Is Zen Cart the answer for this site?

Hello everyone, my name is James (or Little Jim) and I joined the forum today.

I was directed to the Zen Cart after I was asking some questions on SitePoint. It looks like it could be what I'm after.

I have a site my cousin wants me to update and look after. The current site is here: http://www.whirling-world.com/

It is currently using OSCommerce (an old version of it) and my cousin wants me to update the site a bit. Nothing visually massive, just tidy it up and get the back end of stuff sorted etc. I was looking into just using the latest version of OSCommerce, but then I come across Zen Cart.

He just wants a basic front end (like it is now) but he wants me to look after uploading products etc. Also he wants WorldPay as a payment option. I need an ecommerce solution that is well made, with a good back end for uploading products and stuff. Not just for me to use (who is pretty well versed in computers), but maybe my cousin too (who aint too hot on computers in general).

I was going to use OSCommerce, but I want something a little more professional, with a nice community, that's still free, with good support etc. Surely, Zen Cart would be excellent for this? Though my cousin doesn't want much for a front end as yet, later down the line he may do - is it easy to make Zen Cart look better? (is it easier than OSCommerce?)

I may be looking into using Zen Cart for setting up online shops for people. Whats the licensing of all this? Is Zen Cart truely free for all?

Also, is the new Zen Cart book any good? Is it worth a read? Have any of you read it and is it worth the money?

So sorry for all the questions!! I'm just very interested in using Zen Cart and wanted some solid information so I can make a decision!

:thumbsup: Little Jim

Hi Jim,

welcome to ZC Forums,

let me start with the book, yes I have a copy of it sitting on my desk, and it rocks

as for easier, Yes its easier, and the nice thing about ZC is its templateed so you can flip a switch in admin,

I would suggest you download a copy and play with it

I just want to second what Merlin said.

You'll find that ZC has a definite learning curve, so expect to feel a bit lost at first. If you're familiar with osC, the learning curve might not be as steep for you. I think both you and your cousin will be pleased.

Yes, ZC is free, so just download a copy and join us. :yes:

And I'll third it. There's a great community here to help you get going.

Definitely start by downloading and playing with Zen Cart. (It's easy to get it going on a local server of some sort. I use MAMP on my iMac; there's a Windows equivalent of course.) And then, while you're fiddling with it, order the book. It's worth it. I wish I'd had it when I got started a few months ago!

Rob

I fourth that! And you can see the majority of the contributed templates here:

http://(sorry, site offline)/

Or build your own (using the overrides system) to closing match what he has already.

:thumbsup:

Wow, cheers the fast info! Even from you lot have wrote, I get a sense you love this Zen Cart! Hmmm... I'm definitely warming to the whole Zen of things :D

I have a iMac too, and I use MAMP to get a local development enviroment. So Zen Cart is easy to set up on that? Excellent.

Looks like templating the cart is pretty easy too. Excellent also.

Zen Cart is written in PHP and MySQL and my reseller hosting supports that. Excellent again!

The other major thing that I would really like to know is if Zen Cart works well with WorldPay? This is the payment option my cousin is using, so I'm wondering this. Does anyone have experience setting up Zen Cart to work with WorldPay?

Thanks again for all your comments so far. I can really see that this is a great product and it also has a great community too!

Welcome Lil Jim,

I too would highly recommend ZenCart to you, especially as an alternative to oSc. The only downside to this system is that it does not have as great of a user base as oSc. The support you will find here is spectacular, however ZC lacks the amount of mods that have been created for oSc (3500+ for oSc last time I checked, compared to only a few hundred for ZC)

As for your World Pay question, YES, ZC does support this payment form. You will find the World Pay module available for download at http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=40_48&sort=20a&page=2along along with many other modules. Hope that helps!

... what you don't realize is that 100's of mods are totally unnecessary because Zen Cart has the features built into the core already. Just compare the 'out-of-the-box' features of the other shopping cart to Zen. :D

Kim:

... what you don't realize is that 100's of mods are totally unnecessary because Zen Cart has the features built into the core already. Just compare the 'out-of-the-box' features of the other shopping cart to Zen. :D

That's one of the reasons I selected ZC over osC. Things I needed for my client were already built in and the override system was easier to work with (after the learning curve of course! :shocking: )

It really does look like Zen Cart could be the one for me. I'm not too bothered about mods etc. The kind of things I have planned for Zen Cart are pretty standard really. The main features I need are a product catalogue (with image uploading), a shopping cart and a nice slick way of paying (either by PayPal or WorldPay).

To confirm also, do you lot recommend the book too?

I learnt everything about web development/design out of books, I find them a really good way of learning stuff. Is the Zen Cart book a good read, and do you think it will help me with all aspects of it? It's not just some quickly bashed together manual with copy and pasted bits of text that you could just find off the net is it? (I ask this because I've read books for open-souce/free software before and it wasn't pretty)

Thanks again for your comments. It's a real help.

Also...

Things I needed for my client were already built in and the override system was easier to work with (after the learning curve of course!)

This learning curve for the override system... Is it hard to tackle because it's illogical and not very efficient, or is the learning curve there just because you have to learn how to do it in a particular way? (Hope that made sense!)

cause it needs to be done in a particular way,
as for the book, most definitly

Though I have never read the book myself, I do hear that it is highly recommended. However, these forums are gold mines that are filled with all the information you will need to customize your site. ZC has been around for a long time, so there is a 99.9% chance that any question you have has already been asked by someone else. I'm not trying to steer you away from the book, just letting you know that all the info you need to set up a shop can be found on this site.

The book is definitely NOT something that was slapped together from bits and pieces on the net.

Merlin is right (of course) that the learning curve is due to the particular way the customization needs to be done. Once you get the hang of it, the logic is clear and you'll wonder why you thought it was difficult.

Hello.

Thanks... Zen Cart does look good for me. I've ordered the book too - thought might as well get my teeth into it!

I ordered it last week... How long does it usually take to come? I live in the UK... That Lulu site - it's like they make the books to order right?

How long did yours take to come?

I just wanted to add my three cents.. ZenCart for me is the way to go as someone else stated because everything you need is already built in.. osCommerce's real turn orr for me were the MANY mods available. Some were good others not so much.. When I was playing around with osCommerce I learned that mods written by certain developers were the only ones that I could trust.. I decided that this was NOT the platform under which I wanted to build a website for anyone as the nature of the development was inherently unstable and trustworthy..

A friend turned me on to ZenCart, and I can tell you ONE of the biggest reasons I converted.. Linda McGrath.. When I mentioned above that I learned that only certain OSC mods could be trusted IMO, she was ONE of the developers I meant.. When I saw that she was here as part of the ZenCart team -- that and reading and testing how this was a MUCH better pacackage than OSC -- well that was all I needed..

I am HOOKED on ZenCart, to the point that I will be converting a client (who's site I just launched in October) from VirtueMart to ZenCart because I'm so bullish on this package.. The learning curve isn't too bad if you've got some familiarity with HTML and the structure of dynamically driven site structures and logic. If you're a developer, (I'm not) you'll probably have practically NO learning curve.. Plus the FAQs, book and forum are EXCELLENT resources to get you off and running.. I've already launched one ZenCart site, and and getting ready to launch two more very soon.. Did I mention that I'm hooked!!!

Wow! Another Zen Cart lover!

To be honest - I haven't yet heard one bad thing said against Zen Cart. Not one thing at all. I'm definitely going to be using this for some projects I got! Thanks for your comments Diva! (and everyone else!)

I'm just waiting for my book... It's been a week since I placed an order... How long did it take for you lot to get yours? (I live in the UK)

(Anyone notice how impatient I am!)
Thanks again!

First some editorial corrections -- I was on my way out the door when I typed my last post..:oops:

DivaVocals:

I just wanted to add my three cents.. ZenCart for me is the way to go as someone else stated because everything you need is already built in.. osCommerce's real turnoff for me were the MANY mods available. Some were good others not so much.. When I was playing around with osCommerce I learned that mods written by certain developers were the only ones that I could trust.. I decided that this was NOT the platform under which I wanted to build a website for anyone as the nature of the development was inherently unstable and untrustworthy..

A friend turned me on to ZenCart, and I can tell you ONE of the biggest reasons I converted.. Linda McGrath.. When I mentioned above that I learned that only certain OSC mods could be trusted IMO, she was ONE of the developers I meant.. When I saw that she was here as part of the ZenCart team -- that and reading and testing how this was a MUCH better package than OSC -- well that was all I needed..

I am HOOKED on ZenCart, to the point that I will be converting a client (who's site I just launched in October) from VirtueMart to ZenCart because I'm so bullish on this package.. The learning curve isn't too bad if you've got some familiarity with HTML and the structure of dynamically driven websites and logic. If you're a developer, (I'm not) you'll probably have practically NO learning curve.. Plus the FAQs, book and forum are EXCELLENT resources to get you off and running.. I've already launched one ZenCart site, and and getting ready to launch two more very soon.. Did I mention that I'm hooked!!!

Lastly.. Jim I'm glad we could help.. You will LOVE ZenCart.. Everyday I discover something else about it that really has me in love.. I think it's the most complete e-commece solution out there that I've seen.. I love that the mods aren't all over the place either.. OSC has MULTIPLE mods to do the same thing, and you have to REALLY investigate which mod will do what you need and play well with the other mods.. No darn standards whatsoever.. Not so here.. Good luck with your site(s):clap: