Looking to migrate to ZenCart from OSC

Hi All

I have been running a site for the past year using OSCommerce which, whilst it doing the job, is a real pain in the proverbial to make any custom changes to. The structure seems to be rather erratic and can take hours to locate a specific file when making any layout changes. For this reason I am looking around at an alternative system.

Before I plunge in to ZenCart there are a few things that I need to know it will handle and I'm hoping that maybe you guys can tell me if these things are possible .

1. The site is specifically for the delivery of eBooks via download, so in terms of products I need to be able to go from top level Genre to Author to Series (in OSC I simply rename Categories to Genres, Manufacturer to Author and Series becomes just a sub-category of Author.

2. I need to be able to display a list of x no. of new products on entry to the site.

3. I need to be able to select a Genre to display all Authors in that Genre and Authors to display all books by that author irrespective of what genre the book falls into. Naturally full free-form search is required as well.

4. When a book is displayed ready to add to cart, I need to be able to display somewhere author image and link to their website.

5. I need the facility to provide free books (so if the customer cart contains a free book or the total value of the cart is £0.00 the checkout confirmation should display a download link or the customer should be emailed that link).

6. I need to be able to suspend a customer from making any purchases if required.

7. Finally I would like to be able to add custom pages for various news etc.

I'm sure that these requirements shouldn't be too much of a problem and I'm hoping that someone out there will be able to advise me that it is all possible (oh and of course I need to find a way to migrate my existing 5500 products!!!!!).

Thanks in advance

DigiBooks:

Hi All

I have been running a site for the past year using OSCommerce which, whilst it doing the job, is a real pain in the proverbial to make any custom changes to. The structure seems to be rather erratic and can take hours to locate a specific file when making any layout changes. For this reason I am looking around at an alternative system.

Before I plunge in to ZenCart there are a few things that I need to know it will handle and I'm hoping that maybe you guys can tell me if these things are possible .

1. The site is specifically for the delivery of eBooks via download, so in terms of products I need to be able to go from top level Genre to Author to Series (in OSC I simply rename Categories to Genres, Manufacturer to Author and Series becomes just a sub-category of Author.

2. I need to be able to display a list of x no. of new products on entry to the site.

3. I need to be able to select a Genre to display all Authors in that Genre and Authors to display all books by that author irrespective of what genre the book falls into. Naturally full free-form search is required as well.

4. When a book is displayed ready to add to cart, I need to be able to display somewhere author image and link to their website.

5. I need the facility to provide free books (so if the customer cart contains a free book or the total value of the cart is £0.00 the checkout confirmation should display a download link or the customer should be emailed that link).

6. I need to be able to suspend a customer from making any purchases if required.

7. Finally I would like to be able to add custom pages for various news etc.

I'm sure that these requirements shouldn't be too much of a problem and I'm hoping that someone out there will be able to advise me that it is all possible (oh and of course I need to find a way to migrate my existing 5500 products!!!!!).

Thanks in advance

This is all very possible with Zen Cart.
You can migrate your products to Zen Cart by using the migration script from Osc to ZC. It should be here somwhee on the forum, or else I can send it to you

By the way Welcome :)

Thank you for your reply Design75.

The most critical thing in the list is the free downloads. I will try a ZenCart install on a testbed at the weekend ... and give you a shout if I can't find the necessary :)

You will find a lot of people here willing to help, if you run in to trouble.

Thanks.

Hopefully better support than OSCommerce! :)

DigiBooks:

Thanks.

Hopefully better support than OSCommerce! :)

I've sent you a pm with a link.

picandnix:

I've sent you a pm with a link.

Just curious ;) a link to where?

Thank you pickandnix - will take a look tonight.

Design75 - it's a link to where he is using free products :)

Design75:

Just curious ;) a link to where?

Just a site selling downloads, and offering a free sample etc, similar set up to what the op is looking to do with Zen Cart. Only reason for not posting URL is to avoid any unwanted annoyances :wink:
Would you like a peep? It's nothing exciting just a store. In fact I'd appreciate your thoughts on it if you get a chance please?

picandnix:

Just a site selling downloads, and offering a free sample etc, similar set up to what the op is looking to do with Zen Cart. Only reason for not posting URL is to avoid any unwanted annoyances :wink:
Would you like a peep? It's nothing exciting just a store. In fact I'd appreciate your thoughts on it if you get a chance please?
PM me the link, and I will take a look, and give my 2 cents :smile:

Btw, wasn't e of the design questions, but also after import of your oscommerce products,it is possible to repeatedly import/export products so that can update various attributes en mass. There are a few code additions/mods that are freely available with some/more available I believe for a cost. Easy populate and apsona are two that come to mind as free products.

Design75:

PM me the link, and I will take a look, and give my 2 cents :smile:

Thanks Design75, just pm'd ya :cheers:
hope nobody thinks I'm hijacking thread, just trying to help.

Not hijacking the thread at all!!! You guys have responded quicker and clearer than anything I have experienced on OSCommerce forums to date :)

picandnix:

Thanks Design75, just pm'd ya :cheers:
hope nobody thinks I'm hijacking thread, just trying to help.

DigiBooks:

Not hijacking the thread at all!!! You guys have responded quicker and clearer than anything I have experienced on OSCommerce forums to date :)

I would agree that it is not a hijacking either. I would however think that the posting on a board that a pm was sent is likely unnecessary, although maybe I'm one of the few that has setup (accepted) pms to automatically email making any other notification just a duplication of the first. :)

It would also seem (and I do apologize if there. Is any type of "tone" to this, but I had written a rather nice response then upon sending the network connection iam at changed something and I lost what I wrote.) Anyways, it would seem to me that if the posting guidelines are followed related to posting a web address then the autoweb machines won't leach, and would only have to worry about the "readers" (live people) which wouldn't be "helped" by use of pm per se. :)

All the same, all I can say is go open source! (Hmm, what does os in oscommerce stand for?) Zen Cart is highly maleable, but the further from the "norm" the harder to update to the next version.

Hi all.

Well I have taken the first step by installing ZenCart. The PM that was sent has disappeared!!!!! I know I didn't delete it Just says no new messages and cannot find a link to old messages. HELP please :)

Also need to look how to get a different template, my OSC system uses a much wider template than the standard ZenCart.

DigiBooks:

Hi all.

Well I have taken the first step by installing ZenCart. The PM that was sent has disappeared!!!!! I know I didn't delete it Just says no new messages and cannot find a link to old messages. HELP please :)

Also need to look how to get a different template, my OSC system uses a much wider template than the standard ZenCart.

In the forum template I am using I would go to the upper right corner that says settings, then left side that shows inbox. There you will find the message(s) sent to you.

There are plenty of templates available in the plugins section. (Free). Suggest using one of them. Typically can see a sample before downloading. There are a few template producing groups that you are probably better off staying away from, but there are plenty of threads in the forum about that. Further, remember they too are custumizable, so if you don't like the look of something, hack away. :)

Important thing to know and realize is that you are best off leaving the default template information as is and either making a copy of it to modify or install another template. Might I suggest taking a look at the plugin that has override in the title. It shows where all the override (and core) files are by folder. Very helpful when designing your new store. Especially since it seems like you know how to code.

I clicked on settings and ............ NO Inbox .... strange!!!!

DigiBooks:

I clicked on settings and ............ NO Inbox .... strange!!!!
To ensure on the same page, I'm using the zencart 2014 template. When selecting settings, on the left upper side is a my messages window area. In there is inbox and sent messages followed by any other folders that may have been created. Deleting a message requires a little effort and you would have to agree (typically) to delete the message before it is totally gone. You could also send yourself a pm and possibly get back into that area after it is sent and you go to read the message. Btw, any issues experienced using the forum are not directly related to ZC as the forum is hosted by a product that is not of the ZC creation but one used to provide a way to obtain support.

Okay guys ... I found it ... had to go to General Settings and click on Private Messaging System hyperlink halfway down the page to get to the Inbox!!!

I will sort out a new template tonight and then see how the free product works. Once I get that into place then the rest can come in time until I have a fully operational testbed as we want it to run and if all OK then try to transfer the 5500 products over :)

DigiBooks:

Okay guys ... I found it ... had to go to General Settings and click on Private Messaging System hyperlink halfway down the page to get to the Inbox!!!

I will sort out a new template tonight and then see how the free product works. Once I get that into place then the rest can come in time until I have a fully operational testbed as we want it to run and if all OK then try to transfer the 5500 products over :)

Be advised that some of the responsive templates can take a while to setup, I think it's worth it, but take a look at their operation before trying to install. Typically the instructions are very clear and will result in a good final product, but there may also be some "fixes" that are published in the many pages associated with that template's forum topic. Good luck and have fun!