Website - Redesign. Fiverr?

[Ham_and_Jam]

I’ve got a B2B website that my father designed and built many years ago using Microsoft Expression. Its decent sized site, with many product pages and incorporates a WORLDPAY shopping cart / payment gateway.

It still works, but as said it is now dated and I wouldn’t know where to start to update it. More to the point I don’t have time to learn, as it’s built from basic coding.

I’ve heard a few people talk about Fiverr, and that it’s relatively cheap and easy to get websites built.

So, can I simply give them the file and ask them to tidy it up and make it look modern. I really want something I can edit and update myself, so hoping that it can be converted into file that can be managed in some kind of editor.

Who can you trust on Fiverr with this type of project? Bearing in mind the shopping cart needs to be integrated.

Any recommendations? Anyone done a similar project?

[NorthDave]

I wouldn't trust Fiverr with it personally. I tend to think of Fiverr as cheap and cheerful - I assume the website is a reflection of your business and therefore needs to look good and also perform SEO wise.

There are a few folks on here who offer web development I think and there are also better freelance sites. We use Upwork but I have basically found a developer I like so rarely need to browse the market place.

[Akiraprise]

Fivver can be good for simple or clear tasks, but often with websites (especially ecommerce sites) they require a bit more care and consideration, so it maybe worth speaking to a web developer / freelancer to look at it.

Something like wordpress / woocommerce could be perfect for this and with plugins / themes can be done relatively efficiently.

If you drop me a message would be happy to quote or advise better

[jammy-git]

What outcome do you want? Does the website generate a lot of business or do you want it to? What's your target audience? What product or service are you selling and at what sort of price point?

[Ham_and_Jam]

jammy-git said:

What outcome do you want? Does the website generate a lot of business or do you want it to? What's your target audience? What product or service are you selling and at what sort of price point?

It doesn’t generate a huge amount, mostly we have repeat orders which generate a modest, if almost passive income.

I have another food business where most of my effort and time is focused, and not surprisingly where most of my income is generated.

Without getting too specific, we dropship B2B POS equipment and labels. Price point is £20-£3k.

The website does process orders and payments and we use the World Pay ‘pay by link’ quite a lot. I actually have 2 x websites, one is better than the other, so I’m going to play around with the one that is visually poorer and generates the least leads. Not a lot to lose. As I had zero input into the site build I don’t know much about it, so would prefer to transfer it to some sort of editor that I can use.

Fiverr was just random idea, so probably not really the best route. I’m quite good at design, so if the bones of the website can be ‘cut & pasted’ into something with a friendly UI I could take it from there. Is that possible?

[akirk]

product pages and a shopping cart - go and look at Shopify...
easy to use, manages most of the tough stuff for you, easy to maintain, plenty of companies who can help you if you need support... we have a number of clients using shopify and generally we help them set up and help with tweaks, but otherwise they just get on and run their shops...

fiverr - ask yourself why someone is on fiverr offering to build your eCommerce store from £7.51 - clue, you will not get a professional and competent shopify store set up for anywhere near that amount of money... If you want to build your business, invest in it -use the right tools (Shopify) and if you need support, get a proper business to support you - there are several web companies represented on PH, and many others around, but outsourcing your eCommerce to someone's bedroom in India or China is perhaps not the most robust business strategy!

[Ham_and_Jam]

Akiraprise said:

Fivver can be good for simple or clear tasks, but often with websites (especially ecommerce sites) they require a bit more care and consideration, so it maybe worth speaking to a web developer / freelancer to look at it.

Something like wordpress / woocommerce could be perfect for this and with plugins / themes can be done relatively efficiently.

If you drop me a message would be happy to quote or advise better

Yeah, Fiverr was a random idea. However sometimes you strike lucky if someone has gone a similar route, and can share that info.

Are you a web developer?

[DSLiverpool]

Don’t go to fiverr it’s a variable, you can set up. Shopify site easily that might even increase the business through flow / sales and customer comms.
However I’d be surprised if you get a basic site that looks professional for less than £1k
If that’s in budget send me a wish list of your perfect functionality and I’ll advise - I don’t do sites but I can advise.

[Ham_and_Jam]

DSLiverpool said:

Don’t go to fiverr it’s a variable, you can set up. Shopify site easily that might even increase the business through flow / sales and customer comms.
However I’d be surprised if you get a basic site that looks professional for less than £1k
If that’s in budget send me a wish list of your perfect functionality and I’ll advise - I don’t do sites but I can advise.

I’m looking to upgrade the look of the website I already have, whilst keeping the current hosting, payment gateways etc. They all work well, and I’m wanting to keep overheads / ongoing costs as low as possible.

I’m happy to spend a bit of cash. £1K doesn’t sound unreasonable, but I would want the upgraded site capable of being edited by me (not in coded form). Sound possible?

[DSLiverpool]

Shopify is like eBay - similar UI, very easy to pick up but I’d suggest using its own payment gateway.
At £1k your looking at a freelancer not an agency - I know a few.

[Ham_and_Jam]

I’m considering the Shopify route, possible setting up in parallel to the other site (new domain name etc). This way I can see if it’s something that I like in terms of UI, design and compatibility with our business model.

A few basic questIons:

1. Does the basic $29 monthly option allow unlimited products / purchasing options. We have quite a few.

2. Is there any commitment over and above the monthly rolling subscription?

3. Is hosting & SSL’s included?

4. Do they have a pay by link option (send a customer a link to the payment gateway)?

5. What’s the main benefit of moving to the $79 plan?

6. I’m fairly confident in designing the website using a WYSIWYG / drag & drop editor. Is it simple to use?

I reckon it might be worth a punt if I can get it uo & running initially on the lower plan without too much hassle. Would be interested in your thoughts.

[Zoon]

Ham_and_Jam said:

I’m considering the Shopify route, possible setting up in parallel to the other site (new domain name etc). This way I can see if it’s something that I like in terms of UI, design and compatibility with our business model.

A few basic questIons:

1. Does the basic $29 monthly option allow unlimited products / purchasing options. We have quite a few. Yes

2. Is there any commitment over and above the monthly rolling subscription? No

3. Is hosting & SSL’s included? Yes

4. Do they have a pay by link option (send a customer a link to the payment gateway)? Yes

5. What’s the main benefit of moving to the $79 plan? Nothing for what you need

6. I’m fairly confident in designing the website using a WYSIWYG / drag & drop editor. Is it simple to use? Yes

I reckon it might be worth a punt if I can get it uo & running initially on the lower plan without too much hassle. Would be interested in your thoughts.

See responses, we moved from an aging Magento site and imported our products to the new shopify site. Took about three hours and we've noticed an increase in business since doing it, mainly due to the google pay and apple pay options.