Is Zen Cart suitable?

Hi, I'm hoping to get some pointers and advice before going ahead and installing Zen Cart only to find that what I want to do is possible.

I'm building an online store for a client that sells surname distribution maps. A surname distribution map is nothing more than a map (of the UK - only country covered) showing the origins and distribution of a chosen surname over time, say the last 200 years.

Each map is available in five different formats:

• As a downloadable PDF
• As an A4 printed map
• As an A4 printed map but laminated
• As an A3 printed map
• As an A4 printed map but laminated

At present, every downloadable PDF is £5 and the download should be available upon completion of payment. This, I know is possible with Zen Cart.

The other four products are 'optional', all at standard prices. So, ordering an A4 printed map would be an additional £1, an A4 laminated would be an additional £2, A3 is an additional £3 and A3 laminated an additional £4.

If a client wants just one of the printed maps, then the prices would be:

• A4 printed map - £6
• A4 printed map but laminated - £7
• A3 printed map - £8
• A4 printed map but laminated - £9

The reason for this is that the download is included (for free?) if you order a printed map.

The issues that I can foresee are this:

1. The download needs to be available regardless of which product or combination of products are ordered

2. Only ONE download should be available per order - if a client orders 3*A4 maps because he's giving them to his family for Christmas (oh dear), then he should only receive one download - it would be annoying and pointless to send him three download links

3. The client should be able to order multiple and varying quantities of as many of each of the printed maps as he wants, e.g., "2A4, 1A4 laminated and 3*A3 laminated please". Exactly why someone would want to do this is, frankly, beyond me, but hey, each to their own. :huh:

The most important consideration in the whole setup is that it is as easy as possible for the client to add new names. In short, they should be able to add a product by entering as little as possible - preferably just the surname and then uploading the required PDF.

In other words, Zen Cart should take care of creating the additional "options" as described above automatically for each new product added.

Finally, there are an initial 5000 surnames that need to be in the store from launch so, is it possible to import products en masse easily - preferably via CSV and not XML.

My question is, can it? Will Zen Cart handle this setup? I'm fairly confident that it will, but like I said before, I want to be sure before I make a start.

Regards

Patrick

Hi Patrick, welcome to the forum. :smile:

Zen Cart can do what you require by you treating each Map as a Product. This would require you to become familiar with how Zen Cart handles Attributes, in order for you to provide your Clients with the options you described.

Although it may be pointless to send mulitple download links within an eMail, when all downloads are the same, you can make note in the eMail of the duplication and leave it to the Client as to what they want to do. All links will expire after "X" amount of days or download attempts, depending upon what you set up.

There is a Module called "Easy Populate" in the Downloads section [link at top of this page] that allows one to create / work with their Database within a Spreadsheet.

I see problems here though;

"The most important consideration in the whole setup is that it is as easy as possible for the client to add new names. In short, they should be able to add a product by entering as little as possible - preferably just the surname and then uploading the required PDF.

In other words, Zen Cart should take care of creating the additional "options" as described above automatically for each new product added."

Now you are discussing uploading files and Zen Cart will not "automatically" create any options for an uploaded file. This is your Store and your Products. If you want people to be able to sell something through your Store, you need to manually enter the information within your Database, same as you would for your own products.

It's not his store, it's the client's store, and he wants the client to be able to create new "name" products extremely easily.

You might make a "dummy" product with all the text and attributes that are standard. Then the client can copy this to a new name and add the file to it and change any individual parts.

Hi Patrick,

I can tell you this....

We have used several paid and open source carts and none have come close to Zen-Cart.

It's fast, easy, support is excellent and we love it!

I don't believe you can go wrong with Zen-Cart.

Steve