Integrate Zen into Joomla

Keep us posted and tell us if there is anything we can do to help.

Kind Regards,
Meshach

Any news on when this is going to be released?

I am curious as well. I am going to be developing a large apparel site soon, and have been hoping for something like this. I took a swipe at it myself, but I am just not that familiar with the Joomla! structure.

Joomla! looks better out of the box, is easier to customize, and there are templates galore. Zen Cart blows away all e-commerce addons for Joomla!, but is more difficult to customize and requires a large amount of code editing.

A little background on what I do:

I have a stripped down custom version of the Cherry Zen template that I use for most of my sites. I have all the addons I need/use installed into the file structure, which is in an archive that is extracted onto whatever server I'm deploying on. Permissions are preserved, so no worrying about that. I use a database that has no product information in it, but still holds all variables & attributes that are needed. I connect this to the Zen install, make a few changes in the admin panel, edit language files and a few template files, css, all through a SSH shell (nano ftw :P). Upload images, upload EZpopulate product info, done.

As long as I have my content from the client, deploying a functional Zen Cart site that is ready to make sales takes me roughly 5 hours. Now imagine being able to do something similar with Joomla!. An open-source Zen module for Joomla would blow all other shopping carts in the water, even commercial ones that have been gaining popularity.

My suggestion is to take that product you get from the developer, and make it your own e-commerce solution. Release it as open-source, but charge for development/support.

Aside from making hundreds of us absolutely thrilled overnight, I can only imagine what kind of income this could bring for you.

:shocking:

Hi
I'm keen to have a look at this when you've got it working, and happy to consider contributing to cost or purchasing it.
I look forward to hearing more.

Well as usual things have progressed more slowly then scheduled, however they are progressing.

Currently we have some basic sessions integration as well basic back end integration. I am expecting to talk to the Dev team today to ensure we are still heading in the right direction. They are suggesting they will be finished in less then 2 weeks. I am not so confident though.

I would also like some feedback from interested parties here. One thing I hope to have is a larger registered user base who are interested in the content of the site if not purchasing products. Do you think we need to have a 2 stage registration process.
eg. If customer might initially register just to access premium content. We don't need the address/contact details and asking for it may scare some users off. However we will need the details to ship goods out. So if the customer then wants to purchase do we need to have a second registration process prompting for the additional info. Or should we ask for all the required info upfront?

Thanks all for you interest.

Its an interesting idea, although i'd hope people wanting to access restricted pages would be 'about to buy' or otherwise a fan of the products and therefore would be happy to give their address details.
I'd say stick to a single registration, its not too much to ask people to leave their details if they trust the site and the content they will then be able to access is worthwhile / useful. Newsletter sign-up is a little different though - this should be only an email address perhaps (as in zen already?)

I think a 2-phase registration process would be best. Some Joomla sites use registered users for expanded content and do not need the extra information. I think private information should only be solicited if/when needed. Maybe have ZenCart check to see if the user has an address and if not then ask them for it then. That way you can leave it up to the website on what they want to do. That may avoid a conflict with extensions such as community builder or sites that use a combo of free/subscription services.

I think this project is very exciting and I am an eagerly waiting participation in it. :)

I did quite a lot of research into the different CMS systems, and I selected the E107 CMS because it really works hard to separate the core functions from the "plug-ins" or additional items. They have a tiny e-comemrce store called e-shop done by a third party member. There is already a plug-in bridge to Zencart.

The E107 community is friendly and helpful, and I find the development principles followed by the zencart team similar.

diannev:

I did quite a lot of research into the different CMS systems, and I selected the E107 CMS because it really works hard to separate the core functions from the "plug-ins" or additional items. They have a tiny e-comemrce store called e-shop done by a third party member. There is already a plug-in bridge to Zencart.

The E107 community is friendly and helpful, and I find the development principles followed by the zencart team similar.

I have just replied in this forum regarding e107 if this is of interest
http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56815&highlight=E107

Dave

OK. this project is progressing. At this stage it IS NOT a Joomla component. It is more of a bridge to allow both pieces of software to interact.

We are basically using Joomla to display the ZC main content inside the Joomla Main content. All sideboxes will be Joomla boxes so initially will be limted to what I need and want but as I get requests for extra and $ to assist then we can create additional sideboxes.

All of the ZC admin remains intact and easily upgradable. Easy to add admin modules but perhaps not front end modules.

The project is not complete but I wanted to invite a select few 3-5 experienced ZC users/posters to checkout the staging site and provide feedback.

I stress that I only want 3-5 users and preference will be given to those who are very active in the ZC forums. Anyone given access will be expected to not share the details and to provide all feedback to myself.

If you are interested please PM me.

We have this project completed.
It is a full bridge between Zen Cart and Joomla. Both system user tables remain intact. Your users can register in either Zen Cart or Joomla. When the visit the other page, they are automatically recognized and added to the user tables. We also have many of the zen cart modules created for Joomla.

1. What's New
2. Featured Items
3. Best sellers
4. Zen Cart Categories
5. Zen Cart Specials

We will soon have

EZ pages

And many if not all the rest

Wow! Great news! When will it be available?

Hazzaa1:

We have this project completed.
It is a full bridge between Zen Cart and Joomla. Both system user tables remain intact. Your users can register in either Zen Cart or Joomla. When the visit the other page, they are automatically recognized and added to the user tables. We also have many of the zen cart modules created for Joomla.

1. What's New
2. Featured Items
3. Best sellers
4. Zen Cart Categories
5. Zen Cart Specials

We will soon have

EZ pages

And many if not all the restExcellent news.. Are you making your bridge available for download/purchase??? Do you have a test site to view this bridge in action??

you can see the bridge and test it at joomlame.com
you can register to either system to test it. It is currently in a wrapper but would not recommend keeping it this way. All Joomla modules are listed on the left

Unfortunately for now it will be commercial but for a low cost. This is only to recover our expense.
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post the link where you can buy it. But you are welcome to PM me

Hazzaa1:

you can see the bridge and test it at http://shop.joomlame.com
you can register to either system to test it. It is currently in a wrapper but would not recommend keeping it this way. All Joomla modules are listed on the left

Unfortunately for now it will be commercial but for a low cost. This is only to recover our expense.
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post the link where you can buy it. But you are welcome to PM me

Thanks great news ,

As the link you gave is just ZEN inside a wrapper and the login is I guess just a bridge, or am I missing something. Is ZEN going to be a component of Joomla of just a wrapper page with a common login:lookaroun

I posted this earlier. 2 posts prior to my link.
A full blown component can be done but the task will be astronomical to say the least. I tried to accommodate and keep costs down. I saw that this was something in high demand. Many promises over several years that the task was done on may forums but nothing came to be. I stepped up to the plate and supplied it.

We have this project completed.
It is a full bridge between Zen Cart and Joomla. Both system user tables remain intact. Your users can register in either Zen Cart or Joomla. When the visit the other page, they are automatically recognized and added to the user tables. We also have many of the zen cart modules created for Joomla.

1. What's New
2. Featured Items
3. Best sellers
4. Zen Cart Categories
5. Zen Cart Specials

We will soon have

EZ pages

And many if not all the rest

JansenD:

Thanks great news ,

As the link you gave is just ZEN inside a wrapper and the login is I guess just a bridge, or am I missing something. Is ZEN going to be a component of Joomla of just a wrapper page with a common login:lookarounI think I get it.. The most important aspect of bridging Joomla and ZenCart is the synching of the backend user admin for both Joomla and Zen.. Sounds like this was done, and it sounds like some of the Zen sideboxes have been developed as Joomla modules. IMO this is a really good start, and totally doable in it's current stage. I am curious when other sideboxes will be developed as Joomla modules (especially the search sidebox), and what the cost will be (I'll PM Hazzaa1 about that.. don't want him getting in trouble here).

Perhaps this is being made a little more difficult to understand than it really is. This bridge allows users to register to either system and automatically be added to the other. You users will no longer have to make two registrations to make a purchase

Hazzaa1:

Perhaps this is being made a little more difficult to understand than it really is. This bridge allows users to register to either system and automatically be added to the other. You users will no longer have to make two registrations to make a purchaseLike I said I think I get this.. IMO the BIGGEST obstacle is synching the two login/user account systems, and if you've accomplished this, then that's half the battle (at least for me..) I would like to hear more about your plans to develop other ZenCart sideboxes into Joomla modules.. In particular it would be nice to see the following sideboxes developed into Joomla modules:

* EZ Pages
* Search
* Information
* More Information

Are any of these in the future development plans??

FYI folks the prices for these modules is VERY reasonable.. Here's the link to the webstore: joomlame.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=4&Itemid=107 (Please note this may be different in a day or two as they are converting their own store from VirtueMart to ZenCart..:clap:) FYI, styling and templating is still very much separate between Zen & Joomla even with these modules.. but I've already done one site where I've had to synch up a Joomla and Zen stylesheet, so I am well prepared for the work involved, and it's not a big deal IMO..

Would it be nice to have a ZenCart component for Joomla?? Maybe, but IMO Hazzaa's modules will work nicely to solve a long sought after solution. Many of these Joomla/Zen projects have cropped up over the years, and while many have promised a solution, most have failed to deliver a final product -- until now.. It sounds like Redmonds Joomla/Zen solution is also going well. (Can't wait to see this one when it is released) Most recently he also offered something to show.. Other Joomla/Zen projects (most recently Cartage) seem to have fallen by the same side of the road that other Joomla/Zen projects have fallen. So in short, while some are looking for a PERFECT solution, I am happy to see progress being made on the Joomla/Zen projects and real workable solutions becoming reality.

I too am pleased that this project is finally becoming available.

For those interested in intergrating ZC into Joomla - instead of a wrapper - you may want to try the "Sanguine Embbeded Cart" template for Zencart and the Joomla extension Jumi extensions.joomla.org/component/option,com_mtree/task,viewlink/link_id,1023/Itemid,35/
Although I have not tried them they look like a suitable work-around.