[Question] Setup of online web store

[3DMAXpider]

Hi All,

some feedback would be appreciated.

I need to setup a web store for some products I have. It is a pretty simple matrix of products,
The drill down by category will be Make - Model - Year to get to the product listing.

I would prefer to have this hosted through my provider (elitehost.co.za) who have been magical over the years.
I have had a look at Opencart which looks good, and Prestashop which looks even better.

Thus far I have gleaned the following

Opencart
simple
extentions cheaper
more developers/designers?

Presta
more detail
modules more expensive
developers/designers?

Of critical importance for me is a "wish list" for products/models that are not in stock but can/will be ordered if >10 people want the product model. Alternatively a user poll on products wanted, but in both cases email & customer details are required to register interest in the product/model.

Pre-orders are a must as well with option for discount on pre-order. Preferably a pricing matrix that allows the first 10 customers to pre-oder at a discount, then the 11th customer gets normal pricing.

(Edit: decided on Opencart for now, come great modules)

(Edit: found most of these from isencelabs extensions for a reasonable fee)

Re payment gateway it looks like VCS based on their pricing. It is just a pity that Capitec Bank does not do gateway receipt of funds according to VCS.
Paygate is also a strong contender for payment API

Lastly, development. I would prefer someone in my vicinity/local (Cpt) so if they cock up I can throttle them in the flesh :-)

Please feel free to pick all the flaws I have with this idea so I may learn.

many thanks

Ko

[Junky]

Use wordpress ,woocomerce and payfast .
If you need help .i will help you .
I was with elite host ,moved to anouther hosting company ,just set up my own social website .you could create a store of your own on my website .with your own store front.
Or i will help you setup your own .

[3DMAXpider]

Hi Junky,

I have read a lot of not so complementary comments re Woocomerce, especially for SA market. Payfast? Paygate seems far better value for money by my calculations??? Any reason to recommend Payfast over Paygate?

Thanks for the offer re hosting, but I think I need to manage this myself/with my team. Call me a megalomaniac but I prefer to have this within the teams sphere of influence. Personally I have been well chuffed with Elitehost for close on a decade for various business hosting plans and they have never let me down once.

I really think opencart with the isencelabs extensions really fits my needs.

Now to find an Opencart designer in Cpt...

EdIt: Oh SEO is not that critical for me as it is a unique product that will be marketed directly to consumers, so I do not need to be in the top 10 of a 1000 competitors selling the same product ;-) I just need the ability to process orders.

[Junky]

Payfast is in cape town ,its free .
When a person goes to pay using payfast ,they have option to eft from any bank except capitec and then the funds are automatically paid into any bank acount .
They all free and easy to setup .
I diddnt want to go the paypall route .

[3DMAXpider]

Payfast is in cape town ,its free .
When a person goes to pay using payfast ,they have option to eft from any bank except capitec and then the funds are automatically paid into any bank acount .
They all free and easy to setup .
I diddnt want to go the paypall route .

Free

https://www.payfast.co.za/fees/

[SilverNodashi]

Just a quick headsup, with Payfast you're limited to R5000 per transaction. For more expensive goods, you would need to sign up for a merchant account with a bank and use something like PayGate or VCS instead.

[Junky]

Thanks will look into other options.
Other wize must use paypal .
Ive setup a marketplace and the payfast module ,addonn was free to use .
And seem easier to use for sa .
I have paypal bussines and ivebeen using patoneer to withdrawfrom paypal

[SilverNodashi]

Thanks will look into other options.
Other wize must use paypal .
Ive setup a marketplace and the payfast module ,addonn was free to use .
And seem easier to use for sa .
I have paypal bussines and ivebeen using patoneer to withdrawfrom paypal

From experience, most South Africans don't like to pay with PayPal. It's daunting and feels "international".

[3DMAXpider]

From experience, most South Africans don't like to pay with PayPal. It's daunting and feels "international".

Agree with this, Paygate still does seem to have the best rates for my purposes.

Ko

[Afroshub]

I agree with Junky

Woocomerce is the best. easy setup and payfast is the best in the land can Intergrate Microbed that will be useful for selling more online. In terms of hosting you need to add CDN as I used them before their unlimited plan is limited as reality in hosting world there is nothing unlimited.

[Heating]

Wordpress ,woocomerce and payfast work perfect for a online website. It is hard work anyway, everyday there is something changing.

[wptech]

I agree Wordpress and Woocommerce. But you can also look at Shopify.

[New Perspective studio]

Yea Look woo has a bad rep because there a low entry level for it, but I work with open cart and magneto and while they are good there is nothing like the support and flexibility that woo commerce offers. And yes it can be fast and secure and look authentic if you know your way around php. I have quite a few sites on woo and they do really well, adding functionalities down the line is easy as it's so well documented.

As for the payment gateway, IMO PayPal wouldn't be my first choice South African buyers already are hesitant about making online purchases on websites as we are still young to the sphere, PayPal payment flow is also a little more complex than that of payfast.

Paygate I have had very little experience with. Something that seems promising to me is also ozwow. There is also peach payments ive seen on one or tw sites have no idea who they are.

I think however if you are looking to get people to buy you need the one that is the most reputable, and that would be payfast, ive used them all and the vetting process on payfast takes the longest for a merchant which I really appreciate.

Ofcourse fees wise they are all making money somewhere none are free and I think payfast has the highest rates. They are also the best local paygate.

Locally well known, great vetting process, never had transaction issues. Developer friendly and open with their documentation.