Integrate Zen into Joomla

[aallenlenth]

Let's face it - Zencart is friggin ugly. It is hard to work with and half of the posters in this forum are elitist buttheads.

I have about a dozen clients on zencart - because it is easy to install and easy for them to load, but everyone hates the graphic look and feel.

I have to keep my biggest salesman hat on whenever they ########## about the look of Zencart.

Joomla does have some fantastic templates - if there was an easier integration between the two I would have nothing negative to say about ZC - except for the elitist buttheads.

We hav ea great integration with Gallery2 - we should have the same with Joomla - and we should have a friendlier commmunity like OPenCArt has. I thik in the long run OpenCart and Magento will end up ruling the Roost.

[aallenlenth]

This is a great site - is it really joomla/zencart?

[borhan]

Originally Posted by aallenlenth

This is a great site - is it really joomla/zencart?

Which site you are talking about? This one?

[DivaVocals]

Not gonna comment on some of the more colorful statements in your post, but I do want to say this..

I used to feel like you did.. ZenCart out the box is VERY ugly.. But it's not supposed to be pretty out the box, it's supposed to be FEATURE RICH and functional out the box.. That said, for anyone willing to invest the effort into learning the features which drive the look and feel of ZenCart, they can actually look quite nice and less "Out the Box ZenCarty".

Once I saw the Zen Cart Hall of Fame (http://www.zencarttemplates.info/hoff.php) I realized that style wise there is a LOT that can be done with ZenCart. So I worked hard to understand how to give my client's stores more style, and more importantly, more UNIQUE styles.. (Beyond the available ZenCart templates here which are all very much alike IMO) I don't have to work hard to sell them on ZenCart at all because I can show them MANY examples of ZenCart, and each example is unique..

For many of us the interest in a ZenCart Joomla integration has more to do with ease of use for the site designer, the client, and end users. For me personally it is WAY beyond just simple templating (though if I am completely honest, I do like/appreciate Joomla's templating system a whole lot more than Zens) It would be nice to have just ONE system to maintain for a site versus two or more systems for one site..

[aallenlenth]

Wise coments Grasshopper. No really, I appreciate your spirit in this. I'm sticking with zencart for the same reasons you've mentioned, but I hate programming with a passion. But that's my problem.

aallen

[DivaVocals]

Originally Posted by aallenlenth

This is a great site - is it really joomla/zencart?

Are you asking about my site?? If yes.. then yes it REALLY is a Joomla/ZenCart site.. Here's the live site if you are interested in having a look around.. http://phlaunthair.com

Originally Posted by aallenlenth

Wise coments Grasshopper. No really, I appreciate your spirit in this. I'm sticking with zencart for the same reasons you've mentioned, but I hate programming with a passion. But that's my problem.

aallen

I understand... I'm really a site designer who has had to learn a little php to offer better solutions for my client's.. But I'm no programmer by a LONG shot! I just decided to bite the bullet.. If I was gonna do the crime.. I had to do the time.. For me this forum, and many of it's member's (Glenn in particular -- AKA gjh42 -- he's my ZenCart HERO) have been TRE helpful..

[JansenD]

Originally Posted by aallenlenth

Let's face it - Zencart is friggin ugly.

Joomla does have some fantastic templates - if there was an easier integration between the two I would have nothing negative to say about ZC

You've hit the nail on the head there, Zen Has every thing for users but loses all respect when it comes to the sharp squares edges and design flaws. Unless ZEN starts to move a bit forward in design I'm afraid that some one else will take over, possibly Magento. (As I know they are looking seriously into a joomla component)

We need some major style and design input for ZEN-CART which Joomla would bring to the party. Zen-Cart and Joomla would be the most powerful system out there

[puggy]

Now I have been doing some research and found that there are a few other CMS that are able to integrate Zen Cart. I was wonder if any one has used Mambo or Drupel and how they compare to Joomla?

Truthfully I cannot wait for for connectage to be release cuase I am starting to think it is a pipe dream

[DivaVocals]

One of Drupal's "flaws" is that there is no decent e-commerce solution for it as of yet.. (last time I looked at Drupal that was still true -- the developers from my regular dayjob confirm that this is still true) Joomla is a fork from the original Mambo CMS project.. There are still some major similarities between the two, but to my knowledge there is no Mambo/Zen integration solution either..

I agree that Cartage is a long ways away. However I also believe that whether it is Cartage or another solution, a Joomla/Zencart solution is really one of those "matter of time/demand" solutions.. I am willing to wait it out since I have a decent enough work around solution for me and my clients.. If I decide that I MUST have it for any particular project, I will simply bite the bullet, and hire a developer to build it for me, and build that cost into the fee I charge my client..

[DivaVocals]

An additional thought.. If there really is a Mambo/Zen integration component out there, with the similarities between Mambo and Joomla, it's possible that this is something that could fairly easily be ported over into a Joomla/Zen solution..