migration from OSC

[ginginca]

I have read a number of posts regarding the migration to Zen from OSC. I particularly enjoyed the post about it being not too difficult as long as you don't mind rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty with a bit of PHP.

So the question then is ... if I only have a couple of mods added, is it a very time consuming job?

I have a couple of new Zen installs underway and really like the differences. I found it hard to add contributions when there were already mods in place ... too much re-writing, when Zen seems to have take care of all of my heart's desires and a few I hadn't thought of *grin*

One OSC client is about to "pull into the shop for some maintenance" and the timing would be good as long as they wouldn't be offline for too long.

So if I go ahead ... is it likely something that could be done in a day? Or should I budget a week? I know you don't know my skill level, but if we talk in generalities and "ranges", it would help answer my question.

[Steve]

Plan on doing, or redoing the template from scratch. As OSC's templates won't convert easily. The database depends how comfortable you are with SQL and databases. There is some good info in the FAQ's/tutorial about converting the database. I would plan a week to change, but the more familer you are with Zen, the faster you could do it.

[ginginca]

Thank you Steve for your reply.

Yes I figured the graphics would be a complete re-build as the structure is so different. I see that they won't migrate well. But from what I read the databases are similar.

I think I'll make a new FTP account for the new site and a new database. That would mimize the down-time for the client. A week is a long time in e-commerce!

Gin

[dinki]

I just recently went live with my Zencart site. I had been running on OSC for over a year. I would definitely tell you that Zencart is MUCH easier when it comes to adding contribs. In fact, it is the contribs that drove me away from OSC.

I was able to convert my database to Zencart format and everything ported over as planned. The only 'problem' area is the template. I elected to purchase a template and I would say it is money well spent.

If you need any help don't be afraid to ask. The folks on this forum are MUCH more helpful than the pulling-teeth-to-get-your-question-answered crowd over at OSC.

Here's a link to the thread that contains the script I used to convert my OSC database to Zencart:

http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showth...hlight=osc2zen

[ginginca]

Great post Dinki. Thanks.

I built my own template. So I'm not worried about that aspect of it.

Just curious ... about how long did it take you to do it? I have my first two Zen sites currently being built. (One will be finished in the next few days.) I'll be using Zen from now on.

I see the benefits of switching a client over to it, but need to decide if the client will see the value in the "time spent". I really think they will, just from the structure of the better admin panel.

I'm thinking I could do it in a few days ... a week at the most.

Gin

[dinki]

I had my database converted and website showing in the default template in about an hour. It did take a while to get everything tweaked just perfectly and the new template installed before I went live. I think it really depends on the nature of the items you sell and how you want the site to look. Virtually all of my products have the same description, attributes, etc so you may or may not have more issues than I did.

Best of luck and good choice on Zencart!

[ginginca]

Yes, that sounds reasonable. After doing 2 installs, I have made (1) a list of the order to do everything in, and (2) a blank template to use for all future projects (which will save me a lot of work).

I'm sure making the new template to use all the elements from the OSC site will be an easy job (done within a day), and I'll copy the database and make a new FTP account so I don't take the other site off-line while I do it.

The products don't tend to have "attributes" which is one spot that I find I have to spend a lot of time tweaking.

I'd like to budget up to a week of my time in case I run into any problems.