Table-based HTML guy needs help with CSS/PHP

[kaylala]

Hi,

I designed my website using ancient table-based HTML/Javascript, and I've been struggling with how to approach integrating it with my zen cart.

For reference... my original site is here:
http://www.kaylala.com

and my shopping cart is here:
https://yak.he.net/~kaylala/store

Besides the fact that I would like to get away from a shared SSL, so my URL at least looks the same, there are obvious design issues for me here.

I figure I need to approach integrating my design one of two ways (and please tell me if I'm wrong):
1- Embed Zen Cart into the main body of my current site somehow (HTML wrapping I think it's called)
2- Embed my current HTML into Zen Cart tpl files somwhere and tweak CSS from there. (The biggest problem with this is that I don't have a simple header... I have two navs... one along the top that would be my zen cart category nav, and one along the side that would be my pages nav)

Basically I want to have the Zen Cart modules and cart appear within the body of my current site when the user wants to go shopping. Should I just redesign my site with a simpler header?

Any advice?

thanks!
Graham

[Kim]

2- Embed my current HTML into Zen Cart tpl files somwhere and tweak CSS from there. (The biggest problem with this is that I don't have a simple header... I have two navs... one along the top that would be my zen cart category nav, and one along the side that would be my pages nav)

While I am sure you are thinking this is near to impossible it really isn't. First, just because we have moved away from tables does mean you have to. Divide your page into it's major sections and put those sections right into the Zen Cart frame work using the overrides system. It can be done and your design can work with ZC.

[jettrue]

Hi,

I designed my website using ancient table-based HTML/Javascript, and I've been struggling with how to approach integrating it with my zen cart.

For reference... my original site is here:
http://www.kaylala.com

and my shopping cart is here:
https://yak.he.net/~kaylala/store

Besides the fact that I would like to get away from a shared SSL, so my URL at least looks the same, there are obvious design issues for me here.

I figure I need to approach integrating my design one of two ways (and please tell me if I'm wrong):
1- Embed Zen Cart into the main body of my current site somehow (HTML wrapping I think it's called)
2- Embed my current HTML into Zen Cart tpl files somwhere and tweak CSS from there. (The biggest problem with this is that I don't have a simple header... I have two navs... one along the top that would be my zen cart category nav, and one along the side that would be my pages nav)

Basically I want to have the Zen Cart modules and cart appear within the body of my current site when the user wants to go shopping. Should I just redesign my site with a simpler header?

Any advice?

thanks!
Graham

I've used zen cart enough to know that anything can be done, and it is not restricted to the boxy look that is default. Your site has a very nice design, and to be honest look more like a css tableless site than it does a "tabled" website. I *personally* feel that <div> based sites are better than tabled, for many reasons, but you can also do as Kim said and insert HTML within the template structure.

What I would do, if I were working on your site, is first convert your original look to a div based site, then work it into zen cart. But that's just me.

[kaylala]

Thanks! Both ideas sound good... my learning curve on changing over to a div based site might be a little steep. I'll read some tutorials and give it a try. But assuming I can do that, how would I integrate that into zen cart? Would all the changes just be to the stylesheet.css file? Or is it a combo of that and the tpl files?

And if I can't enter 2007 and switch over to a CSS/div site, how does the overrides system work?

[kaylala]

Found this zen cart-based site: www.mitea.com

Very nice looking, and judging by the index source code it looks like they've added table-based HTML into the template files, right?

So, if this is an example for me to go by, then how do I discern which parts of my site (kaylala.com) should get put into a TPL file, and which TPL files? IOW, how do they correlate? And do the HTML tags need to open and close a specific way, or can I just throw in <td> blah blah blah </td> wherever I like? And where do I put my javascript .js code for the rollovers?

I understand that I will need to create a CSS file to determine the fonts, colors, etc.