MultiSite Module Support Thread

[Design75]

Can the multisite module be implemented using the stirling grand responsive template?

Sure,any template can be used.

[DivaVocals]

Okay before I get excited here I need to make sure this module will do what I need done for this one client..

He has two different domains. The first domain is his store (right now it's a VirtueMart store, but we are planning to convert it to Zen Cart) the second has always been a tutorial/support site for his brick & mortar tuning business and the parts sold on his e-commerce site.

While I've NEARLY got him convinced to consolidate the two sites.. He has concerns about protecting his brands that won't be solved fully by using 301 re-directs from one domain to the other.. So it occurred to me that we could slow roll the transition for him by maintaining two store-fronts under both domains and having them both share the same database to make administration easy for him..

Will this module allow me to do this?? Will I be able to install ANY module for these two stores.. do the stores have to have the SAME modules installed?? do the stores have to have the SAME templates installed?? What about SSL - I know he needs one SSL cert for each domain, but will this module support SSL for both stores?? What about sessions management - does this module handle this correctly.. Finally I don't see any updates to this since Zen Cart v1.5.1, but does this work with v1.5.4??

[ideasgirl]

Will this module allow me to do this?? Will I be able to install ANY module for these two stores.. do the stores have to have the SAME modules installed?? do the stores have to have the SAME templates installed?? What about SSL - I know he needs one SSL cert for each domain, but will this module support SSL for both stores?? What about sessions management - does this module handle this correctly.. Finally I don't see any updates to this since Zen Cart v1.5.1, but does this work with v1.5.4??

Yes. The modules are installed only once. You will install Zen Cart only once.

You can have same templates for the 2 stores or different ones; it's your choice.

The SSL, no need to buy 2, just buy a wildcard SSL which is more expensive than the regular ones.

Sessions are handled fine as far as I know. You can make customer think they are 2 different stores, but you can also let them know they can cross-shop between the 2 of them with only one checkout. Customer needs to notify customers/shoppers that they will get all info from <main site's name>, because name and branding of main store will come through notifications.

I don't think why it shouldn't work with 1.5.4, but I could be wrong.

I can show you 2 examples for your convenience if you want.

[DivaVocals]

Yes. The modules are installed only once. You will install Zen Cart only once.

You can have same templates for the 2 stores or different ones; it's your choice.

Sessions are handled fine as far as I know. You can make customer think they are 2 different stores, but you can also let them know they can cross-shop between the 2 of them with only one checkout. Customer needs to notify customers/shoppers that they will get all info from <main site's name>, because name and branding of main store will come through notifications.

I don't think why it shouldn't work with 1.5.4, but I could be wrong.

I'll have to look at the current module and determine if there are v1.5.4 changes required.. So since Zen Cart is installed only once, both site will run the same modules.. Okay good information.. Thanks a bunch for weighing in..

The SSL, no need to buy 2, just buy a wildcard SSL which is more expensive than the regular ones.

To my knowledge a wildcard SSL only works for ONE domain name and covers all variations of that domain (www.yourdomain.com, yourdomain.com, subdomain.yourdomain.com, etc).. I don't think he can use a wildcard SSL for two distinct domains (domain1.com & domain2.com). I'll check in with my own SSL provider to see how my own wildcard domain is setup, but I don't think I can use it across two distinct domains..

I can show you 2 examples for your convenience if you want.

Yes I would like to see this..

[Design75]

I'll have to look at the current module and determine if there are v1.5.4 changes required.. So since Zen Cart is installed only once, both site will run the same modules.. Okay good information.. Thanks a bunch for weighing in..


To my knowledge a wildcard SSL only works for ONE domain name and covers all variations of that domain (www.yourdomain.com, yourdomain.com, subdomain.yourdomain.com, etc).. I don't think he can use a wildcard SSL for two distinct domains (domain1.com & domain2.com). I'll check in with my own SSL provider to see how my own wildcard domain is setup, but I don't think I can use it across two distinct domains..

Yes I would like to see this..

Yes the module works fine on zc 1.5.4, Yo may need to do some tweaking on the files, but the basics are there.

When you want to use different modules for each site, and they are using files that can't be overridden, you may want to add a switch for each site in that particular file.

The SSL should be a multi-domain certificate when using more than one ssl on the same account. A wild-card is for one domain with multiple sub-domains.

Remember that this module only allows you to set the category's per site, not the products. If you need to also set products per site please contact me, I have a (commercial) solution for that.

[DivaVocals]

Yes the module works fine on zc 1.5.4, Yo may need to do some tweaking on the files, but the basics are there.

When you want to use different modules for each site, and they are using files that can't be overridden, you may want to add a switch for each site in that particular file.

The SSL should be a multi-domain certificate when using more than one ssl on the same account. A wild-card is for one domain with multiple sub-domains.

Remember that this module only allows you to set the category's per site, not the products. If you need to also set products per site please contact me, I have a (commercial) solution for that.

Got it.. For what I'm attempting to do, I don't need to set products per site, but good to know that there is an option for that.. (you know my details.. shoot me an email with that info.. )

What I need to do is pretty straight forward (I think/hope ).. I'm migrating his current store from VirtueMart to Zen Cart on one domain and migrating the other domain from Joomla to WordPress/ZenCart (where Zen Cart and WordPress will be run as an integration site)

Both Zen Cart sites will be identical in every way (look/feel/product offerings/etc) except the domain to reach them.. What I mostly want is for my client to only have ONE back-end to manage these two twin Zen Cart sites..

and before ANYONE asks why.. here's WHY..

• My client is not yet comfortable letting go of the domain associated with the existing VirtueMart store (it's a branding thing-it's HIS business.. so my job is to find a SOLUTION to his BUSINESS problem)
• The migration plan for the VirtueMart to Zen Cart migration already includes a number of 301 redirects so that ALL the VirtueMart categories, products, and other links will properly re-direct to their Zen Cart equivalents.

So in the name of making my client fully comfortable with the transition, and while we transition his clients over to using the new store domain, we want to maintain BOTH storefronts. I just don't want my client to have to maintain TWO store back-ends.. I am hoping that this module will provide the foundation I need to make this possible.. (sounds like it might)

[Design75]

Got it.. For what I'm attempting to do, I don't need to set products per site, but good to know that there is an option for that.. (you know my details.. shoot me an email with that info.. )

What I need to do is pretty straight forward (I think/hope ).. I'm migrating his current store from VirtueMart to Zen Cart on one domain and migrating the other domain from Joomla to WordPress/ZenCart (where Zen Cart and WordPress will be run as an integration site)

Both Zen Cart sites will be identical in every way (look/feel/product offerings/etc) except the domain to reach them.. What I mostly want is for my client to only have ONE back-end to manage these two twin Zen Cart sites..

and before ANYONE asks why.. here's WHY..

• My client is not yet comfortable letting go of the domain associated with the existing VirtueMart store (it's a branding thing-it's HIS business.. so my job is to find a SOLUTION to his BUSINESS problem)
• The migration plan for the VirtueMart to Zen Cart migration already includes a number of 301 redirects so that ALL the VirtueMart categories, products, and other links will properly re-direct to their Zen Cart equivalents.

So in the name of making my client fully comfortable with the transition, and while we transition his clients over to using the new store domain, we want to maintain BOTH storefronts. I just don't want my client to have to maintain TWO store back-ends.. I am hoping that this module will provide the foundation I need to make this possible.. (sounds like it might)

I'll send you the info later today

[DivaVocals]

The SSL, no need to buy 2, just buy a wildcard SSL which is more expensive than the regular ones.

FYI to all who might follow this thread, IF you have two distinct domains you will need a multidomain SSL (AKA SANS Cert). With a SANS Cert you can buy one cert that covers multiple distinct domains. (yourdomain.com and yourotherdomain.com) The number of domains supported will vary with each certificate..

A SANS cert is VERY different from a Wildcard Cert which simply covers all variations for the SAME domain name (www.yourdomain.com, yourdomain.com, subdomain.yourdomain.com) Most hosting companies do not sell these type of SSL certs so you WILL have to shop around and purchase a SANS or Wildcard cert from an SSL provider/re-seller.. Also not all hosts will support Wildcard or SANS Certs.. so you WILL need to check with your host to be sure that they do support them. If you need one of these certs and your host doesn't support it, you will need to move your site to a host that properly supports these certs..
(I want to thank the "little birdie" who PM'd me last night with this important SSL information)

That said, I still need to look at how this module deals with SSL setup for the two stores.. Even if my client's host support them (moving him from Bluehost to InMotion) I still am not clear if this module will wok properly.. More things to check out/test..

[Design75]

FYI to all who might follow this thread, IF you have two distinct domains you will need a multidomain SSL (AKA SANS Cert). With a SANS Cert you can buy one cert that covers multiple distinct domains. (yourdomain.com and yourotherdomain.com) The number of domains supported will vary with each certificate..

A SANS cert is VERY different from a Wildcard Cert which simply covers all variations for the SAME domain name (www.yourdomain.com, yourdomain.com, subdomain.yourdomain.com) Most hosting companies do not sell these type of SSL certs so you WILL have to shop around and purchase a SANS or Wildcard cert from an SSL provider/re-seller.. Also not all hosts will support Wildcard or SANS Certs.. so you WILL need to check with your host to be sure that they do support them. If you need one of these certs and your host doesn't support it, you will need to move your site to a host that properly supports these certs..
(I want to thank the "little birdie" who PM'd me last night with this important SSL information)

That said, I still need to look at how this module deals with SSL setup for the two stores.. Even if my client's host support them (moving him from Bluehost to InMotion) I still am not clear if this module will wok properly.. More things to check out/test..

You will need to set SSL in each config file for the sites. Just like in the normal config files
site1.com will be using the default configure.php,

and site2.com will look something like this

$template_dir = "site2";
define('SITE_NAME','Site 2');
define('HTTP_SERVER', 'http://www.site2.com');
define('HTTPS_SERVER', 'https://site2.com');
define('ENABLE_SSL', 'true'); 

[paperman]

Hi
Just following this thread and the SSL requirements for multi domain. We are using sub-domains however some clients will be pointing their domains at these so I guess we will need a full multi domain SSL to cover this rather than wildcard?

Also are there any known issues with Paypal on this module as I am getting a security header bug?

Thanks
Simon