SEO Help?

[Mike_B1]

I've started working on my sites SEO. When I google my site's URL, I get the following:

Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce
hrtsdesire.com/
Zen Cart! : - Outdoor Living Lighting Candles & Scents Home Fragrance Fountains Home Decor Bath & Body Luminous Visions Collectibles Just For Her For The ...

How can I change the "Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce" to "Hearts Desire", and remove the "Zen Cart! :".

I'm assuming this info is something that Googles BOT got from the site.


Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks in advance.

Mike_B1

[RodG]

Edit lines#11 & 14 of
/includes/languages/english/meta_tags.php

tip: copy this file to your CUSTOM folder before editing.

Cheers
Rod.

[Mike_B1]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I made an overide in the /includes/languages/english/template_name directory.

I think it worked. The title bar on explorer reflects the changes I made. I'll check google in a few days to verify.


Again, thanks for the prompt response.

Mike_B1

[Johnnycopilot]

Why copy to the CUSTOM folder before editing? for a backup?? Also, what is the CUSTOM folder for? Thanks!!

[RodG]

Why copy to the CUSTOM folder before editing? for a backup?? Also, what is the CUSTOM folder for? Thanks!!

Glad you asked :)

The CUSTOM folders act as an override system, which means that:

1. You are not editing the original file(s) so if you mess up, you can just delete the file and zencart will revert back to it's default values. It's not really a 'backup' as such, because the CUSTOM files are those that actually get used, it is the origianl file(s) that effectively become the 'backup'

2. Files in your CUSTOM folders will not get overridden with ZenCart upgrades. If you modify the original files, future upgrades can become a nightmare, because you'll need to compare the changes and re-do them with every upgrade.

Check the FAQ files for more information.

Cheers
Rod

[Johnnycopilot]

Thanks, I will check the FAQ out.. I can't find a Custom folder. I'm using V1.5.0 ...

[Mike_B1]

You might find it usefull to look in the "Template Customization/ Building Overrides" section of the FAQ. It cleared up many questions I had about modifiying my site.

Mike_B1

[technologynow]

I can't find a Custom folder. I'm using V1.5.0 ...

That's probably because you haven't created it/them. They don't come as standard and you have to create them. Creating new Custom folders should be one of your first jobs before you even start adding goods. It saves you so much trouble and time later.

[fairestcape]

And it isn't called "CUSTOM".

The word "CUSTOM" is used when referring to the OVER-RIDE SYSTEM - a very important part of zencart (and many other platforms).

Other words used to denote the over-ride system include "YOUR_TEMPLATE" and "CUSTOM_TEMPLATE".

One of the first things you should do after a first-time install is create/upload a CUSTOM TEMPLATE. And you should familiarise yourself with the OVER_RIDES SYSTEM

[Johnnycopilot]

First of all, if this thread is going in a direction different from the original posting and I need to post somewhere else, please let me know.. I'm not sure how y'all handle this kind of twist in the original thread post.. In the past I have posted in the wrong place.

3 questions.....

It sounds like I missed something pretty important by not creating the custom folders. This is my first time using Zen Cart, and as of right now I plan on using it for many more websites within the next year. I briefly looked at the 'Template Customization/ Building Overrides' section of the FAQ as Mike_B1 suggested, and I believe it gets me started on what I need to do.. does anyone have anything else they would recommend that I read or research before trying to create these custom folders? btw, what do most people name these folders?

3rd question ..... I haven't finished my first website yet. It's www.stageandtheaterlighting.com . I have just over 600 products on there so far with another 1000 or so to go.. I Still don't have Credit Card Processing, any member accounts (Actually one person signed up today), or my SSL turned on... I have, however, installed a few plugins (Columns instead of Rows SNAF [in which I had to change some padding values in my CSS template], and Lightbox, and I put JW player in my root folder), and I am using a custom Template (abagon red), I have made a few other CSS changes and additions; I know what they are. I installed 3 other templates, but I am not using them (a modern Zen, Black Zen, Cold Steel). Here's my question.. is it too late to create these 'custom' folders now, and will it help me if I do? (as far as I am concerned,, a built-in system 'backup' of exactly what I have now would be fantastic. I can't really see wanting to restore my website before the changes I have made anyway,, if I don't have to.).

As far as the future, I will certainly read up on this before I build another Zen Cart website. Something else I have learned is this.... On my next Zen Cart install, I am going to do a manual install. That is unless you-guys and girls advise me otherwise. I used the GoDaddy 'one click' install (I know now, not the best idea), and I had all kinds of internal server error problems that were only fixed when I replaced a bunch of files with my original backup files, and deleted some of the things they put in.. I still don't know what I fixed or how I fixed it, but I feel confident it had something to do with the install... Only fixed it by accident when I was backing everything up to move to another server, and accidentally fixed the Godaddy problem..

I want to thank everyone that is helping me and giving me advice now, and thank everybody else that has helped me in my other threads and posts.... Zen Cart people are really awesome.. I mean that..