Template Installation issue

[flowersbymalena]

i had 1.5 installed, everything was working fine. i decided to install a template called PURE AQUA. soon after, i logged into the admin and selected the template & hit update (tools > template selection) ... after doing that all i got was a blank page whenever i tried to view webpage. safari & opera displayed a blank page ... i tried copying the backup that i had made prior to installing the template ... still no luck ... i then removed the zen cart installation & reinstalled it ... i was able to see a website .... i tried copying back the files that i had backup ... but no change ... i am unable to get my old website back ... i am new to zen cart ... any assistance would be greatly appreciated

[stevesh]

I'm a little unclear if you tried switching back to the Classic template ?

(If you get a blank page in one browser, you'll see it in all browsers, so don't worry about that.

Also, check your /cache folder for error log files.

[flowersbymalena]

i was unable to access the /zc_admin page at all .... i called my web host company and they told me to erase all the directories labelled zencart ... i did, i then copied the same directories from backup copies that i had done ... still unable to log in to either the site nor the admin page ... then the web host company told me since i had backups to just remove zencart's installation & reinstall it ... and then to just restore from my backup copies ... i erased & reinstalled zencart and coped what i had saved in my local hdd ... only the new site shows up ...but not my old site ...

[flowersbymalena]

stevesh thanks for the quick response ... right now i have a clean install of zencart ... www.flowersbymalena.com/zencart ... i would like to know if anybody could walk me through 3 things:
how to properly install additional templates
other than copying the entire zencart folder via ftp, is there a better way to back up my website
using my current back up (i copied the entire zencart folder), how do i restore my previous website

this is how i attempted to install the new template
PureAqua Template designed by zen-cart-power.net
zen-cart-power.net - Free Zen Cart templates and modules
Power your Zen Cart!

PureAqua Skin Version 2.0 - designed for Zen Cart Version 1.3.8/1.3.9

Installation notes:

1. Backup all the files and database
2. Unpack the PureAqua package to the directory where your Zen Cart is installed
3. Log in to the admin area
4. Go to the Tools->Template Selection
5. Click on the 'Classic Contemporary Green' template name
6. Select 'PureAqua' value for the selectbox on the right and click on the 'Update' button
7. Go to the Tools->Layout Boxes Controller
8. Click on the 'Reset' button on the bottom
9. Go to the 'Configuration'->'Layout settings' page in the back-end;
10. Set 'Yes' value for 'CSS buttons' field.
11. Enjoy

You can configure template using 'Tools->Layout Boxes Controller' and 'Configuration->Layout settings' sections in the admin area

If you have any suggestions please write to [email protected]

I only got unto step #6 before everything went belly up !!!

thanks a million ... in advance

[stevesh]

I don't know what 'belly up' means in this context, so I don't know what problem you're having.

I haven't used that template, but I think it makes more sense to unzip the files on your local computer and upload them using FTP.

I back up my files using the Compress function in CPanel's File Manager and then downloading the resulting zip file. I use phpMyAdmin's Export function to back up the database.

[flowersbymalena]

Stevesh ... Thanks for your reponses

I was able to complete step 6 on the install instructions, and that's when i stopped being able to access neither the site itself nor the admin page ...

The tempate files were uncompressed in my computer .. I simply added each file to their correponding subfolder inside of the zencart directory ... /includes/functions/extra_functions/

In regards to backing up ... Would copying the zencart directory be sufficient? I never backed up the database by itself ...

I am glad this happened when i was on the testing phase of the site.

Maybe i should buy the manual ...

Thanks again ...

[schoolboy]

stevesh thanks for the quick response ... right now i have a clean install of zencart ... www.flowersbymalena.com/zencart ... i would like to know if anybody could walk me through 3 things:
how to properly install additional templates
other than copying the entire zencart folder via ftp, is there a better way to back up my website
using my current back up (i copied the entire zencart folder), how do i restore my previous website

this is how i attempted to install the new template
PureAqua Template designed by zen-cart-power.net
zen-cart-power.net - Free Zen Cart templates and modules
Power your Zen Cart!

PureAqua Skin Version 2.0 - designed for Zen Cart Version 1.3.8/1.3.9

Installation notes:

1. Backup all the files and database
2. Unpack the PureAqua package to the directory where your Zen Cart is installed
3. Log in to the admin area
4. Go to the Tools->Template Selection
5. Click on the 'Classic Contemporary Green' template name
6. Select 'PureAqua' value for the selectbox on the right and click on the 'Update' button
7. Go to the Tools->Layout Boxes Controller
8. Click on the 'Reset' button on the bottom
9. Go to the 'Configuration'->'Layout settings' page in the back-end;
10. Set 'Yes' value for 'CSS buttons' field.
11. Enjoy

You can configure template using 'Tools->Layout Boxes Controller' and 'Configuration->Layout settings' sections in the admin area

If you have any suggestions please write to [email protected]

I only got unto step #6 before everything went belly up !!!

thanks a million ... in advance

The best way to install a template is to unzip it on your LOCAL machine first - not the server.

Then you FTP the folders and files to the server - making sure of course that they go to the right places. A good FTP program will require you to simply move the folders across. The files will find themselves in the right locations.

The template you are trying to load says ZC1.3.9 so there is a (small) possibility that it is not compatible with 1.5

You mention loading template stuff to the FUNCTIONS folder. This is very unusual for a template to use extra functions. After you unzip the template on your local drive, check to see if there is a FUNCTIONS folder. If not, then you have no reason to be sending stuff to the server's FUNCTIONS folder.

[flowersbymalena]

schoolboy ... thanks for the comment
the template downloaded unzipped .. and there was a a file under extra_functions ... i used an ftp client to move the files from my computer to the server .. making sure that i dropped the files in their corresponding folder in the zencart directory ... i realized afterwards that the template didn't list being 1.5 compatible ... lesson learnt !!

can you recommend any specific place to get 1.5 templates from ...

In regards to backing up ... Would copying the entire zencart directory be sufficient? I never backed up the database by itself ...

thanks,
hector

[schoolboy]

We like picaflor azul's ALL BUSINESS template - 1.5-compatible, and very easy to re-style and customise.

As far as site backups are concerned...

The FILE SYSTEM is independent of the DATABASE.

We use a host that provides 6-hour backups on the file system - a HUGE comfort as I had to restore a file yesterday. Their system allows for restoration of single files, folders, or the whole site's file system. Great feature of their hosting and takes a huge headache out of doing backups ourselves.

We run auto-backups on the databases using a similar system.

If you are not lucky enough to have a host that does these 6-hourly backups, then you should FTP the entire site to your hard drive. You should then create a dbase backup (possibly do this through phpMyAdmin) and bring that off the server too.

[flowersbymalena]

schoolboy ...
thank

i had started looking at picaflor azul already .... they have great looking templates available ...

thanks for the instructions on how to create backups ... i am sure that i can backup my entire site using ftp in an automated fashion ... i have to look into phpMyAdmin ..

once again ... thanks ...

lesson learnt !!!