template opinions needed

Hi
I currently have a site www.naildelights.com which is through pace retail, but I am wanting to go it alone and am looking into setting up with Zen as my site is already using Zen through pace,

I own the template used on my site but am unsure whether to bring it with me or to start a fresh with a simple template, what would your opinions be and how easy do you think it will be to swap away from pace?

Thank you all opinions are very appreciated

Paul

That is a "rip" of ZenCart - - the same code so the template is and will display in ZenCart.

kobra, where does the 'rip' come in? The Template is owned by pasb and Zen Cart is free.

Paul, not sure what your question is about? Wanting to go it alone as in what?
As you own the Template it can be used with whatever Hoster you use.

currently we are with pace and they control most of the code ect and we only have access to certain parts, so wanting to come away from them and go it alone as such with running it all and hosting it ourselves.

I think I would call this a rip:```html
<meta name="generator" content="Powered By P a c e C o m m e r c e Ltd. http://ww w.pa ce co m me r ce.co.uk eCommerce" />

If you own the template, just set up Zen Cart on a new host/server and go for it. Can you do a backup of the current site's files and database?

no i can't they have all that , i can only download style sheets ect

we changed to pace from ekm a while back and we were really damaged because it left a lot of broken links, so when we change to zencart we want to get it right, we know we have to re-direct the links now, but is there anything else that can damage our url if not done correctly, also other than an ssl is there anything else we need to protect our site?

While I hate to say this, I would suggest you double check whether you own the template. According to their terms & conditions, you might not own any graphics in your template.

The terms do say you own your data, so you need to get a copy of your database in order to start again - however it appears they have several custom features that are not pert of the core code. You may or may not be able to replicate them using modifications from the Free Add ons section.

we did ask them and they said that the template was our to take with us if we ever left
but this is why we were not sure whether to use it or to start a fresh

You might want to check with them what is their definition of the template? It looks like your template is one of the pre-made templates, I think you are entitle to your template if you paid for it.
Do you have access to your Zen Cart admin? If that's the case you can use the backup tools found in the download section to backup your database and Zen cart files on your own computer. Then you can setup a mock up store on your own computer or if you have a hosting package you can setup on the server. If your store looks and function the same you can just change the domain registrar to point to the new server.

Now I am not sure about the legality of that, or if it doesn't fall inline with the contract you signed with the current company but that is a solution for you.

If your design is making money for you the way it is, you should just transfer it to the new server. If it works don't break it.

https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php?article=99 Give you the principals of moving from one server to another.

Hi thanks for replies,

RE: Glamorousshoe comments,
I have access to site admin, I can download , customers, orders and stock via the panel I only have these as I requested these from the start.

Regarding template I will have to look further into this.

How easy is it to use one of the pre install and modify it, as I am looking at slight alterations anyway, do you know of any issues with them that might make choosing an alternative a better choice, like the one I have or another?

RE: Kim’s comment, thank you I have read through, but as I am new to this my brain has just shorted out, there are so many things buzzing round my head at present.

My main goals are other than prep of customer details etc are,

1. Host, which one, that a never ending one I think, but I don't want to be going through a change again in a long time if ever?

2. Understanding how to have a test store and then make it live, is there a way to have both all the time or is this a bad idea due to it taking up space on the server and any conflict it may cause? Including setting up the files correctly so these are not vulnerable to attack, this and knowing if any further security software is needed to protect what’s on the server etc?

3. The design

4. Setting up my payment providers, should be simple for PayPal, Google I take is an add-on.

5. Testing hoping I did not screw up somewhere

6. Transferring my domain and redirecting all old links, this one is one of the biggest concerns I have getting it Wright.

and so on its a massive step as I have to consider my wife too as she has to deal with all this and has been used to not having to worry about anything along these lines before, ahhhhhh!:wacko:

Any further guides directions, help, would be a step to un frying my brain, thanks.

Paul.

1. For starters, look at the certified ZC hosts link at the top of the page.

2. It is a good idea to have a test site, either on your home pc or in a subfolder of your live server if there is space (this requires a second database). If a test site is a strain on your server, real traffic will also be a strain.

3. The design is a whole other subject; look around the forum for info, and ask any questions in the appropriate places.

4. Pace can make it quite difficult if they want to. Be prepared to be persistent. Do you own your domain name, or do they?

I'll stick my nose in here -

1. A very important decision. Make sure you search the forums for the name of any host you're considering. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the Zencart Certified Hosts.

2. Easy. You really want your live site in the root of your site anyway, so just set up your test site(s) in subdirectories with their own databases. No conflicts, and the stock install of Zencart only uses ~15 Mb.

3. Up to you. I usually suggest that people choose one of the free templates that looks good to them and fiddle with that.

4. PayPal, PayPal Website Payments Pro and Authorize.net are built in, Google Checkout is a mod, but I have questions about its stability.

5. Do your testing of mods, etc. on your test sites before modifying the live site.

6. Transfer is easy, and many hosts will do it for you, under certain conditions. I'll let someone else advise about redirects.

Welcome to Zencart and come back to the forums any time.

Hi Glen,

thanks for the reply,

I own the domain name.

Regards to how difficult, what could they do?
Paul

Essentially, they can be slow to respond, require you to fulfill certain obscure conditions if they are in the contract, delay action until after an expiration date so you have to pay them more... not that I have had any similar experiences with a domain name ;)

Hi,

Stevesh

Thanks you for your advice,

I have been looking into hosting over the past few days as to what’s on offer, but certain things like do I need extra antivirus security, does it matter much?
What size bandwidth, traffic to go with, the bigger the better or somewhere in between?

Glenn

Thanks for your reply,

I will watch for these and try my best to avoid conflict with them, is there anything that they can do to damage my domain without me knowing?
Paul

I will watch for these and try my best to avoid conflict with them, is there anything that they can do to damage my domain without me knowing?
Not if you are in full control of managing your domain....If you might have passed login credentials to another - change them.

Hi Kobra,

I own the domain I have a co.uk which I had my own login for, but the .com which is the one I am using at present I own it but have never had a login for it and this got transferred from the lat company I was with to the most recent so what will this mean now?

Paul

the .com which is the one I am using at present I own it but have never had a login for it and this got transferred from the lat company I was with to the most recent so what will this mean now?
I can not attest to your transferring it around???
Whois indicates your are the registrant, so I suspect that you have an account with a login even if this is not under your control. BUT being that you transferred it from one to another someone involved in this transfer had access to it to change the nameservers or the "A" record.
I would go back and review, if you save your correspondence, all items around the time you transferred for any passing of credentials or notification of same. You might also contact the registrar with your dilema. Some one will be responsible for paying to renew and this is normally you the registrant

Will look into it further, the moving of the domain has been down to issues with providers, which is why now I am looking to do it myself, thanks for reply

Paul