How Much to Pay for Ecommerce Website Design?

KateG

I`ve received some help on the website critque board, and there seemed to be a general consensus that I should try to hire somebody to redesign my website, to improve the layout and such.
 
I looked into one company, which gave me a preview of what I would be getting. Board members and I seemed to agree that while it was an improvement, it still wasn`t great.
 
I also realized that I need to convert my site to accept credit cards.  I don`t want to use PayPal.  I`d rather have it such that they can just enter their information on my site.
 
I have prices from a couple companies, and I`ve looked at some general pricing online.  To me, the quotes seem expensive, but maybe I`ve just nieve in this regard.  The first company quoted $480 to redesign two pages, and this wouldn`t include accepting credit cards.  He said that they offer various ecom self serve apps or could set up a paypal system for $300 (which, like I said, I am not interested in).  The second quoted $1650 for everything, with an extra $100/year after the first year for SSL certificate-secure processing.
 
I would like for the site (currently at www.shapeacakeclay.com) up and running by the first week of April.
 
Please offer your advice ASAP regarding whether the ecommerce setup is something that I can do myself and what you think of the above prices.  Thank you.
 
Kate

PhoenixStorks

I use a online website builder called citymax.com that I think may work for your products. It includes a simple to use shopping cart, SSL certificate included. The cheapest option would be to accept credit cards ONLINE using the "manual" processing features & a Propay account, but then you must MANUALLY input the credit cards into the virtual terminal on Propays secure site. 
 
If you want the credit cards to be processed in "real-time", citymax integrates with Authorize.net. It will probably cost you to set up the Authorize.net account, & then monthly transaction fees & a monthly "gateway" fee of $20+.
 
If you are just looking to be able to take credit cards online, and want to handle building the site yourself, you can try Citymax. It cost $20 a month & they have a 10 day free trial. Good luck, whatever you decide.

MadeByMAS

I can beat those prices and work closely with you so your project gets done exactly how you would like.
I run a web development team so there isnt anything that you would need that we couldnt handle right away. I mainly only work with clients that are part of the same communities as me (such as this one, even though Im new to this particular site); because this allows me to work with instead of just be hired for you.
If you are interested or want to talk your project over contact me anytime.
[email protected]

Nuevolution

KateG,
The answer to your question is it all depends on how much work you want done. I don`t know how long you`ve been looking but there are various solutions out there to meet your needs but it all depends on what you are trying to accomplish.Perhaps you might want to look into an open source product such as Magento, presta ecommerce, or Oscommerce for that matter, all these shopping carts give you the Customer Login, Account Creation, Credit Card and Pay Pal Integration as well as COD, Check, and Money Order.

vwebworld

You`ll find pricing for website to have a large range (cheap to expensive). It does depend upon what you need and more importantly may need for features and functions. You do no want to create a site and not be able to handle your future needs.
 
Open source ecommerce programs are good. As far as credit card processing except for PayPal, there will be a monthly processing fee + a % of the transaction. the exact fee depends on which merchant account vendor you use.
 
You usually get what you pay for and an someone with experience setting up an ecommerce site can help you more because they know all the questions and issues you need to consider before during and after the site is created.
 
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
 
~Roland

KateG

Thanks for your comments and suggestions.  I`ve gotten in contact with a lot of people over the past few days.  (A number of which through this site.)  I think something should definately work out. 
 
Kate