E-Comm Basic by That PHP Girl

Have I got great news for you!

You see, when I first started out doing e-commerce sites, there was no ready-made software. Every site had to be hand-coded from scratch, and each developer kept a little library of reusable code on their hard drive to save a bit of time. E-commerce sites took FOREVER and they were very expensive — too much for the little guy to afford.

Then something amazing happened …

WordPress was born. Originally thought of as just blogging software, WordPress grew into a complete content management system. With each new release, WordPress had increased functionality that gave 3rd party developers the opportunity to create better and more useful plugins, themes and add-ons. WordPress became a library of code that created a foundation for other software to be written, which e-commerce is now a part of.

What’s in it for you?

Well, a site that used to take 3-6 months to launch can now be launched in a matter of weeks. That’s right — e-commerce sites are now faster to build, and therefore available at a fraction of the cost. This is a very recent development in the world of small business sites, and I am delighted to be able to pass on this new technology to my clients.

Wasn’t there any e-commerce software before?

You’re not the first one to ask this question. The answer is yes, but it wasn’t very good. Many of the open-source packages were complicated, difficult to modify and had poor support for problems. The premium products were expensive, both on a startup cost level and in terms of ongoing maintenance. Bringing e-commerce to WordPress both decreases the costs and makes them predictable, so site owners don’t get hit with hidden problems or fees. Earlier e-commerce software also made you chose between having an e-commerce site and having a content site, as it didn’t have great support for both. But WordPress does!

What you get with E-Comm Basic

E-Comm Basic starts out like a typical web development process, where we discuss your goals, outline a basic user flow design, and talk about your preferences in terms of look and feel — but then the process changes. I will help you select a professionally-designed premium WordPress template to use as the base for your site. (The price of the template is included in your package.) By starting with the template, I eliminate 6-12 weeks from the your development timeline. This template will be used to build out your various content and product pages.

With this package, you will also receive:

  • Editing Assistance to turn your product and informational content into user-friendly marketing material;
  • Search Engine Functionality for search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) of your site;
  • Site Analytics to track and evaluate your potential and current customers
  • Additional Plugins and Coding (as needed) to create the user experience you want
  • Marketing Tools such as newsletter sign-ups, social media connections and commenting systems to maximize customer engagement
  • Information Design Assistance to organize and present your site clearly to your customers;
  • Data Entry for both products (up to 150) and content (up to 20 pages), to ensure everything is formatted correctly at launch;
  • Training on how to use your site, add new products and content, and process orders;
  • 3rd-Party Setup Assistance so that you can get all your associated services established like payment processors and newsletter delivery;
  • and, of course, Setup and Installation of WordPress, your domain, hosting, your database, and all associated accounts/services that make your website run.

How much is this going to cost me?

An E-Comm Basic package is available for $1,500 USD. This package is billed in 2 payments — $750 at the start of the project, and $750 at launch or 30 days later (whichever comes first). If additional items are added on to the project scope, the second payment may be divided so that the total project is billed in 3 payments.

Your balance due can be paid with check, credit card, or PayPal. To pay by check, please contact me. Deposits are not fully refundable once the project has started. If the project is canceled by the client after kickoff, it will be converted to an hourly-based project and the client is only eligible to receive a refund on unused hours. Stock imagery purchases may not covered by the package price, but any additional charges will be discussed before they happen.

Questions?

Contact me with your questions and you’ll get real answers from a real person. Be sure to add your phone number if you want me to call you back!