A couple of Question from a beginner

[nomadrw]

I just got done load Zencart and I have no ideal where to start at.
When I finished load Zen Cart Installer I got to the last page where it said Congratul########s you have successfully instaleed Zen Cart on your system, at the bottom of the page there were to buttons:
Click here to go to the store
Click here to open the admin area.
I made the mistake an I closed this web page. How do I get to these pages.
is the store page this link
http://www.nightscaping.com/catalog/ which opens a Zen Cart page

and is admin area this link
http://www.zen-cart.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Last Question for you.
I load zen cart on the host site. or should I have loaded it there or on my computer/server at work.

thanks
nomad
PS I hope the above made sense.

[gjh42]

If you installed Zen Cart in nightscaping.com/catalog/, that would be your store. The host is the right place to load your live store. It is good to have a test installation as well, where you can make changes without worrying about what the public will see.
The admin login page is accessed by adding admin/ to the end of your store's homepage address, e.g. nightscaping.com/catalog/admin/.

[nomadrw]

Thanks for the quick reply back gjh42
One other question for you about the db.
Should I have one on the host and one on the test installation, or should I have a path open to the db on the host ie have zencart point to the host db system.
PS this is all new for me building a e-commerce site and I need all the help I can get.

thanks
damon

[gjh42]

If you are making a test installation, it should have its own database.

Read the FAQ/tutorial for info on setting up a test or development site, also the wiki article on Making a Local Copy of Your Web Site.

P.S. - The book in the link at the top of this page is well worth buying to get you going smoothly. It has info that is not collected in one place anywhere else, and describes just about everything you will need to install and run your site. It doesn't cover a lot of customization, as that would require several more books to explain completely.

[nomadrw]

Thanks for the help gjh42.
I just bought the book and read some info. I have to figure all this out by Friday that's when the project is suppose to be done in beta form.
Just wondering how long did it take for some of you to learn Zen cart?

thanks for the help
nomad

[gjh42]

Without the book, working on my own... months, including learning PHP and CSS for the major modifications I wanted.

With the book and help from forum members, you could be set up in days, depending on how much customization you want.

[nomadrw]

Thanks for the help everyone. I still do not have the book it's has been order and I'm waiting for it.
Hopefully I doing the project right.

thanks again]
nomad