jerseyjoe

I have a few Joomla sites so I bought the Joomla book which put me on the publisher's email list. This just came in announcing the OScommerce Cook book due next month. http://www.packtpub.com/inside_oscommerce/book/08news When will we see one for CC?

Vrakas, I know you are Greek - and so much of Western Civilization is based upon the powerful Greek literary tradition - but that casual yet profound statement of yours also could easily be a paraphrase from one of my own heritage, specifically the great Irish author Samuel Beckett. As the final words of what some think his best novel, one of the characters, speaking about the mystery of life for all of us lost and puzzled human beings says, "I can't go on." After a pensive silence he then says, "I'll go on." Thanks for the reminder of that.

Ansuk, if you are compiling a list of potential recipients, no need to put my name on the list. The one I have still works fine, even after all these years. Just takes a little longer to warmup from sleep mode. Of course, as has been discussed here previously, it's at low resolution but that means there's no need for any side-to-side. Oh, and Happy Birthday!!!

to manage your store you need to open the Administration Control Panel (ACP). Depending on how your store was installed, your access to it will look something like this: www.yourdomain.com/admin or www.yourdomain.com/store/admin At that point, you will need the username and password. Once you open the ACP, stop and open a new browser window to this forum. Look in the horizontal menu above us right now. Click on Support > Tutorials and choose tutorials as needed. Be sure to have your sound turned on. Hope that helps

I doubt that anything in CC itself would satisfy that. For one thing, the same username / password that allows any access to Site Docs in CC will allow access to everything - and, to quote Jerry Seinfeld, no good can come of that. But there are ways you can accomplish it while retaining CC. You could build your web site using a Content Mangement System (CMS) such as Joomla (http://joomla.org/) or one of its Open Source Software (OSS) alternatives. Joomla can be configured with forums, blogs and photo galleries that allow for orderly contributions by visitors to whom you grant access who register and whom you oversee with moderator controls. There also is a shopping cart created specifically to work within Joomla but, in my experience, it is pretty pathetic in terms of essential features that make CC shine. While I have never seen a CubeCart store integrated into Joomla, I'm confident that one of the experts at CubeCart.Org could do that. Another way would be choose individual components (blog, gallery, etc.) - also widely available as OSS. You could install your cart in the primary folder on the hosting server and create subdomains for each of the components (blog.mydomain.com or gallery.mydomain.com, etc.) with links between them in the respective menus. One drawback to the subdomain approach is that users would have to register an account at each of the components - and you'd have to make sure that your hosting package allowed for the required database that each needs One major advantage of a CMS is that a user needs only a single registration for access to all components. But as Vrakas correctly advises you, someone in cubecart.org may help you for a modest fee. Hope that helps.

I agree completely. I have the choice of both but I always do it manually. The methods of installing all PHP / MySQL based programs (forums, guestbooks, etc.) varies slightly but they all follow the same basic steps of creating the Db and configuring a few files. I've learned a lot - and gotten more confident about these programs, by installing them manually instead of through Fantastico.

I think you have not actually installed CubeCart. There's more to installing CC than simply uploading the files. From the lack of appropriate data in your global.inc.php file, that appears to be the case because none of the expected entries are showing. I'll assume the most common installation, on a Unix server where the root folder is /public_html/ 1) upload all the files that are in the folder "upload," but not the folder itself, into the root folder. An option, if you intend the store to be part of a larger web site, and not just the store alone, would be to upload those files into an appropriate sub-folder such as /public_html/store/ 2) begin the CC installation process by opening your browser to that location. If you are installing to the IP address and have that, as well as the username for the account, enter that (the Xs are your IP #) into your browser's address- note - no prefix. Just as shown here. NOTE POST-EDIT TO CORRECT OVERSIGHT - CORRECT URL IS: xx.xx.xxx.xxx/~username/install/ or xx.xx.xxx.xxx/~username/store/install/ The CC installation Step #1 screen will appear. 3) Follow the steps to the end. Along the way you will need to have your FTP program open to the server so you can CHMOD (change mode) certain files that the installer will list for you. If you don't know how to CHMOD, just ask. It's not difficult at all. 4) You also will want to have pre-defined - before staring the installation - or you can stop at this point and do it now - the Db that CC will use. In the best situation, your host will have provided you with cPanel. In cPanel, open the MySQL database setup and create a Db name, db user name dbpassword AND (often overlooked) be sure to give permission for that user to manage that database. Failing to do that last step in cPanel > MySQL will frustrate the hell out of you because when you try to move from Step 3 to Step 4, the CC installer will give you cryptic error messages while refusing to complete the installation. 5) At the last CC installer step, when you see the screen that says you have installed the CC - DON'T close the installer. Before you do anything else, go back to the FTP program and delete the file called "install." 6) after deleting "install" you can return to the final CC installer screen and click on either the link to the store or the link to the admin panel. 7) thereafter, until the DNS transfer and propgation, you must use the appropriate URL to open the store in the browser, such as: xx.xx.xxx.xxx/~username/ or xx.xx.xxx.xxx/~username/store/ Of course, if your hosting service does provide cPanel, you can avoid all of the above and install CC using cPanel > Fantastico with just a few simple entries and clicks by going to: xx.xx.xxx.xxx/~username/cpanel > Fantastico > and choose CubeCart from the menu. Hope that helps.

That's similar to my experience for the past few years. I am not really much of a server guy, so I need bulletproof tech support. I have a few large clients who have their own dedicated and managed servers that I supply as a reseller for a big server farm - and I have a dedicated managed server, similar to that asked about with almost 80 small-footprint, low-traffic sites who pay $20 a month annually in advance. Works fine. Everyone's happy. The defining issue is traffic. I get a laugh out all these loudly touted offers of 500 gigs of space and a Tetrabyte of bandwidth for $7 per month (OK, I'm exaggerating the specs a bit). Most of their clients have web sites that don't need 10mb of space and have 10 visitors per day (and now I'm *not* exaggerating.) To the person raising the question, nothing you've described says you can't do that. Unless you are speaking of larger, busier sites than what I see are the majority of sites, there are dedicated managed servers starting at $99 per month and up to the figure mentioned by Sir William, and no contract, that will do a good job for you. The worst that can happen is after 60 days or so you don't like the performance and either upgrade or cancel. You'll probably lose a one-time setup fee and some time, but not much more.

mmmm . . . respectfully, not exactly. When I set up a new user's account on one of my servers, I create it as "www.newaccount.com" and assign it the user name "newbie" plus a password. Then I install CC, either by uploading it to that account's /public_html/ or through cPanel > Fantastico. At that point I am reaching the CC installation as XX.XX.XXX.XXX/~newbie/ either at root or as something like XX.XX.XXX.XXX/~newbie/store/. I can get there either as an FTP address or through cPanel. I can work on the installation to contentment using that IP address. Let's assume that all this time, the DNS is still pointed to an older web site on another hosting server. Then I go to the domain registrar and re-point the DNS to NS1.myhostingserver.com. Once that propagates, the store will be served, visible and functioning. No need to edit the global file. I still can reach the store either through the proper domain name or through the IP. I have a store just going online for a hosting customer who started out that way with a CC installation, did some configuration and testing but then, . . . (horrors!) for his own reasons, deleted the CC installation and installed a proprietary-based store. Until last week the old non-store domain name was hosted on another hosted company's server. Now that the DNS has propagated, his store is online. In fact, he may still be lurking here and will confirm this.

As usual, I'm the nay-sayer - but with sincere good intentions (which pave the road to you-know-where). First, you've designed it so that those with an 800 by 600 configured monitor must either scroll left - right or reconfigure their screen resolution - neither of which many people confronted with that problem will do. In fact, I'd like to collect a small toll for every such user who doesn't even know that there is more material "hidden" to the right. The "visitor counter" is not professional. It works for MacDonald burgers only because their numbers are astronomical. But for us mortals, even 6-figure numbers are less than impressive. Let's get real about "Langauge." Given your Texas location, perhaps adding Spanish might be a good marketing tactic but why are all the others in the dropdown? Reference your home page layout, centered text only works for heads and sub-heads. Once you get beyond three lines, readability drops off drastically because the staggered starting point of each succesive live defeats the reader's trainingg to jump from the end of a line to the same dot in space and down one from where he began the previous line. You've done a good job with all the site docs except About Us. People want to know who they are sending their money to. Put a human face on your business. Tell about who you are. Add a head shot of key people. I'm sure there is a good reason why some Category names are marked with an * - but after looking at your stuff, I'm missing the point. I like the way you've implemented Quantity Pricing. Whose mod is that? Yes, it's a nice clean version of a default skin. Nothing wrong with that at all. The product images are admirably crisp and appealing. Best wishes for your site.

Sure you can. Clients of my hosting business do it all the time. In fact, since CC is already installed on my server, all they have to do is activate it using cPanel > Fantastico. But even if you want to uplaod CC to the server, all your host has to do is assign you an acccount using your Domain Name. Until you do a DNS transfer, you should be able to access the store through either the CC Admin Control Panel or FTP using the server's IP address and a user name, plus password. Then, when the DNS transfer is made, the store will appear. Another way to do this is to build the store in your own hard drive or even a USB drive and then install the finished store onto the server when you are ready. There's a tutorial I wrote about that here somewhere. Go Search on the key words "thumb drive." Hope that helps.

The phrase Open Source actually is the registered trademark of an organization devoted to promoting and protecting a specific type of copyright of what is commonly called Open Spource Software (OSS). It is described at http://www.opensource.org/. CC is not OSS. The creator and owner of CC has chosen, for his own good reasons, to retain the copyright but leave the code itself open so that it can be modified and edited by people who stay within the guidelines of his copyright. That has resulted in a highly flexible and greatly appealing concept that allows thousands of stores to be built and customized that otherwise might not have been created. The CC registration fee is for removal of the copyright notice from the registrant's copy but that does not change the fact that he retains the copyright. Think of it this way. You buy a house. You own it. You put your name on the door. Then you rent out the house and remove your name from the door so visitor will not be confused as to who is currently in occupancy. You allow the occupant, within certain limits, to paint and decorate and furnish the house. They can shut off rooms not wanted. They can even make certain changes to how the house functions. But neither those modifications, nor removing your name from the door, changes the fact that you still own the house. That's the copyright situation with CubeCart. Now as to tech support. Your best support service is here in this forum - as well as the sister forum for third-party support by commercial suppliers, at cubecart.org. Most of it is free. Only some devilishly clever mods or specific optional services are charged. I've built 5 stores for clients. It's my own policy that I will not do that unless my client makes a registration payment, either directly or through me. I have that policy because I think that the revenue stream, as small as it is, encourages development and improvement of CC. That also privileges me to seek support from the developer when I encounter an issue that is not resolved here in these two forums. But I know I'm dealing with a small operation at that end. It's not a major corporation (thank God for that!!) with staff providing support 24/7/365. And he's in another part of the world, more than a few time zones away. For me it's last resort backup support. And when I've been in a pinch, it's come through. At times I've had to wait a few days but usually it's pretty prompt. But the free support is usually so prompt and forthcoming that I think I've only gone to the well three or four times in the past two years. Yes, I'm frankly a little bit worried about the forthcoming change in the license that will attach to the next CC version. I hope it does not involve abandonment of long-time registered supporters of the current version But I have to trust in the integrity of people who, so far, have not given me any reason to think otherwise. Hope that clarifies things.

I agree with every one of Roban's points. Let me offer more comment on those points that may help you and others with the same issues. BTW - (Don't be offended by direct talk like this. Sugar-coating doesn't improve professional advice.) You start out with saying: "Our mission is simple... to provide customers with a quick and easy way of buying the products they want, at the most competitive prices around, delivered direct to their door. Our order fulfillment capabilities are second to none." I could pick up that text and drop it into any web site in the world - and it still would mean nothing. What store has a mission to make it hard to buy, boasts higher prices and makes you go to the top of a mountain for delivery? Nothing you are saying is unique in a way that matters to the customer. You are talking to yourself in an empty room. All the things you claim are either self-evident or irrelevant. In advertising they are called "puffery" and "empty calories." Customers will find out very quickly and nothing you say will change their mind once they make a judgement. Now if you were to say something (assuming truth of course) like, "we have the largest selection of left handed, vanilla flavored lolipops," that might mean something to the customer. Text alone, for some online stores, is not a problem. It's what you do with it that matters. For example, look at the home page text on http://www.rodriguezpuroscigars.com. It does not promise to make you thinner or younger. It makes explicit statements that differentiate this buying experience from another, that invite local customers to come to the store for a pleasant experience. It makes specific product claims that will appeal to some customers. It does not claim his cigars to be the best, the cheapest, the widest selection, etc. - nor does he claim his is the friendliest venue in town - even though the proprietor believes that with good reason. Onward . . . Your home page is just too busy. Too much information and not enough organization. It's a kitchen junk drawer. You have an impressive and broad product line (in England you call it a "range" I think) but I think finding one's way through it is daunting. There are mods that would allow you to clean up that lonnnnnng list of products in the left column by organizing into a menu of that would open up into sub-categores as a customer rolls over or clicks. And definitely rework that banner logo. It's just not of professional quality. While you are at it, cut down the banner height by half. Your current height only emphasizes the waste of the valuable space on the right side above the search and log in. Many others do not agree with me, but I think that a serious flaw in CC default skns is there is too much self-contgratulatory space at the top of every page. Once I reach a web site, I don't need to be shouted at on every page, just to tell me I am where I know I am. By reducing the banner to something like 80px high or even 60px high, I am inviting the customer deeper into the buying experience on every page. Hope all of this helps.

I really don't like the opening/closing text entry window in the current version of FCK editor. It's one of those "improvements" that spoils what previously was an easy to use tool. What is FCK thinking? It's bad enough to have a mail slot of an entry field in the first place - and then to have to shut the editing window while selecting and applying editing tools is so stupid that I can't imagine how ANYone thinks it an improvement. So, is there an alternate editor that can replace FCK in CC? If so, what's involved in replacing? TIA

This was the subject of a posting in the support forum that never got a response. I'd welcome advice on where and how to edit code that will reconcile the browsers. Agreed. It's one of the details I'll get to at the end after everything else is done. Agreed. But as I say elsewhere, there's nothing wrong with that. I'm less interested in avoiding looking like a standard skin in terms of graphics and colors than I am in the above issues - and more interested in how well the layout shows the product in a clear and consistent way. I doubt that few of the store's customers will ever see another Cube Cart - even fewer will recognize the source - but if they do, none will recoil in horror that it is not radically modified to hide its orgins. What I am interested in is, can a buyer find something to buy and order it in the most instinctual and hassle-free way? Your comments are respected. Your advice on fixing the above issues will be appreciated.

Now that I've picked at everyone else work, I'll put my own neck on the chopping block. This site is missing a few product visuals but the layout is where we are now. http://www.rodriguezpuroscigars.com/ Suggestions for improvement welcome.

So there is no mis-understanding of my posting my own work as an example of a more effective layout, I just came across this one further along in the ShowOff Forum http://www.bits-n-piercings-jewelleryworld.org.uk/ This other jewelry site applies the same approach of maximizing product presentation as the one I built for a client. I still agree that both my aproach and the bits-n-pirecing site are not a visually appealing as Emily's. However, Emily's site would be much more effective as a sales tool if it applied the product presentation approach of these less visually appealing examples.

Hmmm - I regret that I'm not as laudatory as others so far. But differences of opinions are what justify horse races. I hope my directness is not seen as rudeness. I'm trying to give you what I sincerely believe is good advice, without the frill of cautious words. The home page layout is a total waste of a valuable opportunity. That huge header appears at the top of every single page while a person is shopping. In effect you are bludgeoning the visitor with your banner - and what is the purpose of that? Also, you have that wordy intro that forces your products into hiding down below the scroll. Once you get to a products page, the Category header repeast that same "sin" of pushing products even further down, just to make a nice visual. Then, the thumbnails are too big. They reduce the number of visible products per screen and force more scrolling than is needed. Thumbnails are visual shorthand but I think you are trying to use them to display the prouduct. Isn't the purpose of the store to show your goods and sell them as effectively and efficiently as possible? Nice clean design does not have to be accomplished at the expense of that fundamental purpose. So what do I think is a better layout? Take a look at www.vikolya.com. I agree that your graphics are far more appealing than mine, but ignore that. Look at the utility of the layout. See how much more product is immediate visible from the first page - and on every page there after. You could modify your graphics so they take up less space - and show more products. If it is of interest to know, the reason so many products on the Vikolya site are showing as "out of stock" and without photos is because the three container-loads of goods expected to last until October have sold out by Aug 1st. The site is working. Hope this helps. Clearly you are a superior graphic designer - but don't let that get in your way.

The recent changes are good. The original clean and easily used design is reinforced by them. Good luck with the service.

Respectfully, does that really matter? Yes, you want your store to have a clear identity and personality, but would it matter if thousands, or even tens of thousands, of stores are similar? How does that make your products more appealing or your customer service better or your web site easier for customers to find or the site easier to use once it is found? One of the most common mistakes new businesses make is investing inappropriate amounts of time and energy in easily accessible things that don't really matter - while not dealing with the less obvious but more important issues that do matter. Psychologists refer to something called "self-distractive behavior," characterized by doing something that can be done easily as a way of avoiding dealing with somethat is challenging. In common terms, an expression that fits is, "Don't sweat the small stuff." An example of that is obsessing over the store name or the logo while not putting the same effort into optimizing search engine optimization. Making a store's skin totally unique is another. Hope that helps.

Surely not just for the sake of change. CC's default skins aren't perfect but they are pretty good. I know you don't want your store look like every other CubeCart - but then how many other CCs do you think your customers see? A question you may want to consider. At the moment you are using every box that comes with the skin. Just because the default skin provides all those boxes, how many of them are *really* helpful in maximizing your sales?

Question yourself as to the purpose of the external links. Getting people to visit your web site is your #1 problem, far and beyond whatever issue is in second place. So, how does sending those hard-won people to other web sites help you sell your goods?

The preference of which you speak is that of the seller. But the person who matters most is the potential buyer. If s/he is turned off by left to right scrolling, sales will be lost. There are still huge numbers of people who prefer 800 by 600. I also suspect that as the demographic curve ages, there will be a portion of the market that learns to re-configure the default display resolution.

If you open a bricks and mortar store, you must either own the building, or rent it. To prepare your store for business, you must invest many hours in learning store layout and design - or pay someone who has spent years in school and low-paid apprenticeship learning that specialized skill. Likewise, you need electricians, plumbers, and so on - or, again, invest in learning and doing it yourself. CC is not issued as what is commonly called Open Source - a type of copyright - but the files are open and there are no secrets. You are free to modify everything and anything you want (other than the copyright notice) - assuming you have invested in the skills required - or you can hire someone to do it for you. In those circumstances, the issue comes down to what is a person's skill and labor worth? If you want skilled work, you pay what it is worth. There are those who know the price of everything yet understand the value of nothing.

Assuming that your image has a larger dimension in the first palce (which I'm still not clear from information so far) you do not need a mod. After you create a product and install the image that will appear in both thumbnail and product description view, go to the ACP, then to a product for which you also have a closeup or larger dimension image. In the column "image" look beneath the thumbnail in your product listing for the phrase "manage images." Click on that. You then may add images that will appear in a popup when a viewer is in the Product Description and clicks on the phrase "(+) Click here for closeups" (or some language similar to that.) Hope that helps. Here's an example of a product that has had that treatment. http://www.vikolya.com/index.php?act=viewP...mp;productId=53