Some advise would be great!

[TechResource]

Hello

Without sounding too weird, I am so stoked to have found this extremely valuable resource and really respect the amount of knowledge at this site and the forums. After years in the telecommunications and computer field, I have decided to become a part of the e-commerce world. I have a post on the “Rate my Site” forum, and have received some great feedback (even with the troubles accessing my site). Even those who would be my competitors, I welcome peer constructive criticism and even correspondence.

My website is small, we all started somewhere. I am using a template, and so far am pretty pleased with the Prostores product. Because this is a very grass roots effort, I did do my research, and found that Prostores did offer me a pretty good deal in getting started and getting my foot in the door. As many of the new e-commerce entrepreneurs find out, cost effective templates are a great start, but many times pose a challenge when it comes to enhancing the look and function of the site. I have read the manual, emailed tech support, and for the most part they are helpful. The usual response I get when I ask a design or function question is “that is possible, but you have to do it using HTML”

This is my quandary: Yes, I am now in the e-commerce business, I know the “where” and “what”; however I don’t know the “how” as well as I should when it comes to HTML. Where I am going with this is to ask advice on website design. If I had a site design budget, there would be no problem. Are there individuals or groups that offer, how should I put it, piece work? What I mean is, I don’t need a whole site built (yet). What I need is pieces of functionality that, bit by bit, I can add to my site until I can afford to have a custom site built. Possibly a student or company starting out that is willing to partner up and share resources. As well, what advice is there on site critiquing and traffic assistance? Is this a dead giveaway for a new e-commerce site owner or what?

I really appreciate the responses.

[JPnyc]

Well I'm a certified web developer, so I can be much more help with the technical coding side than I can the entrepreneurial.