What do I need to work on zencart on desktop?

Im new at this and got the domain/linux hosting/zencart installed through godaddy. Basically I know how to log into my site and add catagories and all that., But dont know what to toggle to make it live and also dont know what program I need or file to open so I can work on this site on my desktop before making live. I know I am a new at this and these are probably some dumb questions, all help would greatly be appreciated. Thanks, Mike...

Zen Cart is largely programmed in PHP which needs to run on a server. So, the quick answer is that it is easiest to run it on your web hosting.

What you need then is a way of downloading and uploading files from the server. Basically, you download a file and then edit it and then upload it again.

The software that lets you upload / download the files is a ftp program. There are a few around and everybody has their favorite.

You can edit the files with any text editor. Notepad on windows for instance. But there are programs that make the editing easier. Again everyone has their own favorites.

Then there are some programs that combine the editing and the uploading / downloading capabilities.

I am not a windows user so I won't make too many suggestions unless you happen to use linux. But there are perfectly serviceable free options for all this stuff.

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There is a feature in admin that allows you to put the site completely out of action - ie under maintenance - which is in admin>>configuration>> maintenance.

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You can work on a local copy on your own computer but you need to install a local server ( which acts like a server on your own computer ) such as Xampp. This is not too difficult but may not be needed for what you want.

Hope this helps

I already have filezilla and I have the linux hosting. My desktop is xp. Whats a good free program for editing the php files?

I went to admin/maintainance and only found how to put the site down. How do you put it up?

gixxer1000stunna:

I already have filezilla and I have the linux hosting. My desktop is xp. Whats a good free program for editing the php files?Notepad++ which can be set as the default editor for FileZilla.

gixxer1000stunna:

I went to admin/maintainance and only found how to put the site down. How do you put it up?Any time it's not down, it's up.

When I go to the url it says web site coming soon. I installed through godaddy, maybe i should uninstall and install like zen reccomends to. Or maybe im looking over a setting or somthing...

With filezilla have a look in the root folder. This is the main public folder in your hosting. If there is an index.html file in there or a index.htm then this is the file that the browser is finding. The hosting has just left it there. It means that the browser is not finding the index.php file that belongs to Zen Cart.

You just get rid of the index.html file and then the browser will be directed to index.php ---- hurrah!

And it helps a lot if you let us know a URL and then there is less guessing being done!

nick the url is m i k e s h o g d o g s u p p l y . c o m
I tried what you said and it still doesnt work, cant i just go in with file zilla remove everything off the server and reinstall like zencart.coms instuctions say to? because with godaddy i guess it didnt install correctly...

Preciate the help...

Probably best to install using the Zen Cart installer rather than GoDaddy's.

Your Zen Cart is currently sitting down an a folder called zencart one level below your hosting account's public_html / htdocs / ????? folder - i.e. the top one in which you can put public files to be made available over the web.

However, it looks as though it's missing key files. In its current state I doubt it will ever run. I recommend deleting it and copying the files into your hosting space yourself watching the error logs carefully to make sure they all get there.

Ok, Let me ask you something, when I set all this up yesterday I had to make a sql database i think, should i delete that in godaddys site or leave alone and delete everything off of server with filezilla and then recopy 1.3.8 folder into server?

One more question if I work on my site alot just adding items 50 or 60 for starters, that wont be affected if i have someone build me a custom template and install it, would it?

I just dont really like all the free templates that well...

Thanks, Kur...

Personally, I would delete the database as well. Then delete all the existing files from the server. Then do a completely new install which will involve creating the database again. That way you know that you are really starting from a blank slate. And take note of what Kuroi says about watching the error logs carefully to make sure that all the files get there successfully.

With regard the second question. You can go ahead and add products. The template that you design or have designed will only effect the way these products are displayed. It won't effect the products themselves.

I would recommend that once you start adding products you find a way of backing up your database. All the information about the products is stored in the database and it is always wise to back it up. There are several ways of doing it but there is a mod (which is just an add-on for Zen Cart) which is called 'backup mysql' which is easy to install and let's you back up the database easily from the admin panel of your shop.

Also, once you have the store up and running it is easy to do the fun stuff first. Actually, it is a really good idea to read the security recommendations, such as renaming your admin section, at that point! Sorry to nag....

A small time saver. It's not necessary to delete the database, since all the tables within it that Zen Cart uses will be deleted and rebuilt as part of the installation process.

Thanks alot nick for the input, Ive tried 3 times of re-installing the zencart files via godaddy and filezilla, cant get anywhere so far. i do the install and rename the dist-configure.php files and reset the folders they ask you to reset to 777, and i just cant get nothing to come up at all, here we go again for another try.

If i delete out database & files on godaddy and perform new install via filezilla I would have to create a new sql first correct and name it / so zencart automatically pulls up? or do i upload files and will it prompt me?

Thanks for the help...

Kur what do you reccomend doing, just deleting all files off server then installing 1.3.8 via ftp.

Thanks...

gixxer1000stunna:

Thanks alot nick for the input, Ive tried 3 times of re-installing the zencart files via godaddy and filezilla, cant get anywhere so far. i do the install and rename the dist-configure.php files and reset the folders they ask you to reset to 777, and i just cant get nothing to come up at all, here we go again for another try.

If i delete out database & files on godaddy and perform new install via filezilla I would have to create a new sql first correct and name it / so zencart automatically pulls up? or do i upload files and will it prompt me?

Thanks for the help...

Yes, if you delete the database then you would need to recreate it. As Kuroi says this is overkill really as the install will re-create the tables in the database anyway.

Yes, delete the files on the server. Yes, re-upload them with ftp.

Think carefully about where the 'shop' will live on the server. The two options are that it lives in the root folder or lives in its own folder. The first means that to reach the shop someone would type https://www.myshop.com into a browser. The other option is to install it in its own folder withing the root folder. If you do this someone will type https://www.myshop.com/foldername to reach the shop. Both work fine so it is simply a choice.

I haven't looked but from what Kuroi has said, at the moment your shop is in its own folder called zencart. This is fine but to reach the shop someone would type https://www.myshop.com/zencart which means that the word zencart is always going to be in the URL. You might want to change the name of that folder to something else?? The name of the folder will not effect the functionality of zen cart - you just need to put the correct paths in during the install process.

Thanks for the info. I already deleted that setup where the shop was in myshop.com/zencart, i realized i should have put / for the name. Im uploading the files again. Is this guide a must to follow?

is the 1.readme.inst.... a 100% to do install?

Is there something simple Im not seeing I need to do?

Thanks...

The only thing that is not included in the instructions is the creation of the database, I think. But you have already done that!

Just follow the steps very carefully and you should be successful. The installation is surprisingly simple for a complex result. :smile: So, the Zen Cart developers should get a pat on the back.

There are several threads about godaddy in the forum which may help you. I don't know because I have never used godaddy, but I think that you should not encounter any problems.

As you go through this install just note down any alerts or warnings that you get. They will help us work out what is going on if there are any blips!

Good luck and go for it!

just set everything up again and tried manual install /zc_install browers says can not display page. another browser said 404 error.

The only thing that i noticed that was odd was it couldnt transfer a file called gdform.php. everything transfered fine.

Im clueless.

Thanks...