Expert recommendations about deployment?

25+ years in IT but new to ZC
I am setting up a new site and wonder what the experts / experienced users recommend.

How do the experts handle the dev/test/deploy problem?

I have a localhost sandbox I already use for dev but is it better to have

1) active store in public_html (DN points there) with a sub-folder /test
or
2) public_html/store and public_html/test
or
3) different DNs for store and test

Besides file location, what about the DB aspect? It is easy enough right now to export/import my sandbox DB
but once the store goes live that wont be an option.

Don't want to do this twice so I would love to hear from those with experience maintaining/updating an active store.

Having your development site in localhost or a subfolder of your domain is a matter of personal taste; either can work well. The host server subfolder is exactly the same environment as the live site will be, which may be important if you are doing unusual things with your configuration. You should protect this subfolder so search engines don't find it and start indexing it as potential duplicate content. The localhost environment allows instant review of changes without fancy maneuvering and is very simple to handle.

I see no benefit whatever to having your live store in a subfolder (unless it actually is subsidiary to the main purpose of your website). Your customers would either have to type extra text to get to the store, or be redirected from the base domain to a subfolder making the site links not match the domain name.

gjh42:

Having your development site in localhost or a subfolder of your domain is a matter of personal taste; either can work well. The host server subfolder is exactly the same environment as the live site will be, which may be important if you are doing unusual things with your configuration. You should protect this subfolder so search engines don't find it and start indexing it as potential duplicate content. The localhost environment allows instant review of changes without fancy maneuvering and is very simple to handle.

I see no benefit whatever to having your live store in a subfolder (unless it actually is subsidiary to the main purpose of your website). Your customers would either have to type extra text to get to the store, or be redirected from the base domain to a subfolder making the site links not match the domain name.

I like doing dev on localhost, it is faster and there is no SFTP uploads to contend with, especially when installing and evaluating modules, etc. but there are always differences if you have more than 1 environment, IE missing PHP modules, different php.ini, email is different, etc., having a /test is my last chance to be sure it's right before the world finds my mistakes.

So is the bottom line
DN->public_html with the live site in there and DN->public_html/test created from the live site and DB, probably only when needed (it fast enough to set up each time I need it)

It seams no matter the approach is there anyway to avoid the last minute manual changes to the live config via the admin back end (IE another opportunity to fat finger something). DO you just take good notes or maybe DB export, merge and import?? I'm a little paranoid as the site belongs to a family member and crashing it goes well beyond losing money but at the same time I don't want to make extra work for myself either. I figured you experts must have done this a thousand times and there would be a right way and a wrong way.

Thanks for the input, still hoping others will comment with their approach.

Always best to learn from the mistakes of others

gjh42:

Having your development site in localhost or a subfolder of your domain is a matter of personal taste; either can work well. The host server subfolder is exactly the same environment as the live site will be, which may be important if you are doing unusual things with your configuration. You should protect this subfolder so search engines don't find it and start indexing it as potential duplicate content. The localhost environment allows instant review of changes without fancy maneuvering and is very simple to handle.

I see no benefit whatever to having your live store in a subfolder (unless it actually is subsidiary to the main purpose of your website). Your customers would either have to type extra text to get to the store, or be redirected from the base domain to a subfolder making the site links not match the domain name.

I can't add much to this... I agree with Glenn entirely.

Unless you are an expert at setting up a localhost with all its complex PHP configurations, it is a LOT easier to buy some hosting space with a GOOD HOST that knows eCommerce (and zencart in particular), as their server is going to be optimised and properly set up. Additionally, there are a number of functions that just cannot be reliably tested on a localhost.

Got the hosting site setup already, SSL installed, Email & FTP accounts all ready
Got the USPS setup & verified, guess Paypal is next unless I can find a better payment solution
Installed the site with a dummy index.html and then verified index.php
Site works great, waiting for owners to provide input and changes.
Site not live yet so I want to setup right the first time

PS. Localhost already done, been around for years, recently upgraded to Apache 2.4.3 w/Open SSL, PHP 5.4.11 and MySql 5.5.30
installed the workbench but I prefer phpMyAdmin. I keep the local sandbox as close to the hosting site config as possible but try as hard as I do there are always differences, thus the reason for a /test.

If you installed MANUALLY (rather than through a host's "one-click install") then your site is probably functionally "robust" already.

Plenty to do in the ADMIN CONSOLE now, to get custom configurations in place.

HAVE YOU:

1. Installed your CUSTOM template? (Do not use "classic" as this is the DEFAULT template and is useful for diagnostic reasons later). Lots of excellent templates that are easily customizable in the PLUGINS area - those by Picaflor Azul are recommended.
2. Considered the following plugins (which I install pretty much as "standard" these days) :-
- Easy Populate Version 4.
- SitemapsXML
- Google Analytics Mod
- Image Handler 4
- Numinix's Fast & Easy Checkout (from numinix.com)

PayPal express should be favoured over PayPal Standard (IPN).

schoolboy:

I can't add much to this... I agree with Glenn entirely.

....... there are a number of functions that just cannot be reliably tested on a localhost.

Agree, local is nice for speed and initial eval but still need a test. Am I to understand you do all your development, module evals, etc on your hosting site?? If so, what is your process to move from /dev to a live site??

CaptCuervo:

PS. Localhost already done, been around for years, recently upgraded to Apache 2.4.3 w/Open SSL, PHP 5.4.11 and MySql 5.5.30
installed the workbench but I prefer phpMyAdmin. I keep the local sandbox as close to the hosting site config as possible but try as hard as I do there are always differences, thus the reason for a /test.

Well you know what you are doing then... The PLUGINS I suggest are very reliable and I no longer "test" them before an installation - but you may care to test on your local machine, just to get familiar with their operation.

schoolboy:

If you installed MANUALLY (rather than through a host's "one-click install") then your site is probably functionally "robust" already.

Plenty to do in the ADMIN CONSOLE now, to get custom configurations in place.

HAVE YOU:

1. Installed your CUSTOM template? (Do not use "classic" as this is the DEFAULT template and is useful for diagnostic reasons later). Lots of excellent templates that are easily customizable in the PLUGINS area - those by Picaflor Azul are recommended.
2. Considered the following plugins (which I install pretty much as "standard" these days) :-
- Easy Populate Version 4.
- SitemapsXML
- Google Analytics Mod
- Image Handler 4
- Numinix's Fast & Easy Checkout (from numinix.com)

PayPal express should be favoured over PayPal Standard (IPN).

No to the one-click install did the ZC unzip -> upload -> zc install -> verified then uploaded from localhost with the DB export and Import
Already had a custimixed template (started with one of hers, nice work by the way), installed IH 4.0 and Easy Pop on localhost, used COWOA not Numinix's Fast & Easy Checkout (from numinix.com). Is Numinix's better ??
Will have to try Google Analytics on localhost, what's it for?

Is PayPAL Express the same as Standard? I mean do I install the Express module but sign up for PayPal Standard? PayPal's website says nothing about express.

Very much prefer (3) *if* multiple people need access to the test installation. If it's only you, just do it on your own local machine. And note that (3) doesn't actually require a different domain name, just another hosting account - two separate accounts will (hopefully) reduce the risk of fat-fingering the install and putting stuff meant for test into production.

CaptCuervo:

Agree, local is nice for speed and initial eval but still need a test. Am I to understand you do all your development, module evals, etc on your hosting site?? If so, what is your process to move from /dev to a live site??

I have a DEV area (part of my WHM server) that is locked to the public.

MOVING a zc site is extremely easy and quick - either up or down the directory tree, or from server to server or even from one domain to another.

It's just a case of COPYING the database, COPYING the files, moving BOTH to the new location (if a different server / domain), and making a couple of small edits to the two configure.php files.

If moving within an existing domain on the same server (up or down a directory tree), then it's almost always just a case of removing the subfolder references from all the PATHS in configure.php.

It should not take longer than 3 minutes to MOVE a site from a sub-folder up to the root. I have managed to do it in under 90 seconds.

I do all the dev on localhost and most of the test but need a final /test for verification and remote owner to approve changes
Confused. I have another DN I can use but still needed to install under live DN to check things like SSL, USPS, etc.
I can use the other DN for testing now that I know the DN specific stuff works but how would that simplify the last
step, moving from test to the live site. So far I've been able to move files and DB export/import to move the site en-masse but when
it goes public this weekend I won't be able to do that anymore, right??

How do you copy over top of a live DB without losing customer and order info?

The recommended practice is to put the live site down for maintenance, export its db into the test db, make all the setting & SQL changes required (you kept notes, right?:), then re-export it to the live site with the updated files and take it off maintenance.

CaptCuervo:

used COWOA not Numinix's Fast & Easy Checkout (from numinix.com). Is Numinix's better ??

FAR BETTER !!! It has a COWOA element as well, but the one-page checkout is a real sales-booster,

CaptCuervo:

Will have to try Google Analytics on localhost, what's it for?

Google Analytics is Google's user tracking service. Used to be quite simple, but now is extremely powerful and insightful. The module helps to embed the various tracking codes and other configurations.

CaptCuervo:

Is PayPAL Express the same as Standard? I mean do I install the Express module but sign up for PayPal Standard? PayPal's website says nothing about express.

PayPal Express module is in the payment modules in your admin console. There are TWO SIDES to its configuration:

1. At PAYPAL where you need to get your PP account API credentials. (There is a WIKI on how to configure PayPal for ZC)
2. On your site, where the module needs to be activated and configured, using the API usernames and passwords provided by PP.