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May 22, 2012, 05:20:56 AM

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Author Topic: what exactly does zehcart do?  (Read 3379 times)
dying4nothing
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« on: May 18, 2011, 08:50:48 PM »
Hello there:

This might be a silly question, but after I installed zencart (with the help of Fantastico) I still couldn't figure out what's its use. First I thought it's a shopping cart that users of my website can add the product to the cart and when they check out they will be re-directed to a online payment service such as share-it and paypal.

Does it do it? Or I totally get it wrong?

Thanks
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MrPhil
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« Reply #1 on: May 19, 2011, 11:30:16 AM »
Yes, that's exactly it, but you have to separately install and configure the bits that handle the 3rd party payment system. Zen Cart (based on osCommerce) will handle the catalog, display, search, and shopping cart; but you have to configure shipping, taxes, and payment options.
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dying4nothing
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« Reply #2 on: May 19, 2011, 09:39:53 PM »
Thanks for the response. I've installed the other two available shopping carts: cubecart and oscommerce, and they seem more intuitive to me and I can understand what they are meant to do.

Now the problem is these two have their own brands, meaning their logo, layout and theme, if I want to make the shopping cart more consistent with my own site's theme, I guess I need to modify those php files.

Is that right? BTW, does Lunarpages have consultant services doing exactly these kinds of things?

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MrPhil
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« Reply #3 on: May 21, 2011, 11:17:23 AM »
My familiarity is with osCommerce, so I can't comment on CubeCart. I know that osC has a number of themes available, and is CSS-driven layout (version 2.3.1), so you might be able to tweak a theme that is "close", and get even closer to what you want.

I don't think that LP has the expertise in-house to do this kind of stuff (specific to a given application). You can ask, but I suspect the answer will be "no". It's going to cost you a pretty penny to have a pro make changes, but if you ask around on a support forum (http://forums.oscommerce.com) you might either find some good leads, or find out how to do it yourself. Sorry, I'm not currently available.

One thing to keep in mind with any shopping cart is how well it can be integrated into an overall larger site. Most carts (indeed, any PHP application with a sign-on) will lose their session when the visitor wanders outside of the store. You should investigate that before doing a lot of work, or be prepared to corral shoppers into the cart until they've checked out. If it's imperative that a visitor be able to wander out of the store to other parts of your site and then return with their cart and sign-on intact, you may want to look at a Content Management System + shopping cart for your entire site.
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Fez-o-Joe
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« Reply #4 on: March 06, 2012, 04:35:59 PM »
Actually, Zencart can do cookie tracking for the cart, (if enabled) and if the person comes back - it will repopulate the cart.   If the potential client logs in, the cart will also be saved.   If they have any saved carts, and come back and shop more - ZC will combine the carts when they sign back in.

ZC does take a fair amount of updating/changes to be truly 'friendly' - but it can also operate out of the box with no mods; however, you will still need to know a little bit about FTP, PHP updates, cpanel, etc.  If you do go that route - you should check out the main Zencart community.  They have boards to help you with troubles, should they arise, and also have additional add-ons for more functionality.

We are enjoying ZC right now, but looking at perhaps moving to the WordPress E-comm should they get a little better in the future.

Have fun,


- Joe

If you wanted to see some ZC examples - www.fez-o-rama.com, and www.disastersupplycatalog.com are two hosted here.  Fez-o has many mods behind the scenes for image handling and externals, DSC has only shipping add-ons.
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merryscanlan
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« Reply #5 on: March 12, 2012, 10:13:29 PM »
When you want more advanced and more flexible online tool for online store then Zen Cart is the best option. It is a little smaller in weight and it has everything essential for online business. All changes to the system are done through the admin panel.
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