Profits, form and function; Designing an online store can be cheap and easy, or expensive and even easier.(Focus: Small Business)

Crain's Chicago Business, February, 2007 by Gill, Dee

Byline: DEE GILL Any computer-savvy entrepreneur can build an e-commerce store in a matter of hours these days, for little or no money. But what's the difference between a site made with Yahoo Store templates and those $25,000 sites that professional developers build from scratch? Look and function, says Joel Jimenez, co-owner of Practical Data Inc., a Chicago Web site consulting company.

For the most part, the expensive sites look more professional to the customer and run more automated functions for the owner, such as tracking orders to suppliers. That said, Mr. Jimenez steers anyone expecting less than $50,000 a month in revenues to Yahoo Store for a first site. He charges between $500 and $5,000 to design a store using Yahoo-provided templates, with...

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