Thread: Desperate!

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  1. #1
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    Default Desperate!

    Hello,
    I am so lost! I do not do web design or anything like that. I am clueless about what I am looking for information about so I apologize up front for any stupid questions. I am using ZenCart v1.5.6c. We have a very outdated custom skin via WordPress. bicknee.com. I don't know what all plug-ins (if any) that we have as I don't know how to do that.
    I need to update the look of our site. It's outdated and is kind of slow. The mobile site is also HORRIBLE! My question is if I use a template from WordPress would that be a quick and easy way to update the look of the site and the mobile portion of the site?
    Please be gentle and speak in laymans terms.
    Thank you in advance!
    Kindest Regards,
    Bobbi

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Desperate!

    We tend to build templates straight from the original responsive template, light http://germanwholesaleparts.ca/ or with background images http://matchboxgarden.ca/ which includes mobile updates and simple custom controls for the mobile view.

    If there are any modules built into the old template you will need to get a list and just install/merge the code with your new responsive template.

    You could learn how to do each step if you're interested in the hands-on coding/learning approach, reading through the forum helps, training is available or you could always hire the coder of your choice and get back to running your business.
    Twitch.
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  3. #3
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    Default Re: Desperate!

    It's not clear how wordpress is integrated into Zen Cart or perhaps the other way around.

    If the template currently used which has been modified in some way to make it custom is really a word press template applied to a word press site that happens to be using Zen Cart functionality, then yes a new word press template that remains compatible with the other functionality should work and would be installed/incorporated the same way as the previous template. If, however, the template was a word press template and features/characteristics of it were incorporated into a zen cart template then it may take more work to incorporate the look of the new word press template into the existing zen cart store.

    Usually when asking for template related assistance, having a link to the site in question (even if somewhat obscured) can be helpful to identify a path forwards.

    More than likely, not knowing the current setup of the site, a more in depth comparison of the existing site to a vanilla install would be necessary to discover what has been modified/added to provide the current view. There are a number of tools available to perform that, whether it is a file-by-file comparison or tools to identify changes to the database.

    In short... there's not really a short direct answer without some amount of additional information. :)
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  4. #4
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    Default Re: Desperate!

    Thank you both for your reply. I appreciate it greatly. The site in question is https://bicknee.com
    I have been trying to get in contact with the gentleman that usually helps me with the site but I have been unable to do so which is really strange. I figured I would see if I could figure out how to make some changes. At this point the only thing I know how to do via the website is add and remove products, upload photos and set up attributes.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Desperate!

    You will need the hosting login credentials to your site - cPanel and FTP access will put your hands on the code and the raw database.

    Or if you are still unable to contact your tech perhaps a hostile/non-hostile takeover is in order?
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  6. #6
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    Default Re: Desperate!

    I have that information thankfully!

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Desperate!

    This looks like Wordpress combined with Zen Cart, most likely using the zen4wp plugin.

    Using a new WP template might not fix all of your problems, and might actually involve a lot more work to get it all to look at least similar.

    Since the site is old, I believe it already has some SEO rankings so a fresh start, although extremely tempting, probably wouldn't be a good idea. However, a fresh start AND some hard labor with setting up redirects might be the best approach.
    From what I can see, your store is your the main part of the website, and the content and all blog entries are basically additional content. I don't see why WP is your main platform and Zen Cart behind it - IMHO, you should have Zen Cart as the main thing and have WP run alongside Zen Cart.

    Depending on your coding skills and available free time to work on it, you might be able to pull it off yourself, just be prepared for quite a battle (interesting one, tho). The built-in responsive_classic template is a good start, but it needs quite some modifications to achieve a good look. A quick look at your site doesn't show much customization or plugins, but it's hard to tell what you have in the backend. Personally, I prefer using ready-made commercial templates from themeforest (Zen Cart section) because you get A LOT out of the box, and you get a modern design and modern feel to it, plus a lot of plugins come pre-installed. Sure, some features are basically bloatware, and some things probably could've been done better, but hey... It's light years ahead of the free templates available, and it's definitely more affordable than getting professional help or design.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Desperate!

    Please be gentle and speak in laymans terms.
    Either you are going to have to get your hands dirty with html/css/php, or pay/employ someone.
    Think carefully about how that fits with your capabilities, business plan and social life!
    Anything and everything is possible, it's all a question of someones time and money. You can choose whose.

    "Quick and easy"...yes if you pay someone, otherwise no, not with no technical knowledge.
    Steve
    github.com/torvista: Spanish Language Pack, Google reCaptcha, Structured Data, Multiple Copy-Move-Delete, Image Checker, BackupMySQL Admin/Auto...

 

 

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