Template purchase vs. custom design?
 

Since I just purchased X-Cart Pro I have a lot of questions and will be moving forward a step at a time.

I have been looking at some of the templates being sold for X-Cart and wonder if they are worth the price or would I be better off hiring someone to custom design the look for me.

The template I am looking at is Amazon Red.

Its cost is as follows:

Basic Template: $79.00
Additional $80 charge for x-cart pro.
$25.00 for the X-Affiliate template designed page.
$25.00 for DHTML Tabs Menu
Install: $50.00
Total: $259.00

My question is, can I have a far better look by hiring custom work and paying between $500 to $1,000, or am I better off with the Amazon Red template?

BTW, I will be having a custom logo designed for me, which will be used at the top of the page no matter what choice I decide on.

The problem I am having so far with looking around at some of the designer’s portfolios, is that it has not given me any idea to how much money is involved in creating some of these designs. My limit is probably going to be $1,000. Can I expect to have a nice designed site for this amount of money or am I just better off forgetting about the custom work for now and going with the pre-built template and dressing it up with a nice designed logo?

Thank you in advance for any help and advice you can offer.

Don

Re: Template purchase vs. custom design?
 

Hello,

I'm not the most experienced around here, but i can offer what i suggest.

I would suggest, stick to Amazon Red template, and edit it to your needs

If you were to pay for custom work and you've seen a portfolio of the designer, go with it if you are not stretching your budget.

When you pay them, make sure your secured in payment, using paypal with this type of thing isn't a good idea, since paypal doesn't cover this type of transfer since it's custom.

I would suggest a middle-man company, i don't know of any though,
Basically, if you are not stretching your budget go with a designer, just make sure there good and your covered.
Custom:
1. With a custom-design you can use it on as many websites you want, and you own the template.
2. It will snap the attention of your target audience better(Considering the designer is decent)
It's a MUST-NEED in the long-run, but since your JUST starting it, you will be fine with a template.
Pre-made:
1. Cheaper, budget is ALLWAYS a issue.
2. It's a fast and effective way to get your store up, without waiting for a designer.

EDIT: I forgot to proof-read it(It's late where i live tehe.)

Re: Template purchase vs. custom design?
 

You'll have to ask yourself if a custom design is of added value with what you're selling i.e. when you already have established a corporate (online) identity you'd like the webshop to 'fit' as well.

Most of the times pre designed skins/templates will not meet a CI fully or in total. But it can be a start when deceiding to tweak it to meet your needs; could be time consuming as well ... and time is money; X-Cart (Pro) has a steep learning curve and when you then also have to re-design the template at the same time you could be looking at several months before going live.

Regarding custom design:
A good design will cost good money.
A good transfer of the design to X-Cart will cost a corresponding amount.

There's always somebody offering lower/cheap prices but what you get is what you pay for right?

Seeing that your shop is a startup, I'd consider buying the template and performing (minor) color tweaks to fit the logo you will be having. Then wait until the shop will bring in real money so in future you could consider a complete redesign when it's worth doing so.

My 2 cents.

Re: Template purchase vs. custom design?
 

A template is a good place to start if you are on a budget, but in the long run, you are definitely going to want a custom design. It is all about branding - find one major e-commerce retailer that uses a template :) You want to make an impression in the 5 seconds you have to grab their attention, and you want them to remember your site as being unique - not looking like 700 other sites out there. A good designer will capture the 'feel' of your company so that it is instantly recognizable as soon as someone logs on to the site.

Re: Template purchase vs. custom design?
 

Thanks Dabi and Warwick,
I appreciate you taken the time to help and advise me. Most likely I will go with the pre-designed template for right now. I think after I get a good custom logo added, that it will look pretty good. This will also give me more time to focus on learning to setup and use x-cart pro. The money I save on custom design work I can use for the promoting and advertising of the new store.

Thanks again guys,
Don

Re: Template purchase vs. custom design?
 

Hi balinor, for someone who does custom designs, could you tell me if $1,000 would get the job done or is this amount out of the ballpark? Since I do not have a glue at this point to what something like this would cost me, then I need for those in the know to give me some ideas what it would cost me.

I don't want to get into negotiations with someone to only find out that it is going to be something that I totally cannot swing right now.

Best Regards,
Don

Re: Template purchase vs. custom design?
 

I'd suggest posting in the Pro Services - Requests forum, you can get some actual quotes back from developers. As I mentioned in your other thread, the price varies greatly.

Re: Template purchase vs. custom design?
 

Dear Alienseeker, you’re still having another alternative besides hiring an unknown designer or continue working with the standard template.

We would like to invite you to our X-cart template store: http://x-cart-customization.com/shop

I hope you’ll find there the template you like.

Thank you in advance.

Re: Template purchase vs. custom design?
 

Hi Yurij,
Thank you for your reply. However I have looked over your templates a number of times already and while I find them to be very well, there is nothing that I think would be suited for my site.

My site will have many different vendors selling all items that fall into the categories of the paranormal, UFOs, Aliens, new age items, etc.. Such as books, CDs, DVDs, art work, clothing, bookings for conventions, etc..

Best Regards,
Don