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Backing up your osCommerce database in cPanel

Gerae Lindsey — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 06:05:31 +0000

I just added a new tutorial on making a backup of your store database in cPanel.

Though titled Backing up your ZenCart database in phpMyAdmin, the instructions will work the exact same for osCommerce MySQL database files.

See Backing up your ZenCart database in phpMyAdmin

Backing up your osCommerce files in cPanel

Gerae Lindsey — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:05:30 +0000

I just added a new tutorial on making a backup of your store files in cPanel. Though titled Backing up your ZenCart files in cPanel, the instructions will work the exact same for osCommerce.

See Backing up your ZenCart files in cPanel

How to add quantity discounts in osCommerce

Gerae Lindsey — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 06:05:22 +0000

Let’s say you sell shirts from your osCommerce store and you want to offer a discount if customers purchase more than one shirt. For example:

Buy 1 shirt = $6.99 each
Buy 2 shirts = $5.99 each
Buy 3 shirts = $4.99 each
Etc.

Unfortunately, osCommerce does not offer this function built-in. You will need to install a special mod. There are multiple ones available but for this tutorial, I will be using the Quantity Discounts Mod for osCommerce by That Software Guy.

After uploading the mod using FTP, login to your osCommerce admin area.

Click on “Modules in the side menu.

Now click on “Order Total” under “Modules”

Once the page opens, click on “Quantity Discounts” and “install” to the right.

Once installed, click on “edit”

Enter in your discount specifications, and then click on “update”

If you run into any troubles, let me know below.

How to remove product counts in osCommerce

Gerae Lindsey — Fri, 29 May 2009 21:42:21 +0000

By default, osCommerce displays a product count next to each category name as shown below:

To remove the number of products displayed next to category names in the side menu, just follow these simple steps.

To start, you will need to login to your osCommerce admin area.

Now, click on “My Store” under the “Configuration” menu:

Once the options load to the right, click on “Show Category Counts”

To the right, you will see an edit button:

Click on the “edit” button.

Change the value from “true” to “false” and then click on “update”

And that’s it!

Your category will no longer show the product count.

How to change the width of your osCommerce store

Gerae Lindsey — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:40:19 +0000

By default, osCommerce is set to a width of 100%, stretching the store across the entire screen. You can decrease this so a background is visible on the screen.

This tutorial will show you how to edit the width of your store.

We will need to edit the following files:

index.php (located in the main folder)
header.php (located in the includes file)
footer.php (located in the includes file)

To do this, you will need to open the files using either Notepad or WordPad.

First open the index.php file. Once opened, locate the following line of code:

< table border = ” 0 ” width = ” 100% ” cellspacing = ” 3 ” cellpadding = ” 3 ” >

Change 100% to a width of your liking, either a percent or fixed pixel width.
After cellpadding = ” 3 ” add align = ” center “

NOTE: Remove the spaces in the actual file.

Save the file.

Now open the header.php file. Once opened, locate the following line of code:

< table border= ” 0 ” width= ” 100% ” cellspacing = ” 0 ” cellpadding = ” 0 ” >

Change the 100% to a width of your liking, either a percent or fixed pixel width.
After cellpadding = ” 0 ” add align = ” center “

NOTE: In the header.php file, there are 4 lines of the above code that will need to be changed. Some of the other instances have different cellpadding numbers. That is okay, only the width needs to be edited.

Save the file.

Now open the footer.php file. Once opened, locate the following line of code:

< table border = ” 0 ” width = ” 100% ” cellspacing = ” 0 ” cellpadding = ” 1 ” >

Change the 100% to a width of your liking, either a percent or fixed pixel width.
After cellpadding = ” 1 ” add align = ” center “

NOTE: In the footer.php file, there are 3 lines of the above code that will need to be changed. Again, some of the other instances have different cellpadding numbers. That is okay, only the width needs to be edited.

Save the file and upload all 3 of the files to your web server.

The width of your store will now be changed.

IMPORTANT: This will only change the width of the main store page. You will need to edit all of the .php files in the main folder following the same steps as index.php above.

How to change the logo in osCommerce

Gerae Lindsey — Mon, 25 May 2009 16:24:30 +0000

Displaying your own logo in place of the default osCommerce logo is easy.

You have two options for replacing the log with your own:
1. Overwriting the current image with your own
2. Changing the header.php file to display your logo

To overwrite the current logo with your own, upload your logo into the images folder. Make sure you have named your logo “store_logo.png”

Once uploaded, refresh the page to view your logo:

You can also change the logo in the header.php file. To do this, you will need to open the file using either Notepad or WordPad. This file is located in the includes folder.

Once opened, locate the following line of code:

tep_image(DIR_WS_IMAGES . ’store_logo.png’, STORE_NAME)

Replace store_logo.png with whatever your logo name is.

IMPORTANT: Make sure you have uploaded this file into the images folder.

Save the file and upload it to your web server.

Your logo should now appear!

osCommerce Templates at Template Monster

Gerae Lindsey — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:05:03 +0000

Template Monster offers a wide range of osCommerce templates. Simply choose the template you would like, and after purchasing it, install the template on your server. See tutorial: How to install an osCommerce template

Though pricier than other template shops, Template Monster provides the highest quality designs and excellent after purchase support. If you are wanting to customize the look your osCommerce shop, but need help with the design, then I highly recommend viewing the templates available at Template Monster.

To view a template design below, click on details. A new window will open with a live demo of the template along with screen shots.

Pricing information:

Non-exclusive price means that other people can buy and use the same template.

Exclusive means that after you buy the template, Template Monster will stop selling the template.

How to install osCommerce at HostGator

Gerae Lindsey — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 06:01:51 +0000

Installing osCommerce HostGator takes only a few simple steps.

First, you will need to login to your cpanel.

Now, scroll down until you see:

Click on “Fantastico De Luxe”

To the left, you will see “OS Commerce” listed under E-Commerce.

Click on OS Commerce.

Now click on “New Installation” as shown below:

The following screen will then appear:

You will need to enter the following information:

Install on domain – select your domain name from the drop down list
Install in directory – for example: store, leave blank to install in main directory
Administrator username – enter your desired username. for example: admin
Password – enter desired password
Shop name – enter the name of your store (you can edit this later)
Owner’s name – enter your name
Email sender – either your name or your store’s name
Your email address – enter your email address
Use SSL – Unless you have installed SSL, select no (you can change this later)
Secure server hostname – your domain name
Show prices incl. tax – Choose yes or no (you can change this later)

The last section “When clients register” is optional and can be edited later. The options are for information collected when a customer registers to shop at your store.

Once you have entered your details, click on “Install OS Commerce”

A screen will appear letting you know that the server will create the necessary MySQL database for the store. Click on “Finish installation” to complete the install.

osCommerce has now been installed! You can start adding products now.

Be sure you email yourself the username and password for future reference:

osCommerce

Gerae Lindsey — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 18:35:30 +0000

osCommerce is an open source, PHP shopping cart that makes managing an online store easy. osCommerce allows you to run a web store without having to work with HTML (HTML knowledge required to make changes to the layout). The store has an online admin area where you can add/edit/delete products and print packing slips easily.

Cost: The script itself is free to download, and there are no monthly fees. If you plan on accepting credit cards directly through the shopping cart, you will want to purchase a secure certificate. (Go Daddy sells them for less than $30 per year).

Supported payment types: 2Checkout, Authorize.net, ChronoPay, iPayment, PayQuake, Trust Commerce, PayPal, C.O.D., checks, and money orders.

You can also set the cart to collect (not process) credit card information to process manually through your merchant account.

Supported shipping options: UPS, USPS, free shipping, flat rate, table rates.

My thoughts: I have installed and customized osCommerce for a few different clients (some who later switched to Zen Cart). Before discovering it’s close cousin ZenCart, it was one of my favorite free shopping cart systems. Like Zen Cart, osCommerce is very easy to use and manage once you have it set-up.

My biggest irk with osCommerce is that gift certificates/vouchers are not included with a standard install. I have yet to have a client NOT need this feature. It also lacks a text field option (for personalizing products), but does include check box, radio and drop-down options standard. Both vouchers and text fields can be added by installing a contribution but Zen Cart includes these built-in which makes life so much easier. Especially if you have limited scripting experience.

OsCommerce is easier (less files compared to Zen Cart) to install but more difficult to customize. If you run into trouble or need help customizing the design of the shopping cart, please contact me for a quote.

Where to download: Visit their website to download the script for free.

Since osCommerce is so popular, many web hosts (including HostGator, whom I use) now include it with their hosting plans. Just click on the script in your control panel (usually listed under Fantastico) and they install it for you.

osCommerce is still a good script, especially compared to some of the other free options out there. I still recommend osCommerce to someone who wants to set-up their store quickly and does not need gift certificate options or any personalizing of products. But if you have a choice, go with Zen Cart.

Free osCommerce Tutorials

How to install osCommerce at HostGator