This is pretty much how I feel about this =)

I purchased a domain/host service and ended up without any help from the provider as well as the helpful friends who made promises...

I'm a small business owner trying to make my place on the web and I'd really apreciate any help possible to build my website and see that custom jewelry shop brought to life.

I tried to use a free OS Commerce template but they were A not the right type B broken or C litterally ugly. I am currently using one that is somewhat decent but I'd like to modify it at the very least unless I find someone who is willing to exchange services and design something more personal but somewhat simple for me.

If you have any knowledge in coding and are willing to help please let me know. I don't want to waste anyone's time so I'll make this clear, I am not able to pay for someone to design something from scratch for me. If you are willing to discuss commission work as payment or have any other suggestions please feel free to contact me. (send private message for MSN info)

Thanks!

It might be helpful to list what you have already tried (as far as packages), what services your host provides, and how you expect to keep the content updated (or rather who).

Here's a few more details :

I got the starter service for windows from this company :

http://www.ehostpros.com/hosting/windows-hosting.html

I tried to find templates to use with oscommerce but the ones that were actually working were very rare or didn't fit for a custom jewelry shop. I then found one that worked and tried to do some modifications but I only got alot of errors so now I'm totally lost and afraid to mess it up completely.

Once the webshop is functional I can keep it updated myself I guess all it would need would be add/remove products and images/descriptions which I can deal with.

So basically I need someone to help me with the template/graphic/logo and perhaps a few questions so I can keep up with my shop once it is working.

I don't really care about which e-shop cart program would be used I was told there were more user friendly ones out there but the host didn't offer them.

Hi Lady,

I took a look at OS Commerce – a brief look. It appears that this package does a lot of the “business” including an interface with payment services like Paypal. It may be everything you need to establish a web-based business.

OS Commerce may also provide a template for your web pages. For instance, they have a catalog page in their demonstration area. By replacing their images, information and links with your merchandise, you can then publish your catalog to the web. If that layout doesn’t suit you it could be modified.

The way I “looked” at the page was to copy the page source code into KompoZer, a free WYSIWYG editor. That clearly showed the tables used to format the page. Each merchandise item has its own cell in the table so adding or replacing content would be easy – once the page was set up.

Part of your question was on content, logos and all the other stuff that makes a web site interesting. Your suppliers should be able to provide images for your catalog. If you are making your own product then get a good, digital, probably SLR, camera. Someone could do your logo in PhotoShop, Gimp or similar package. Because I like to do things on the cheap (or free) I use PowerPoint to create and FastStone Capture to crop, size and save the image.

At first glance OS Commerce seems to be a heavy-duty package. You may want to ask their support community for advice. My thought is if your business requires all that OS Commerce offers then you may need to focus on the business and pay someone to set up your web site.

Wysi

Good advice, no matter what package is chosen.