A promotional item was provided to me for today’s discussion. The host for this event is Still Blonde after all these Years.
For years now one of my pie-in-the-sky dreams has been to own a clothing boutique. For awhile that dream meant an actual brick and mortar building, preferably in a posh part of town where I could cater to fellow millenials to help them dress their best while being chic and fashion forward. As with most dreams, it has changed and evolved over the years. Lately, I’ve been day-dreaming less about a physical location - at least in the beginning - and instead thinking more seriously about an online boutique. Because, let’s be honest online is where everyone is shopping these days. (I don’t remember the last time I actually went shopping at a mall.)
One of the major obstacles that has kept me from taking the online boutique plunge is the creation of the website. These things can be pricey, and even more so if I want to make sure my customers have their credit card information or Paypal accounts secure. I can’t rush the process… then again, maybe it isn’t as complicated as I first thought.
Back in March I experimented with GoDaddy’s GoCentral Website Creator to make a hypothetical site for the blog my sisters and I always talk about starting but never really get around to ironing out the details. It was so simple. It was so quick. You start by picking a template. Below are just 6 of the designs available for an online fashion store. Each can be customized with your own art, fonts, colors, etc…
Since GoDaddy is already a trusted brand for me - I’ve used a number of the company’s services over the year for blog creation, website hosting, etc… I figured this same GoCentral Website Builder could be used to create my online dream boutique. Set up and site creation is super easy. There are set formats and templates that you can pick from for your whole site as well as for specific pages. GoDaddy offers a wide variety - even more variety now than it had back in March when I first gave the service a try. For instance, if you look at the images below these are all different formats for the same landing page. As you’re creating the site you just need to pick the design and design elements that work best for you and your site.
The bonus - you really need no coding or website creation experience to make a stunning site of your own. You just need a little time, a little creativity and some good ‘ole trial and error to create something that is visually stunning. GoDaddy takes care of the hard work - the coding, the formatting, the bigger picture. You basically just need to fill in the blanks.
Even better - the GoCentral Website Creator is now free for a month for those wanting to try the product but not necessarily ready to take the plunge and buy. You can use the free trial to create your own website or online store. Plus, for an online store GoDaddy takes care of a lot of the legwork. Secure payments? Check! Mobile optimize checkout? Check! Endless products for sale? Check! Different shipping rates? Check.
Adding products to the store is quick and easy as well. GoDaddy nearly holds your hand through the entire process.
While, I’m not sure I’m ready to take the plunge and change my title to boutique owner, I’m finding the simplicity of this online store creator to be a game changer in terms of my worries about the challenges of an online shop. And the fact that I could easily build the site in under an hour is an even bigger bonus for this time-crunched gal.
So what are you waiting for? Take the plunge to create an online store of your dreams, a website for your company or heck even a blog. You can get a one-month free trial of the GoCentral Website Builder. (The Free Trial is an opportunity for you to use a GoDaddy Product free of charge for one (1) month, beginning on the date that you accept the Free Trial offer. The Free Trial will expire one (1) month from the date you accept the Free Trial offer, regardless of whether or not you use the Product during the Free Trial period. No credit card is necessary. The free trial is now available in all markets we sell the product.)
GoCentral makes it easy to not only design but maintain a personal website- I’ve now made 2 storefronts for friends and I feel confident that they can take over and handle the upkeep and changes by themselves. It’s really that easy.
I love working with God add. The service is excellent and the site is easy to use. When you get up and running let me know. I love to shop
Sigh GoDaddy. Stupid autocorrect
How exciting! Online shopping is so convenient and definitely the shopping style for the future. I look forward to seeing your dream come to fruition.
Will definitely pass your article along to my friend who is opening a leather jacket online boutique. Love that you added all the screenshots- so much easier to follow!!
Excellent insight to what it takes to create your own site. Helpful images and discussion.
Very cool you have your own online store. I love when people purse their passions.
Great timing for this post. I am getting ready to open a web store. perfect
Awesome. You’ll love how easy it is with this program.
This sounds great! I will give this link to a friend building her website.
It is so easy to get overwhelmed opening a new business. It’s great to see such a great option for a website startup
Love that you mentioned that your working with God.
We are in the same boat you are!
Crazy ride eh!
Heather Lawrence recently posted..Infinity Jar Reviews
This is really good info! I’m helping a friend set up an e-commerce type website and we are at the very beginning stages so this could really be an option for her! I like the free trial to check it out!
Jessica Harlow recently posted..Ottica offers trendy, designer eyewear with affordable prices!
The free trial makes it so easy to play around with before committing - which is my favorite part. Good luck to your friend.
Wishing you lots of success with your online store! It looks fabulous and I love your passion!
I have been looking for solutions for my online store. The daunting task of building a website has been an obstacle. Definitely looking into this.
This is so exciting! Best of luck! I cannot wait to follow along and see what you sell!
This is great information for anyone interested in creating an online store. I hope your dream of becoming a boutique owner comes true soon!
This looks like such an easy way to create an online store. And I wish you all the luck in the world if you decide to ahead and give being a boutique owner a go
Louise x
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It totally was so easy. Much easier than I thought. Now to put the rest of the pieces together so the dream can become a reality.
Congratulations to you on following your dreams and going after what you want. I love that you were able to easily create your store. GoDaddy is our resource as well and they have been so supportive. Wishing you great luck on many sales!
This is such a great post for me, I m in the middle of creating my own online pretty store.
Great Post!
Good luck Amy!
Love! This is a great alternative option to what I’m currently using for my online store! And I already have most of my other services with GoDaddy! Win-win! I’ll have to check this out - thanks so much for showing how simple it is to use and set up!
This is so exciting for you! Once you take that step into the online world and seeing ways to make money and create a career for yourself it is amazing to run with all of the ideas!
I’m actually working on my online store right now so I’m going to have to check this system out!
That’s awesome, take the plunge, you will enjoy the process of running an online boutique!
I’m all about wordpress myself but I love this simple solution and the site options you created really look great!
Thanks for this!
I think Dress Chic is a fantastic idea!! Time to jump in and make that dream a reality!
I think your store is ready. All you have to do is GO FOR IT!