I like the aStore, but, I just don't think it is good enough, so I see that AOM (Associate-O-Matic) is the script of choice for those of you in the know. Can anyone who uses the script, answer a few questions for me? 1. Can I narrow my category pages down to specific products only, such as music from specific artists, like I can on the aStore? 2. Is it correct that I can use AOM multiple times on different domains, with different stores, from just paying the one time yearly fee? 3. Is it truly customizable..not just the colors, but font choices, header, and layout? 4. Is there anything better on the market? I am looking to make the jump, this week end, and would like to make sure I am using the best available platform. Thanks in advance.
1. Yep 2. Yep 3. Yep 4. I've only tried AOM I've set up a couple of stores using it, and I was absolutely amazed at the level of customisation. You can even insert whole blocks of HTML into your shop pages eg. for articles or reviews etc. Not made any sales yet (been less than a week), but very impressed overall.
I would highly recommend a custom solution, but failing that A-O-M seems to be the most popular. If search engine traffic is your aim, make sure you customise it and add unique content.
What are my options when it comes to a "Custom Solution"? Who is reputable and does that kind of work, and what is the benefit of doing it that way?
The benefit in a Custom Solution is that you have total control over how it works. Anyone doing that kind of work probably doesn't sell their services that way - I don't! The big thing for me was search engines, so my custom solution is highly search engine optimised. A-O-M can be, but i am sure there are complications.
AOM is really good, even the free version. You should setup a test install (30 minutes tops) and see how much you can customise it. I found it very easy to implement into my existing designs.
Thanks. I will go with the AOM for now, and play around with it. IT is a supplement to my blog, so it will not be standing alone, as far as traffic goes.
aStores is free to set up and you can have up to a hundred tracking IDs. AOM is external and requires it's own domains. If you have the time to work on it, try having both variations.
I do have a couple of aStores set up, with one embedded in my blog, (and I love them) but, I am also putting a new paid theme on my blog..so I think it's time to put up a full AOM store to go with it.
I've tried a couple of the open source scripts, but spent too much time putzing around with patching things and not enough time building and marketing the stores. I've found the full AOM script to be solid, flexible, well-supported and worth the cost. It's especially worth it for non-programmers, IMHO.
Of course...I will have a ton of questions, thanks. It seems to have respect from more than a few people...I'm diving in this week, thanks for the opinions.
Your questions seem to have been answered and accurately but I wanted to add that the newest version of AOM looks to be a lot more SEO friendly. Previously it was a crapshoot, bu the latest version looks to be tailored toward creating an seo friendly site. I've had limitless success with my multiple installations.