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RSSHow To Start An Online Store, Own Your Website And Sell Online Without Any Technical Knowledge Required
Based on the emails that I’ve received during the past year, there are a lot of MyWifeQuitHerJob.com readers that sell on either Ebay, Etsy or Amazon and have a strong desire to open their own online store. In fact after conducting a short survey, I created a video tutorial a few months back on how to install an open source shopping cart from scratch for free.
Photo By SheeShoo
However, this video got mixed reviews from my audience because it was too technical. Several readers tried to follow the instructions but got stuck trying to figure out how to use some of the free tools I recommended.
Another set of readers were turned off by the amount of typing of “random” commands into their terminals.
The reason I created that video the way I did was to show you at a fundamental level what was needed behind the scenes to set up an online store.
But after some thought, I realized that I went about things all wrong. Most people aren’t interested in the technical details behind a website. People just want to know the fastest and easiest way to set things up and start selling.
Starting An Online Store With No Technical Knowledge
So today, I’ve created a video tutorial on how to start your online store WITHOUT any technical knowledge required. Seriously folks, if you know how to use a mouse and basic knowledge on how to surf the web, you can start your own online store! And the best part is that you will have full control over your shop. No one will be able to change the terms and conditions. No one will be able to charge you a fee for selling online.
In addition, this time I’m going to take things one step further. In a subsequent video, I’m also going to show you how to set up SSL to make your online store secure and I’m also going to show you how to setup credit card processing as well.
In a nutshell, I’m going to teach you everything you need to know on how to set up a free open source shopping cart from scratch and start selling online without any technical experience whatsoever.
Enjoy The Video!
If anyone has any questions after watching the video, feel free to send me email.
Want To Learn More?
Did you enjoy this video? If so, there’s more where that came from if you sign up for my full blown course on how to create a profitable online store.
My course offers over 35+ hours of video and includes live office hours where you can ask me questions directly.
If you want to learn everything there is to know about ecommerce, be sure to check it out!
Ready To Get Serious About Starting An Online Business?
If you are really considering starting your own online business and quitting your day job, then you absolutely have to check out my mini course on How To Create A Niche Online Store In 5 Easy Steps.In this 6 day mini course, I reveal the steps that my wife and I took to earn 100 thousand dollars in the span of just a year. Best of all, it's absolutely free!
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I must admit that I was a bit intimidated by your last tutorial because of all of the text based commands. This one is much simpler so I’ll give it a shot.
Don’t have time to watch this now, but I’ll check it out during lunch. Thanks for the video
Steve
This is great. Really needed this, as I have be wanting to start an online store. I sell on Ebay and I’m about to quit because of all those fees, expecially now that Ebay takes a % of the shipping cost. Thanks!
Just finished watching this video and it is MUCH easier to follow than your last one. Thanks for your hard work
Massive massive help for a novice like me- Thank you. Stupid question but how does this cart accept payments? Does each payment type need to be added separately e.g. credit cards, PayPal etc. only interested in PayPal at the moment.
I’ll be covering this in the next video, but the short answer is that setting up different payment types is very easy and all built in to the cart.
I will watching after this comment, thanks for your effort.
So Open Cart is completely free to use?? It seems crazy that anyone would pay for ecommerce software when they can download it free here. Are there any features or functionality that Open Cart does NOT offer, where other (paying) sites do?
Crystal,
OpenCart is analogous to Linux on a much smaller scale. Linux is very powerful, free and most webservers use it. The same goes for OpenCart. There are some features that OpenCart lack that the higher paid carts have and it is up to you to determine which features are necessary for your shop. I’ve been running open source software for my shop for the past 4+ years and saved a lot of money as a result. Plus, I have full control over every single feature and can made custom edits where I deem necessary.
Hi Crystal,
The biggest downside of OpenCart when compared to paid ECommerce is that it is easier for hackers to take down your website because it is open source. I’m not trying to sell anything by the way but something that you should keep in mind.
Vincent,
While there is some amount of truth to that statement, it should not be a deterrent to open source. Linux has millions of users worldwide. WordPress is the most popular blogging platform out there and it is open source. One of the major advantages of going open source is that you have full control over your website so you can make any changes that you want and need to make. If you go with paid ecommerce, you are once again at the mercy of the software makers and the platform. Most people who get hacked do so because of insecure passwords and/or their PCs getting hacked which in turn exposes their website.
Hi Steve,
I actually really enjoy the technical articles that you wrote. I want to know how to track customers that add items into the cart, and then abandon it without converting it to a sale. It will help me to improve my website and get a higher conversion rate. Can you show me how to do it in Open Cart?
Thanks!
There is a plugin called visitor tracker that can be used for this purpose. Check it out by doing a google search for it.
Very helpful post. This is a welcome treat for those who want to set up an online business but are worried they don’t have enough know-how.
[...] Creating an online store with no technical experience. In part one of this simple video guide, online entrepreneur Steve Chou shows you how to set up an online shopping cart with no previous technical knowledge and very little cost. Other videos will deal with setting up credit card payments and other steps to completing your online store. MyWifeQuitHerJob.com [...]
[...] Source: MyWifeQuitHerJob.com [...]
[...] Creating an online store with no technical experience. In part one of this simple video guide, online entrepreneur Steve Chou shows you how to set up an online shopping cart with no previous technical knowledge and very little cost. Other videos will deal with setting up credit card payments and other steps to completing your online store. MyWifeQuitHerJob.com [...]
[...] Creating an online store with no technical experience. In part one of this simple video guide, online entrepreneur Steve Chou shows you how to set up an online shopping cart with no previous technical knowledge and very little cost. Other videos will deal with setting up credit card payments and other steps to completing your online store. MyWifeQuitHerJob.com [...]
[...] Creating an online store with no technical experience. In part one of this simple video guide, online entrepreneur Steve Chou shows you how to set up an online shopping cart with no previous technical knowledge and very little cost. Other videos will deal with setting up credit card payments and other steps to completing your online store. MyWifeQuitHerJob.com [...]
THANK YOU!!!!
I just spent most of the 4-day weekend trying to figure out how to make this happen. It’s a lot of guessing before you actually go forward and hit the ‘okay’ button to turn everything in your business on its head — now I feel confident to go forward to the next step. I didn’t want to take it until I could follow-up with the step after!
I also have the advance hint that OpenCart and PayPal…Pro can indeed get along [looked like they didn't due to the lack of 'supported' listing]. so I can creep up on dumping Amazon for good.
— Lisa
I just viewed half of the video. I have a meeting in a little while. Anyway, your video is great. The audio is very clear and the presentation went on well. Two thumbs up mate!
Spatch Merlin
Your How to Blog Guide
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Thanks so much for the post.Really looking forward to read more. Want more.
This blog is great! I’m amazed at how closely your story mirrors our own – we’re on the same path; my wife quit her job after our first child and now we’re building our online store. Keep up the good work, it seems like every post is either something we’re going through, or a light bulb for something we need to consider.
in making an online store there are lot to be consider, but to do it in an easy way, i suggest you to use magento the top 10 best SEO shopping Cart.
this type of weblog is good, other can learn more, for me, in making an online store there are lot to be consider, but to do it in an easy way, i suggest you to use magento the top 10 best SEO shopping Cart.:-)
[...] My Wife Quit Her Job explained How To Start An Online Store, Own Your Website And Sell Online Without Any Technical Knowledge Requi… [...]
Are you able to change the look of your storefront with bluehost? Or is that something extra that needs to be added on?
Hi Brandon,
You can change the look and feel of your storefront by installing different themes or templates. Do a search for OpenCart templates and you’ll know what I mean.
[...] How To Start An Online Store, Own Your Website And Sell Online Without Any Technical Knowledge Requi… [...]
[...] How To Start An Online Store, Own Your Website And Sell Online Without Any Technical Knowledge Requi… [...]
[...] How To Start An Online Store, Own Your Website And Sell Online Without Any Technical Knowledge Requi… [...]
[...] How To Start An Online Store, Own Your Website And Sell Online Without Any Technical Knowledge Requi… [...]
[...] How To Start An Online Store, Own Your Website And Sell Online Without Any Technical Knowledge Requi… [...]
[...] How To Start An Online Store, Own Your Website And Sell Online Without Any Technical Knowledge Requi… [...]
Open Cart is not on the list, the only options are OSCommerce, Presta Shop and Zen Cart. Which one do I choose?
Hi Ann,
This is the list that I see from my bluehost account.
AcceptSafe
AcceptSafe
Accept Credit Cards Online
Install ShopSite
ShopSite
11.sp2.r4.0 Premium
Install PrestaShop
PrestaShop
1.5.2 Popular
Install Magento
Magento
1.7.0.2 Popular
Install CubeCart
CubeCart
5.1.3
Install OSCommerce
OSCommerce
2.3.3
Install Zen Cart
Zen Cart
1.5.0
Install AgoraCart
AgoraCart
5.2.005
Install OpenCart
OpenCart
1.5.4 New!
Install TomatoCart
TomatoCart
1.1.8.1 New!
Steve, Thanks for the fast reply. I copied everything that is listed under simple scripts. I guess I did something wrong because I still don’t have as many options as you showed. I will keep at it until I figure it out. Great job on the videos, I hope to get this fixed and running because I am a single mother of 5…ages 16 years-3 weeks and I need income!
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Hi Ann,
I’m not sure who you contacted at Bluehost, but they still support OpenCart with simple scripts. I just confirmed it.
Dumb question. Are you on Bluehost?
Every webhost will be different. If you are on Bluehost, then I have no idea why you don’t have the full suite of shopping carts.
Can you email them and ask why?
Also on the upper right, there’s a pull down menu that you’ll want to set to “Show me all scripts”
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Great post! It’s always nice to find helpful and amazing blogs.
Hi Steve!
I am so happy to have stumbled upon this! I was searching for an answer just like this and I appreciate the video more than you know. Thank you for taking time out to make this. I was discouraged before and you have given me hope.
Hi Steve, The video up to top is running and your picture video is in the lower right hand corner. Can you tell me what program you are using. Or how did you do that?
Jay
I use a program called Camtasia
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