Level of Customization in CC?

[Guest dellaird]

I'm making the move from .cgi to .php platform and that means saying goodbye to an infinitely customizable software package (EdatCat) which hasn't been supported in years. In EdatCat, you created templates for anything you wanted (eg. a completely independent layout for the clothing category with banner icons and 8 products while Home & Office decor might have a layout with 15-up images as subcategories).

In spending the better part of the day looking at carts, CubeCart looks like it may be able to do this, but I can't find a single example of one.

Using Newport News as an example:

Main Page

http://www.newport-news.com/

Clicking on the CATEGORY "Swim Shop" brings up:

http://www.newport-news.com/shop/swim_page.asp?gpcatid=2012

(notice the left-hand navigation that's category specific)

If we go deeper in and choose the sub-category "Swim Steals", we get this layout:

http://www.newport-news.com/shop/subcat_fp...2014&catID=3396

(notice the banner and 9-up list)

However, if we go to the CATEGORY "Special Sizes", we see this:

http://www.newport-news.com/shop/special_s...sp?gpcatid=1875

So...Long story short: Can cubecart handle multiple category templates, multiple subcategory templates, multiple product templates, each with it's own layout structure (including menu, recommend products, etc.)

Whew.

:-)

[Guest]

Hi

Welcome to Cubecart

First for all third party modifications take a trip to www.cubecart.org

And in answer to your question a modder by the name convict has created such a thing where you can use a different skin on each top level category so in short yes this can be done.

[Guest dellaird]

Hi

Welcome to Cubecart

First for all third party modifications take a trip to www.cubecart.org

And in answer to your question a modder by the name convict has created such a thing where you can use a different skin on each top level category so in short yes this can be done.

I took a look at his mod. His examples only show it changing the color of the skin, not a complete and fundemental change of the layout as expressed in my examples. Thanks though.

[Guest Brivtech]

You didn't look into it deeper enough. The examples you saw were different skins, albeit they were made different largely by recolouring, but different nontheless. The fundamental point here is that it USES DIFFERENT SKINS, so what skins you would use is entirely up to you.

[Guest dellaird]

You didn't look into it deeper enough. The examples you saw were different skins, albeit they were made different largely by recolouring, but different nontheless. The fundamental point here is that it USES DIFFERENT SKINS, so what skins you would use is entirely up to you.

I probably didn't. I'm coming from a shopping cart engine where I was able to create each page layout as a single html document and use codes like %%categories%% or %%product_description%% to auto-populate them. With each main document, say the actual product page, I would create the file exactly how I wanted everything to be displayed on screen (eg. add a %%header%% tag and my header template would be placed, add %%special_offers%% and said products would be placed).

It allowed for the customization of every layout, not just a section of the layout (I notice lots of folks stick with the stock structure (3 column format with only the middle content column changing) so it *looks* like there's a stock template/skin with that layout and the category customization only occurs to the center content table.

[Guest Brivtech]

It allowed for the customization of every layout, not just a section of the layout (I notice lots of folks stick with the stock structure (3 column format with only the middle content column changing) so it *looks* like there's a stock template/skin with that layout and the category customization only occurs to the center content table.

Indeed, but you can do something similar by using your website page format and adding in the boxes, resaving it as globals/index.tpl. The box formatting itself obviously depends on each component you want to restyle, and of course the related stylesheet.

I have to admit that I wish more people would try and break away from the convention of simply recolouring the standard skins, and create new unique skin styles.

As Andi said, there are some "out of the mold" skins that are available, and there's plenty of programmers and designers at cubecart.org willing to take up the challenge.

[Guest dellaird]

It allowed for the customization of every layout, not just a section of the layout (I notice lots of folks stick with the stock structure (3 column format with only the middle content column changing) so it *looks* like there's a stock template/skin with that layout and the category customization only occurs to the center content table.

Indeed, but you can do something similar by using your website page format and adding in the boxes, resaving it as globals/index.tpl. The box formatting itself obviously depends on each component you want to restyle, and of course the related stylesheet.

Brivtech,

Still keeping my options open.

Is it a matter of php coding to make these kind of changes or just creating a variety of templates and dropping in the cubecart code where you want certain things to appear (like product information, product picture etc)?

Most of the PHP shopping cart scripts only have 1 category layout, 1 product layout etc and are components which drop INTO another template (a global one for the entire site). So if you have a 3-column set-up for the global set up, the category info is dropped INTO a spot (usually the center column).

Whereas a cart I'm currently looking at allows me, in the admin section, to assign any category, product or page to any particular layout I want (FULL html pages marked up with cartcode that drops in other template elements like header, footer, navigation, etc.) So I have control of EVERY element on a page-by-page level.

Thus far, from the cubecart samples (not screenshots) I've seen, none have exhibited that level of flexibility (or people just aren't doing it.)

Nice cart though for what it DOES do. :dizzy: