Custom templates for Zen Cart?

[kiviniar]

Hi,

I just set up my first store and I am done with configuring the site.

Can you guys please suggest me a good site from where I can buy custom Zen Cart templates.

The only one I can think of is template monster, but everyone over here seems to be up in arms against it.

Thanks for looking

[fairestcape]

While many commercial Zencart templates look very snazzy and professional, you need to understand that the underlying technology may have been significantly modified to achieve certain effects.

This is not necessarily a "bad" thing... Zencart is OpenSource - meaning that anyone has the right to modify it in any way they feel... as long as they:-

1. acknowledge the rights of the original creators
2. do not make commercial gain by selling the core functional code. (creating templates is akin to design consultancy, which is perfectly legitimate to sell).

However, as many commercial templates are very heavily customised, their code and structure often departs significantly from the zencart original code and structure. This makes them very difficult to integrate with other zencart modules...

... what do I mean here?

Let's say you went ahead and installed a TemplateMonster (TM) template over a fresh ZC installation. It makes your site LOOK very pretty, but now you want to add other features and modules.

You will find that many add-ons will not function with a TM template, and may even conflict so badly that your store's functionality is wrecked. This is because code files for the template that need to interface with the Add-on are so different in structure.

ALL the free Add-ons you see on this site are designed to comply with the default code structure.

Unfortunately, many people spend a lot of money on a commercial template, and then discover their expensive mistakes when they try to add more features and their site collapses around them.

They then come to the forum, desperate for help and salvation, but the ability of forum members to help is limited - because most people do not use these highly customized templates.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

If you have excellent PHP and CSS skills, and know the zencart core software inside-out, then the problem is somewhat eased if you use a customised template (such as TM).

Novice users should seriously avoid MOST commercial templates and consider using one of the free templates available on this site. Later, when your zc skills have improved, you may be able to look at commercial templates and make a better assessment about their suitability and reliability.

[yellow1912]

@fairestcape: While you are right about some commercial templates, it's not entirely that way. I firmly believe that store owners should not have to learn how to customize their templates. It's a waste of time, web design is an art and a skill that has to be learned over time. There is no reason for a business owner wasting his/her time to learn what us, the designers and coders, have to learn in years.

You are suggesting that, if I am to build a brick and mortar store, I will have to do all the building and painting job by myself, which is unreasonable. The time and effort I have to spend to that would be way greater than what I have to pay the pro to do it for me.

@kiviniar: you can hire someone to customize/design a template for you, use the Commercial Help forum of zen. I also sent you a PM regarding commercial templates.

[fairestcape]

Excellent points, Yellow1912 - and I agree entirely with you.

I should have made myself more clear.

There is indeed a BIG, BIG DIFFERENCE between knowledgeable commercial designers, and stock, off-the-shelf custom templates.

For business-people wanting to expand their e-commerce opportunities, there is much to be said for hiring design expertise rather than trying to tinker with computer code that they don't understand (and are likely to break!). Rather get on with running the business and leave website building to the experts!

I am the first to argue in favour of professional ZC design services - (it's my business designing webshops!) and for the novice or zencart newbie, this forum is a good place to find dedicated and skilled people.

[Website Rob]

yellow1912, I think you went off the mark. Be it manually changing code or even just turning switches/features ON or OFF within the Admin section, a person has to know where & how to make their changes / customizations.

kiviniar asked what they thought would be simple question. Unfortunately, it is not so simple. Anyone who works with any script will soon learn that making changes and customizing the Template side of a script is not so easy. What we should be explaining is where to get good Zen Cart Templates and/or help. The Zen Cart Forum has the Commercial Section of the Forum where one can post Jobs and deal with people who are familiar with Zen Cart and the coding required. As to Templates, some of us (like myself & yellow1912) are working on fixing the situation regarding good Templates that work properly with Zen Cart -- any version. But until then, the places to get Free Templates for Zen Cart that look good and work properly, are few and far between. The same can almost be said with regard to pay for Templates.

With that said, http://(sorry, site offline)/ is a good place to get free Zen Cart Templates.

Haven't found a place yet for good pay for Templates, but I know a couple that are coming soon.