Should I purchase a Template?

[JasonRay]

I just got stared with Zen Cart and downloaded version 15.1. I am by no means experienced with this and would like to get a great looking site up and running quickly. If I purchase a template will the process be smoother and save me time?

[gjh42]

It might, but if you want ANY changes from the way the template comes, you might run into headaches, depending on where you got the template and what you want to change. Template Monster (or the numerous resellers also selling TM templates under their own names) is notorious for great-looking, badly coded templates that hobble stock ZC functionality. A lot of TM's appeal is the slick graphics, and unless you replace those graphics with your own to fit your business, your site will look identical to every other site that has bought that template.

There are plenty of good-looking templates available free here in Plugins, and you can drop one in, try it out, and swap it for another if you like. They all generally work seamlessly with ZC functionality. You can see and test-drive them at (sorry, site offline) .

[Limitless]

It might, but if you want ANY changes from the way the template comes, you might run into headaches, depending on where you got the template and what you want to change. Template Monster (or the numerous resellers also selling TM templates under their own names) is notorious for great-looking, badly coded templates that hobble stock ZC functionality. A lot of TM's appeal is the slick graphics, and unless you replace those graphics with your own to fit your business, your site will look identical to every other site that has bought that template.

There are plenty of good-looking templates available free here in Plugins, and you can drop one in, try it out, and swap it for another if you like. They all generally work seamlessly with ZC functionality. You can see and test-drive them at (sorry, site offline) .

I have purchased a few and have also had a few made. I have learned a lot from both experiences and both will not leave you with a 'perfect store'. Be prepared to do a ton of work behind the scenes regarding add-ons, etc. to get "your" site functional.

I cannot speak to TM templates, but the few that I have played around with weren't horrible IF you know what was hacked out of them to get them to look the way they do during the demo.