My Checkout Without Account Mod

Does the fix...break anything else?

I usually don't bother with atributes, but I was thinking about doing that on birdersbinocualrs.com and wanted to be sure that the fix didn't go where fixes shouldn't go.

JP

first test to see of your required attributes function is working :)

if its not the fix just reset some settings in your database it does not break anything else :)

Mine broke after installing the google sitemap mod. For some, it was imagehandler2, which I don't have installed. I'm not sure if COWOA did or not.

What ever addon broke it this sql will fix it :D And the best part is that the addon will keep working normal also :clap:

|Dexter|:

Warning: It look like the SQL file that comes with this mod somehow breaks the required attributes functions!! Now customers can checkout without filling the required fields....(php 5.x/php 4.x - MySQL 4/5) It may not do this for you...

Anyway here is a Fix that I found else where on this forum and look like its working again now, just in case this does happened to you:

Please remember to backup your database before make any changes and best to use this code with phpadmin and not the Zen cart admin

INSERT INTO configuration VALUES ('', 'Product option type Select', 'PRODUCTS_OPTIONS_TYPE_SELECT', '0', 'The number representing the Select type of product option.', 0, NULL, '2007-03-19 17:57:39', '2007-03-19 17:57:39', NULL, NULL);
INSERT INTO configuration VALUES ('', 'Upload prefix', 'UPLOAD_PREFIX', 'upload_', 'Prefix used to differentiate between upload options and other options', 0, NULL, '2007-03-19 17:57:39', '2007-03-19 17:57:39', NULL, NULL);
INSERT INTO configuration VALUES ('', 'Text prefix', 'TEXT_PREFIX', 'txt_', 'Prefix used to differentiate between text option values and other option values', 0, NULL, '2007-03-19 17:57:39', '2007-03-19 17:57:39', NULL, NULL);
INSERT INTO configuration VALUES ('', 'Image Handler Version', 'IH_VERSION', '2.0', 'This is used by image handler to check if the database is up to date with uploaded image handler files.', 0, 100, NULL, '2007-06-06 16:47:03', NULL, 'zen_cfg_textarea_small(');

And just to clarify... I made NO changes to the SQL or any other code that originally came with this mod. I simply added the given code to the new 1.3.8 files.

The sql file that comes with this mod does 3 things:

It adds a tinyint called COWOA_account (1) and COWOA_order (2) to the customers and orders tables. I haven't looked at the php code but I presume this is used as a flag to indicate if an account/order is a COWOA one. It also adds a query to the query_builder table to allow you to send emails to permanent account holders only.

Remember, although this mod says you can buy without an account, it's not really true. It creates an account that you cannot log in to and makes sure you do not receive any correspondence from the site. The modified code uses the above flags to differentiate between details it has for account holders and people who checked out without formally creating an account.

So, in summary, if the sql was broken, it wasn't this mod that did it.

Sorry I was pretty sure it was this mod, like its the only one I did install and this happend to me in both 1.3.7 and 1.3.8 :(

I love this mod.

thanks for it.

Here's my situation:

I recently switched over to this mod because the login/register feature was kind of annoying me. I sell t-shirts online and in the t-shirt biz, there is a lot of impulse buying. so the zen cart account system was causing too much shopping cart abandonment.

but with this mod i have installed, existing customers cannot order because the email address is already in use. is there a way to change every email address in one fell swoop? Maybe I could add a "." in front of each email so that I can retain the customer information while allowing these people to order with their existing email address. or i'm also open to suggestions.

question #2) i just installed the order status add-on that allows a customer to check the status of an order with only the email address and the order number. the read me states that it adds "order_status". forgive my stupidity, but what is the link to that? e.g. https://www.xxxxxxxx.com/store/ ???

help me fill in the blanks. thanks. :)

elfino45:

existing customers cannot order because the email address is already in use.

I am a little confused. If they are already existing customers, that means they registered with you. Why wouldn't they want to log in? If they were able to choose guest checkout, they would have to type in information that is already saved. The goal of this mod is not to convert already existing customers into guest checkout users. The goal is to prevent a non-registered customer from leaving because there is a registration requirement. Actually, everyone's main goal should be to get the customer to register. I realize this may not be something EVERYONE would want because it depends on what you are selling. But generally speaking, most of us want people to register. So why would you want registered customers to go through the hassle of checking out without logging into their account? It's just a question, I'm not trying to be a brat or anything.

Whatever your answer may be, the point is that by using this mod, registered customers won't be able to checkout without logging in, if they are using the same email address. Once they are registered.... that's it. You'd have to re-write this mod to work in the way that you'd like. The author if this mod is no longer around to support it or answer questions, so you'd have to figure it out on your own or get someone knowledgeable to do it.

If your goal is to remove the login feature completely, I had a hack that I used way back in the day to do that, although it was only done on version 1.3.6 and I am not sure if it works with 1.3.8. I could test it and let you know if you wish. Just let me know.

I did some work for a client today on another cart program.

When a customer checks out they are not asked to provide a password, the checkout module created an account with the eMail address and creates a random password that gets eMailed to them with their welcome letter.

That would be so cool if COWOA would do that.... it would sure end allot of pain for user accounts.

You know what? I really dont like the idea of random pass, because then I'll have to login and change it, otherwise I will not remember it.

If it is such a good practice, why dont big websites such as ebay, overstock, amazon, etc.... use it?

I think the checkout without account mod is a bit useless, really. Why? Because you will have to enter your billing and shipping information anyway, it doesnt really reduce the steps to checkout, nor does it reduce the amount of information users have to enter.

Everything you have to do, is to re-word your register page in a way that doesnt make users feel like they are registering. PM me and I will send you an example.

Stuff4Toys:

I did some work for a client today on another cart program.

When a customer checks out they are not asked to provide a password, the checkout module created an account with the eMail address and creates a random password that gets eMailed to them with their welcome letter.

That would be so cool if COWOA would do that.... it would sure end allot of pain for user accounts.

I probably should have mentioned this before, but Easy Sign-Up and Login was integrated with COWOA a couple of months ago when it was announced that support will no longer be offered for this mod. It was also updated at the time to work with 1.3.8x.

I noticed on the Wiki that it says this mod doesn't work with single-page checkout... Not true. ESL works with Fast and Easy Checkout (FEC).

yellow1912:

If it is such a good practice, why dont big websites such as ebay, overstock, amazon, etc.... use it?

I believe they don't have to because they are big-name sites that people use on a regular basis and therefore they are willing to commit to having an account with them. People are weary of our smaller zen sites and are not sure if they are ever going to shop with us again or not. Even though its just a dumb password they have to type in, it makes them uncomfortable somehow. Also, Ebay pretty much has a monopoly when it comes to online auctions. People who want to participate have to register. And you NEED to for such a site. Overstock is known for their deals and Amazon has their free shipping over $25, etc. When I have huge sales, I have a lot of people who don't mind registering. But lets face it, most Zen sellers cannot provide the deals that these larger sites can offer. We can't reel customers in as easily. Of course, this is different for everyone. it all depends on what you are selling.

yellow1912:

I think the checkout without account mod is a bit useless, really.

It is useless, at least for the customer. They are still filling in all of the same information except for a lousy password. But out of my last 15 orders, 10 of them were done via COWOA. Go figure.

yellow1912:

Everything you have to do, is to re-word your register page in a way that doesnt make users feel like they are registering. PM me and I will send you an example.

I tried this before COWOA came out. I'm not sure how well it worked. I'm curious to know what words you used near the password fields that makes them feel like they are not registering.

In my opinion, I think the best way to do it is to have a checkout where the option of creating an account is given at the end of checkout. I hope that the Zen masters consider this in the future when they redo the checkout process.

These are all just my opinions of course. Feel free to stomp on them!

Something like: Create a password to track your order ^^.
If you give the customers 2 options, they would certainly choose the checkout without account since they THINK it's faster. The fact that more customers use COWA on your site means nothing.

However, if you redirect them RIGHT AWAY to the register page instead of asking them that, you make it ONE step shorter for them.

And as long as you use the right words, customers dont think they are registering at all (that's what I have from all the feedbacks I collected anyway)

Anyway, it's just my opinion.

@numinix: even if the checkout is on 1 page, if you present all the forms at once the customers will think they have to fill in too many info and abandon the cart. A better way is to use ajax and render each form 1 by 1, while still keeping them on the same page.

yellow1912:

The fact that more customers use COWA on your site means nothing.

Well I don't think that it means nothing, but it is hard to tell exactly what it means. Yes, they could think it is faster. Or it could be because they think their info is not being saved. Or they think it is less likely they will receive spam from me. It does mean something to me when I have more people buying now than I did when COWOA didn't exist. I am aware there could be other reasons for that too, such as better Google rankings, word of mouth, etc.

For me personally, I don't see the harm in using it. Zen Cart works in different ways for different people. Obviously there is a great desire for a No Account option otherwise there wouldn't be so many threads on the topic.

Did you ever use COWOA and noticed no difference so you removed it? Just curious as to why you are on this thread if you find this mod useless....

Numinix -
The single page checkout the wiki refers to is the old mod in Downloads (which I understand has lots of problems anyway). Yours didn't exist when that note was written.

@craftzombie: I did use it b4 I open my mouth ^^.
Again, I think the owners should better optimize their register page, take out many fields such as Mr/Mrs, birthday and such, and re-word the text to make the customers feel like they are just filling their billing and shipping info (which they are actually doing, in the matter of fact)

There may be no harm in using this mod, but again why would you spend so much time install a mod when you can achieve the same or even better effect by just making changes on what you already have?

yellow1912:

why would you spend so much time install a mod when you can achieve the same or even better effect by just making changes on what you already have?

I removed all unnecessary fields from my checkout since I first installed Zen Cart. For me, it didn't seem to deter cart abandonment.

It doesn't really take that long to install this mod, but then thats just me. I'm sure newbies have it harder. Newbies would have a hard time figuring out where to re-word their checkout too though. We could go on forever with this debate. Everyone has their own preference. What determines my preference is the amount of dollars in my bank account!!! :wink:

yellow1912:

@numinix: even if the checkout is on 1 page, if you present all the forms at once the customers will think they have to fill in too many info and abandon the cart. A better way is to use ajax and render each form 1 by 1, while still keeping them on the same page.

I guess you've never looked at FEC? Or are you talking about ESL?

You can see them both at http://www.numinix.com/1pagecheckout/

I did, numinix. All the required info is stuffed into one page. Check my PM.