Should I install?

I'm currently using another cart which I'm pretty happy with, accept the one major issue that is giving me trouble, that it is not recognized by the search engines. :blink:
As it is being quite important, I am now looking for a new cart to possibly solve this problem, and came across with Zen-Cart. Unfortunately I have not found any info about this on the intro, so I figured it's best ask the users :smile:

Could you please tell me if your each individual items in your cart comes up in search engines or only the main page is recognized?

I understand the work involved with modifications etc, but are there any major issues using this cart?

Thanx in advance,

Susan

All pages are indexed (in time).

I believe Zen Cart to be one of the most powerful e-commerce site you can use!

Tina

My zen cart site is Top 3 on page 1 on Bing, Google and Yahoo.

But of course you need to know how to word your meta tags.

There are many things to consider when building a site that search engines like, but the fundamentals remain the same.

If your site generates GOOD HTML PAGES (from the code), and the internal navigation to categories and products (and other infomration pages) is logical and clear, then there should be no reason why the content does not get indexed.

To see if Google has indeed indexed anything on the site, go to Google and type the following into the search field:

site:YOUR-WEBSITE-URL

(eg: site:https://www.zen-cart.com)

Then click the search button.

See what comes up.

These days, Google likes site owners to "manage" their site's relationship with Google through a Google Account, using various tools such as Google webmaster dashboard.

Your system should be able to generate XML sitemaps, which you then submit via Webmaster Tools.

What system are you currently using?

And yes... Zencart is VERY friendly for Google and other major search engines. If your content is well-constructed, Google will index your zencart site very easily and comprehensively.

thank you all for your replies. :smile:
Yes, of course, all websites - that have their meta tags in place - come up in the searches if you search for the domain itself. Mine at this point comes up - each page, or at least each categories, BUT all with the same description, as the program I have renders the same header for every single page, and for every single product, so I can not make any changes and I'm not knowledgeable in php so I can create a header for each product.

So my question should have been more straight, asking if each product in Zen-Cart have their own header, so you can change your meta tags, and if it does, do change in the code or in your admin?

Thank you :smile:

Zen Cart is pretty smart and automatically generates meta tags that you can then tweak yourself. So, the answer to your questions is yes.

And you can set individual category and product metatags in admin > Catalog > Categories/Products.

I like what I read :smile:

now is the big decision....to jump in and change my whole website...
will be a LOT of work :yuck:

One more thing...
Any suggestions before I jump into installing this cart? my website is hosted by GoDaddy, so I read it somewhere it will come with a bunch of db junk...

Search for GoDaddy in the forum to see people's experiences and opinions on their suitability for e-commerce.

I have been hosted with godaddy since 2005. Yes with Zen Cart. Just choose their linux hosting.

I have not had one bit of problems with them and back then they did not offer Zen Cart as an install.

My site is never down. It has never be compromised so If you have any problems with the install or setup, just let me know. I'll be glad to help out.

Obviously there is a wide range of user experience:) Glad it works for you, and certainly Linux instead of Windows servers would eliminate a good number of the problems reported by people.

Yes, I've been hosting with them for years, but only in the past cpl yrs I have 'shared' server, so they do the actual install. I have a linux server, and so far I haven't had any problems.

Is Zen-cart working smooth with Paypal?
The shopping cart I'm using currently does not pass on the order details if the buyer doesn't click back to my website after completing the payment. So that always gives me trouble...grrr

Is Zen-cart working smooth with Paypal?

It works perfectly with PayPal.

if the buyer doesn't click back to my website after completing the payment

Zen cart automatically redirects the user back to the web site.

Kim:

...automatically generates meta tags that you can then tweak yourself.

is that done in the admin?

RescoCCC:

It works perfectly with PayPal.
Zen cart automatically redirects the user back to the web site.

Actually the auto return is a setting in your PayPal account

Instructions are:

In PayPal choose My Account then** Profile** then choose My Selling Tools from the left side box then Website preferences then

Bring customers back to my website after they pay with PayPal. Then choose Edit

Auto Return on
The return path is

https://www.yousite.com/index.php?main_page=checkout_process

Then make sure all your other options are answered correctly.

Change the site in red to your site.