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[rapidrg]

I have Zen Cart 1.3.8a.

Site url http://www.mysiteforsoreeyes.com

This site was installed for me remotely by a web designer in Canada. This designer has been working on this sight for 18 months off and on. Each time she do's a fix or addition I have paid her. To date approx. $1200.00. My questions or request to her were answered quickly at first but now I receive no responses from her unless I make strongly worded emails. My last attempt to raise the response rate was to suggest a Maintainance Contract so she would get paid for her help, she agreed to this idea but never sent me terms?

So now I'm stuck, I have a website that is in need of fixes and no-one to help. I have been attempting to fix some of these problems myself.

1. I added Title and Keywords to the Home Page.
2. I added alt text to all the Home Page Images, will do the same to products later.
3. I added Meta Keywords to all the product Category Items, will do same to each product later.
4. Re-Worked my Main Page, Categories, and Product description as hers were poorly done with no flow or sales info.
5. Did my own About Me page.

I believe still need to do the following things:
1. Add a Site Map. I attempted to do this, I set Define Site Map Status to 1. I set Site Map accounts Links to NO. I created a Site Map Page and set the Side box position.
That's where I stopped. I tried putting index.php in the page override box, than I tried site_map.php, neither worked I'm stuck. I am considering a Goggle Site Map Mod. download?
2. Add a Blog?
3. A website analyzer suggest a Main Page HTML fix of 60 html warnings, the fix states "copy and paste this HTML to your website", but where do I do this?
4. An analyzer says RSS feed not found? What does this mean?
5. An analyzer says Conversion Form not found. I did have a sign up page prior to me having to setup Paypal to receive non-Paypal Members Credit Cards, after I set this up the sign up page was disabled?
6. An analyzer says my Main Page loads to slow too many Graphics. I need these to sell my products I can reduce there size by 25% or so but would that be enough? I thinking of loading all the page except, link icons, into Co-rel Draw and grouping them as on Graphic and reloading it into the main page?
7. My Domain Name and Go-Daddy account are in her name, when I ask why, she said she could control backups and site updates better. I pay her and she pays Go-Daddy I paid her $175.00 on the last re-newal.
8. I am really at the back-end of the Zen Installation. I've never used Zen before and I don't know if I'm missing some important tools I have access to Zen Cart and cPanel and that is all. I have purchased the Zen Manual. Is there a set-up shell program that the installer has that aids in manipulating Zen changes and add ons?

Any help with any of these questions would be appreciated.

[rapidrg]

Problem Solved

Four days waiting for any help from this blog NONE.
So I've been studying and have done the following myself.

1. Fixed Site Map Loading problem; Loaded index.url?main_page=site_map into Site Map EZ Pages internal link box and it came up. Somebody's help could have saved me hours of figuring this out,

2.Added Word Press Blog; Went to my cPanel and opened up Fantastico Deluxe it has a auto load feature for Wordpress. I first added more Data Space into MySQL and let Fantastico auto load. I then went to EZ Pages and added a Blog Page and added wordpress?index.php=main_page to my Internal link box and wallah it worked. Thanks for the help guys.

3. I have downloaded a CSS Editor and I am re-working my HTML main page in CSS. Great suggestion bloggers.

4. When I loaded up Wordpress Web Grader found the RSS links.

5. Conversion Form Not Found? I have a Log In link that also signs up for newsletter, I just don't know why the Web Grader Analyzer is not seeing it? A little help please.

6. I resized all the Graphics again and the page loads in 1.5 seconds. I may be able to remove all 10 Button Graphics when I go to CSS.

7. I thinking of handling my site myself, it's not the money but the aggravation of waiting for help and not getting any.

8. cPanel, Zen Tools and Developers Tool Kit help more than the Manual does, I have not found a shell program that automates the web page building?

Once again I'm not angry just disappointed in the lack of response from any of the smart people out there that have answered other Zen related questions, do you have to be one of the Geeks to get a response?
Bob

[mprough]

Hello...

Firstly... I highly doubt you were ignored. Understand that people who answer question here.... are just good Samaritans.

Next... READ. You could have easily Googled any one of these issues, but you did not.

MOST of these questions are answered OVER and OVER in this forum... and you failed to search.

Lastly... Website grader is about 10 years out of date. NEVER trust one tool or one point of view. I just pulled your main page speed on 2 tools and both were over 100 seconds at 28.8kbs

Your blog will help you none... Here's why,

Its just plain old spam.... Blogs ONLY help you if you provide useful content for searchers. Next, it has no brand continuity with your main site... Between these 2 items alone, the blog will very certainly fail to help you.

Lastly, we are not required to help you and certainly do not appreciate you calling us or any other poster here a geek. If this is how you have behaved in the past when posting, then that's likely why you received no assistance.

Really hard to help someone with a web business who doesn't even know what RSS is or even has the tenacity to GOOGLE it.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...earch&aq=f&oq=

~Melanie

[rapidrg]

Wow a Response

GEEK
A person with a devotion to something in a way that places him or her outside the mainstream. This could be due to the intensity, depth, or subject of their interest. This definition is very broad but because many of these interests have mainstream endorsement and acceptance, the inclusion of some genres as "geeky" is heavily debated. Persons have been labeled as or chosen to identify as physics geeks, mathematics geeks, engineering geeks, sci-fi geeks, computer geeks, various science geeks, movie and film geeks (cinephile), comic book geeks, theatre geeks, history geeks, music geeks, art geeks, philosophy geeks, literature geeks, historical reenactment geeks and roleplay geeks.

A more recent school of thought sees Nerd as being a derogatory phrase, whilst Geek is simply a description. It is taken to be someone who is an enthusiast, often in things outside of the mainstream spectrum, of note is that in this definition, there is no reference to being socially inept in the slightest.

No malice intended by the word "Geek", I'm a geek at what I do.

As I stated in my reply "I was disappointed, not angry".

How do you think I solved the problems I was faced with? Google and Forum Answers.

Most of the Forum answers are about adding or editing code within files. this is fine if you can find the proper file. But most advice stops there, no-where did I find that I should than go to my EZ pages, create a page and link the file. Why do post have you go through complicated download procedures for Wordpress when it is automatic with Fantastico.

As for my Blog and Front Page your right I do need help, I'm not a programmer and thats why I originally logged onto this post. I don't even know what you mean by Brand? But I will Google it because I want to help myself.

As for Web Grader it was a start, my site started at a 19 grade and I have managed to raise that to a 54 grade on my own. I am determined to raise it higher if you know of a better Analyzer. let me know.
Bob

[rapidrg]

RSS

Your right at the time of the original post I had no idea what RSS was. I've been Googling it even before your comments. This is for those like me that need help in understanding RSS.
http://www.problogger.net/what-is-rss/
I still have much more to learn.
Bob

[mprough]

There is no need to create a link to your user sitemap.. for example. It is contained by default in the information sidebox... The only reason to link to it otherwise is to display it in another location... So in this case you are adding something you have already removed or turned off?


At the top of this page there is an orange bar, in it you will find this link https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php

Also a wiki
http://www.zen-cart.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Fact is nearly all of your questions are answered here... Took me less than a minute to find the ez pages answer. My issue is that you failed to give it a search on your own... So you posted. Fine even thats ok.... BUT then to tell 100% volunteers you are disappointed in them??? C'mon and then weather you consider it a compliment or not batch us all as uncaring geeks. We are far more likely to help those who help themselves and.... Far less likely to help those who behave as you have.

Branding means just what I said... Continuity throughout your entire site. The blog is a spam pot currently... Brand it properly to match your site better and write some real usable content IF you intend to use it to promote your site.

~Melanie

[rapidrg]

GEEK Again?

OK if you have to take offense to this word I'm sorry.

Before I posted this post I spent two weeks scouring this site and others for help. Maybe I did not look in the correct spots but I tried. I used SEARCH a lot and got some help there.

Yes my Site Map had been turned off by my previous programmer and I did the only thing I could do to restore it.

If I were to read your post for help and I knew the correct answers, and had the time, I would answer your questions without hesitation and I would not just send you to general blogs to search for the answer yourself. Providing direct links, or clear, non-techy, answers would be my preferred method. I'm sure there are subjects that I know much more about than you and if you asked me a question about any of them I would not act superior and try to make you feel stupid, just because you were not as informed as I was about the matter.
Bob

[mprough]

Not acting superior in any way... I learned the things I know by a great deal of hard work and such too. My problem is you had no right to label anyone... Nor comment in such a way that you somehow were slighted by not receiving your free help in your time frame.

Yes, this irritates, not just myself, but many that come here and try to help others. I would think a bit more respect is due to those that volunteer their time here. We are not paid or compensated in any way for helping people here.... Very simply you might have just apologized and we could move on... But rather you offer reasons why your actions were not offensive in your own world and conditional **IF you offended apologies.

I think you would be hard pressed to find any forum where posts such as yours would not offend... When in Rome......

~Melanie

[rapidrg]

OK fine lets see.

Anyone out their who has read this post, let me know, am I wrong in "being disappointed" with the lack of response to my help request?

[rapidrg]

Over a 100 Views but no responses?

Except for you. they like to watch but don't like to play. We did get more views than I received from some of my article submission sites, maybe we should have kept up the banter for awhile longer.
Well you have a nice day, forget about me, I will find solutions for fixing up my site elsewhere.
Good Luck,
Bob