Is Zen what I need?

Hi
I have a perfectly workable website with a shopping cart and payment gateway.....no problems! That was until my payment gateway provider decided, with no warning at all, to withdraw the option of discount coupons!
I just need to be able to create coupons that my customers can redeem in the cart before they get to the payment gateway.
I don't need or want to change the appearance of my site - I don't want a massive "rewrite" - I need a really fast solution. Is Zen for me - or would it be a nuclear bomb to crack a peanut?
Somebody out there must know the answer!!!
:blink:

Well,

You won't need a nuke, but you may need some dynamite to get what you want.

See you'll still have to edit the template to find the look and feel that you want, and getting it to look exactly like your other site may be a problem with your current cart's copyrights.

Can you provide a link so we can look at it?

And these problems will be evident no matter what cart you choose?

birdoasis is right. You're going to run into similar problems/issue with any online cart software. Zen Cart is highly flexible and fairly easy to use (once you get over the learning curve - also an issue with any software).

True. But I would not recommend ZC for anyone who looks for a fast and easy solution though, as I learn that from my own experience ^^.

I don't think there is a "fast and easy" solution to it. Anything is going to require some work.

Hi People
Many thanks for the speedy replies.
I do need a fast solution - I've been left high and dry - promised customers discounts that I now can't deliver - :frusty: - but I don't mind putting the work in.
I want to keep my current payment gateway - Google Checkout (even though I want to :censored: ) - but I'm going to have to change the cart to be able to offer the discounts.
I just have this feeling that I'm going to be restricted in the design side of things. I like the look of my website and don't want to change it.
Zencart seems to offer about a million fabulous features - but I only want one!
Advice please! :(

if you give us a link to the site we can give you some ideas on what you'll need to change.

There could be a template out there with the sideboxes in the same place as the one your using.

I don't know about Google Checkout, so I can't comment on that, but you can probably get a functional cart in a fairly brief amount of time if you don't get too terribly picky about the design. You can always change that later once the cart is behaving as desired.

I know you don't want to replace your current site, but you may not have a choice in your situation. On the plus side, you might find that Zen Cart is easier to maintain and expand.

As birdoasis said, if you give us a link to your current site, we might be able to give you some advice about Zenning it. :)

There are essentially no restrictions on how you can design your Zen Cart template. Some designs will just be easier to make than others.

Another idea is if your site requires someone to sign in to buy something maybe you can do a group discount. Does your site have that capability?

If any Cart is going to be used you could see how fast someone could slice 'n dice your current Web site into the script.

With Zen Cart you have the option above but you could look at using Easy Embed. It is not yet available in the Zen Cart downloads but it is a Mod with a lot of potential. Although some have had problems installing the Mod, which can happen with any Mod actually, others were able to get it working and are quite pleased with the results. I did a test install myself and it went pretty smooth.

It should be stated that someone with knowledge of Zen Cart and HTML/PHP coding would be advisable for doing the install.

Again - seriously impressed with the speed and helpfulness of you guys. :smile:
I'm guessing I may have to wait for the next chapter - you all seem to be across the pond and, presumably, all tucked up for the night! :sleep:
Soggy Olde Englande here!
Here's a link to my site - nobody laugh - first attempt! :blush:
**Stop for Breath**
Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
If I do decide to tackle the beast - and it bites back! - would you guys still be around for the list of stupid of questions that are sure to follow?

gingerwilliam:

I'm guessing I may have to wait for the next chapter - you all seem to be across the pond and, presumably, all tucked up for the night! :sleep:Not at all.

There's nothing on your site that wouldn't be done fairly easily using Zen Cart. You may need to make some minor code changes to the the heading and listings templates. Or you may find that how Zen Cart lays things out could be just as good for you.

For somebody with good Zen Cart knowledge there would be several days worth of effort there and I would rate this as straightforward, helped by you already having graphics available.

The trouble is, as hinted at above, good Zen Cart knowledge is developed over time, the one thing you don't have. We can't estimate how long it would take for you to do this work, as the ease with which people acquire that knowledge varies dramatically from person to person. However, we can say that there will be lots of people here willing to help you.

As you are offering a discount coupon for use from January, and Zen Cart has very flexible coupons, (for example you can call them anything your want), you could give out coupon codes now for purchases on the existing system, for redemption on a Zen Cart that you launch in January (you would need to carry over customer data).

Thanks again. Looks like I'm going to have to bite the bullet! Ah well, I was going to tidy the site up anyway - might be good timing.
What does anyone think to this handbook that everyone's talking about? A few of the reviews aren't so good! Would I find it helpful?
Thanks also for offers of help when I get underway - you may want to run now!:smartalec:

The book is a very comprehensive adminstrator's guide. I make my living building online stores using Zen Cart and it's less than a foot from my keyboard as I typing this. I also recommend it to my clients.

Some of the less favourable reviews seem to be from people who expected it to be something else and then beat it up for not meeting their expectations.

You're an absolute star and I can't thank you enough for your help and advice.
I'm going to take a deep breath and dive in - don't leave the country! :D

Wowsers! ... Just looked at the coding for the site and that's some funky stuff going down in the city. :smile:

Seriously though, some changes would need to be made to 'simplify' things on the backend. Not sure if coded by hand or by a program but there are easier ways to give the same look as you have now.

Although true that you could spend time asking questions on various parts of Zen Cart and (hopefully) getting timely & qualified answers, you might want to check the Commercial section of this Forum. You can post what you want done and view replies from people who are familiar with Zen Cart. Cost would be higher than doing it yourself but the time savings should more than justify that.

And no matter who gets your Zen Cart up and running, purchasing the Manual is definitely a good idea. Will save you a lot of time down the road with setting up certain parts and over-all maintainence.

Funky stuff? I take it that's not a good thing to have "going on in the city" ?!?
And just what is this "backend" that everybody keeps talking about? (Can't you just TELL I don't do this for a living!! :no:) Do I have a backend? If I don't - do I need one? If I have - is it funky?
I'm SOOOOOooooooooooo gonna love this forum.
Seriously - thanks again for all your advice People.
Now to rewrite my site................where did I put that nuke? :shocking:

It would be a lot easier to read if the inline styling was just removed to the embedded stylesheet. Actually, except for the redundant layers, it seems pretty well laid out as a static page (I think... haven't tried to decipher it all). Just think of a Template Monster template, and this looks like a breath of fresh air ;)