2 Sites out of 1?

[kingo]

Hi,

I am new to Ac, I have a client who wants a retail and wholesale site for the same products - but doesnt want them linked from one site so they would have different URLs.

They was I see it - build one site - then duplicate it changing prices and some content?

kind regards

Steven

[leehack]

They was I see it - build one site - then duplicate it changing prices and some content?

Sounds good to me.

[chris ashdown]

It would be easier to use Actinic to its full where you have the normal shop open to all at the normal retail price, and then account customers just log in to see both the retail and their own special prices. The retail customers never get to see the account customers special prices

This would mean you only have to update one site for new items and price changes etc

On the other hand the two site also works well but a bit more upkeep

[Goz]

Licensing might be an issue - will this be 2 domains or just the 1?

[Darren B]

2 different URL's then yes make 2 sites, you can use the same products in both.

Remember duplicate sites may get penalised for duplicate content. However you mentioned changing content so go for it.

To do this isn actinic you need multi site (business plus), dont confuse with multi user

[kingo]

Thanks to all...


What are the 'penalties' for duplicate sites you mention?

Also re: business plus - if the wholesale and retail are being managed by seperate individuals - whats best - Client Catalogue? Would be good to keep client costs down...


Steven

2 different URL's then yes make 2 sites, you can use the same products in both.

Remember duplicate sites may get penalised for duplicate content. However you mentioned changing content so go for it.

To do this isn actinic you need multi site (business plus), dont confuse with multi user

[Darren B]

OK im no SEO expert so will leave the explaination about duplicate content to those that know and they will reply if they want to, but a search of the forum will give you loads of info on this

Now perhaps you need to give some more information on how you intend to set this up. Depending on what you want really depends on what package(s) you require and the best options.

[kingo]

Ok, 2 Brothers with separate business’s - 1 - manufacturers jewellery and sells it to his wholesale customers and 2 - who retail's it on the Web.
So 1 - retail is to the outside world on the web and 2 - the wholesale is to enable his existing customers to buy online without him having to take manual orders and payments.

I will do the designs using Actinic Designer / Dreamweaver and pass it over to them to process orders.

Thanks

Steven



Now perhaps you need to give some more information on how you intend to set this up. Depending on what you want really depends on what package(s) you require and the best options.[/QUOTE]

[bamboo]

Ok, 2 Brothers with separate business’s - 1 - manufacturers jewellery and sells it to his wholesale customers and 2 - who retail's it on the Web.
So 1 - retail is to the outside world on the web and 2 - the wholesale is to enable his existing customers to buy online without him having to take manual orders and payments.

So in fact there are two clients, who happen to be brothers.
My reading of this is that the Brother 2 is a retailer and is therefore a customer of Brother 1 who is a wholesaler.

If this is correct then for tax purposes, apart from anything else, surely two separate Actinic sites are needed as the tax man would be drawn like a moth to a flame by two businesses trading from the same shopping site with the same payment processing.
It would be a nightmare to prove which business was actually making the sale and Mr Tax Inspector loves this sort of scenario.

If the scenario is wrong and in fact there is but one business that is being run by two brothers then it really is just a matter of building a retail website and giving the wholesale customers their own login and pricing as Chris said earlier in the thread.

[kingo]

Wholesale brother doesnt want his customers to be aware of his brothers buisiness - hence two sites - slightly different and not linked....


I wasnt sure this was possible with Logins to give separate price etc. but its useful too know - can it be done in such a way to help with the above scenario?



If the scenario is wrong and in fact there is but one business that is being run by two brothers then it really is just a matter of building a retail website and giving the wholesale customers their own login and pricing as Chris said earlier in the thread.[/QUOTE]

[bamboo]

Wholesale brother doesn't want his customers to be aware of his brothers business - hence two sites - slightly different and not linked....

A 'dream world' scenario if ever there was one.

Wholesale brother should be concentrating on selling his wholesale products to his retail customers rather than worrying about the possibility of his 'other' retailers figuring out that one of their number is actually the wholesale brothers brother!

There is frankly no way you can hide these sort of facts from anyone on the Interweb. I cannot see what potential financial benefits there are in trying to hide such a connection. If the retail brothers business is any good the competition will know about it and probably figure out it buys its stock from the same wholesaler they do.

Why do people always try to over complicate things?

[kingo]

Thats the point! - he wants to concentrate on wholesle - hence why he wants a Wholesale only site for his buisness and the other a retail site for retail - two sites... not a question of hiding etc however I dont know whether some of these item might give rise to a conflict with the Wholesalers and they are probably not selling via the web anyway.... I'm only doing what I have been asked to do...

A 'dream world' scenario if ever there was one.
Wholesale brother should be concentrating on selling his wholesale products to his retail customers rather than worrying about the possibility of his 'other' retailers figuring out that one of their number is actually the wholesale brothers brother!

There is frankly no way you can hide these sort of facts from anyone on the Interweb. I cannot see what potential financial benefits there are in trying to hide such a connection. If the retail brothers business is any good the competition will know about it and probably figure out it buys its stock from the same wholesaler they do.

Why do people always try to over complicate things?

[pinbrook]

build the retail site and optimise it well so it gets good SEO.

take a copy of the site for wholesale so you don't have to type product info in twice, customise it to make it appropriate for wholesale customers, use htaccess to hide it from spiders to eliminate duplicate content issue

[DeDanan]

Hi

Wholesale and retail are two very different types of business model and how you talk to customers both trade and retail also needs to be different.
The only common factor is the actual products, product descriptions and prices should be different on both sites.

I think you should build two entirely different sites with the target customer in mind. This is looking at the problem from a marketing point of view and not the ideal that one style fits all. This will also mean that if the trade customer sees the retail site it will not be obvious that they are related.

The wholesale site should not show the prices of the products, instead prospective trade customers should have to request a password to gain access to the prices (proof of trade status i.e. vat no should be required).
This will mean that if a retail customer finds the wholesale site they will not see the trade prices.

“I'm only doing what I have been asked to do... ”
The easy option is to make one site and duplicate it, the right option is something different and providing your customer will pay for it two separate sites is the right option.

Regards

DeDanan

[kingo]

Your are right....

Hi

Wholesale and retail are two very different types of business model and how you talk to customers both trade and retail also needs to be different.
The only common factor is the actual products, product descriptions and prices should be different on both sites.

I think you should build two entirely different sites with the target customer in mind. This is looking at the problem from a marketing point of view and not the ideal that one style fits all. This will also mean that if the trade customer sees the retail site it will not be obvious that they are related.

The wholesale site should not show the prices of the products, instead prospective trade customers should have to request a password to gain access to the prices (proof of trade status i.e. vat no should be required).
This will mean that if a retail customer finds the wholesale site they will not see the trade prices.

“I'm only doing what I have been asked to do... ”
The easy option is to make one site and duplicate it, the right option is something different and providing your customer will pay for it two separate sites is the right option.

Regards

DeDanan