Installing to an existing website

Hello all,

I'm new to the Zen Cart and need help. I've read around quite a bit and have noticed that it isn't too find for beginners to find what they are looking for - so I thought of starting a new thread like this one, which might be helpful to others in the future.

I have a pharmacy website online, and looking to integrate Zen Cart so that I can have a shopping cart to start selling products online (for the moment just Brushes). I've installed Zen Cart on my web server (v1.3.9h), and have had an extensive look around for some hours without getting anywhere.

It just looks a bit over-sophisticated for what I am trying to do. I noticed there is a section to disable some features in the admin, but the admin seems to complicate things more for me.

All I want on the website is the following features:
-Shopping Cart / view shopping basket feature
-Product colour chooser (drop down box on each individual product page)
-Add to Basket (on each individual product page)
-Remove from basket (on shopping basket page)
-Checkout (paypal checkout / on shopping basket page)

This is basically all I need on the site. I am a web designer, so do have technical knowledge although I have never built an ecommerce website before - so please advise if I missed any other basic out (i.e. if Continue Shopping button needed, or log in actually essential).

I have previously used WordPress before and although it was hell to learn it, it seems much simpler overall than Zen Cart.

What is the best approach to add this functionality to the already exisiting website? Is Zen Cart the best shopping cart to use in this case? (PS although I just need these basic functions right now, I may implement additional features Zen Cart has to offer at a later date).

Any help greatly appreaciated!

Kind Regards

Zen Cart is not designed to be the back end of a website, so you can't use just the cart functionality. You have to create the entire site in Zen Cart. It will do what you require (color selection done by attributes), but not as an add on to an existing site.

Basically, the website is currently an information website - and way too many pages, so i prefer not to integrate the whole thing in zen cart. I want to add a Shop navigation in addition. This should point to the /zencart/ folder. From that page it should be the online zen cart shop.

From what I've understood so far, it has three columns.. which is what I have on the website at the moment.

So if I add my header (plus main navigation) to the zen cart file (don't know, which it is.. header.php? index.php?) that should stay the same throughout. Would like to do the same for the footer (footer.php?).

From then on, I would like to customise the three columns.. to the widths of my choice, to fit in with the rest of the site. Im happy to keep the dynamic content, such as adding a category and product.. but would like to customise them with designs I make myself. Plus adding various other custom buttons in the colums, such as a 'Find us' image that direct the user to the google map part of the contact us page (on the existing website). The main middle column should remain the same (except for resizing the width, etc) so will remain zen cart dynamic.

Hope that all makes sense.. can I do this, is my first question?

It sounds like what you want to do is install Zencart in a subdirectrory and link to it from the main site, and style Zencart to look like your main site. That's fine, and done all the time. It's also easier than many new Zenners think.

Specific instructions on how to do all the styling are beyond the scope of a forum reply, so you'll need to install Zencart and start trying things, guided by whatever you can find in the FAQ/Tutorials section and in the forum.

Since you are using Paypal, you might be able to use the Paypal shopping cart.

Start here: Paypal add to cart button.

The last step in the above, provides a link to adding a view cart button.

batman42ca:

Since you are using Paypal, you might be able to use the Paypal shopping cart.

Start here: Paypal add to cart button.

The last step in the above, provides a link to adding a view cart button.

A workable, but inelegant solution, if you want to look professional, that is. I know it's prejudice, but I tend to regard websites with paypal shopping carts as being run out of the garden shed.