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Where do I start? In what order are these must-do's done? Helpppppp...

I too, have just started my very own business odyssey, and right now I feel like I am rowing in circles around the sirens at this point.  I have lists made about lists.  Notes reminding me about notes that are made to remind me about the lists...and... well, I feel quite confident (or perhaps just hoping upon hope) that you (all of you)  follow me, are where I am at, or have been where I am at, and hopefully, made it through and have a roadmap handy that you are willing to share with me.  Please, don't get me wrong, it's so incredibly exciting.  I have never been more motivated & dedicated in my life, so I am desperate to do this right.  I know I will make mistakes upon mistakes, but I would like to make sure I can avoid as many pitfalls as possible, because I do not have the capital for errors.

 

Can someone tell me all the necessary "first steps"?  In the right order??  And how to do these things?  The domain (I bought mine through Square), the website (I know I am going to pay someone to design it, but I want to be able to be involved, 1) because I am somewhat of a control freak but 2) mainly because I want to be VERY, VERY interactive with my website, blogging, updating the site throughout the day, hosting interactive events all the time, constant engagement, etc and in order to do that I need to know what I am doing.  So then there is the hosting, setting up the business email (I feel like this should be like the first thing after the domain is purchased, but I don't know where to start on this, I bought a subscription to google workspace, but I can't even figure out how to access it now, and it wasn't with the new (correct) domain, so should I just re-register with the new domain or is there a better service to use? And of course, I have to design the logo before I can build the website...I know ALL of this is so important, but is there a concise, short, to the point, LIST (I know, just what I need, another list...) that tells me exactly what to do, 1, 2, 3, then so on and so forth? 

 

Oh, and how to do it? 

 

Have you published your website, and if so, did you do the design yourself, or did you use Square's partner, 99designs to assist?  If you used them, which package did you end up going with and are you happy with it?  If not them, who did you use???

 

Did you set up your business email prior to designing the website?  How did you go about setting up your business email?

 

Ugh...so many questions.  Hopefully, someone out there is feeling generous and wants to help...or you're just super smart, kind and above all else, bored.  🙂

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HI @alaughinglotus 

Welcome to Square Community, and congratulations on your new business.   Nothing wrong at all with making lists on lists on lists. Something I should have probably done as i spent lots of money on money on money re- doing things.  😉

I just want to ask a few more questions for you so myself and others so we know which way to guide you.

 

!. What type of business do you own/operate?

2. Do you have a budget for E-commerce site?

3. How much time in a day are you projecting spending on your website once its completed?

 

Website

I can't speak for a square online website, Since I've built my site personally using wordpress a few years before I started using square payment processing.  Since I had to self teach myself how to do so, I spent a ton of time googling different things, best hosting, how to rank higher, how to do this and that so on so forth.  Even to this day I continue to search on different' things to do tweak etc.  It was a lot of work to get it where I wanted to, but it is very satisfying in the end, and also helps me now to make improvements or edits as I know exactly where to go and if not, I know the exact keywords to use to search my issue.

  I have finally found a solid hosting partner, that offers very good speeds and pay about $50/month (i was paying about $15/month but due to a massive increase in images I added and still need to add, I need more bandwidth).  Again I can't speak for Square website entirely as I've never used it, but I would check into a few things when looking at a site.

-Cost

-Speed

-SEO Options

-Cost of different' web designers on different platforms

(Sorry this will probably make you need to create another note, to make another list)

 

Domain/Email/Logo

I have been using a Google Workspace (formerly Business Suite) email for the last 6 years.  You can access your settings by going to admin.google.com.  You should be able to scroll down to the domain section and change your domain through there to the correct one.  If you have any problems with that, you can also contact google to help you with that but it should be straightforward. 

I used to create my own logo but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out just how to create one when I changed the business name.  I ended up going through TLC (The logo company).  It was a bit of a hefty charge, but It was a straightforward process. You give them your ideas, they have 5 different artist work on and build you a design, you can then choose one you like best, and you can make/get unlimited edits to that design.  They will then send you all the files you could possibly need of that logo.  Something to take note of. 

 

What order to go in?

The order I would go in would be this

1-Domain, Get that straightened out if need. ( Choose one that is easy to enter into a URL or easy to remember) Your domain host isn't as important as who you choose to host your actual site.

3. Website Platform- (Square Online, Wordpress, WIX, Shopify, Duda, BigCommerce)

4. Web Host.  This may be needed depending on the platform  you select.  I have used hosts from godaddy, siteground, but now currently using Cloudways)

2. Business email.  This once you have your domain locked in, you 'll want to get this set up. 

 

That's just the order I would go in.  But @MJD knows more about web than I do and uses Square Online, and I believe @lenjobakes  used 99designs before maybe?

 

Looking forward to your response though.

 

Dan
Scorpion Coating Plus,LLC
Square Super Seller
Check out Square support center for additional help.




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Thanks for the tag, @Minion! (Also, hello username change! Lol)

 

Hello, @alaughinglotus!

 

Oh the new days of deciding the run a business. I remember them fondly!! (Slash...barely remember them because I really wasn't sleeping much so it's a bit of a blur.)

 

For brevity: I haven't used 99designs and I also use Google Workspace. I used Function Creative for my branding (a trade for a cake when they were just starting out, believe it or not). Whoever you use, get your editable files so that you can change things through the years. I changed all of my colours and without my files I would have to pay someone to change the colours.

You have some good advice above from Dan, but I definitely think you need to take a few steps back that will allow you to move forward with clearer vision.

 

1. Figure out your why - it'll help you figure out your brand. Why do you want to run this business? What niche are you filling? Who is your customer? If you've done a business plan already - great! All the answers lie within. If you haven't - you should do that. I waited until the 11th hour and 47th minute to do a business plan, but it really clarified the why behind my business (as well as the who, the what, the where, and the how).

 

2. Using your why and your brand, you can then move on to your logo! Designers are like computers - they only know what to do if you tell them exactly what to do. They won't be able to fill in the blanks for you, so you need to be able to effectively communicate the "feeling" you want your logo to evoke, how you view your brand, colours and fonts that you might like, etc. Having a logo and overall "brand identity" will make website design a million times easier.

 

3. Build a website!  (Or have one built for you - depends on the resources you have available.) Like Dan, I built my website on Wordpress.org (self-hosted) with a customizable theme I purchased from a theme company. It was basically plug and play - used my colours, my fonts, and away I went! 8 years later, I'm still making changes to my website, but since I built it I know it inside and out. I purchased a book (likely also available at your local library) that walked me through building and optimizing my own website. I think I got the shell done in a weekend and have spent time since building it out. You sound like me in that you're...particular (😉) about what you want and how you want it. There are real benefits to building a website yourself (knowing it well) but the investment of time can be a drawback. If you are having someone else do it for you, they'll still need the copy that you'll want to be on your site, so you can work on that now! (Intro, about us, FAQs, product/service description, photo galleries, etc.)

 

I also built my Square Online website myself which I only use for product sales. I run a bakery/café and a cake designer. The Square Online is for the items available for pre-order in the shop, but the "meat" of the info about cakes and the business are on my Wordpress site. So know that option is available for you too if you want greater control than a Square Online site can give.

 

Unfortunately there isn't a one size fits all solution for the order in which you should do things. I think the one Dan gave is a good start, but also just walk through your decision.

  • You want to set-up a business email - but who's emailing if they don't know what you can purchase because you don't have a live website detailing what you do?
  • You want to build a website - but what is the brand identity for the website you want to build?
  • You want a brand identity - what is the who, what, why, where, and how of your business that will dictate who needs to be enticed by your brand?

The journey of entrepreneurship is looooooong. A marathon, not a sprint. Set yourself up as well as you can by being diligent in the "little" things and it will make it a little easier in the long run.

 

You can send me a message if you want to know any of the resources I mentioned above, but this is not a sales pitch lol

Lenore
LenJo Bakes in Kitchener, ON
Let's connect on Instagram!
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Lots of good info here. Thank you to both @Minion and @lenjobakes for taking the time to give us your experiences. I have a question about integrating Square Online into a non-Square website. I've been playing around with Square Online and have not been impressed. I can't even accurately control the size of my logo at the top of the page and all the online help (both official tutorials and community answers) have not addressed this issue. The Weebly controls that underlie Square Online just seem to arbitrarily decide what size to make the logo and you are stuck with whatever size it chooses for you, even when you dimension your logo image as recommended by Square. So I'm thinking about using another platform for our site but integrating Square Online into it for the eCommerce functionality. Questions...

 

1. Can this be done so only the online shopping elements are incorporated into the main non-Square website so that it appears both seamless and cohesive? Or does clicking on a link for the shopping take you to Square Online (and a totally different looking/functioning set of pages)?

 

2. If using a third-party web builder (like WordPress), and you are able to incorporate Square shopping into your site, then is it correct that you do not need to pay for the other web host's eCommerce subscription package?

 

3. Any tips or tricks for making Square Online work in a non-Square website?

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@Michael80 wrote:

Lots of good info here. Thank you to both @Minion and @lenjobakes for taking the time to give us your experiences. I have a question about integrating Square Online into a non-Square website. I've been playing around with Square Online and have not been impressed. I can't even accurately control the size of my logo at the top of the page and all the online help (both official tutorials and community answers) have not addressed this issue. The Weebly controls that underlie Square Online just seem to arbitrarily decide what size to make the logo and you are stuck with whatever size it chooses for you, even when you dimension your logo image as recommended by Square. So I'm thinking about using another platform for our site but integrating Square Online into it for the eCommerce functionality. Questions...

 

1. Can this be done so only the online shopping elements are incorporated into the main non-Square website so that it appears both seamless and cohesive? Or does clicking on a link for the shopping take you to Square Online (and a totally different looking/functioning set of pages)?

 

2. If using a third-party web builder (like WordPress), and you are able to incorporate Square shopping into your site, then is it correct that you do not need to pay for the other web host's eCommerce subscription package?

 

3. Any tips or tricks for making Square Online work in a non-Square website?


Hey @Michael80 

Glad we were able to offer some information for you.  I can't answer all of your questions, Since I don't use Square Online, but @lenjobakes  can fill in some information there for you.  I can speak however on wordpress and woocommerce alone though.  

 

So depending on what you sell, you may be fine with just Wordpress + Woocommerce combo (both free) options.  Square's plugin (free) will capture your sales from the website end.  An abundance of plugins available for wordpress and woocommerce both free and paid , depending on your needs.  My advice is always try out free versions until you feel the need and you can justify the paid version.  I have about 5 out of 11 plugins that i use and pay for, mainly for web speed and web SEO.  Less plugins equals faster website.

 

So the things you would need to pay for upfront when using wordpress + woocommerce combo  would be the following

 

Domain- $24/ year+/- ?

Hosting- This can range depending on provider.  I currently use  Cloudways hosting.  Their pricing range from $12-$96 .  This is a bit more advance hosting, but the customer service is very helpful.  As i said prior I was on their $12/month plan with very good speeds, but due to an increase of images, I upped to their $50/month plan. 

 Siteground was my choice of host at the time before Cloudways (I've used godaddy, bluehost, duda as well ) and offered decent speeds, but an ease of use to get up and going.

Theme - There are thousands of different free and paid themes available to get you started with wordpress, and then can be tweaked to your preference. 

 

LIke Lenore mentioned, building a website does take a loooooot of your time, but it is one of the most satisfying things when customers, other business' state how nice your site is. 

 

Definitely happy to chat and offer my .02 on any other questions you have. 

 

Cheers

 

 

Dan
Scorpion Coating Plus,LLC
Square Super Seller
Check out Square support center for additional help.




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@Michael80, I'm so sorry for the delay!

 

So, to be honest, I didn't start out as an eCommerce business. But obviously with the pandemic I had to get a website up quick sticks and that's what I was able to do with Square Online. Like most traumatic experiences (being a new business owner in a global pandemic), I've forgotten much of what I did during the first few months of 2020.

 

Right now, my completely self-hosted WordPress site only has a link to my Square Online page. So clicking on a link does take my customers away from my self-hosted site and a different set of pages. However, I don't think the transition is so terrible? But that might be because I built both sites so the overall aesthetic and functionality feels very much the same despite the fact that they are in fact two distinct websites.

 

As far as I know (from very brief research) there doesn't appear to be a way to integrate Square into WordPress without cost. A plug-in I saw was $25 a month or something like that. We're currently using the free version of Square Online so...I wouldn't be the first to pay for a plug-in.

 

There is a new "Shop All" version of Square Online which functions a bit more like a storefront and less like a menu that might be useful to you depending on the kind of business you run?

 

Drop your links in a reply and I'll see if I can think up any other suggestions based on what I see. (If you're comfortable doing that of course!)

 

Lenore
LenJo Bakes in Kitchener, ON
Let's connect on Instagram!
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Hi @alaughinglotus  - I used to use a Wordpress created, designer built site on Pinnacle Cart, then Squarespace, and through a unique opportunity last year worked with a graphic designer to help with a rebrand of color scheme and such and we created our Square site in a few days. We have very simple needs for an online site and I can do all of the changes myself and quickly. There were things that I thought were super important before but SEO with Square is a breeze and our traffic immediately increased despite all of the things I thought I did "right" before. Our sales on the website are 160% higher using Square than our Squarepace site and many more shoppers on mobile - Our Google analytics changed dramatically using Square. Using a designer - the Square partner might be advantageous since it sounds like you might want some advanced functionality. Admittedly the Square/Weebly platform is a little simple but I realized I was wasting time that didn't pay off and now I do far less maintenance, uploads are easier, and I can easily change pop-ups for marketing and the Square newsletter option ties in with the website BEAUTIFULLY. I may not know all of the answers you are looking for but here for answering what I can.

We use the GSuite for email and it ties in with Square Online as well.

Deklan (Dex) they/them]

MudFire CEO | Square enthusiast

Visit me at MudFire online
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