Zen Cart book 'e-Start Your Web Store with Zen Cart'

I'd like to hear from others who have bought the 'e-Start Your Web Store with Zen Cart' book and tell me how comprehensive it really is.

I'm not a new developer but I'm new to Zen Cart and I need reliable reference to all the questions I have. I can find 90% of what I need to learn by scouring these boards and another 5% asking dumb questions in here. Everyone is very helpful but I'm working on 2 sites simultaneously and I hate having to cast out a line only hoping someone will bite, I need a solid reference/documentation.

I have no problem installing, editing .php, security issues, payment gateway, webtools, categories/products/attributes, etc but it always seems that both guys I'm working for have all these small, minute details they want tweaked/changed that sometimes takes hours to find out if at all.

:frusty:

It won't tell you about changing code or mods, but when it comes to getting the most out of the built-in Zen Cart functionality, it's comprehensive!

It's also clearly written and well-organised. It's rarely off my desk when I'm working, and never out of reach.

If you're building Zen Carts professionally, it will pay back the outlay over and over in terms of the time it will save you. I also recommend it to my clients.

I agree with Kuroi. I developed one site with Zen prior to this book's release and second site after purchasing the book. Work on the second site went much faster in part because I was able to save time searching for where something was in admin or how to change a particular thing. I have saved myself digging into code several times by looking something up in the book and finding it was editable through the admin.

The book is a bit pricey but if you plan to do much with zen, it is definitely worth it.

My $.02! :smile:

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like a good thing to own.

Does the e-start book have anything like how to install easy populate or wamp5? What's in it?

No its a start to finish no bones book about how to install and setup zen cart to do anything you want it to do,
its centered on core code,

It does briefly skim through Xampp for creating a development environment, though that would be optional.

The book is a very thorough step-by-step manual for installing and configuring the basic Zencart installation.

It's pricey, but well worth the money.

The only caveat I'd offer is the fact that it contains almost nothing about CSS or templating. There's a real need for a book which went into detail about those topics.

stevesh:

It's pricey, but well worth the money.

Pricey compared to what? Anyone who's any good at all can charge more than the price of this book for one hour's consulting. I thought it was an incredible bargain, and I tell people that unless they have money to burn and time to waste, they should buy this book and check it first.

The existence of the book was the reason why I choose Zen Cart to develop my sites and the 4 additional sites that are not listed here. The book has all of the basic resources that one could want, and when it comes to setting up attributes, it is a necessity.

Laid out allot like the Dummies books, clean and concise. The only issue is that after 6 months of pouring through this book over and over again and carrying it back and forth from home to work, I broke the spine and a few pages are falling out.

Don't Ask, Just Buy it!
JOhn ><>

I see a drill and a binder in stuffs future,.

I already did that, ( remopved the binding and put it in a 5 ring binder)

it lays flat this way

Hmmm... maybe 2nd edition will be spiral bound. GKH, are you listening? :)

makes it easier to pop the revisions in place as well,

Pricey compared to not buying it, and getting the help you need from the forum.

As I said, it's worth the money (and I own a copy), but I see a lot of posts here from potential Zencart users who won't apply for a credit card merchant account because they can't afford the 20 or so dollars a month. If you're on a real shoestring, your time isn't as valuable as your money, and you might be better off learning how to use the program here, rather than spending 50 bucks for a book. Just one guy's opinion.

stevesh:

As I said, it's worth the money (and I own a copy)

Then you should be correcting these people, not flattering them.

I see a lot of posts here from potential Zencart users who won't apply for a credit card merchant account because they can't afford the 20 or so dollars a month.

Yes, I know. They're the ones who ask me to "send them a copy" of the eBook.

Never seen it as my place to 'correct' anyone.

Once again - the book is good, buy it if you can, but you can learn to use Zencart from reading the forum.

swguy:

Yes, I know. They're the ones who ask me to "send them a copy" of the eBook.
There's an e version? Is it available to owners of the hard copy? I feel a whole lot more comfortable printing a page before I spill coffee and write notes all over it.

JOhn ><>

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Yes, we're listening and will consider a spiral bound book in future. We'll need to do some tests first though as we want to make sure the binding quality is good and sturdy enough for the no. of pages that the book will contain.

Just a small question regarding E over P.

I'm comfortable using eBooks, even for manuals, but I also know the benefits of having real paper to flip back-and-forth with.

What are peoples thoughts on the e-version of this particular book? Perhaps this is a case where a p-book would be more suitable?

-- It's fantastic that cucumbermedia are taking a chance with social DRM and have changed over to the PDF format!!! --- Does anyone know if it is usable on the Sony Reader? - by this I mean that it is actually readable! - PDF files are generally not :)

Thanks

canopy:

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Yes, we're listening and will consider a spiral bound book in future. We'll need to do some tests first though as we want to make sure the binding quality is good and sturdy enough for the no. of pages that the book will contain.

FWIW I do not want a spiral bound edition, I wanted one that had enough room for Kinko's et al to trim off the end and drill for binder.

However, I am seriously considering ALSO buying the e-book (and giving the Hard Copy to an associate ...

Can you tell me if the e-book will allow me to use Acrobat or some such to edit in where appropriate my own, "any blonde can do this" instructions?

Thank you for the added information.

Wheat

P.S. while there are many reason for not opting for a merchant account in conjunction with a small online store aside from economy,

I honestly do not see how any sane human can afford NOT to have the book.