Add-ons

**Mike Hulse** · 8 Feb 2013, 01:56 PM

Am a ZenCart newbie and have recently put a site together. What I would like to know is, can anyone recommend any addons for making the site more sociable and SEO friendly?

**schoolboy** · 8 Feb 2013, 02:13 PM

You need do NOTHING to the core code to make it more "SEO Friendly" - so there's no value in modules called "SEO-Friendly URL's". They serve no useful purpose. Also, avoid the temptation to pepper the site with trinkets that go by fancy names, or claim to do fancy things - unless there is a compelling BUSINESS REASON to have that particular function.

The MAIN issues are to focus on how PEOPLE will use the site, and what it needs to be able to do in order to make the experience efficient, fast, relevant and valuable. To the point where the customer ends up BUYING SOMETHING - which is really the whole point.

So... in the 350 odd sites I have been involved in over the past 9 years... Here's my list of purposeful modules:

Image Handler (now version 4) and a good zoom enlarge feature on the product info page. I like magictoolbox's offerings, though these are commercial - not free.

FEC (fast and easy checkout from Numinix, bringing the entire checkout procedure onto one screen... There are several other offerings by Numinix that have good value, but the context for them has to be appropriate).

Cross-sell and Up-sell modules can be very effective - as long as they are not over-egged.

Under the hood... Google Analytics and of course XML Sitemaps. One's Webmaster Relationship with Google is very important - though not an "add-on" in the strictest sense.

I like Easy Populate as it enables bulk upload of product data. (I just did a site with 42,000 products, and using EP it took just under an hour to load up all the data.

But get GOOD CONTENT going from day one. Pics MUST be extremely high quality... Image quality is often the factor that determines the sale - even for branded goods.

In 2006 a research company ran two sites selling the identical cameras. One site was CHEAPER, but the packshots of the cameras were awful. The other site was more expensive, but the pics were top-quality. The MORE EXPENSIVE site sold more goods...

**schoolboy** · 8 Feb 2013, 02:16 PM

Oh... and if you are just starting out... get on the ground floor with a mobile-friendly template (design)...

My (relatively low level) research points to more people shopping on hand-helds than on conventional desktops/laptops, by the end of this year.

If your site is not mobile-friendly for PURCHASING, you could be losing a lot of sales.

**discoverytdi** · 8 Feb 2013, 03:32 PM

I agree with Schoolboy, and don't be inclined to load yor site with Unnecessary mods and addons as my lecturer said to us on our first day "What ever you are doing remember to kiss KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID"

**oneonesip** · 8 Feb 2013, 03:58 PM

Originally Posted by schoolboy

You need do NOTHING to the core code to make it more "SEO Friendly" - so there's no value in modules called "SEO-Friendly URL's". They serve no useful purpose. Also, avoid the temptation to pepper the site with trinkets that go by fancy names, or claim to do fancy things - unless there is a compelling BUSINESS REASON to have that particular function.

The MAIN issues are to focus on how PEOPLE will use the site, and what it needs to be able to do in order to make the experience efficient, fast, relevant and valuable. To the point where the customer ends up BUYING SOMETHING - which is really the whole point.

So... in the 350 odd sites I have been involved in over the past 9 years... Here's my list of purposeful modules:

Image Handler (now version 4) and a good zoom enlarge feature on the product info page. I like magictoolbox's offerings, though these are commercial - not free.

FEC (fast and easy checkout from Numinix, bringing the entire checkout procedure onto one screen... There are several other offerings by Numinix that have good value, but the context for them has to be appropriate).

Cross-sell and Up-sell modules can be very effective - as long as they are not over-egged.

Under the hood... Google Analytics and of course XML Sitemaps. One's Webmaster Relationship with Google is very important - though not an "add-on" in the strictest sense.

I like Easy Populate as it enables bulk upload of product data. (I just did a site with 42,000 products, and using EP it took just under an hour to load up all the data.

But get GOOD CONTENT going from day one. Pics MUST be extremely high quality... Image quality is often the factor that determines the sale - even for branded goods.

In 2006 a research company ran two sites selling the identical cameras. One site was CHEAPER, but the packshots of the cameras were awful. The other site was more expensive, but the pics were top-quality. The MORE EXPENSIVE site sold more goods...

yes i have try this and work fine for my site