total noob

hello zen masters,

I'm new to Zen Cart. It's the first cart I plan on installing for one of my clients.
I've done several web sites, but never a shopping cart.
Zen Cart (v1.3.8a) is offered on the host server, as part of the pkg that my client signed up for.
I would like to install Zen Cart for him and set it up to basically allow him to do business, selling his product line. he currently has a PayPal account and wants
to be able to track everything and provide shipping capability as well.
Q1: Should I read this forum and many of it's postings before I install Zen Cart to his host server?
Q2: Once installed, does Zen Cart require much maintenance by the webmaster (me) or the sys admin?
Q3:If I have some sort of emergency with Zen Cart, that involves a customer problem, and I can't fix it, can I contact someone quickly?

Probably too much to ask for a noob, but I want my client to be happy with Zen Cart, and I want it to work for him, consistently.
I do have experience with many other programs and packages; but I never have worked with shopping cart software before.
What's your advice for a noob like me?
Shobuz99

I am still fairly new, but have successfully set up 3 zen carts.

Read as many FAQ's as possible. You will find the link at the top of the page.
search for answers using the search feature. Sometimes you may not find the answer to your question....rephrase the question and search again.
Ask questions here. this is a great forum...lots of knowledge here.

My sites do not require much maintenance. I do update my .htacess files to keep unwanted visitors away, and back up my files frequently, but that is about it. Of course, when you get an order, you need to take care of it through the admin, but that is to be expected.
I would recommend using CAPTCHA on your site to keep the bots at bay.

As far as the emergencies, post a question here....like I said, there are a lot of great folks here with lots of knowledge.

Good luck.

PS.....BUY THE BOOK!!!!! It will save you a lot of time. I waited, and wished I hadn't.

daneh,
thanks for your reply.
I will take your advice and read the FAQs before I install it.
One comment you made has me confused..
You said "Of course, when you get an order, you need to take care of it through the admin, but that is to be expected."
Do you mean that as site webmaster, I would have to constantly monitor all the transactions that occur; or did you mean that I need to setup (admin) Zen Cart to automatically direct the customer to PayPal for payment, and notify the seller that a transaction has been made?

Thanks
Shobuz99

PayPal can send a response to your Zen Cart and let you know payment has been received. Someone will have to update the status of the order once the merchandise ships. There's a mod in then downloads section (I forget the name) that will allow you to give the store owner limited access to the admin to perform functions like that without allowing that user to tinker with admin setting he/she doesn't know anything about.

Mary Ellen,

Thank you for the clarification.
I guess that makes sense. The customer would want to know when the item is shipped.
My client is computer savvy for the general stuff, but not web sites and the ins and outs of web transactions...
so what you said about the mod in the download section
that would allow the store owner (my client) to perform those functions is a great feature, to me.

I'm still reading FAQs and trying to envision a trouble free install at the server;
and a relatively simple setup in the code.
I haven't read far enough yet to find some answers regarding the actual code for the buttons, prices, etc.
Can it get complicated while setting that part up?
I suppose I sound a bit paranoid; but I just want to make sure that my client can take orders,
fill them and ship them and all paperwork, etc. is tidy and the transaction goes smoothly...

Thanks again for your advice and recommendations.
Shobuz99

The standard Zencart installation, once you've created your products and selected your payment and shipping options in Admin, will allow your client to 'take orders, fill them and ship them and all paperwork, etc. is tidy and the transaction goes smoothly...' right out of the box.

Everything else you see in these forums and the download section are about enhancing the customer experience or making things easier for the site owner.

The basic shopping cart functions are rock-solid if you do your part, which mainly consists of following the instructions.

I've installed Zencart at least 50 times, without one problem with the basic functions.

Be sure you install the program manually, rather than through Fantastico or something like it.

Make sure you have a good FTP client, like Filezilla.

Make sure you have a good hosting company who takes you and ecommerce seriously.

Make sure the first thing you do before attempting any changes is create your custom template.

Be sure you bookmark this forum - you'll be back, and we'll be here.

Thanks stevesh...

I already see a problem.
The host service uses "Fantastico Deluxe" and has Zen Cart as part of their apps in that list.. How do I reconcile that? Should I request specifics from the Sys Admin?

I've been using WS_FTP32 for years with no problems..

The hosting company is robohostingsolutions.com
So far there have been no problems.. should I expect any from these guys?
They didn't know anything about any of the carts that they offered through their Fantastico section, such as Zen Cart, Cube Cart, and OScommerce....
is that a bad sign?
I will definitely create the custom template, when I figure out how...
I'll read the FAQs for tips on that...

Thanks for your help.. really. This is great!
Shobuz99

It may or may not be a problem that they don't know much about the carts they offer through Fantastico. I first found Zen Cart because the hosting service I was using at the time started offering it because Fantastico had included it for them. From there, I found the Zen Cart site and this forum and realized that the Fantastico version was behind, so I downloaded the latest (1.2.6 at the time, I believe) and have bypassed Fantastico since then.

Just forget that Fantastico exists and install Zencart (and any other program) manually. That assumes that you have FTP access to the site's folders and files. If not, you certainly need a different host.

What problems do you run into if you use Fantastcio?
I can't install Zen Cart manually.
If I can't do it from Fantastcio, then I simply can't do it.

Please tell me what to expect from the Fantastico installation.

Shobuz99

My first Zen Cart was installed using Fantastico. Then I fell in love with Zen Cart. :wub: Shortly thereafter, a new version was released, and Lawd-a-Mercy,
you don't ever want to upgrade using Fantastico. At some point, you'll need to
upgrade, and you need to know how to do that manually. Ver. 1.4 is coming, you know! Plus, with Fantastico, you can't install the demo store, which is a
great learning tool that shows you what Zen Cart can do.

*I can't install Zen Cart manually. *

Does that mean you don't have the ability to install manually because of some restrictions by your host, or is it a matter of confidence in your own abilities?

Both are fixable. The first by switching to a different host, and the second by giving it a try, using the tutorials and the help here in the forum. It really isn't that difficult.

Fantastico will install Zencart just fine. As TShooters said, it doesn't upgrade well, so you'll be on your own when the next version comes out this year, anyway. My recommendation of a manual installation was mainly because you learn a lot about the Zencart file structure in doing so, which makes customization much easier down the road.

shobuz99:

I can't install Zen Cart manually.

Sure you can. This is a great skill for you to learn which will help you make more money. Go for it!

Ok Stevesh.. let me explain.

My abilities, at this point, don't enter into the problem.

1. The host server account, is MY CLIENT'S account, not mine.
   I can't switch to a different host.. and I am not going to tell my client
   that he should switch, either.
   He's a novice computer user and is new to internet business and web sites.
   I'm his webmaster, and have access to the CPanel of the host service that I installed his web site to. I'm trying to do what is best for him.

2. I haven't contacted the host service (Robo Host Solutions) sys admin, yet, about installing Zen Cart manually. Because they use a CPanel, I have no way of running the install from any other point on the server; Unless there is a way to do it through Putty, Telnet, or FTP..??

I appreciate the fact that these programs will continually upgrade.
Another host service that I have been doing business with for 5 years,
WestHost.com, keeps their server apps updated so that you have the option
of un-installing the old version and installing the new one, with no significant interruption of the server. Unfortunately, my client doesn't have an account with WestHost for hosting service...

I'm planning on asking Robo Host Solutions, if they update the apps on their server, so that I can avoid that issue.
Other than that, I'm guessing I will have to come up with an alternative.

stevesh:

*I can't install Zen Cart manually. *

Does that mean you don't have the ability to install manually because of some restrictions by your host, or is it a matter of confidence in your own abilities?

Both are fixable. The first by switching to a different host, and the second by giving it a try, using the tutorials and the help here in the forum. It really isn't that difficult.

Fantastico will install Zencart just fine. As TShooters said, it doesn't upgrade well, so you'll be on your own when the next version comes out this year, anyway. My recommendation of a manual installation was mainly because you learn a lot about the Zencart file structure in doing so, which makes customization much easier down the road.

shobuz99:

1. The host server account, is MY CLIENT'S account, not mine.
   I can't switch to a different host.. and I am not going to tell my client
   that he should switch, either.
   He's a novice computer user and is new to internet business and web sites.
   I'm his webmaster, and have access to the CPanel of the host service that I installed his web site to. I'm trying to do what is best for him.

Then get his username for FTP and install it manually. FTP's all you need, really.

shobuz99:

2. I haven't contacted the host service (Robo Host Solutions) sys admin, yet, about installing Zen Cart manually. Because they use a CPanel, I have no way of running the install from any other point on the server; Unless there is a way to do it through Putty, Telnet, or FTP..??

All you need is FTP, you then visit the site, set a few options. You might have to bounce between the setup and cpanel to get the database settings just so (I did on my host), but it's fairly easy. I can set up zen in about an hour.

shobuz99:

I appreciate the fact that these programs will continually upgrade.
Another host service that I have been doing business with for 5 years,
WestHost.com, keeps their server apps updated so that you have the option
of un-installing the old version and installing the new one, with no significant interruption of the server. Unfortunately, my client doesn't have an account with WestHost for hosting service...

I'm planning on asking Robo Host Solutions, if they update the apps on their server, so that I can avoid that issue.
Other than that, I'm guessing I will have to come up with an alternative.

The problem is that when you upgrade this way, you put the data at risk. Do you want your client to add thousands of items manually, have hundreds of customers and then... UPGRADE TIME! You uninstall, poof! All that data is gone. Install again and it's empty.

It's possible with a Fantisco installation. It's not smart enough to back up the database or run a SQL patch to bring it up to snuff. I know. I went through that pain of loosing my entire store, customers and all less than a year ago.

If you want this client to be happy, take the time to do it manually. You'll thank yourself later and you'll have a new skill when the next client comes along.

a way to do it through Putty, Telnet, or FTP..??

Via FTP is the only way to do a manual install, so far as I know.

I think the standard recommendation is to unzip the files locally, then upload them to the server with your FTP client.

Since you have CPanel access, try it my way. Upload the Zencart zip file to the folder you want to use, using the FTP clent, then open the file manager in CPanel and extract the files from there. Much faster, and no corrupted files. Yiou do have to move all the extracted files and folders one folder up, since they unzip into an intermediate folder, but that's 2 seconds work, also from your FTP client.

Stevesh,

I don't have a copy of Zen Cart. I never did.
I was talking about doing the install manually from the existing version on the Host Server (bypass Fantastico).
Now that I think about it, I probably can't access it via FTP because it is probably in a folder on the server that is restricted to the Host Server admin.
I guess Fantastico is the only option.
BTW... Zen Cart is not offered free, correct?
If it is, then maybe I could down download a copy and then do it the way you suggest.
Shobuz99

stevesh:

a way to do it through Putty, Telnet, or FTP..??

Via FTP is the only way to do a manual install, so far as I know.

I think the standard recommendation is to unzip the files locally, then upload them to the server with your FTP client.

Since you have CPanel access, try it my way. Upload the Zencart zip file to the folder you want to use, using the FTP client, then open the file manager in CPanel and extract the files from there. Much faster, and no corrupted files. You do have to move all the extracted files and folders one folder up, since they unzip into an intermediate folder, but that's 2 seconds work, also from your FTP client.

Zencart is free and open source - that's one of the cool things about it.

Click 'Home' at the top of this page for a big link to download the zip file.

Stevesh,
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

I downloaded zen cart 1.3.8a (same as already on client's server).
I FTP'd to /public_HTML/zencart (I created zencart folder)
I extracted the files there as well.
Now all I need to do is go through the setup of all the files.

I'm sorry if I was a PITA during all this.
I do appreciate everyone's help here and I'm sure I will have more questions.
However, I need to read as much install help text as possible, and all the FAQs here on this site.
This will be a learning experience, for sure.

Thanks again
Shobuz99

stevesh:

Zencart is free and open source - that's one of the cool things about it.

Click 'Home' at the top of this page for a big link to download the zip file.

One additional editing question:
Would it be better to avoid using Dreamweaver MX 2004,
and just use a text editor? I've read some of the posts here
that suggest to use a text editor; but nothing about avoiding Dreamweaver..:unsure:

Shobuz99