. But it looks FANTASTIC!!! A++++ Work. Congrats and good luck :) Let us know how it goes after you start advertising!

WOW impressive!!! You've motivated me as well and I thank you for that! I have alot of shopaholic friends and they'll all see it too!!

It's working fine now. You got something great going there. Keep up the good work.

Good luck

wow, I see your site was built by vollision and they Are not cheap. You need to seo your links or you will never make it in google . Your links should sAy the naMe of your product.
If you need seo done I can get you on 1st page of google for 10 keywords. My seo team are very good. Contact me

Yes, I do use Volusion. They have a rather steep monthly fee, but their premade templates are very nice, which is the main reason I decided to go with them. I could have gone with a cheaper monthly host and different shopping cart, but I feel that the templates I could have gotten for cheap would not be up to my standards, and that having a site custom designed is not feasible financially for me right now. So instead I used their one of their premade templates and customized it a bit by myself.

I do eventually plan on moving the site away from Volusion. I was reluctant to have my site on their server, I mean, what if something happens to their company? But at this point in time, its a risk I have to take. I know that a well-designed site is key to sales (once, of course, you already have visitors, which I am working on =), and I felt that Volusion was the best way to go for my budget.


But again, thank you all for your comments! More updates as soon as they happen!

Great site all u need is some SEO work now and you will be on your way.

For a $1000, and ur up and running, not bad. Does it come with a webmaster to manage design and scripts, or does that cost extra or plan on doing that yourself. A buddy of mines makes websites, charges between $200 - $500 but his work is no where near as exotic as that one. For a thousand bucks, that not bad at all.

Very nice so far. I suggest starting an ad campaign via google, yahoo, and msn if you have not since SEO will take forever, maybe 3-6 months to get any decent traffic.

Humble suggestions:

models should all cut off at same place.. perhaps below the mouth as it looks a bit weird seeing teeth like that

favs I'd change to favourites to seem a bit more professional :)

Sign up now for 10% off you next order! <--- you = your

P.s can you introduce me to that model? :D

Thank you for the suggestions Juicyas - about the teeth and the points about the typos! I'm sure there are tons all over the site. All very constructive and very much appreciated! Oh, and I am the model. Ha.

And to answer JohnnyBoy's question, I am the webmaster and I have been running everything regarding the site on my own. Figuring it out as I go! Thankfully, my host as EXCELLENT support, 24/7, and answers ANY question I may have!

You're welcome..

Wonder if your PM box filled up after that statement :)

Like the others said, you'll have to work on Search Engine Optimisation now. Basically the more sites with links to your site on the net, the higher up on a google search you'll appear and then more people will visit your site after searching for 'black dress' or whatever.

My friend just started doing this a month ago, selling something along the lines as you do and he's started getting good traffic now so it definitely works, and you can do a lot of it for free... the sites which have your links don't even have to be related to what you're selling, just the more of them the better from what I understand!

Maybe this is a dumb question..

May I ask WHY having as many of your site links on OTHER sites as possible is benficial to search engines?

I have been using that post about Good DoFollow site links a TON!!!!

Hi Texanatheart!
Well its been a little over a week since you created this thread...And I for one am very interested in your success so far.

So fill us in, have you had any sales yet? Is the site traffic what you expected at this stage? And anything else you would like to share! :)

No idea, that's just my vague understanding of it :)

I guess it means heaps of people think your site is popular.

Backlink - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Basically sums it up :cool:

Because the more sites that link to yours, the more relevant google thinks your site is. The more relevant google thinks your site is, the higher your site sits on the list of searches.

For example, if you sell pet food and your site has 1,000 links to it from other sites, you will be ranked within the top 10 of a google search when someone searches for the term "dog food". Another site only has 10 back links, they will be on page 5 of a search. Almost no one ever clicks to page 5. That means almost no one will see that site. That means you will not get many sales.

Got it?

But another great way to get people to see your site is definitely adwords until you get on the first page of google :) Also, you may want to sign up for Adsense which is another way to make some money.

To answer the question about how it has been going for me so far...

Nope, no sales yet.

BUT that is my own fault basically. I have purposely not started any ad campaigns yet.

I really feel that my inventory is not enough yet to really compete with similar sites. So I have been focusing my energy into getting some serious inventory up onto the store. I mean, why waste money on ad campaigns when I really don't even have enough items up on the store? Yeah, I could start some campaigns, but I am afraid it would be a waste. Personally, if I went to a store that wasn't well-populated, I would think that there was something wrong. I'd say 2 more weeks and I will be up to par.

THEN I will finally start some serious ad campaigns.

I also thought about doing campaigns on Myspace and Facebook. The vast majority of my buyers will be young females, and they are all on Myspace and Facebook, of course!

As soon as I get the ad campaigns going, I will let yall know!

texanatheart
I did A Level photography as my college extra course ( basicaly to add it too my portfolio) I can tell you that 1st you need a decent lensed camera. nikon or similar. ( they do have some at reasonable digital at reasonable prices now as basic cameras) Always go for high MP. ( easy to enlarge) And if your limited on lighting always use good difffused sunlight or daylight. direct sun is a no no..Then you have a good basic start to decent photos. good luck with that website.

Ohh, I know I need a REAL camera BAD. I have my eye on a used Canon Digital Rebel XT, I have a friend who uses one for her online store and the pictures come out amazing. The problem is that once I get a camera, I probably won't even know what to do with it! All these damn lenses.. ahh! Oh well, I have taught myself everything else to do with this dang site, might as well add to the list!

Lol, the to-do list.

It's a powerful tool. :)

Thought I'd let you know your lovely model is not being faithful...:D

http://content.yieldmanager.edgesuit...cb1a360488.jpg

TexanatHeart,

I am not sure what part of the state you live, but PM me please. I have a great source for cameras. I am up here in the DFW area.....


Happy New Year...

Also here too:

http://content.yieldmanager.edgesuit...a1b966f5bb.jpg

yes i have to agree also it looks great well done

my model.. hahaa!! it's okay that gal is leaving soon =)

Your store looks ok, but u need more items.

You're site looks great.
It sounds like you're spending much to much money to make things happen,
when you could be doing it for free.

Join this bookmark service for FREE:
Bookmark & Share - The Power of the Button™ | OnlyWire

That will link your site into the internet's top 30 bookmark sites including myspace, twitter, and facebook.

Before you begin that read this book which explains how to ROCKET your site to the top of the bookmark listings:
BookMark Frenzy !! The Original Edition That Starts All Social Bookmarking Ebook
OHHH darn ,,,, they want $70 for the book.



Bookmark an article or page everyday into the 30 bookmark sites.
You'll get a lot of traffic for FREE.

Next in the Cpanel (linux) for your site log in and go to Fantastico then,
on the left hand column click WordPress and build a Word Press blog
about your store, fashion, women, anything related to your products.

You'll bookmark that as well.

If you get this far and are serious contact me and I will provide you with "tools" to fill your blog with articles, video's even translate it into 34 foreign languages.

After the first one, build as many as you can dream up on every topic imaginable. All with links pointing to your store.

And All FREE.

Stop spending money.

good luck
check your PM