Use same shopping cart for different site?

[Globie]

Is it possible to have a different website but do transactions through the shopping cart of our "main" site?

Say we already have an e-commerce store, but want to begin another e-commerce site with the same products. Do we just use the same payment gateway and info in setting up the shopping cart in "Payment Modules" as we did with our main site?

Thanks anyone if this makes sense and can point me in the right direction.

[afo]

You should be able to use the same gateway information on both sites.

If both sites are on the same server, you might be able to share the database. The store name and email will be the same for both, but you'll share all the product info and stock. Just remember a change made on one site may effect the other site. You'll have to use the same custom template name, but you can change the information in the custom files to make the sites look different.

If you're going to set up a separate database, you don't have to think about that stuff.

[Globie]

Hi Mary,

Thank you for the information. That does make a little more sense.

Both sites will be on the same server, but I'm not sure whether or not I want to use the same database. I'm thinking I want both sites to be completely different from each other, but still compliment each other (if that makes sense).

And I'm also not sure how I feel about the fact that making a change to one site, could cause a change in the other.

So can you please tell me a little what would be involved in setting up a separate database?

[afo]

I don't know how you installed your current Zen Cart, but I can tell you how to proceed with a manual install (the best way). I used Fantastico once a loooong time ago to install Zen Cart, so I don't remember how it works.

If you're going to get a new domain name for the new store, do that first and either add it to your current hosting (as an add-on domain or sub-domain, if your current hosting allows) or get separate hosting for it.

Create a database for the new store from your webmaster panel. Make note of the database name, user and password. You'll need them later in the installation process.

Install Zen Cart for the new store by FTPing it to the new location and running zc_install which will ask you for the database info.

After that, you could use phpMyAdmin to back up the database from the current store and restore it to the new one. That'll copy all customer and product info to the new store, but it'll save you setting up the products all over again if you'll be selling all the same merchandise.

If you elect to share the database, change made through the admin will effect both sites. For example, you turn on/off a sidebox. It'll be on/off on both sites. If you add a product, the product will appear on both sites.

[Globie]

Okay, I think I see. So it's actually duplicating your site for testing or something if you want.

So, yes, I've decided that I will set up a completely new database. And I would like to restore the other database from our main site to it so that I would not have to add all the products and descriptions again. BUT, I would like to change the look a lot so that it is different from the main site. But you are saying that if I make one change to one, it will affect the other.

How can I avoid this? Don't you have to change a config file????

Thanks!!!

[afo]

It's very much like duplicating your site and you can do the same thing to create the new site. Backup your current Zen Cart folders, files and database and restore them to the new location. Then it would just be a matter of changing some of the info in the admin and editing the configure files to point to the new database and reflect the new domain.

If you have separate databases, changes to one will NOT effect the other, so you don't have to worry about that issue.

[pts3227]

It's very much like duplicating your site and you can do the same thing to create the new site. Backup your current Zen Cart folders, files and database and restore them to the new location. Then it would just be a matter of changing some of the info in the admin and editing the configure files to point to the new database and reflect the new domain.

If you have separate databases, changes to one will NOT effect the other, so you don't have to worry about that issue.

I am trying to accomplish the same thing but everytime we do it, all heck breaks loose and I can't figure out why. I install zencart after setting up the database, log in to admin, make sure everything is peachy, etc.... Then we go and restore our database to the new cart so we can avoid inputing all the products all over again and once we do this, we can no longer log in to admin. I have verified the config files and even uploaded the clean ones that I backed up just incase. We have done this 3 times and evertime the same thing, why?!?!?

[afo]

By restoring the database, you're probably restoring the admin log in info from the other installation. If you set up different IDs and passwords, you'll have to log in with the ID and password used on the original site and then set them up again.

[pts3227]

By restoring the database, you're probably restoring the admin log in info from the other installation. If you set up different IDs and passwords, you'll have to log in with the ID and password used on the original site and then set them up again.

So just verify I'm at the right admin site and use the other (1st) admins login, then go to admin setting and fix it? Or would it just be easier for us to just have everything th same and save us the hassle?

[afo]

Whether you want to have the information the same on both sites is up to you. If the same people will be working on both sites, it's probably easier that way, but avoid assigning different people the same login information or they may accidently start fiddling with the wrong site.

Did you try the "old" admin ID/password on the "new" site?