Choosing the right CMS online store for beginners
I found a couple of articles on this topic in Habré, but I wrote an article adhering to a certain philosophy for novice merchants: “simplicity = success”. Therefore, advice on the choice given on the basis of this thesis.
I ask you to judge strictly, but karma is not minus)
The choice of the engine. Engine or performer? Criteria for selection of the engine. How not to be mistaken with the choice. Rental engine. Hosting and domain. List of Russian CMS-solutions.
')
I want to say at once: in this article there will be no recommendation to choose a specific engine.
Often the opening of MI start with the choice of CMS, but this is a very important process. In no case can not approach the issue in a swoop. First, it is necessary to determine what tasks the CMS will solve, and how convenient it will be to use with the selected product. Secondly, to determine the budget for the connection of the engine, will depend on this, how to approach the issue.
At the stage when it is necessary to choose how to create a MI functional, I would advise you to consult a professional or the Oborot forum. There are many factors that influence the solution of the issue, for example: region, product, budget. Spent time or even paid consultation will help to go by the least loss of forces, time and money. Consultation can cost $ 20. whereas the decision to create an MI in the region is 300 USD and prove to be only the ambition of a businessman without serious arguments.
The question is probably from the category of "what's the first, an egg or a chicken." What to choose first? There are several answers to this question:
* Order online store. Depending on customer requirements, it will cost from 1500 to 3000 cu If there is such an amount, then first it is necessary to conduct an analysis of market opportunities, business profitability, payback periods. After receiving a positive response, think about the tasks that will be solved by IM, and submit them in the form of TK to a web agency. For the money they need to make a good store. In this case, you choose the artist.
* If the budget is limited, say, 700 USD The best option would be to choose a CMS yourself, choose a company that specializes in this engine, order the installation and customization for it according to your requirements. Most likely, they can also design you to draw and integrate into the system. Here you choose the engine, taking into account the number of agencies that will work with it.
* The extreme case when the budget is minimal. Here you have to act yourself: choose a specific engine personally, install it yourself on a hosting, find a freelancer who will draw the design and integrate it into the engine. And do not make any modifications to the functional. Agencies practically do not play a role.
As we can see, in any of the three cases there is a third party who does at least program work for you. The choice of a third party is also worth taking seriously. There is a very important moment here, we will come back to it. Choose a company or freelancer who has a lot of work in the portfolio and good recommendations. A bad choice is a waste of time and, possibly, money.
Tip: A common mistake is to look for a familiar programmer and negotiate support and programming with him. You want to save money, and your friend is lazy - after spending money and after spending a few months, you get nothing.
If we are talking about business start-ups, even if they have a budget (from the second or third option), the functionality of the engine is almost irrelevant. Almost all the necessary tools for the operation of IM is in every engine, so there is no need to list them.
But there are major factors that must be taken into account when choosing a MI:
* Support by third-party developers. The more developers or agencies working with this engine, the better. So the engine is convenient and easy to upgrade. If necessary, it will not be difficult and large means to make changes.
* Easy to set up and use. There are engines in which the devil's leg will break from a variety of settings and functions. They are not needed now. I remind you, now our motto is “simplicity = success”.
* Compliance with the requirements that a businessman confronts with a product, the company's working conditions and personal preferences (yes, in any case, the choice is a subjective concept).
Probably wild assertions will seem that choose any engine. But think for yourself:
Firstly, from practice, I know for sure that most novice traders have small ideas about online trading: the specifics of sales, advertising, customer care, engine capabilities, CRM systems, engine interaction with a warehouse, and so on. Knowledge comes in the process and only in the process. It will take time before weighted requirements for the functionality of an online store are ripe.
Secondly, all the owners of IM, who slurped porridge and work more than a year in online trading unanimously confirm my words. Maybe you should listen to experienced people?
I would like to return to the last point of the main factors, explain in more detail with examples:
* One friend is going to work with foreigners, because Magento engine is widespread there and it has many localizations, then the choice fell on this engine.
* If you sell perfume or flowers, then know that positions have several varieties. In perfumery different volumes, and in colors a different number of colors. For convenient display it is necessary to invent complex schemes for the implementation of the catalog.
* Digital goods. Because Such IMs are not very common, not every CMS has a convenient functionality for working with digital goods.
Undoubtedly, there are people who once came across online shops, engines. But, gentlemen, this is a separate story. This is another cycle. To provide you with quality information, I will need to make an overview of the majority of CMS - it will be later.
As I said, in principle, any engine that meets the criteria of three main factors will do.
We have already significantly reduced the range of engine choices. Nevertheless, the choice is still quite wide, and you do not know which of the engines will satisfy your requirements. Therefore it is worth doing the following steps:
* Compile a complete list of the most suitable budget engines (cheap or free).
* Select from them those that are supported by at least 4-5 agencies, or else have a lot of positive feedback from programmers.
* Collect as much information as possible from the owners of IM, which engine was most convenient. Depending on the accuracy of your questions, you can get comprehensive information.
* Choose a 2-3 engine for testing.
Tip: some developers create several versions of the CMS online store: free (trimmed) versions, versions with add-ons, and cool versions. Starting a business with a free version and having formed personal requirements for the engine, it is possible to move to a more advanced version of the engine already loved.
Before purchasing a CMS license, you should definitely test it on a local server (on your computer). Not a demo version on the developer's site, but on your computer. All files and instructions needed for this process are easy to find in the same section of the developer’s site. On the local version, you must create a directory structure and site navigation that meets the requirements of the third main factor. During these settings, you will understand how convenient the site is, which will answer the second main factor.
The engine is almost selected. But! There is another alternative solution.
Renting the engine is another option to minimize costs when opening a store. Fortunately, the lease allows you to solve many complex issues that have arisen for the future owner of IM.
* Solves the problem with the risk of trial opening of IM. 90% of stores do not survive the first year of operation. Earn for this period of time turns out a little, and spend a lot. Rent allows you to at least save the extra $ 100-200. from buying a full engine and design. It is very beneficial for businessmen of small cities.
* Rent allows you to open your store with minimal cost. All you need is a database. The hosting and design is provided by the tenant company.
* Payment is a little money, in the region of 500 rubles. per month.
Note: someone may ask, “what about promotion”? The domain is always spun up, so if after some time you switch to a CMS, the effect of promotion will still remain.
As already mentioned, the main advantage of renting an IM is the ability to wind down your business with minimal losses. But keep in mind that there are 2 dangers, if you have contacted an unscrupulous company, you can steal the most valuable thing an online store may have:
* base of goods
* customer base
Always carefully read the offer agreement, and contact only verified companies. Do not be lazy to make inquiries.
Why the choice of hosting and domain I entered in this article?
Because the engines have their own requirements for hosting. Before you buy hosting, make sure that the capabilities of the server meet all the requirements of the CMS. Send a letter with the requirements of the CMS to the hosting support service, let them advise you. Also send a letter with the hosting capabilities to the developer of the selected CMS, let them consult you or advise the hosting partner. Sending letters to various technical support exclude the possibility of extolling "native products".
The average cost of hosting suitable for starting IM is $ 100. in year. At this stage, provided that the MI alone will not be required to search for high-quality hosting.
I want to note that for $ 100 You will get a weak hosting, designed for weak requests. Some CMS require more serious resources for their needs.
There is an opinion that the choice of hosting should be approached very responsibly, that the possibilities of promotion depend on it. I assure you that if you choose hosting services among the market leaders, this problem will disappear by itself. Do not pursue cheapness and do not order services from dubious organizations.
Domain
First, the domain will be given to you free of charge when ordering a hosting service for a certain period (everywhere in different ways).
Secondly, choose a domain wisely. Do not chase after associative names. The Internet is already teeming with similar names.
* the name should be short
* the name should be easily remembered and played in memory
* The domain name should contain as little as possible controversial spellings and eliminate spelling errors.
* domain name should be consonant with the theme of the store. Everything related to beauty should be lyrical, something related to technology, strict. There are also gender differences.
* If the name of the domain was not without controversial writing, register a second domain that takes into account this problem. Otherwise competitors will take advantage of the loophole.
The choice of domain, the process is no less, and probably more, responsible, than the choice of the engine. Do not forget, the engine will cost you, say, up to 100 cu In the promotion of the same store, and specifically the domain, you will invest much more and longer. Therefore, making a mistake in one of the items I listed, you can lose quite a lot.
Conclusion: We take the list by the link -> we find cheap or free solutions -> we select those that are supported by the experts -> we find reviews on the engines -> by reviews we choose 2-3 options -> we test -> we stop at the choice, we buy. The whole process will take a week. Do not be lazy to spend it wisely.
I ask you to judge strictly, but karma is not minus)
The fifth article of the cycle “Online store from scratch. Help for a novice entrepreneur ”
The choice of the engine. Engine or performer? Criteria for selection of the engine. How not to be mistaken with the choice. Rental engine. Hosting and domain. List of Russian CMS-solutions.
')
I want to say at once: in this article there will be no recommendation to choose a specific engine.
Often the opening of MI start with the choice of CMS, but this is a very important process. In no case can not approach the issue in a swoop. First, it is necessary to determine what tasks the CMS will solve, and how convenient it will be to use with the selected product. Secondly, to determine the budget for the connection of the engine, will depend on this, how to approach the issue.
At the stage when it is necessary to choose how to create a MI functional, I would advise you to consult a professional or the Oborot forum. There are many factors that influence the solution of the issue, for example: region, product, budget. Spent time or even paid consultation will help to go by the least loss of forces, time and money. Consultation can cost $ 20. whereas the decision to create an MI in the region is 300 USD and prove to be only the ambition of a businessman without serious arguments.
Engine or performer?
The question is probably from the category of "what's the first, an egg or a chicken." What to choose first? There are several answers to this question:
* Order online store. Depending on customer requirements, it will cost from 1500 to 3000 cu If there is such an amount, then first it is necessary to conduct an analysis of market opportunities, business profitability, payback periods. After receiving a positive response, think about the tasks that will be solved by IM, and submit them in the form of TK to a web agency. For the money they need to make a good store. In this case, you choose the artist.
* If the budget is limited, say, 700 USD The best option would be to choose a CMS yourself, choose a company that specializes in this engine, order the installation and customization for it according to your requirements. Most likely, they can also design you to draw and integrate into the system. Here you choose the engine, taking into account the number of agencies that will work with it.
* The extreme case when the budget is minimal. Here you have to act yourself: choose a specific engine personally, install it yourself on a hosting, find a freelancer who will draw the design and integrate it into the engine. And do not make any modifications to the functional. Agencies practically do not play a role.
As we can see, in any of the three cases there is a third party who does at least program work for you. The choice of a third party is also worth taking seriously. There is a very important moment here, we will come back to it. Choose a company or freelancer who has a lot of work in the portfolio and good recommendations. A bad choice is a waste of time and, possibly, money.
Tip: A common mistake is to look for a familiar programmer and negotiate support and programming with him. You want to save money, and your friend is lazy - after spending money and after spending a few months, you get nothing.
Engine selection criteria
If we are talking about business start-ups, even if they have a budget (from the second or third option), the functionality of the engine is almost irrelevant. Almost all the necessary tools for the operation of IM is in every engine, so there is no need to list them.
But there are major factors that must be taken into account when choosing a MI:
* Support by third-party developers. The more developers or agencies working with this engine, the better. So the engine is convenient and easy to upgrade. If necessary, it will not be difficult and large means to make changes.
* Easy to set up and use. There are engines in which the devil's leg will break from a variety of settings and functions. They are not needed now. I remind you, now our motto is “simplicity = success”.
* Compliance with the requirements that a businessman confronts with a product, the company's working conditions and personal preferences (yes, in any case, the choice is a subjective concept).
Probably wild assertions will seem that choose any engine. But think for yourself:
Firstly, from practice, I know for sure that most novice traders have small ideas about online trading: the specifics of sales, advertising, customer care, engine capabilities, CRM systems, engine interaction with a warehouse, and so on. Knowledge comes in the process and only in the process. It will take time before weighted requirements for the functionality of an online store are ripe.
Secondly, all the owners of IM, who slurped porridge and work more than a year in online trading unanimously confirm my words. Maybe you should listen to experienced people?
I would like to return to the last point of the main factors, explain in more detail with examples:
* One friend is going to work with foreigners, because Magento engine is widespread there and it has many localizations, then the choice fell on this engine.
* If you sell perfume or flowers, then know that positions have several varieties. In perfumery different volumes, and in colors a different number of colors. For convenient display it is necessary to invent complex schemes for the implementation of the catalog.
* Digital goods. Because Such IMs are not very common, not every CMS has a convenient functionality for working with digital goods.
Undoubtedly, there are people who once came across online shops, engines. But, gentlemen, this is a separate story. This is another cycle. To provide you with quality information, I will need to make an overview of the majority of CMS - it will be later.
How not to be mistaken with the choice
As I said, in principle, any engine that meets the criteria of three main factors will do.
We have already significantly reduced the range of engine choices. Nevertheless, the choice is still quite wide, and you do not know which of the engines will satisfy your requirements. Therefore it is worth doing the following steps:
* Compile a complete list of the most suitable budget engines (cheap or free).
* Select from them those that are supported by at least 4-5 agencies, or else have a lot of positive feedback from programmers.
* Collect as much information as possible from the owners of IM, which engine was most convenient. Depending on the accuracy of your questions, you can get comprehensive information.
* Choose a 2-3 engine for testing.
Tip: some developers create several versions of the CMS online store: free (trimmed) versions, versions with add-ons, and cool versions. Starting a business with a free version and having formed personal requirements for the engine, it is possible to move to a more advanced version of the engine already loved.
Before purchasing a CMS license, you should definitely test it on a local server (on your computer). Not a demo version on the developer's site, but on your computer. All files and instructions needed for this process are easy to find in the same section of the developer’s site. On the local version, you must create a directory structure and site navigation that meets the requirements of the third main factor. During these settings, you will understand how convenient the site is, which will answer the second main factor.
The engine is almost selected. But! There is another alternative solution.
Engine rental
Renting the engine is another option to minimize costs when opening a store. Fortunately, the lease allows you to solve many complex issues that have arisen for the future owner of IM.
* Solves the problem with the risk of trial opening of IM. 90% of stores do not survive the first year of operation. Earn for this period of time turns out a little, and spend a lot. Rent allows you to at least save the extra $ 100-200. from buying a full engine and design. It is very beneficial for businessmen of small cities.
* Rent allows you to open your store with minimal cost. All you need is a database. The hosting and design is provided by the tenant company.
* Payment is a little money, in the region of 500 rubles. per month.
Note: someone may ask, “what about promotion”? The domain is always spun up, so if after some time you switch to a CMS, the effect of promotion will still remain.
As already mentioned, the main advantage of renting an IM is the ability to wind down your business with minimal losses. But keep in mind that there are 2 dangers, if you have contacted an unscrupulous company, you can steal the most valuable thing an online store may have:
* base of goods
* customer base
Always carefully read the offer agreement, and contact only verified companies. Do not be lazy to make inquiries.
Hosting and domain.
Why the choice of hosting and domain I entered in this article?
Because the engines have their own requirements for hosting. Before you buy hosting, make sure that the capabilities of the server meet all the requirements of the CMS. Send a letter with the requirements of the CMS to the hosting support service, let them advise you. Also send a letter with the hosting capabilities to the developer of the selected CMS, let them consult you or advise the hosting partner. Sending letters to various technical support exclude the possibility of extolling "native products".
The average cost of hosting suitable for starting IM is $ 100. in year. At this stage, provided that the MI alone will not be required to search for high-quality hosting.
I want to note that for $ 100 You will get a weak hosting, designed for weak requests. Some CMS require more serious resources for their needs.
There is an opinion that the choice of hosting should be approached very responsibly, that the possibilities of promotion depend on it. I assure you that if you choose hosting services among the market leaders, this problem will disappear by itself. Do not pursue cheapness and do not order services from dubious organizations.
Domain
First, the domain will be given to you free of charge when ordering a hosting service for a certain period (everywhere in different ways).
Secondly, choose a domain wisely. Do not chase after associative names. The Internet is already teeming with similar names.
* the name should be short
* the name should be easily remembered and played in memory
* The domain name should contain as little as possible controversial spellings and eliminate spelling errors.
* domain name should be consonant with the theme of the store. Everything related to beauty should be lyrical, something related to technology, strict. There are also gender differences.
* If the name of the domain was not without controversial writing, register a second domain that takes into account this problem. Otherwise competitors will take advantage of the loophole.
The choice of domain, the process is no less, and probably more, responsible, than the choice of the engine. Do not forget, the engine will cost you, say, up to 100 cu In the promotion of the same store, and specifically the domain, you will invest much more and longer. Therefore, making a mistake in one of the items I listed, you can lose quite a lot.
List of Russian CMS solutions
Conclusion: We take the list by the link -> we find cheap or free solutions -> we select those that are supported by the experts -> we find reviews on the engines -> by reviews we choose 2-3 options -> we test -> we stop at the choice, we buy. The whole process will take a week. Do not be lazy to spend it wisely.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/57733/
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