COWOA (for ZC v1.5.x)

Hi,

Long time since I have had to make changes to my Zen Carts. Also now is the time to create a new one.

I think I would like to use COWOA (I came here from the FEC thread) or something similar but not sure if it is the right thing. Is there a description or perhaps an indication of what the acronym stands for or an old feature list, I have read a quarter of this thread and reading between the lines the plugin seems to be made to ease the checkout process. It all seems a bit secretive and not easy to find unless one might try to find some 200x threads perhaps that might describe the early builds. It would make some sense to drop keywords into the plugin description of what the acronym means and what the main selling point is, just to gain maximum conversions and grow the userbase. Grated it seems that many eventually find themselves using one of these streamlining plugins if they are practical but the whole Zen Cart plugin system sufferes from a LOT of conversion loss due to obfuscation.

My shop will have just 2 (later perhaps 3) physical products and there will be a very low repeat sale expectation so I hope to make the sale process as simple as possible.

I will only send via regular mail (with a tracking number) and shipping is free.

Asking the following here in case one of you power users has an opinion on such matters. I used to generate my address labels and response emails in excel that would include the tracking number from a table, perhaps there is a modern plugin that will save me some time with email templates with a tracking number field (I could scan the tracking label barcode perhaps) and something to print simple address labels. This site is to be implemented in South Africa so simple is best.

Regards

Kalle

KalleP:

I think I would like to use COWOA (I came here from the FEC thread) or something similar but not sure if it is the right thing. Is there a description or perhaps an indication of what the acronym stands for or an old feature list, I have read a quarter of this thread and reading between the lines the plugin seems to be made to ease the checkout process. It all seems a bit secretive and not easy to find unless one might try to find some 200x threads perhaps that might describe the early builds. It would make some sense to drop keywords into the plugin description of what the acronym means and what the main selling point is, just to gain maximum conversions and grow the userbase. Grated it seems that many eventually find themselves using one of these streamlining plugins if they are practical but the whole Zen Cart plugin system sufferes from a LOT of conversion loss due to obfuscation.

Right.. DIRECT from the module description (https://www.zen-cart.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=1416%29:

This mod lets your customer checkout without having to register an account on your store.
It comes with a couple of additional (optional) modifications that let you see who used COWOA to checkout with and let's those customers who used COWOA to still be able to track the Order Status of their order by using the e-mail name they used during checkout and the OrderID number.

Seems pretty clear what COWOA does.. what is still unclear here for you??

KalleP:

Asking the following here in case one of you power users has an opinion on such matters. I used to generate my address labels and response emails in excel that would include the tracking number from a table, perhaps there is a modern plugin that will save me some time with email templates with a tracking number field
Suggest looking at the Ty Package Tracker module..

Hi there

I am trying to find the best way to add a telephone number to the details a user adds when using COWOA?

anyone got any hints/tips on it?

Thanks.

HammurIT:

Hi there

I am trying to find the best way to add a telephone number to the details a user adds when using COWOA?

anyone got any hints/tips on it?

Thanks.

Duh - should have checked first - its already there.

I've spent all night working on a website, trying to get COWOA working. It was working at one time, then stopped for unknown reasons, so I had to work my way through uninstalling and reinstalling it. I thought everything was working, but obviously it's not, quite.

On the Login page, it now says "TEXT_STANDARD_ACCOUNT_HEADING" in between the lines that say "Welcome, Please Sign In" and the box that says "New Customers."

Then, where the COWOA box is, it says:

TEXT_COWOA_HEADING
COWOA_HEADING TEXT_RATHER_COWOA

followed by the Continue button on the far right.

When I click on the Continue button, I get a blank screen. At the very top it says:

Home :: NAVBAR_TITLE

But the rest of the page is empty.

What went wrong this time?? sigh

Oh...the url is http://borumapublishing.com/llcraftpublications.com/library/index.php?main_page=login. Apologies in advance that it's an adult site.

DK_Scully:

I've spent all night working on a website, trying to get COWOA working. It was working at one time, then stopped for unknown reasons, so I had to work my way through uninstalling and reinstalling it. I thought everything was working, but obviously it's not, quite.

On the Login page, it now says "TEXT_STANDARD_ACCOUNT_HEADING" in between the lines that say "Welcome, Please Sign In" and the box that says "New Customers."

Then, where the COWOA box is, it says:

TEXT_COWOA_HEADING
COWOA_HEADING TEXT_RATHER_COWOA

followed by the Continue button on the far right.

When I click on the Continue button, I get a blank screen. At the very top it says:

Home :: NAVBAR_TITLE

But the rest of the page is empty.

What went wrong this time?? sigh

Oh...the url is http://borumapublishing.com/llcraftpublications.com/library/index.php?main_page=login. Apologies in advance that it's an adult site.
I would check the includes/languages/english files looks like they are missing. They need to contain ref: to COWOA there are several. ie login.php around line 25-28 you should have :
define('TEXT_STANDARD_ACCOUNT_HEADING', 'New or Returning Customer?');
define('TEXT_COWOA_HEADING', 'Prefer to Shop Without Creating A Customer Profile?');
define('TEXT_RATHER_COWOA', 'You do not need to create a customer profile to make a purchase with <strong>' . STORE_NAME . '</strong>. Simply click the <strong>"Continue"</strong> button to checkout without creating a customer profile. Upon completion of your order, you will receive an e-mail order confirmation with a link to track your order status.<br />');
define('COWOA_HEADING', 'Guest Checkout');

Okay, partial success, but not quite in the way you were expecting.

All along, this weird template has installed some folders as scuro and some as Scuro. No idea why. The login.php file had exactly the lines you specified, and I had already re-uploaded it last night before posting this, in hopes that maybe the one file had not gotten properly installed along with the other COWOA files. I tried it again this morning. No joy, it still isn't working. So...I changed Scuro to scuro and suddenly my login page looks the way it should...no funky messages anywhere, and the COWOA box has the text it should.

BUT..............

When I click on the Continue button...I get another blank box with just "Home :: Billing Information" at the top. So now what? :frusty:

Thanks very much for your help...the site's almost ready to go live; this is the final step (I hope) before we change over the nameservers. So we're anxious to fix this problem.

I notice this plugin hasn't been updated in a while, but wish to be able to use this on a 1.5.4 site. How would I go about upgrading this module so that it is compatible with the latest Zen Cart version? Is it just a case of comparing the files within the mod against those in the standard Zen Cart file set and merging the changes?

Thanks

OLCS:

I notice this plugin hasn't been updated in a while, but wish to be able to use this on a 1.5.4 site. How would I go about upgrading this module so that it is compatible with the latest Zen Cart version? Is it just a case of comparing the files within the mod against those in the standard Zen Cart file set and merging the changes?

Thanks
I have used this version on a shop running 1.5.4 but it had been previously installed on version 1.5.1 which had been updated to version 1.5.4

A search didn't turn anything up, so here it goes.

Is there a way for an admin to log into a guest account? Specifically with either EMP https://www.zen-cart.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=94 or ALAC https://www.zen-cart.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=583

I have a site with EMP and it doesn't work. Seems obvious, there is no password to match to.

jeking:

A search didn't turn anything up, so here it goes.

Is there a way for an admin to log into a guest account? Specifically with either EMP https://www.zen-cart.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=94 or ALAC https://www.zen-cart.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=583

I have a site with EMP and it doesn't work. Seems obvious, there is no password to match to.
It's not that there's no password to match, since EMP checks (after the customer password check) to see if the password belongs to an EMP-enabled admin. It's more likely that some COWOA update to the login page (?) is blocking the login using COWOA customers' email addresses.

lat9:

It's not that there's no password to match, since EMP checks (after the customer password check) to see if the password belongs to an EMP-enabled admin. It's more likely that some COWOA update to the login page (?) is blocking the login using COWOA customers' email addresses.

Should COWOA, with no other interfering plugins, allow an admin to login with just the customer email address?

OLCS:

I notice this plugin hasn't been updated in a while, but wish to be able to use this on a 1.5.4 site. How would I go about upgrading this module so that it is compatible with the latest Zen Cart version? Is it just a case of comparing the files within the mod against those in the standard Zen Cart file set and merging the changes?

Thanks

you can try this: https://github.com/DivaVocals/zen_COWOA

Technically this is a beta version until it's submitted.. I am still gathering feedback on this version (which is why I haven't yet submitted it..) But I am using it on several live sites..

jeking:

Should COWOA, with no other interfering plugins, allow an admin to login with just the customer email address?

It's like lat9 pointed out.. COWOA prevents you from logging into ANY customer account flagged COWOA (meaning this is a guest account).. If you are not logged into the front-end of the store, just like the customer you can view the order status from the customer POV with the order number and email..

Perhaps if you say what it is you are trying to do, we can help you come up with a solution..

DivaVocals:

It's like lat9 pointed out.. COWOA prevents you from logging into ANY customer account flagged COWOA (meaning this is a guest account).. If you are not logged into the front-end of the store, just like the customer you can view the order status from the customer POV with the order number and email..

Perhaps if you say what it is you are trying to do, we can help you come up with a solution..

Yes, of course. We like to be able to log into customer accounts to take orders over the phone. The problem arose with a customer with a guest account and we could not log into the account to place the order. The service rep ended up creating a new account for the customer.

I'm in the process of cleaning up old site modules,etc. and I've come to COWOA.

I was wondering if someone can explain to me the reason why this module is important.

Sort of an odd request, and I don't want to waste anyone's time, it just seems like nearly a default module at this point, so I think I'm missing the reason why.

Most likely that is due to me not realizing what it actually does OR my old version operates incorrectly.

On my sites, COWOA operates just like a store account, except the customer doesn't create an initial password.

If they want to access their info they can use the password forgotten tool.

This means there is only one less form field for the customer to fill in (password), yet a whole lot of files changes to make the magic happen.

The only reason this helps conversions is if a customer is totally at a loss to login to their existing account they can just create a new one using the COWOA process.

Again, I must be missing something important here. How is COWOA even possible? The name and process implies that a customer will be able to create an order without giving any permanent information - as though they are shopping at a brick and mortar store.

lindasdd:

I'm in the process of cleaning up old site modules,etc. and I've come to COWOA.

I was wondering if someone can explain to me the reason why this module is important.

Sort of an odd request, and I don't want to waste anyone's time, it just seems like nearly a default module at this point, so I think I'm missing the reason why.

Most likely that is due to me not realizing what it actually does OR my old version operates incorrectly.

On my sites, COWOA operates just like a store account, except the customer doesn't create an initial password.

If they want to access their info they can use the password forgotten tool.

This means there is only one less form field for the customer to fill in (password), yet a whole lot of files changes to make the magic happen.

The only reason this helps conversions is if a customer is totally at a loss to login to their existing account they can just create a new one using the COWOA process.

Again, I must be missing something important here. How is COWOA even possible? The name and process implies that a customer will be able to create an order without giving any permanent information - as though they are shopping at a brick and mortar store.

I'll throw my $0.02 in. The main functional difference is the removal of the password field. The shopper still needs to enter ALL the other fields, billing address, shipping address, email, etc. It is because shoppers don't want an 'account'. It's a perception rather than reality because all of the information in a guest account is the same as a full account. Yes, the password field exists for full accounts, but it's irrelevant from the store owners perspective. The only real benefit I see is that shoppers do not need to remember a password to place a new order. They can order with only their email address.

It is a lot of core edits (not offense to the author(s), it's necessary for the functionality) to achieve such a small benefit, IMHO. They need passwords for lots of sites, this is no different, and don't many people use password managers so they don't really need to remember the password anyway.

jeking:

I'll throw my $0.02 in. The main functional difference is the removal of the password field. The shopper still needs to enter ALL the other fields, billing address, shipping address, email, etc. It is because shoppers don't want an 'account'. It's a perception rather than reality because all of the information in a guest account is the same as a full account. Yes, the password field exists for full accounts, but it's irrelevant from the store owners perspective. The only real benefit I see is that shoppers do not need to remember a password to place a new order. They can order with only their email address.

It is a lot of core edits (not offense to the author(s), it's necessary for the functionality) to achieve such a small benefit, IMHO. They need passwords for lots of sites, this is no different, and don't many people use password managers so they don't really need to remember the password anyway.
The use of a password manager is not a reason to (or not to) use this module.. It's debatable whether "most" people use these tools anyway.. (for example, someone logging in from a corporate computer is most likely NOT using a password manager)

There are still a large number of online shoppers who believe that when shopping on sites that are not one of the big box retailers that by avoiding the creation of an account it makes the shopping experience "safer". My own sister still thinks that shopping on a site that uses PayPal versus a merchant account and gateway (i.e. Authorize.net) is a "safer/secure" shopping experience.. (and NOPE I haven't bothered wasting my time explaining to her why what she thinks is VERY WRONG..:laugh:)

Either way for these and other shoppers, COWOA gives them the peace of mind needed to put them on the path to conversion..

lindasdd:

I'm in the process of cleaning up old site modules,etc. and I've come to COWOA.

I was wondering if someone can explain to me the reason why this module is important.

Sort of an odd request, and I don't want to waste anyone's time, it just seems like nearly a default module at this point, so I think I'm missing the reason why.

Most likely that is due to me not realizing what it actually does OR my old version operates incorrectly.

On my sites, COWOA operates just like a store account, except the customer doesn't create an initial password.

If they want to access their info they can use the password forgotten tool.

This means there is only one less form field for the customer to fill in (password), yet a whole lot of files changes to make the magic happen.

The only reason this helps conversions is if a customer is totally at a loss to login to their existing account they can just create a new one using the COWOA process.

Again, I must be missing something important here. How is COWOA even possible? The name and process implies that a customer will be able to create an order without giving any permanent information - as though they are shopping at a brick and mortar store.

The entire point of COWOA is to allow customer a choice about whether or not to maintain an account on the site. If the customer feels "safer" not creating an account, then there is no blocking the path to conversion.. Additionally if a shopper feels that by not creating an account that the path to conversion is faster, then COWOA offers that too.. I personally would like to see COWOA modified to put the entire choice about creating an account or not as a decision point that should be made AFTER the sales transaction is complete.. After all WHY is the choice about creating an account REQUIRED BEFORE completing the sales transaction.. (but I digress)

COWOA will be a built in functionality in the upcoming Zen Cart v1.6.. It is NOT part of the v1.5.x codebase.. Today if you want guest checkout capabilities, you will need the COWOA module..

jeking:

The main functional difference is the removal of the password field. The shopper still needs to enter ALL the other fields, billing address, shipping address, email, etc.
Depends on how you code the site! the password field may look to be missing, but is auto created to protect the user non-standard account!

$password=zen_create_random_value(15, 'mixed');

For my site I step out of the box by providing the password field. If left empty, COWOA Account, filed in, Standard Account... by changing the password code and adding the input fields.

    // COWOA password for account 
      $password = zen_db_prepare_input($_POST['password']);
      $cowoa_account = 0;
      
    if ($password == '') {
    $password = zen_create_random_value((ENTRY_PASSWORD_MIN_LENGTH + 5), 'mixed');
    $cowoa_account = 1;
    }
    
    if (strlen($password) < ENTRY_PASSWORD_MIN_LENGTH) {
    $error = true;
    $messageStack->add('no_account', ENTRY_PASSWORD_ERROR);
  } 

It is a lot of core edits (not offense to the author(s), it's necessary for the functionality) to achieve such a small benefit, IMHO. They need passwords for lots of sites, this is no different, and don't many people use password managers so they don't really need to remember the password anyway.
Agreed, but I've walked away from sites that forced me to create account even with what I know of the code.. Passwords wasn't the reason, no options was... IMHO.. I don't see problems with coding so user have options, I do see issues when sites don't provide options that I see as easy to code. I have over 50 site in my safe all with 12-16 char. hardened passwords.

lindasdd:

I'm in the process of cleaning up old site modules,etc. and I've come to COWOA.

I was wondering if someone can explain to me the reason why this module is important.

Sort of an odd request, and I don't want to waste anyone's time, it just seems like nearly a default module at this point, so I think I'm missing the reason why.

Most likely that is due to me not realizing what it actually does OR my old version operates incorrectly.

On my sites, COWOA operates just like a store account, except the customer doesn't create an initial password.

If they want to access their info they can use the password forgotten tool.

This means there is only one less form field for the customer to fill in (password), yet a whole lot of files changes to make the magic happen.

The only reason this helps conversions is if a customer is totally at a loss to login to their existing account they can just create a new one using the COWOA process.

Again, I must be missing something important here. How is COWOA even possible? The name and process implies that a customer will be able to create an order without giving any permanent information - as though they are shopping at a brick and mortar store.

From some experience on a few sites adding COWOA increases sales! Reason enough.