Confused..

Hi zenners,

I feel a bit confused from what I have read in the docs in zancart folder. Currently, zencart is installed in my computer for testing and learning purposes only and I am almost finished. The following may sound a bit weird so please bear with me:

1. Once I finished all testing and learning, do I have to first install a fresh copy of zc to my local pc, configure it, add products, images, installing SSL certificates - in short prepare it for a live server and then upload it to the server? OR,

2. Unzip zc to my local pc and upload it to the server and then configure everything from scratch (on the server) like what I have said just above? OR,

3. Install zc to both my pc and live server, once I finished designing it in my local pc as I wish, upload it to the live server on the existing files?

Just one thing more. Once my live store is up and running, do I have to php, Apache and MySql installed in my computer or will be just sufficient for the server to have these?

Many thanks for the support...

The answer to the last question is no. Zencart and the admin are web apps - all you need is a browser.

I've never installed Zencart to a local computer, since hosting is cheap and you learn more by testing on a remote server, but I imagine the process would be to just upload your folders and files from the local installation, do the same with the database, then change the paths in the configure.php files.

Steve's right... The install process is chiefly to get the database configured with the tables, and of course, other initial config data.

Once it is installed - i

So all you need to is move the code files and the database to a remote server.

There are three main things that need to be done:

1. The database on your local drive is likely to be a different version of MySQL from that on the server, so the export and import of the database needs careful attention. I have sometimes come across this when moving sites across remote servers. I then run a full install of zc on the new server in order to create a properly config's database. If I have mods on the original site that update the database, I install them. Then I truncate all the tables (empty them). Then from the old database, I just do a sql dump for DATA only, giving me just the "insert into" lines for all the data. I then run this into the new database.

2. change the paths and database info in BOTH configure.php files

3. there are possibly some references to the OLD location in the database, such as the cache folder location. You can run fix_cache_key.php to address this (see free addons for this little tool).

Steve, if I got you correctly, you ask me to upload the files & folders directly to the server, install zc and test it. Wouldn't it be easier to do all sort of admin tasks like creating catalogues, adding products, playing with css to enhance the design, etc., on the local computer? It is like creating a web site on the local pc and then uploading it to the server. Does zc work the other way around?

I've just never seen the need to install Zencart locally. My host charges $4 a month for a basic hosting account that's fine for most Zencart installations, and a fast Internet connection makes FTP almost as quick as editing files locally.

Nothing wrong with starting with a local installation - a lot of Zenners do it that way.