need help with page layout/screen resolution

http://kathiskrystals.com

My husband and I are having some disagreements on what the optimal screen resolution should be, but we both agree that it should stretch to fit wider screens. I don't know very much about coding and have been messing with the css stylesheet, and as you can see by looking at our site, when stretching the size of the window, the black area between the left box and main/center box gets wider. How do I set that to stay the same width?

Also, the logo banner at the top does not stretch, and I would not want it to stretch and be distorted, any options to make that look right?

Any help would be so greatly appreciated.

Kathi

Zen Cart 1.3.8a
Database Patch Level: 1.3.8

Before any of that, you need to upgrade. V1.3.8 has some serious security flaws and you are subject to being hacked.

After you upgrade, I think you'll find that it's much easier to just specify a width for #mainwrapper (I usually use 980px) and create your header image to fit that width, and be done with it. The site will look a little skinny on (web developers') high-resolution screens, but most of your customers will be using the standard resolutions.

I think 100% width should be reserved for sites with a lot of content on every page (Amazon). Many pages look kind of empty otherwise.

As you've noted, the header image won't resize with changes in resolution, leaving a lot of blank space or a mangled image.

Ok, we were told yesterday by our hosting provider that we should upgrade our Zen but that would require using php5 instead of php4.

So now my question is this... what do I do first, upgrade php or zen?

Will my current version of zen run on php5? If not, do we just let the site go down until we get the new zen upgrade? Will all the work I have currently done on our site be lost? To be honest the whole upgrade thing scares the poo out of me.

Kathi

Kathi_S:

Ok, we were told yesterday by our hosting provider that we should upgrade our Zen but that would require using php5 instead of php4.

So now my question is this... what do I do first, upgrade php or zen?

As a general rule, you will have no control over which version of PHP is being used on your server. However, many/some hosts do provide an option that will allow you to select/use either version 4 or version 5.

What to do first, isn't such an easy one to answer.

Kathi_S:

Will my current version of zen run on php5?

To the best of my knowledge, your current zen version should work ok with php V4 through to V5.2.

It will almost certainly NOT work with PHP V5.3

Kathi_S:

If not, do we just let the site go down until we get the new zen upgrade?

There is generally no need to take a store offline for an upgrade.

Kathi_S:

Will all the work I have currently done on our site be lost?

If you've used the template over-rides and not made any changes to the core zencart files your work will not be lost.

Things get a little more tricky if all of your customizations have be been placed in the 'classic' folders.

Kathi_S:

To be honest the whole upgrade thing scares the poo out of me.

Some upgrades can be a lot trickier than others. My personal recommendation would be to do an install/upgrade on your own personal computer (away from the live store), and when it is all working to your satisfaction migrate the 'new' store over to the server, replacing the existing store.

If even that is too daunting, get help, pay someone if you need to, because whatever time/expense it takes you now, it will cost you a LOT more to get the store back in order when it has been hacked, and yes, I do mean when, not if

Anyway if you follow the upgrade instructions you shouldn't have too much of a problem. It is actually a lot easier to do than it appears, BUT, you must follow the instructions, not skipping any steps along the way, and don't try to rush things.

Cheers
Rod