Free Zencart Tutorial

Configuring sales tax in Zencart

Thu, 22 May 2008 01:53:28 +0800

This tutorial will show you how to configure sales tax in Zencart. Zencart allows you to create sales tax based on different zones. You may create more than one tax (eg., state, federal, etc.). In this example, we will be creating a state tax California, so let's first make sure we have defined a zone for California. Now that we have a zone created, let's add a new tax rate. Since we will be charging a California tax, let's first delete the Florida tax item. Configure the settings for the new tax rate. That's all there is to it. You are now able to configure sales tax in Zencart.

Creating specials in Zencart

Thu, 22 May 2008 01:53:28 +0800

This tutorial will show you how to add specials in Zencart. From time to time, you may want to offer select items at a special price. Let's see how that's done. Select the product you wish to put on special. Enter the price for the item while it is on special. It can either be a fixed dollar amount or in the form of a percentage discount (eg., 20%). You can pick a date when the promotion will end. If it will run indefinitely, leave this blank. Let's look at the results on the site. As you can see, you have successfully added the item on special. You are now able to create specials in Zencart.

Adding shipping modules in Zencart

Thu, 22 May 2008 01:53:28 +0800

This tutorial will show you how to add shipping modules in Zencart. Note: If you see this error ate the top of the page, it means you have not set your store's zip code. Let's go ahead and set it now. OK, now we can go back and configure shipping. You have several options for calculating shipping charges. It all depends on the product you are selling and what is best for your business. In this example, let's set up shipping on a per item basis. Click edit to configure your values. Continue to set the values as per your preference. Let's delete the Flat Rate module since we are opting for the Per Item one. You are now able to add shipping modules in Zencart.

Adding products attributes in Zencart

Thu, 22 May 2008 01:53:28 +0800

This tutorial will show you how to add product attributes in Zencart. As you can see, there are already a few option set up in this store. Let's go ahead and create a new one now. Enter the name of the new option name. Select the way in which your customers will make their selection. Now let's add some values to the newly created option. Select the option from the dropdown list and create an option value. Repeat the process until you have added all the values you wish to associate with this option. At this point, we can now add this new attribute to a product. Select a product from the dropdown list. With the product highlighted, scroll down to add attributes. Select an option name and value. Select Yes here if you wish to have this value pre-selected by default. Let's add another value. This time, let's make this value add $1.00 to the product price when selected. Done. Now let's take a look at the results in our store. As you can see, the attribute has been added to the product. Note that the velour option is not $1.00 extra, but this is because the product is currently on special and the discount applies to the attribute as well. You are now able to add product attributes in Zencart.

Adding payment modules in Zencart

Thu, 22 May 2008 01:53:28 +0800

This tutorial will show you how to install payment modules in Zencart. Zencart allow you to easily integrate several payment methods in your store. With a module highlighted, click to install it. Click the edit button to configure your settings. Note: Authorize.net is used when you wish to allow real time online credit card processing with your own merchant account. Be sure to set this to Production when you're ready to go live. You have the option to set a value for order status. You can set order to display this option to your customers. The lower the number, the higher the display. Authorize.net has been successfully set up. Installing the credit card module allows you to collect credit card details online and then manually process the orders offline. Let's install the Paypal module. You are now able to add payment modules to your store in Zencart

Sending out a newsletter in Zencart

Thu, 22 May 2008 01:53:28 +0800

This tutorial will show you how to send out a newsletter in Zencart. When customers place an order in your store, during the checkout process they are asked if they wish to receive newsletters from you. Let's go ahead and create one now. Enter what you wish to display in the Subject line. Now enter the message you wish to send. Before sending out the newsletter, you must first lock it. Select the audience for this mailing. In this example, we don't have anyone subscribed to the newsletter. but you can see the process for sending one out. Let's look at another type of newsletter you can send to your customers. As you can see, you can also send out Product Notification. This is a great way to promote repeat orders. Again, lock it before sending. With Product Notification, you're able to add products to the newsletter. You are now able to send newsletters in Zencart.

Sending out email in Zencart

Thu, 22 May 2008 01:53:28 +0800

This tutorial will show you how to send out email in Zencart. You can send to a specific customer or send a mass email to all customers. As well, you can choose to send email to your subscribed Newsletter members. The email address in your store profile is set here by default. You have a final opportunity to preview the details before sending out the email. You are now able to send email in Zencart.

Editing your left/right columns in Zencart

Thu, 22 May 2008 01:53:28 +0800

This tutorial will show you how to edit the left and right columns in Zencart. Here you can see the complete list of available box files. In this example, let's remove the Documents box from the left column. Highlight the box file in the list and click to edit. Set the box status to OFF. As you can see, the box has been removed. Let's add it back, but this time, we'll position it at the very top of the left column. Set the Sort Order to your preferred position. The lower the number, the higher the priority and position. Let's see the results on the site. As you can see, the Documents box is in top position in the left column. You can perform the similar changes with boxes in the right column. You are now able to edit the left and right columns in Zencart.

Editing your home page in Zencart

Thu, 22 May 2008 01:53:28 +0800

This tutorial will show you how to edit your home page content in Zencart. We will also see how to change the text in the header. Note that this change will reflect site-wide on all pages. Let's Start by opening header.php in any text editor. You will find this file in includes/languages/english/. This is where we can edit the text in the header. Important: If you are using your own template, be sure to upload this file to that directory - eg., includes/languages/english/YOURTEMPLATE/. As well, if using your own template, save a copy of english.php from includes/languages/ to includes/languages/YOURTEMPLATE/. Now open index.php in any text editor. You will find this file in includes/languages/english. Locate the blocks of text that you wish to edit or delete. Highlight the text and either delete it or replace it with text of your choice. Either way, be sure not to delete any other part of the variable. Repeat the process for any other text on the page. Again, if you just wish to delete the text, be sure to leave the quotation marks intact. After making all your changes, save the file and upload it to your site. OK, let's refresh the page to see the changes. Perfect! As you can see, we have successfully edited the header slogan as well as some of the home page content. Note: This part of the page is edited in the Define Pages Editor in your Store Admin Area. Important: In order to edit page content using the Define Pages Editor, you must first be sure to set all files in includes/languages/english/html_includes/ to writable. If setting CHMOD, set it to 777. Select the file you wish to edit. As you can see, the content is displayed as raw source code. If you feel more comfortable in an HTML WYSIWYG format, go ahead and switch to HTML. Go ahead and make any changes you like. You can use the built in fully featured text editor to easily format the content. Save the changes when you're done. Important: If using your own template, you will want to also save a copy of any html_area files to includes/languages/english/html_includes/YOURTEMPLATE/. Let's take a look at the site to see the changes. Let's refresh the page, Good job! As you can see, we have successfully edited the home page content in Define Pages Editor. This concludes the tutorial on editing your home page.

Managing customers in Zencart

Thu, 22 May 2008 01:53:28 +0800

This tutorial will show you how to manage your customers in Zencart. As you can see, there is currently one customer record in this store. You are not actually able to create a new customer here. Basically, customers create their own accounts on your site. This is where they would enter their information to set up an account. You can click to edit an account anytime. With the customer highlighted, click to edit the account details. You can also click to email the customer. And finally, you can delete the customer from your records. You are now able to manage your customers in Zencart.

Configuring currency in Zencart

Thu, 22 May 2008 01:53:28 +0800

This tutorial will show you how to configure your currencies in Zencart. You can see that we have a couple of currencies set up. By default, US dollar is used in your store. Let's add a new currency - the Canadian Dollar. Filling out this form is pretty self-explanatory. Set it value relative to the default currency - the US Dollar. Optionally, you can set this as the default currency. You have successfully added a new currency to your store. Now customers can select the currency of their choice before processing payment. You can always return here to add another new currency, edit an existing one, or delete one altogether.

Configuring your store in Zencart

Thu, 22 May 2008 01:53:28 +0800

This tutorial will show you how to configure your store in Zencart. As you can see, you are able to configure many settings. Start with your store settings. Most of these settings would have already been configured when you ran the installation wizard. To edit any item, click to highlight it, then click to edit. After making changes, click to update. You can continue down the list to configure your store settings as you wish. Once your store settings are done, feel free to configure any other settings. For instance, you can configure Minimum Values. These are the minimum number of characters allowed for things like fist name, last name, etc. Similarly, you can set Maximum Values. In Images, you can set parameters such as maximum width, height, etc. Well you get the idea. Continue down the list to ensure you edit any values required to customize your store.

Managing banners in Zencart

Thu, 22 May 2008 01:53:28 +0800

This tutorial will show you how to manage your banner ads in Zencart. As you can see, there are several banners already in our site. Let's go ahead and add a new one now. Specify if the banner is active or not. Specify if, when clicking the banner ad, the destination URL will display in a new window. Select whether you would like your ad to display on a secure pages without errors. Give the banner a unique name. Enter the URL to which the banner points when a visitor clicks on it. Assign the ad to an existing banner group or create a new one. Browse your hard drive for the banner image. Alternatively, if you have already uploaded it to the site, you can specify its location and name here. Set the Sort Order for the ad. Specify if you wish the banner to have a certain start and stop date. Alternatively, you can specify its duration by number of impressions. As you can see, the banner has been successfully added. As you can see, the new banner is now displayed on the site. You are now able to manage banner ads in Zencart.

Adding products in Zencart

Thu, 22 May 2008 01:53:28 +0800

This tutorial will show you how to add new products in Zencart. Select a category for your new product. Specify if the product is currently in stock or out of stock. You can specify a date when it will be available. If left blank, it is currently available. You may also optionally specify the manufacturer. You would, of course, have to have already set the manufacturer up in the Manufacturers List. Give the product a name. Continue configuring the new product. If this is a taxable item, specify it here. Enter the pre-tax product price here. Enter a full product description. This will display on the product page. You may use HTML code. Enter the quantity in which this product is typically sold. If you have a product model number, enter it here. Browse your hard drive for a full size image of the product. You can optionally enter a URL if you will be externally linking to a product image. If you will be calculating shipping charges by product weight, enter the product's unit weight here. Sort Order will dictate the order in which products are displayed on the category product page. You can preview before you add the product to your store. The new product has been successfully created. Let's take a look at our store to see if it has been added. Zencart automatically creates a thumbnail image for display in the product page. When you click on it, it displays the full size image uploaded earlier. You are now able to add products in Zencart.

Adding categories in Zencart

Thu, 22 May 2008 01:53:28 +0800

This tutorial will show you how to add a category in Zencart. As you can see, there are several categories in store. Let's go ahead and add a new one now. Enter a name for the new category. Enter a description of the category. You may optionally upload an image for the new category. It will display next to the category name when your visitors point to the category page. Select categories. Specify where you want this category to display in the list of categories displayed on your page. '0' would represent the top of the list. A new category has been successfully added. As you can see, the new category is displayed in your store.

Installing Zencart

Thu, 22 May 2008 01:53:28 +0800

This tutorial will show you how to install Zencart. Before you proceed, make sure you have access to a MySQL database and the username and password to that database. OK, let's start by uploading all the files to the site. We will create a new folder and call it store. Now upload all the files to this new folder. Browse to 2 files - /store/includes/dist-configure.php and /store/admin/includes/dist-configure.php. Rename both of them to configure.php and CHMOD them to 777. Repeat this process for the second file. Now change permissions on the following directories to 777: /store/cache, /store/images, /stores/includes/languages/english/html_includes, /store/media, /store/pub, /store/admin/backups, /store/admin/images/graphs. And finally, CHMOD 777 all subdirectories (and their subdirectories) inside /store/images/. It's now time to run the installer. Point your browser to your store eg., www.yoursite.com/store/. You will need to agree to the Terms And Conditions. The installer now examines your server for compliance with the technical requirements for running Zencart. If you see any red errors, you will need to address them before continuing. All looks OK so click to start the installation. Most default settings will be acceptable here, but double check them for accuracy. Specify if you wish to have phpBB forum software installed on your site. Again, the default settings are usually fine, but double check them to be sure. Enter the details of the MySQL database that you have already set up prior to installation of Zencart. Enter store setup information. Don't worry, you can always edit this later. You can optionally select to install demo data to familiarize yourself with many of the examples that explain and demonstrate the features in Zencart. And finally, create and admin username and password. As you can see, installation was successful. You can now point to www.yoursite.com/store/ to see your new store. You can also point to www.yoursite.com/store/admin/ to start configuring and managing your new store. Don't forget to reset the And finally, CHMOD 777 all subdirectories (and their subdirectories) inside /store/images/. It's now time to run the installer. Point your browser to your store eg., www.yoursite.com/store/. You will need to agree to the Terms And Conditions. The installer now examines your server for compliance with the technical requirements for running Zencart. If you see any red errors, you will need to address them before continuing. All looks OK so click to start the installation. Most default settings will be acceptable here, but double check them for accuracy. Specify if you wish to have phpBB forum software installed on your site. Again, the default settings are usually fine, but double check them to be sure. Enter the details of the MySQL database that you have already set up prior to installation of Zencart. Enter store setup information. Don't worry, you can always edit this later. You can optionally select to install demo data to familiarize yourself with many of the examples that explain and demonstrate the features in Zencart. And finally, create and admin username and password. As you can see, installation was successful. You can now point to www.yoursite.com/store/ to see your new store. You can also point to www.yoursite.com/store/admin/ to start configuring and managing your new store. Don't forget to reset the permissions of the config files so that they are no longer writeable. Do the same for the other configure.php file. The last thing you should do is delete the install folder. Otherwise, if someone runs the installer again, it will wipe out any content you add to your store. You have successfully installed Zencart.