Web Host Refresh
- Getting Back Up to Speed with Our Web Host
- Auto-Installing Web Software/Web Apps on our Web Host
Learning About E-Commerce
Selling Online
Nearly Every Business Sells Something… Think about how much more valuable you would be if you could help with that… Let’s talk about all the companies we work for & which have websites that sell product, the ones that don’t, why the ones don’t sell online, opportunities that could create, building a site based on commissions of the new site sales, etc.
Freelancing
As a Graphic Design freelancer, if you can not find enough Graphic Design work, but can fill any voided extra open space with some web work, e-commerce product data work, photos, etc that could easily help pay the bills if you are open to other types of work. This can be a huge skillset to have!
Exploring Different Directions for Selling Online
Existing Online Marketplaces (Amazon, Ebay, Etsy)
Pros: No Hosting, Quick Turn Key Solution with no Web Design required at all, Add Product & Bank Details and you are nearly done…
Cons: Very Limited Customization, No Design Possible, Might give a high cut of every product sale to the Marketplace…
*Great for any new products or companies trying to answer the question, Will this sell?
Quick Turn Key E-Commerce Website Solutions (Shopify, Big Cartel, Square Space)
Pros: Quick & Easy, Fast, Little Labor, Your own Website/Domain Name/Not part of a Larger Online Marketplace, No Hosting
Cons: Limited Customization, Higher Monthly Fees Can Start to Add Up, More Expensive Plugins/Add-Ons
*Also great for any new products or companies trying to answer the question, Will this sell?
More Involved Self Hosted Solutions (WordPress/WooCommerce, Magento, Drupal)
Pros: Nearly Unlimited Customization, Cheaper Hosting, Cheaper Credit Card Fees
Cons: More Labor Intensive, Hosting Costs but Most Likely Cheaper
Custom Enterprise Solutions (Custom Programming & Software, Massive sites such as Best Buy, Target, etc)
Pros: Fully Custom/No Limits
Cons: Extremely Labor Intensive, no one else to rely on or go to/completely in-house
Exploring E-Commerce Website Platforms
https://tinuiti.com/blog/ecommerce/ecommerce-platforms-2/
- BigCommerce
- Magento
- WooCommerce
- Squarespace
- Wix
- Big Cartel
- Salesforce Commerce Cloud (Demandware)
- Volusion
Discussion 1 - Initial Thoughts…
*Submit Discussion into D2L
Now that you have learned a bit about the web from your first web class, what is something you are still looking forward to learning more about throughout the rest of our web program here at HTC?
Assignment 1 - Building Our Very First E-Commerce Website (I’m Bored! Board Game Shop)
*Submit Assignment into D2L
Start with a brand new WordPress Install on your web host and call it I’m Bored! Board Game Shop.
New select your 3 Favorite Board Games and add 3 new pages, one for each, each titled with the name of that Board Game.
For each of your 3 pages, include one photo of the game on the page and also set as a Featured Image, as well as a description of the game.
Go into your Menus area under Appearance, and add all 3 pages into your Menu. Maybe sure the Primary Menu checkbox is selected.
Also create a Home page with 3 thumbnail images that link to all three product pages, and don’t forget to set the Home page to the actual Home Page under Settings > Reading.
Feel free to use the normal default theme with WordPress for now.
Install the plugin WordPress Simple Shopping Cart
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-simple-paypal-shopping-cart/
Now go through their documentation, or follow along in class, or watch our screen recording, to learn how to make this into an online shop with a simple PayPal checkout. Also, create your My Cart page with the included shortcode, and don’t forget to add your My Cart page int your navigation menu!
When complete, feel free to change your WordPress Theme, or also use a Drag & Drop page builder plugin such as Elementor to make a stylish Home Page for this new shop as seen in class & recording.
Submit into D2L when complete!
Sample Student Work
