We believe that the web should be easy and that by embracing open software, open standards, and the world of web-based applications, that the web really can be easy. Companies like MailChimp, Media Temple, 37Signals, SalesForce, Woo Themes, DIY Themes, and FreshBooks are proving that to be true every day.
That’s why we’ve launched our Products We Love page, to promote companies that fit well with that philosophy. We’re starting out with a handful of companies mentioned above, but we plan to add more as we gain more experience with other products.
We only want to recommend products we’ve used extensively, so don’t expect this list to grow overnight. That said, you can trust the products and services we’re recommending now are really the best of the best.
If you have suggestions for products we ought to be looking at, please leave a note in the comments or send an email to info@readymadeweb.com.
Full Disclosure: ReadyMadeWeb has an affiliate relationship with several of the companies we recommend, but we’d recommend them anyway because we use their stuff every day.
Do-it-yourself online stores used to be limited to having a store on Amazon, eBay, or some other service. It wasn’t really a “store” it was more like having a little kiosk in a behemoth online mall.
Enter Shopify. This great service lets you build an honest-to-goodness online store customized to your needs complete with your own domain name. Shopify allows you to easily add and edit items, manage your inventory, process payments, market your products, and track your customer buying patterns. Shopify also includes cool features like discount codes to track your promotions, full CSS and HTML control, a robust API, and even an option to create simple store blog.
Of course the biggest benefit of Shopify is that you don’t have to build it yourself or pay a designer to do it for you. You also don’t have to go through the puzzling set steps required to make a truly secure online store. Shopify handles all the SSL certificates, the hardware security, and the data backup for you. These are benefits common to most web-based applications, but it’s worth repeating just how awesome it is to have that sort of worry-free design available in an off-the-shelf solution.
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If you’re interested in accepting online payments, FreshBooks has a great series of posts that exhaustively evaluates the different payment gateway options available to small and large businesses alike.
I should also note that FreshBooks is proving to be a great solutions for estimates, invoicing, and expense tracking at ReadyMadeWeb. It’s a great platform for interacting with customers if only for the estimate and billing functions alone. The seamless integration with PayPal, Authorize.net, and bunch of other payment gateways is also a real bonus.
Last summer I transitioned CafeHayek.com from Typepad to WordPress with the help of a great little company called Foliovision. Their service turns the otherwise difficult process of leaving SixApart’s Typepad into a relatively painless one that runs anywhere from $350 to $1000. Better yet, they love using Thesis, the spectacular WordPress theme that powers ReadyMadeWeb.
If that relatively modest price is still stretching your budget or if you’re a DIY type, Foliovision has been kind enough to impart their transition and conversion wisdom in the form of some pretty in-depth instructions.
Either way, the expense or effort of moving from Typepad to WordPress is worth it. WordPress features better image manipulation, control over CSS, and gives you the control to expand your blog in a seemingly infinite variety of ways.
Full Disclosure: Foliovision recently sent me a lovely branded polo shirt all the way from their home office in Bratislava, Slovakia. However, this only served to remind me of their service—I would gladly endorse sans polo.
We believe that the web should be easy and that by embracing open software, open standards, and the world of web-based applications, that the web really can be easy. Companies like MailChimp, Media Temple, 37Signals, SalesForce, Woo Themes, DIY Themes, and FreshBooks are proving that to be true every day.
