[Robert H]

I have read many posts in this section about Zen Cart, Magento, Yahoo, Live Cart, Cube Cart and many more.

I am a bit overwhelmed because I need a solution that is is fairly inexpensive because I am a start-up yet has an easily modifiable template. The modifiable template is essential because as an Apparel company I need to express my companies style and match the level of professionalism my competitors have.

Here are some examples of my bare minimum look needed:

: : 10 spot : :

3sixteen Store - 3sixteen

Thoughts?

 

[Rodney]

I am a bit overwhelmed because I need a solution that is is fairly inexpensive because I am a start-up yet has an easily modifiable template.

What part overwhelms you exactly?

Either of those ecommerce solutions fit your needs.

How "easy" it is depends on your comfortable-ness with HTML. It may be that you need to hire someone to setup the "layout" for you.

I would say Magento and Yahoo would be harder to customize.

CubeCart, Zen Cart, Shopify, BigCartel would be easier to customize.

You just have to just jump in and start working on one You can really make just about ANY shopping cart software look the way you want (like the sites you posted) just by editing the templates.

 

[lindsayanng]

you shold check out this thread.. i just explained a bunch about ecommerce stores and what is needed and WHY.

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/ecommerce-site-design/t63794.html

 

[shersher]

Definitely check out Bigcartel, it is fairly simple to use

 

[utemtu]

@ EnvyApparel -

We use magento, if you want a solution that is very flexible / powerful then I can recommend this. However if you want a solution that is easy to use / customise then I would go for something else. With magento you will be expected to have working knowledge of CSS, PHP, JS and HTML to modify a template to suit your needs. I am not trying to scare you off, if you have time to invest in your site then I can highly recommend Magento.

Cheers,

 

[wobblez]

We use Zen Cart it is installed on our web hosting and easy to install, but go to there website to read up on the in's and out's of formating to what you want it to do.

 

[Robert H]

What part overwhelms you exactly?

The overwhelming part is that the end result for the look of most of the carts that I have seen to too far below par for my industry. I have not been able to find a cohesive solution that does not look like a 3rd rate template was slapped on it.

Perhaps the templates I have seen are what is below par and not the system skinning itself. Are is there a good place to buy templates so I can see the potential of these carts?

Thanks for the help.

 

[CUSTOM UK]

Hi. You can radically alter Zen-Cart to the point where it no longer even resembles Zen-Cart. Take a look on their showcase and you'll see some radically different sites.

To do that level of custom programming though, you'll need to have a decent understanding of html, css and php. You'll also have to be prepared to spend more than a few hours on their forum, to find all the solutions to your needs.

 

[SoloStampede]

if you dont want to take the time to install, setup and customize a script, then go the 3rd party route. Bigcartel.com is a great option, its only $20 a month, it offers coupons, paypal gateway, inventory tracking, change the html/css of the site, etc. there's also shopify.com but it costs more.

 

[Robert H]

@DREAMGLASS

With Zen Cart are you able to just buy a template and upload it into a "templates" folder and simply change the theme or is there more involved?

 

[CUSTOM UK]

BUY?? Hey I have a reputation on here for being a tightwad. that I have to uphold... lol

You will find some FREE templates at the link below. You can 'test drive' them all online to see what suits your needs.

Zen Cart Free Template Demonstration System


Hope this helps.

 

[lindsayanng]

be CAREFUL with templates though.. A lot of template suppliers use older versions of the cart software, which opens your store up to a LOT of security vulnerabilities..

Also, template makers usually change the code and file structure SOO much that when you need some serious help, you can not use the community forum because most people there are unfamiliar with your customized set up. And on top of that, MANY template providers either do not offer their own support or make you pay..

just make sure what you are getting into before getting a template - especially FREE.

on the other hand, if you are good with graphics (i am assuming MOST t-shirt printers are) then you can do A LOT with the basic look of zencart or oscommerce by just doing some small alterations

take a look at my site: bscphoto.com
http://bscphoto.com/catalog
This is made from this shopping cart:
osCommerce Online Demonstration -oscommerce on a STOCK install

now, ALL i did was center the shop, remove what i didnt want, and put my own graphics.. but just those little changes makes a HUGE difference.. It took some coding, but the forums available for open source carts are really helpful

 

[queerrep]

If you're a graphic designer, why don't you design your own website and hand it over to a ZenCart coder to implement? That's what I did.

 

[CUSTOM UK]

just make sure what you are getting into before getting a template - especially FREE.

All of the templates on the link I supplied are validated by zen-cart and they are all supported in the latest versions of zen-cart. There are no security issues with them, as they only alter the style sheets and template headers. You will find full support for them on the zen-cart forums.

Incidentally, zen-cart was originally based on oscommerce, but a breakaway group decided to create something more functional and reliable.

 

[lindsayanng]

Thats good to know. i just always offer that disclaimer.. I'm not against using templates, but it is VERY annoying when you buy a $150 template from one of those "monster" sites and find out the version is 5 years old and they dont support it!!

I knew zencart wasan offshoot of oscommerce, the guy who runs oscommerce kinda lost a lot of good programmers to zencart.. I still ike oscommerce for the addons and the forum though.. just my preference.

 

[Robert H]

take a look at my site:
This is made from this shopping cart:
osCommerce Online Demonstration -oscommerce on a STOCK install

now, ALL i did was center the shop, remove what i didnt want, and put my own graphics.. but just those little changes makes a HUGE difference.. It took some coding, but the forums available for open source carts are really helpful

How long did this take you?

This is probably the best option for me. Taking a stock cart and slimming it down a bit will probably work best for my needs. As long as it has all of the shopping functions needed to buy apparel it should be fine.

You guys are a great help. I really appreciate it. It makes the whole project less intimidating.

 

[lindsayanng]

well, i started working exclusively with oscommerce back in February and really jumped in head first.. My first site was a pet supplies site that i started on my own, but since the photography site is my #1 paying site, that is my priority now..

So basically it took me from February to now to get to where i can help people with their problems and work on my site rather quickly.. HOWEVER, to build that site, it took me about two months. The most time consuming part was making the graphics and such.. I remade the graphics a thousand times before i felt like it was "right"

 

[Rodney]

The overwhelming part is that the end result for the look of most of the carts that I have seen to too far below par for my industry. I have not been able to find a cohesive solution that does not look like a 3rd rate template was slapped on it.

Gotcha. It's VERY important to keep in mind that what you are seeing is NOT a result of the CART software, it's a result of the shop owner and the web designer.

Just because a merchant decides to use a 3rd rate template doesn't mean that it's all the shopping cart can do. Just means that that's all the merchant needed for THEIR needs (design wise).

I repeat: You can take ANY design and apply it to most shopping carts (cubecart/zencart/magento,etc). The fact is that most people just choose not to. So what you see are people that haven't customized it, not a failing of any particular shopping cart.

I hope that makes sense

 

[mumzie]

For starters - it's not as intimidating as one would think. I use Zen-cart - and the forum there is as helpful as the one on this site. Zen-cart is based on oscommerce, but is better maintained, and more secure/up to date - because of the community around it.
Not only that, but they've published a how-to book - it doesn't cover all the features, but for $40 it's a steal of a deal.

Zen Cart uses a template override system - so that when you install your own template (custom or otherwise), you install into a specific directory, and ALL your modified files go into locations with that template directory name. That way the system looks there first when it's looking for a function - if it doesn't find it there, it goes to the default.

Additionally, there are tons of addons for zen cart at no cost. There are also several available at moderate cost, to add the real bells and whistles to your store.

For credit cards, you can't use the existing default technology within zen-cart - it doesn't meet the requirements any more. Read through the forum - I use sage CC processing, and there's an automatic plug in for that.

The only other advice I'd offer to start is take your time, build a test site, get it working. Give yourself at least a month to work on it. No, not 8 hours a day, but it'll take you that long to figure out the basic stuff. (no matter which cart you go with).

We've gone from one basic site to 15 active web stores using zen-cart - it's taken about 1.5 years to get there, but I can now clone a store in a matter of minutes.
Good luck - check out http://www.zencart.com/ for more info. I can guarantee it'll be a great place to start!

 

[Robert H]

You guys have answered all of my questions. I have found some great free templates on the ZenCart site that I can modify design wise and have also learned a bit on the installation.

You guys were a great help.

Thank you.