Noob here need help on Templates

[dathaeus]

Hi all..... i see all the templates in the site under "Template Packages" but there seems to be no "preview" option, or no way to simply upload ALL the templates from the shop cart admin which would be real nice... so in order to see which I like, do I really have to download, extract and then upload into my shop cart admin (ho do i do that?) for each of the 50 or 60 templates I want to see? Or is there a way to preview and make this whole process a bit more efficient? Thanks!

[afo]

You can see all the free templates in action at http://(sorry, site offline)/.

[dathaeus]

Thank you, awesome, just what I needed to save tons of time!

Now, the barebones one is the most attractive to me because I am a web/graphic designer and I need to design this e-commerce site almost exactly the way my client wants it, so I am thinking, I should start with the barebones and then edit it to make it look the way I want.... is that a good start, or should I risk taking one that MIGHT look similar to my end goal and edit that? I like the barebones because the layout is all pretty standard and I can really spruce up the each cell's backgrounds, borders, icons, links, and header graphics/images....

If this is a sound philosophy can you point me the right way to producing the look I need without pulling teeth? If you want to see an example what of the type of look I am going for, here is a screenshot of one, ad let me know if it is realistic without being a PHP expert... thanks!




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[stevesh]

I'd say that the barebones template would be a good starting point.

I also think that your first example would be easier to create in Zencart.

Nobody can really point you in the right direction. Templating Zencart is done mostly in the stylesheet, and turning stuff off and on in Admin. You'll just have to jump in and get your hands dirty.

[afo]

As Stevesh said, a lot of the styling is done in the stylesheet. PHP knowledge isn't as important as CSS.

[dathaeus]

Is it ok to open the css files in Dreamweaver and edit in there? I know most developers would say to jus open in notepad and do it there, which I dont mind, but DW might make things a little easier.

Is any PHP knowledge really needed to edit templates to my needs?

[afo]

You're much better off using a good text editor for the css and php files.

I have minimal php knowledge and have managed to do 3 Zen Carts (of varying "niceness"). It really depends on what you need to changes. Lots of it can be done with the stylesheet.

You can get lots of good information/pointers at http://www.w3schools.com/

[stevesh]

You're much better off using a good text editor for the css and php files.

I'll second that, and point out that since CSS files are text, and you can't view changes to Zencart in a WYSIWYG editor, DW is probably more hindrance than help.

[Website Rob]

You would probably find that editting a CSS file in your favourite HTML Editor is faster & easier. Good ones will colour code the syntax making it easier to find errors.

No matter which Template you go with, learning & understanding the Template 'overrides' system within Zen Cart will make your life easier; regardless of which Editor is used.

[afo]

Website Rob is right. Once you get the hang of the overrides, you'll be pretty much Zenned.

Crimson Editor is a good text editor that displays line numbers and color codes different php elements.