Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 11/4/2012
Posts: 90
Location: Los Angeles, California and
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Hello Fellow Zazzlers,
I'm finally ready to set up an external website to direct people to my Z store. From the very few examples I've seen, I realize there are many ways to approach this.
If you're willing to share, please list the link to your own website Z store so I can get more ideas on how to go about this. I'd really appreciate it.
The thing is, my Zazzle store is one aspect of a larger online business I'm setting up. So I'm not sure how to hook them together, how much to put on the external site or just basically direct them right away to my official Z store.
Do you find that people spend time on your external site first?
Or do they move directly to your products on Zazzle itself?
I realize that's a big question and depends on how much detail you have on your external site.
Any comments, suggestions, links to your sites will be really helpful.
Thanks!
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Groups: Member
Joined: 4/5/2014
Posts: 71
Location: www.CurioRealm.com
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www.CurioRealm.comAs of January 15th 2015 we completed a complete website layout overhaul so that our website is less of a 'sidekick' and more of an offical storefront. In addition to featuring our own products we also feature select products from other Zazzle creators through The Curio Attic. Our website is visually basic in design to allow for more emphasis on displaying products and so that CurioRealm can more easily expand over time. Our website includes optimized desktop and mobile versions and has been tested for the best display on PC, tablets and larger smartphones.
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 1/30/2012
Posts: 22
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This is something I'm thinking about doing so would like to see some examples too 
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 11/5/2008
Posts: 2,839
Location: Van Buren
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My main site, http://www.gothictoggs.net/ is set up as a kind of "hub" for my POD sites,my Etsy digital shop, and my writing. My bridal site, http://www.gothicbridal.net/ has links for my Zazzle shop, my Etsy accessories shop, and a page for fellow Zazzlers. (Everyone who is interested in being added to the Wedding Wall, email me at the link below with a 500x500px @100dpi logo icon and the link to your shop ;) ) And my much neglected business site, http://www.gothicbusiness.com/ finally has a new design laid out and ready for upload next week. It's a completely new design and I'm hoping a much better one. 
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 11/4/2013
Posts: 7
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Here are some of the stores I've set up to showcase some of the designs I've created and stores I've set up: http://stamped.stuffyouwillbuy.com/http://names.stuffyouwillbuy.com/http://newjerseyisthebest.comI'm constantly working on them to try and improve them and add more content to interest users. Still seems like the majority of my sales come from people searching on Zazzle though so I don't know how much I should be bothering. I need to do more promotion but that's always the thing I seem to spend the least time on.
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 7/23/2012
Posts: 153
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 3/15/2008
Posts: 888
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This is my "POD Hub" : http://www.tshirt-total.com♥ Hilly
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 12/23/2010
Posts: 1,121
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Here's my main one. www.oconnart.com
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 11/3/2010
Posts: 935
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Mine is pretty simple, made with weebly. Only had it a few weeks. Going to add more for my other shops when I get the time.  I use to use zstore plugin to pull items, is there still an easy way to do this? Thanks for sharing. www.gottahustleforthatmuscle.com
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 11/4/2012
Posts: 90
Location: Los Angeles, California and
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Thanks everyone for posting these. And to Custom_shoez for that link. I thought I remembered reading something similar to my question but couldn't find the post.
Maybe each of you who listed your site here would also like to put it on that posting to make a longer list of websites. All of this is helpful!
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 4/11/2011
Posts: 17
Location: Los Angeles
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its hard to rank in google with zazzle store builder. since all the links are pointing to the zazzle website. any solution for this?
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 9/6/2010
Posts: 27
Location: Spring Grove
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Here is my wordpress store builder site! Just redone a few weeks ago. Independent Art gifts.com
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 12/30/2013
Posts: 218
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Here's mine (built with Wordpress as well)- www.shuttersnaps.co.uk
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 9/29/2008
Posts: 524
Location: Bologna
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 12/1/2013
Posts: 6,494
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For what it's worth: http://somethingartish.com/Just did some reorganizing today, replaced thumbnails on the "Featured Product" page with better quality images and reduced the number of different designs used for the product thumbs to make it less of a circus. I still have work to do. Right now I'm using a set of small thumbs to show color variations for each pattern on the "Abstract Design Series" page, but I'm thinking of replacing those with a single, good quality thumb featuring a single color variation for each pattern, since I already explain in the captions what other colors are available. It's nothing fancy - I'm not ready to graduate to WordPress yet.
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 11/5/2008
Posts: 2,839
Location: Van Buren
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Felosarix wrote:For what it's worth: http://somethingartish.com/Just did some reorganizing today, replaced thumbnails on the "Featured Product" page with better quality images and reduced the number of different designs used for the product thumbs to make it less of a circus. I still have work to do. Right now I'm using a set of small thumbs to show color variations for each pattern on the "Abstract Design Series" page, but I'm thinking of replacing those with a single, good quality thumb featuring a single color variation for each pattern, since I already explain in the captions what other colors are available. It's nothing fancy - I'm not ready to graduate to WordPress yet. You could composite different views/colors into one larger thumb. Even three or four color variations on different products would give people a good idea. And a larger thumb as apposed to smaller ones, makes it easier on the customers to see how you might mix and match (always think about those add on sales ) I've used some composites on my front page if you'd like to take a look to see what I mean; http://www.gothictoggs.net/
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 3/27/2014
Posts: 11,390
Location: East Greenbush
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I've run a web business for a number of years, and there sat the hosting space plus an already existing customer base to work on, so I simply added a COLORwash section to it that appears as if it's a separate site--unless you glance up at the address bar in the browser, of course. All of it was built using Serif's WebPlus software, which has its faults, but it nevertheless eliminates a lot of coding hassle. It's brand new and so there's still a lot of tweaking left to do. EDIT: Due to changing my mind about the format for this site (too many products to be added so constantly), I've edited this post to reflect the much smaller pages and their more limited scope.
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 2/5/2014
Posts: 209
Location: Dover
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colorwash wrote:I've run a web business for a number of years, and there sat the hosting space plus an already existing customer base to work on, so I simply added a COLORwash section to it that appears as if it's a separate site--unless you glance up at the address bar in the browser, of course. I'm getting a 404 error on your link.
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 11/5/2008
Posts: 2,839
Location: Van Buren
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vade_mecum wrote:colorwash wrote:I've run a web business for a number of years, and there sat the hosting space plus an already existing customer base to work on, so I simply added a COLORwash section to it that appears as if it's a separate site--unless you glance up at the address bar in the browser, of course. I'm getting a 404 error on your link. Try this link; http://theframelocker.com/colorwash.htmlYour site is very nice colorwash. The drop down menu is very distracting though. Also, I noticed there is no way to get back to your main site once you click through. Maybe a HOME button, or open the site in a new tab would work as well, that way you don't loose that back link. Search engines also like a lot of internal links on a site. So being able to move between pages easily makes for happy spiders and happy spiders means higher rankings
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 3/27/2014
Posts: 11,390
Location: East Greenbush
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@vade_mecum: Sorry about that. I'm always forgetting to add ".html" at the end of a page name. I fixed it.
@Gothic Toggs: I've been debating about that back link to the main site. I don't want to confuse people who arrive there and don't own ProShow software, which is what the main site is devoted to. The ProShow people generally have my site bookmarked or simply have the name memorized, so I'm not sure they need it. On the other hand, what if... Aaarrgggh!
I'm not too concerned about SEO. My site shows up on the first page of Google when people search for "ProShow slide styles," which is what they generally do.
One of the best things that actually goes beyond internal links is the external ones--people, or even one's own self, linking back to the site via other sites. The names we give our pages is also high on the list, which is something I didn't know until my hosting company, which puts out a monthly newsletter with great info in it, alerted me to.
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 12/1/2013
Posts: 6,494
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Tabz Jones wrote:You could composite different views/colors into one larger thumb. Even three or four color variations on different products would give people a good idea. And a larger thumb as apposed to smaller ones, makes it easier on the customers to see how you might mix and match (always think about those add on sales ) I've used some composites on my front page if you'd like to take a look to see what I mean; http://www.gothictoggs.net/ Thanks for the tips. That's definitely something I'll have to work toward for a future revision of the site. My chief enemy right now is time - never enough of it. So I tinker where I can and gather ideas for the next chunk of free time that pops up.
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 10/7/2012
Posts: 434
Location: Sophia
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I have several free sites. These are the ones I've checked to see that they're good. http://dww25921.wix.com/landscapehttp://conquestkitty.webstarts.com/http://zazzlestoresbydww25921.***spam***.com/ http://dww25921.***spam***.com/ http://dww25921.weebly.com/Ooh, that reminds me... Y O L A S I T E is flagged by Zazzle as a high SPAMming site so it's probably best to not go there for your free page needs.
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 2/21/2013
Posts: 1,170
Location: Crystal Palace
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Hello, here's my example of a work in progress. www.ThoughtSeedArt.comNick
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Groups: Member
Joined: 10/2/2011
Posts: 4
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Here is mine: http://bookofzen.com/I'm developing my Zazzle store and website in tandem. Whenever I update my store, I update my website too. My store and website were only launched about ten days ago. Still a lot to develop...
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 3/27/2014
Posts: 11,390
Location: East Greenbush
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Book of Zen wrote:Here is mine: http://bookofzen.com/I'm developing my Zazzle store and website in tandem. Whenever I update my store, I update my website too. My store and website were only launched about ten days ago. Still a lot to develop... I looked through your site and then linked out to other locations. Finally, I did a Google search, but I still couldn't find the answer: Are the quotes from a published book? I know you mentioned a writer/artist, but I got wondering if you and that person are the same.
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Groups: Member
Joined: 10/2/2011
Posts: 4
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colorwash wrote:Book of Zen wrote:Here is mine: http://bookofzen.com/I'm developing my Zazzle store and website in tandem. Whenever I update my store, I update my website too. My store and website were only launched about ten days ago. Still a lot to develop... I looked through your site and then linked out to other locations. Finally, I did a Google search, but I still couldn't find the answer: Are the quotes from a published book? I know you mentioned a writer/artist, but I got wondering if you and that person are the same. I am the writer's business partner. The full "Book of Zen" quotes and koan collection was never published formally in print, but was published previously in full at BookofZen.com. The old website was taken down and this new one put up, when we launched the Zazzle store.
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 3/27/2014
Posts: 11,390
Location: East Greenbush
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Book of Zen wrote:I am the writer's business partner. The full "Book of Zen" quotes and koan collection was never published formally in print, but was published previously in full at BookofZen.com. The old website was taken down and this new one put up, when we launched the Zazzle store. Thank you for explaining. Does the writer also do the art or do you do that part of it? Yes, I'm a very nosy person, but I just can't help it.
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Groups: Member
Joined: 10/2/2011
Posts: 4
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colorwash wrote:Book of Zen wrote:I am the writer's business partner. The full "Book of Zen" quotes and koan collection was never published formally in print, but was published previously in full at BookofZen.com. The old website was taken down and this new one put up, when we launched the Zazzle store. Thank you for explaining. Does the writer also do the art or do you do that part of it? Yes, I'm a very nosy person, but I just can't help it. Haha. No problem. Yes, the writer does the art work, as well. Right now it is just the zen circle, which he created for including the very short quotes within. But later there will be abstract minimalist brush paintings to accompany the longer quotes and koans.
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