Visitors Unexpectedly Increasing

[Taddeusz]

I'm not sure what is happening here and whether or not it will change once the site is rolled out to a hosting provider with a real domain name. Right now we have our site running on a temporary server until it is ready to be rolled out to a hosting provider.

The issue I'm having is that when I click to navigate anywhere in the site it seems to be generating a new session id and as a result a new visitor appears on the page.

Why would this be happening and is it anything to worry about while the site is in a test environment?

BTW, using the Piccadilly Posh template. Had to correct some PHP errors already. Not surprised if there are more.

[schoolboy]

I'm not sure what is happening here and whether or not it will change once the site is rolled out to a hosting provider with a real domain name. Right now we have our site running on a temporary server until it is ready to be rolled out to a hosting provider.

The issue I'm having is that when I click to navigate anywhere in the site it seems to be generating a new session id and as a result a new visitor appears on the page.

Why would this be happening and is it anything to worry about while the site is in a test environment?

BTW, using the Piccadilly Posh template. Had to correct some PHP errors already. Not surprised if there are more.

Far too vague...

Explain HOW the current server is set up. The session issue could be related to server, not zencart.

What "php errors" have you found? Can you provide one or two examples.

[Taddeusz]

Far too vague...

Explain HOW the current server is set up. The session issue could be related to server, not zencart.

What "php errors" have you found? Can you provide one or two examples.

Honestly, this is completely new to me. I am an IT professional but my direct experience with web technologies is limited. It is set up on the latest Ubuntu Server running in a VMWare vm. I made sure all the requisite PHP extensions were installed. The only warning I received during the installation was about the version of PHP, v5.4.6-1ubuntu1.1. We don't have a domain or an RSS key yet so none of that has been changed.

I'm sorry for not being more specific on this point. The PHP errors I found were within the Piccadilly Posh template files. There were a few PHP sections that had bad opening tags that I had to correct in order for it to work correctly. "<?" instead of "<?php". Nothing with the Zen Cart code itself.

[Taddeusz]

I guess I was just being stupid thinking that Zen Cart should work in a purely test environment without a real domain name. Moved it to hosting last night and everything is now working as expected. Just had to get the configuration files set correctly and everything else that I had done plugged right in with a couple tweaks to settings.

Sorry, but there is something to be said for being able to run properly in a test environment. Having to roll out directly to hosting is not an ideal solution. Maybe it works for the novice. However, from an IT perspective things need to be right before making something public. Not being able to do that was frustrating. Possibly had to do with settings on my end. However, per the installation everything should have worked as expected.

[schoolboy]

All proper eCommerce platforms require proper hosting - they are extremely complex and sophisticated programs - and a properly-configured web server is fundamental to the effective and efficient operation of the platform.

"Local" dev platforms are in many cases just not comprehensive enough to manage all the complexities of a detailed CMS.

It is VERY EASY to load ZC to a properly-configured remote web server, and to make it "non-public" while you work on it. There are several ways - the easiest being setting up a htpasswd for the root directory.

There is also DOWN FOR MAINTENANCE mode, in the configuration menu.

We sometimes just try a index.html holding page as most browsers default to this ahead of index.php. (not the best way to hide it, but can be done).

The complexities also indicate the need for a KNOWLEDGEABLE host on the WWW. Many of the "cheap 'n nasty" ones are just not up to the task. A GOOD HOST is fundamental to any eCommerce business venture.

[DrByte]

I guess I was just being stupid thinking that Zen Cart should work in a purely test environment without a real domain name.

Not sure what's uniquely problematic to your setup, but I use Zen Cart on a local test environment with "localhost" all the time.

Sorry, but there is something to be said for being able to run properly in a test environment.

Agreed, and I'm grateful that it works fantastically for me.

Having to roll out directly to hosting is not an ideal solution.

Of course. Again, I stage everything I do locally first.

[Ajeh]

I am not keen on local testing and always do everything on a test site on a real server ... but this is me ...

I do, however, set a password and Down for Maintenance ... or the Down for Maintenance, at a minimum for this ...

As to index.html vs index.php, this is not a browser issue but rather how your server site is configured on which file should run before the other ... if index.htm or index.html run before index.php, as the default, speak to your hosting provider and have them help you fix this to run index.php first if that's something you need ...