Create a Link from Zencart back to Website

[theresajb]

How would I create a link for my customers to go back to my website once they've entered Zencart?

[Ripper]

You would need to add the link to the header or footer if you want it on every page... If your cart is on the same site as the website you're linking to and it's in one of the folders of that site, you'd simply do something like this:

<a href="../">Home Page</a>

If your cart is on another site, you'd do this:

<a href="http://www.yoursitedomain.com">Home Page</a>

You'll find the header and footer in your cart folder, then includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/common
If you want the link in the header bar, add it as a list item around line 47 in tpl_header.php (give or take, your template may have more or less data in it)

[charmedbytina2]

You could just add an EZ Page link back to the other site!

Tina

[daneh]

As Mary Ellen warned in another post, if you have links on every page of the cart, and a customer adds something to their cart, navigates to your HTML site and back to Zen, they will lose their session....meaning anything in their cart etc. will be lost. Very frustrating for a shopper.

It is probably best to have very few links back, and have a warning that if they leave the shopping area, their cart will be lost.

OR

Simply redo your whole site into Zen. I have done 3 Zen carts so far. Two I totally redid into Zen cart, and the third I left as my HTML site with a link to the shopping cart. At some point, I will give in and make it a Zen cart site. It is just a matter of time. Once you get to know Zen, things are much easier to change than a HTML site....well, unless you are using CSS based html, and Zen has all the added features like newsletters, ez pages, etc.

[Ripper]

I have several carts set up, within websites as well as stand-alone. I have never had one complaint from a customer with lost cart items. I have tested this myself and have not lost cart items if I navigate to the main site, then back to the cart. I'm not saying it can't happen, but it hasn't happened for me yet.

Also, making the entire site part of the cart is not a feasible option for many people. It wouldn't work for me, since my cart is just a small section of my site, which has close to 1000 pages (not counting the many pages that make up the cart itself). The same goes for some of my other sites, where the cart is just one part of the overall site.

It is also certainly NOT easier to work with than other parts of my sites. What is good for some people is not good for everyone.

[jillybean]

I am very new at this! So how can I link my web site to ZC? I only want to use ZC for checkout purposes only!
Thanks for you help!
-J

[schoolboy]

I am very new at this! So how can I link my web site to ZC? I only want to use ZC for checkout purposes only!
Thanks for you help!
-J

I think I mentioned this on another thread... You can't "cherry-pick" functionality out of zencart and apply bits of it to "another site". The enitre process of product management and selection is intricately linked with other functions - including session cookies, customer ID's, checkout procedures, pricing and shipping management and calculations...

Either you use zencart as a full eCommerce package, or just use paypal buttons on your flat html site.

[jillybean]

Ok. Thanks again for all your help. You have answered alot of questions for me and saved me alot of asprin!!!!!
-J