HTML or PHP for layout?

[Moff]

Hi, excuse me as I am new to zencart

I have built websites using html tables and css in the past so was confused when I saw the zencart used PHP. Then I went to one of those template sites and saw that some were built using html.

So can I make my own template using html or will this cause problems?

Thanks

[rstevenson]

Zen Cart has been designed from the ground up to use PHP to generate pages on the fly from a database. You can't fight that.

However, you also don't need to do PHP yourself to create your own look for your site -- a.k.a your own template. You do this using the Overrides system and heavily customizing your CSS.

I found it best to start with a few of the existing templates; download some that look good to you from the Downloads area. Save a copy of them (so you can start over after messing up ) then have a go at modifying them as much as you can.

You will gradually build up confidence to start your own template from scratch, or you might find that one of those templates modified by you is what you're looking for. I did.

Don't expect this to go too fast. It will take you, depending on how much time you can devote to it, weeks to get comfortable with Zen Cart. But it's worth it.

Rob

[Moff]

Thanks Mr Donut

I realise it will take time to get used to this. I have another online store which was built for me using html and asp by a friend but came here because I believe it has much more functionality and expandability.

I'll try modifying some myself as you suggest.

But I don't understand how that template I saw was total html code? Maybe it was just generated for the template preview. Ah well, I'm off to get stuck in...

Cheers

[rstevenson]

But I don't understand how that template I saw was total html code? Maybe it was just generated for the template preview.

Yeah, that's all it was, probably.

Have a look at either of my sites below. Find a page you like, then View Source in your browser. It's just html. That's what the php code in zen cart does: it finds all the chunks needed to generate the page, then it does just that and sends the completed html page to the browser.

Rob

[Moff]

That explains it then! Thanks for your help