Websites setup and hosting FAQs

IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE:

• After purchasing a website, we will email you with the relevant paperwork within 2 business days. This needs to be completed by you and returned to us.
• If you have also purchased Own Label, this process must first be completed as your website design will normally reflect your labels and your pot images will need to be uploaded.
• All correspondence for website build (and Own Label setup) is done via email as every aspect needs to be documented - our design department DOES NOT accept telephone calls.

Please see the FAQs below. If you are not able to find an answer to a query you have, please contact us.

E-commerce shopping cart FAQs

What is included in the shopping cart?
Click here for the full list of features.

How much customisation is included in the shopping cart build price?
We will personalise the website to your branding (including your logo and choice of colours). However, a high level of customisation is not included in the price and the layout of the website is fixed. The layout and design will be the same as our demo site - click here. Following handover, you will be able to customise many elements of the website yourself, eg. adding featured products, special offers, new content and categories etc. The shopping cart will be built using the Wordpress platform, with the Woocommerce shopping cart plug-in.

Please note the service does not include adapting or working with an existing website - this is a standalone website service.

Please do not compare to our retail website - this is a heavily customised bespoke website built on a different platform.

Will the shopping cart feature my own label products?
Yes, if you have purchased Own Label (which is a separate fee), the website will come pre-loaded with your Own Label products. If you do not opt for Own Label, the products featured on the site will have the Specialist Supplements labels.

What written content will come with the shopping cart?
The website comes pre-loaded with basic product descriptions and information. If you provide us with text for the Homepage and About Us page, we can also add this for you. However, you can edit/add content yourself following handover.

Who will be responsible for the shopping cart following completion?
Following completion of the site build and handover, you will have complete ownership of and responsibility for the site. Specialist Supplements will have no ongoing involvement in the running or management of your site. When you receive an order on your site, you will need to then log in and then place the corresponding order on our site. We do not offer SEO or web traffic advice and do not guarantee traffic to your website.

Once you have approved the website, the handover stage will include us supplying you with login details for your website, along with links to guides for using the website and guides to the theme. Wordpress (and in particular Woocommerce) is a heavily used platform with a vast amount of free resources available online, with a very active user base. We do not provide tuition for using the platform on handover. We offer two weeks of aftercare support for any technical issue. Following this, we may need to quote for any bespoke work or assistance required. 

Will a reduced number of products lower the cost of the shopping cart?
No. This is because the majority of the work for us in building the site is in the back-end setup.

Will the shopping cart be linked up to payment gateways?
Yes it will. We recommend that you go with PayPal, as it is much easier to integrate with this system and has fewer legal requirements. However, the site can be linked up to other providers. You will need to do this after handover. As we are a British company, everything is set up with pricing in pounds (similarly all text is in English as well). You can change to alternative languages and currencies, however you would need to do this after handover.

Will I be able to add content, new pages and products etc following handover?
Yes, the site will be fully editable by you following handover. You can find an easy-to-follow user guide on the Wordpress and Woocommerce websites. There is also an active user forum available online.

Can I sell other products (ie. not sold by Specialist Supplements) on the shopping cart?
Yes, following handover you will be able to add as many other products as you wish.

Do I need to purchase hosting and a domain name?
Yes - we recommend Krystal for your hosting and domain name. Click here for their hosting details - if you enter SPECSUPPS16 at Checkout, you will get a £5 credit with them (Amethyst is usually a good starting point, you can always upgrade if needed). If you have or are considering a different host to this, please ensure you check that the Wordpress platform is supported (we would strongly recommend not using GoDaddy or One.com, as we have experienced many server issues with installations previously). We will need cPanel access, where we can create and manage databases, access phpmyadmin, create FTP accounts and edit php settings where required. PHP should be version 7.3+ and MySQL version 5.6+ (at the time of writing - however check the Wordpress minimum requirements on the main Wordpress website), ideally on a Linux server with cPanel. You must make sure your domain name is pointing to your hosting account.

It will soon become a requirement by Wordpress that the hosting used has an SSL certificate. This currently comes free with Krystal hosting (as above), but if you are choosing another hosting platform, you must ensure that this is included.

What level of SEO is included in the shopping cart build?
Your site will come complete with keywords and page descriptions (based on our experience of the most searched-for terms for these products and the natural health industry). However, following handover of the site to you, you will of course be able to amend the site content, keywords and descriptions etc as you see fit.

Is the shopping cart site suitable for mobile use?
Yes - the new platform we are using is responsive and mobile friendly.

What platform is used to be build the shopping cart?
The site would be built using Wordpress, with the Woocommerce shopping cart plug-in. We previously used Opencart (version 1.5.6.4).

Is a slideshow included in the website build?
Yes. The website comes with 3 basic slides on the Homepage. For more slides, or a greater level of customisation, this would cost from £15 + vat per slide.

What level of technical support is available?
We offer a 2-week aftercare service for any functionality issues. We do not offer ongoing technical support relating to use of the system within the website build price. However, you can find an easy-to-follow user guide on the Wordpress and Woocommerce websites and there is an active user forum available online. However, should you require technical support or additional work on your website following the design and build, you can also contact us for a quote. We charge on a per incident basis for technical support. All work will be quoted for on the basis of its precise requirements.

Will the website come with an SSL certificate?
No, you will need to purchase this separately. This currently comes with Krystal hosting - see above. As mentioned, this will soon be a requirement for Wordpress websites, so you must ensure you have one.

How long does it take to build an e-commerce shopping cart?
There is no definitive timeframe as there are a number of variables, including your precise requirements, how quickly you let us have the required information and approvals, and our current workload etc. However, on average, a website build takes around 1 - 3 weeks. Please note: If you are selling our products under your own labels, these (along with the pot images) will need to be completed before any work can begin on your shopping cart build. For more information on the Own Label setup process (including timescales), click here.